This is great! I have over 1,000,000 names in my data base, sadly I can only afford to mail toa couple of hundred thousand. Maybe I can find a few folks here that would like to look at new designs.

Welcome to iKC A.G.!! Thanks for signing up!! I'm SURE the collectors here would love to look at your designs!!

Mr. Russell, if you can channel your contacts to this group, you can do an group wide email to them for FREE. Think about it. This group would make an excellent "official" Russell Fan Club. Thanks for starting one. I do get your magazines and they are extremely high quality publications with excellent photos.

Welcome Mr. Russell and yes there is a lot of people that want to see your new and old designs - Do you still have the rights and info. to Cattaragus Cutlery.

This is our San Mai Drop Point Hunter with Spalted Maple Handles. We only had enough handle material for 11 knives. There are 7 left. You can get yours at www.agrussell.com

The A.G. Russell™ Boxcar Jack with Antique Green Bone Handles. There are only 5 left!! This handle material was done specifically for this knife. This is a very handy tool.
During the Great Depression, knives of this type were commonly carried by men who were on the move, looking for work. These men were called Hobos and their common mode of transportation was a train boxcar. The A. G. Russell™ Boxcar Jack consists of a knife and fork that are held together by slots and pins in the liners and can easily be taken apart, resulting in a separate knife and fork. The two halves can be separated without opening either blade. Simply push the mark, or obverse, side of the knife toward the pivot to slide the two halves apart.

Stop by and see our retail store. We are located off of I-540 in Rogers, AR.

A.G. Russell™ Dogleg Trapper

This is a wonderful example of the BEST of Japanese folding knives! In our quest for the best quality for the money, we sometimes accept knife designs from the companies or individuals who make knives for us. This beautifully made Trapper was designed by the maker for A.G. Russell™. With the much prized square tang, it is not quite as I would have designed it. I have a personal preference for tangs that offer walk and talk without stopping in the middle. When we were offered a sample of this knife a little over a year ago, though, the design was so superb and the craftsmanship so good that I had to ignore my opinion of the square tang.

The 2-3/4" Clip blade and a most unusual 2-3/4" Spey blade are made of about 1/8" thick (0.119) VG-10 stainless cutlery steel at 59-61 Rc. The liners, bolsters, caps and shields are exquisitely finished stainless steel. Available in both Cocobolo, an exotic wood that has been used in the cutlery industry for over 200 years, and European Red Deer Antler. Beautiful fit and beautiful finish. Measures 3-7/16" closed and weighs approximately 3.6 oz. Made in Japan.

Watch the above box with the Texas Ranger knives, we will be changing it periodically. Also watch the discussions forum as we will be adding new knives and knife designs as often as we can. Feedback is always welcome!

Got my one and only Randle from the kind folks at A.G. Russell. Saving my money now for one of those wine anvil caps. Will get me a William Henry in the next life. Might even learn to carve peachpits with. Humor there J. D. Frank

We are glad to hear you are happy with your knife Frank. We hope you continue to be a customer with us.

I see A.G. Russell has a link to Usual Suspects that no longer works. How about speaking to the web designer and pointing to a new home away from home, iKnifeCollector.

Well I was all set to order that stockman, but you ruined it by posting a Kershaw 1410 Starkey Ridge on cuttingedge.com. Thanks alot! (and I mean it too)..and thanks also to Cindy for taking my order...it seemed like it should have been after-hours and she was working late. I'll post some pics when it arrives.

Hey guys/gals- had my first opportunity to meet A.G. in person last week. What a treat! He toured me through this facilities there in Rogers. Quite an operation.
I just wish I had my recorder (video or audio) as we talked. I'd love to preserve his knowledge on knives.

The A.G. Russell Knife Event is a little over a week away and I am looking forward to it! It will be my first year to have a table at the show.

Arkansaw and pennsyvania or to far from South Carolina for me to be attending knife events there.

Hello, I was wondering if I could get any info on a "A.G. Russell Oak leaf and acorn etched sting" it's marked 1977 and has the "Russel" misspelled.

Thanks

A. G. Russell, use to put little sections on knife info in his catalogs. I wish he would start doing it again.

Robert,

 

What kind of section?

Ronald,

 

500 made sold out in about 4-5 months  only the damascus are more rare

Thanks A.G. How much did they sell for and how long ago, About how much are they with now....???

Thanks 

Wow, thanks Mr. Russell for getting involved in my question.  The section is called "knife Facts". Example..Spring 2005 catalog, page 2. They help people learn more about knives.

Hey, if someone in this group has gotten some of Mr. AG's new line of knives please post a picture or tell us what you think of this new design.

Unfortunately, these won't give you a good idea of the scale - the top knife is a miniature (#2-AG520-CQ) in Chinese Quince, and the bottom knife is quite large (RUS-CQ13YD) in Yellow Delrin. I like the look and proportions of the bottom knife, my new purchase. It has quite an Art Deco look, and the handle is quite long for the blade length. Fit and finish are excellent. Cheers, Stephen.

T

 

The small knife was made for us by people no longer in business, it was called the 3" Gent's Lockback I have redesigned the blade to make it wider and longer and will have one of my new makers produce it for you.

 

The Gunstock will also be made in smaller sizers

 

Something nice that arrived yesterday:

Just noticed that the 2011 Texas Ranger is finally out! I'm really excited about that one!

Has anyone read the personal letter that Mr. A.G. has written in their late fall catalog? If so, what do y'all think?

I think Mr. AG, said what needed to be said in a very nice way. He could have remained silent but explained how the knife world has become. Takes courage, good for you Mr. AG.

 

Shlomo, I will have to wait for help on that because my computer skills are low. But Mr AG has writen a letter that takes on the China knives on a world wide aspect that I think gives light on the subject. He didn't have to, so I think it took courage to take on such a contraversial subject. There may be another member that can post the letter. I am not trying to start a problem but I am complementing someone for speaking on the subject in a realistic veiw.

From doing a quick search I'm guessing that the comments were that he's embraced the Chinese made knife--as indicated by his catalogue items and has done so to compete in a level playing field with other small makers...I remember when lots of people where up in arms about them (AG Russell) having their knives made in Japan.

 

I have no problem with the quality of the majority of the products that come out of Communist Mainland China I just refuse to, knowingly, purchase anything that is made there due to their political stand, work force atrocities, slave & child labour, thumbing their noses at the World Court etcetera, etc., etc...I also won't buy from Vietnam or South Korea and when the U.S.S.R. was up and running I wouldn't buy any of their products either.

 

I know from past dealings--many dealings--with AG that the items he has made for him have to meet "HIS" standards and those are quite high so any Chi-Comm  knives you get from him will assuredly be of damn good quality but I'll still not buy one and thankfully he has other models of his designs/label that are made elsewhere available for me to choose from.

I think the knifemakers in the far east are as well deserving of our attention as any in other places in the world.

 

Mr. Russell has shown (as have Rough Rider knives) that excellent quality can be made there.

 

The companies that make these knives are not "Chi-Comm" companies. They're not government owned and are run by people who simply want to run a good buisiness. They happen to be in China. I have no problem with that whatsoever.

 

Anyway. I'll be sending an order towards A.G. Russells sometime next month so that my parents can bring me home the new Texas Ranger knife when they're over there on holiday (thus saving me a whole lot of €€€ on shipping and import duties).

It must be a very lucky man that can shop in our stores today and avoid buying products from China. Everything from tooth brushes to clothes, shoes and gear of all kinds. I recently bought some hunting gear bags from one of the biggest outdoor distributors on the planet and the very best brand offered. When it arrived to my surprise, you guessed it, Made in China. The knives coming from China have improved over the last few years. China and their knives are not going away, for a company to compete in todays terrible economy it must not close off ways to compete with competetors. Until the countries of the world come together an force China into rating its currency correctly, they will always beable to under cut prices of other nations. A tariff on Chinesse goods might help. I think Mr. AG, was just addressing this problem in the knife market and he certainly didn't have to for larger distributors of Chinese knives have sat quite while racking in the profits.

Comment by Alexander Noot 

I think the knifemakers in the far east are as well deserving of our attention as any in other places in the world.

 

The companies that make these knives are not "Chi-Comm" companies. They're not government owned and are run by people who simply want to run a good buisiness. They happen to be in China. I have no problem with that whatsoever.

Sorry, me boyo, but if the item is made in mainland China or Hong Kong then they are "Chi-Comm" and they are run by good communists--or they wouldn't be in business...There is no "Free Enterprise" system in communist countries and everything is owned by the state and that includes McDonald's, Coca Cola and Frito Lays...All the capitalists fled before 1999 to Western Canada and the USA.

The same applies to a company making goods in the USA owned solely by a Japanese or South Korean or Italian or German or Austrian or Belgium parent company being able to add the label "Made in the USA" to their products--think Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, HK, Glock, Beretta, SIG, FN et cetera, etc.

I'll state this again, the products are not bad (for the most part) coming out of Communist China excluding the rip off companies but you have those in the USA as well.  When they change their practices I'll buy from them and they will in a few years when capitalism wins over their "hearts and minds" and especially their pocketbooks...Just as it finally did to the USSR in the 1990s.

 

One thing that you're all forgetting here--this only applies to SOME of his knives not ALL--there are other models available from Germany and Taiwan and Japan that can be purchased.

 

Comment by Robert Burris 

It must be a very lucky man that can shop in our stores today and avoid buying products from China. Everything from tooth brushes to clothes, shoes and gear of all kinds. 

 

Robert, with a little due diligence you can quite easily avoid buying "Chi-Comm" made products--just read the labels as by law the country of origin has to be noted somewhere.

 

 

By request:

September, 2011

 

    Many of my friends and customers are wondering, some out loud and some only to themselves, why A. G. Russell has given up the fight and is having knives produced in China.

    The simplest and most basic answer to that question is "to stay in business". With the bankruptcy of Schrade and Camillus, and the loss of Arrowhead, any hope I had of continuing to make any substantial volume of my designs in the United States was gone.

    I took a new trapper design to Germany and they returned a quote of $50,000 for tooling plus a cost of $75 per knife. These costs make it simply impossible to produce my designs in Germany. We have created two very special, traditional slip joint knives in Japan during the past couple of years. The quality of those knives is unbelievable for a "production" knife, well worth the $150-$175 that we must charge. But at this price level I find it hard to sell enough to cover the cost of the space in the catalog.

    Like so many of my customers, I have railed against the movement of the Cutlery Industry to China, BUT it because obvious that if I wanted to stay in business I would have to produce more and more of my own designs and find a way to offer those knifes at prices my customers would pay. The only answer was to find one or more makers in Taiwan and China that I could teach to make the quality I require. I was fortunate - I had a customer in China who loves American handmade knives. He also owns a small knife factory in Taiwan and another in China with access to others. He chose a factory to produce our first Chinese-made knife, the Beak. After three or four samples and a lot of work back and fourth, we had a fantastic knife at a reasonable price.

    In the 1980s, when I moved production of my designs to Japan, after I lost Hen & Rooster in Germany, I got hundreds of letters, some of them really nasty, even threatening. We continued, and the resistance faded as people began to recognize the quality and value of those knives. Once again I am getting that resistance from people who do not like the way their would has changed. All I can say is that no matter how much I resisted, the world has changed. I cannot change it back. Some people cannot bear to own a knife made in China, some cannot bear to own a knife made outside of the U.S. I understand this. Unfortunately, I cannot solve the problem. The choices are high prices or "Made in China". The quality we are offering is fantastic; as good as, or better than, can be found anywhere today, U.S.A. or not.

    all the best,

    A.G. Russel

Shlomo, thanks so much for the info, I try not buy too much from China but lets not condemn the businesses that are forced to compete on this world market and offer merchandise from a few places we would rather forget. If there is a way to tell China's products from good to bad, we would like to hear about it.

Comment by Don 

as I see it and remember it, the SAME arguments were present in the early 50's against JAPAN.

Sorry, but the hatred to Japan had to do with a certain incident called Pearl Harbour on the 7th of December, 1941, the Bataan Death March and the POW camps and a little thing called World War II.

Same as lots of people wouldn't buy anything from Germany, Austria or Bavaria (and Italy by association) due to the atrocities performed by the Gestapo, SS and Wehrmacht in places like Poland, Finland, Norway, Russia, bombing London, England, the POW camps and of course the "Death Camps" that murdered some ten+ million people all told, six million of whom where Jews and over one million Germans.

 

 

Lots of good info and views posted here. If the USA economy sunk and went bankrupt, it would suck the Chinese right down the tube also. They would lose one of the major purchasers of their products. I'm not talking about just knives either.

Sorry, me boyo, but if the item is made in mainland China or Hong Kong then they are "Chi-Comm" and they are run by good communists--or they wouldn't be in business...There is no "Free Enterprise" system in communist countries and everything is owned by the state and that includes McDonald's, Coca Cola and Frito Lays...All the capitalists fled before 1999 to Western Canada and the USA.

Schlomo, do you have a source for this? Or is this all assumptions. Because from speaking to  people who actually do buisiness with the chinese they claim that this is not true.

Just because you live in the US doesn't make you a democrat, just because I live in the Netherlands doesn't make me a socialist, just because someone lives in China doesn't make them a communist. It only makes them compliant with local laws.