Hello all, Robert yes it is a lockback,a very large lockback i am sorry i am unable to post a picture but i will tell you that it is everything that AG says it is on their website the fit and finish is very close to custom quality.the knife is well worth the price,It came razor sharp with no blade play at all a couple of freinds of mine thought it was a custom. From what i understand Mr. Russell is a perfectionist when it comes to the the knives he has made for his company and it shows in this one. Alexander it was the same for me the folding hunter tempted me for almost a year before i ordered it go ahead and order one you will not be dissapointed.Thinking about the AG sowbelly trapper next

You should get that trapper. I own the one in Cocobolo, it's excellent. If you prefer them with a single blade, if you hold out a little bit longer A.G. is bringing out the single bladed versions!

Alex, what's the size of that single blade version?

when the funds allow it i will go ahead and order the sowbelly trapper.

I don't know if it's Mr. AG or one of his employees that designed those new knives of theirs but they are really neat.

Anyone have a pic?

Thank you Robert,  The design is about all that remains for me to do now that Goldie runs the company

Bless your heart, you're still hanging in there and I really like your designs. Miss Goldie is your boss know?

Bless your heart, you're still hanging in there and I really like your designs. Miss Goldie is your boss know?

Has been for 18-20 yearss

That's great Mr. AG, I have said for a long time know that " this is a mans world, run by women",...lol. I really appreciate all you have done for the cutlery world.

Mr. A.G., I just bought a little barlow Hen and Rooster from Betram Germany. I'll post a picture when it arrives. I'm all excited, I might have to get another one after this one.

Robert, at the moment there are only two brands that I seem to care about as far as production knives go.

As of a couple of weeks 1 is GEC. I really like what they're doing.

The other is A.G. Russell. His knives (I think) seem to be the perfect blend of traditional styling and modern materials and innovation. In fact....it's the only brand that I have multiple knives of....5 pieces at the moment to be exact. (And I have a very small collection of knives)

Finally did another A.G. Russell review:

http://www.iknifecollector.com/forum/topics/a-g-russell-curved-regu...

Alex, I'm an old fan of A.G. Russell and have bought numerous knives from him. You will not be disapointed spending your knife money with him. He has drifted over toward selling alot more tactical knives lately and that's not my favorite but he has done what it takes to stay in buisiness.

My little Bertram Hen and Rooster is a small barlow 1970-80's 241ds in stag and stainless. It's in mint condition and I think I'm gonna like it when I get my hands on it. I'll post a picture at that time. If anyone knows anything about it please let me know. Thanks.

I picked up this Hen & Rooster CM-6 from A.G. a couple weeks ago.  Made around 1976 when A.G. owned H&R.

That's great! I have seen a CM-6 before but not with that sheild.

Robert,

The CM6 never had any other shield.

Yeah the shield thing kind of threw me off at first but I think I understand it now.  As far as I can tell, Hen & Rooster knives that were made prior to 1980 were made without shields.  The exception to that rule is the knives that A.G. Russell made during  for The Knife Collectors Club during his ownership.  Most of those had some type of bullet shield but A.G. opted for the arrowhead on this one.

I am still in the learning stage with H&R knives so if I am incorrect, someone please feel free to set me straight.  I am willing to learn as much as I can about them.

There were a few for importers like Voss that were ordered with shields. before WWII

Thanks A. G.

I see now the knife I was talking about was a CM-8 with a bullet or .219 Zipper cartridge. Yep Railsplitter I have alot to learn also. Thanks guys.

Here's a picture of my Bertram Hen & Rooster baby Barlow. Sweet!

Robert,

That is a fine looking knife indeed!

The picture doen't show the true beauty of this little jewel!

Robert,

I do not mean to be rude, but, it would be a great kindness if you would post pictures of Jim Frost's knives on his forum, rather than mine.  It is very painful to be reminded that he has owned the mark since 1980.

thanks,

A. G.

WHAT! This is supposed to be one of yours. It's a Bertram. That's the reason I bought it, I thought it was one of yours. I'm lost, Mr. AG. This knife was aged to be from the 70's to the 80's. The tang stamp is "Bertram..cutlery..Rostifrei..241DS. You are not being rude, but very helpful for a beginner like me. Please tell me where I went wrong.

yes mr.russell please tell us more all these knives since 1980 is frost knives?i don't understand...

Robert,

I don't know if I can help but I will try.  My knowledge is limited so please take this with a grain of salt.

Any Hen & Rooster knife with "Rostifrei" and/or a model number along the spine of the blade near the tang is a post-1980 knife.  I believe "Solingen" on the tang is also a sign of post-1980.  The shield with the hen and the rooster on it also depicts post-1980.

Your knife might very well be from the 80's but it is from later than 1980.  Most likely 1983 or newer.

A.G. owned Hen & Rooster from 1975 to 1980.  Before then they were owned by Mr. Bertram and his family members.  After 1980 they were owned by Frost and some other guy who's name I don't remember.

I thought that if it had Bertran on the tang stamp it was when Mr. AG. owned it and they had to change the stamp after it went through the courts. This is what I read in one of Mr. AG's catalogs. I still don't understand. I think I have been taken advantage of. Well, it won't be the first time....so sad.

Fellows,  any Hen & Rooster knife with a model number or with a Hen & Rooster inlay was made for Jim Frost after the Summer of 1980, first by Klaas and then by Boker and now in Spain.  If it says Bertram Cutlery then it is Frost.  An email with a photo to agr@agr3.com will always get you an answer sooner or later.

A. G.

Sorry, I did not see Railsplitter's post until I had already written the above

Thanks Mr. AG. I am so disapointed, it's not what I thought I was buying. It's got to go and I'll start over. Thanks so much for your time and help.

Robert,

I am really sorry, you misunderstood.  We used Bertram GmbR and they call theirs Bertram Cutlery.

Robert, if you paid $60 or 70 for the knife you got a good deal, if you paid $300 or $400 then you were robbed.

Well, thank you Mr. AG. I paid $55 dollars and thought I had made a great deal. The baby barlows you have for sale are just alike. You have some with wood for $125 and some with problem ivory for around $200. So I thought one with stag was worth some where in between. It's not your fault, just my rookie mistake. I will learn from this and become a better collector. Thanks so much for your time, Mr. AG.

If you want to see the real deal go to http://www.cuttingedge.com/ and look at the Hen & Roosters there right now there are some collector club knives made by Hen & Rooster when AG own them they are the CM 4, 5 , 7 & 8.  4 & 8 are barlows.  This site is run by AG's team and clear identfies the Hen Rooster knives a safe place to shop.

Stephen,

In early 1980 the German Government put Bertram GmbR into bankruptcy and when I tried to bid on the trademark they refused to allow me and sold the Bertram and Hen & Rooster trademarks to Jim Frost.  Since the Summer of 1980 ALL Hen & Rooster knives made have been at the order of Frost.

                                HOWEVER

When they took the company away from me and put every body in the shop out of work, I had over 3,000 knives on hand, as well as the antiques that I bought when I bought the company.  In the more than 30 years since then I have sold almost all of those knives and have few besides the antiques left.

I know all about the Cuttingedge, and the knives on there. This is why we have a good forum, to learn from our mistakes in this hobby of knife collecting. A knife advertised to be made in the 1970's should have been made when Mr. AG. owned the company. Instead it was made in the 1980's. I hope this helps other collectors not make the same mistake I did. I can live with it, I still have a fine little knife in great congition at a fair price.Although, It's not what I wanted. Thanks again Mr. AG.

Robert,

If you will get one real Hen & Rooster knife from pre 1980 and study it, inside and out you will never again be fooled.

That's my plan, I am looking hard at that Vest Pocket Skinner CM-7.

Congrats, Mr. A.G.!

Well, I finally pushed myself over the ledge and ordered the 2011 Texas Ranger. And because I figured it wouldn't like to travel alone across the ocean I got the Ultimate pen knife and the 3 inch titantium lockback and cooking tweezers to travel with it!

Just noticed that mr. Russell is bringing another one of his designs to life. Congratualtions mr. Russell.

I didn't realise he had movies on YouTube. Maybe he should publicise them a bit more on his website. Perhaps the movies could talk about what kind of work each knife is best suited for, and show it in action? What do you think?

Totally agree. One of the maine problems with A.G. Russell's website is the size and quality of the pictures. Personally I've never seen worse pictures on a website. But the videos they make could solve everything.

Alexander,

thanks for the order.  Please list for me the 5 top web sites that I can go to to see how my photographs should look. 

thanks for the help

A. G.

mr. Russell, I'll have a look around for websites (vendors) that I do like the photo's of.  The main issue that I have with the pictures on your site is that they're a bit grainy, somewhat vague. Half the time I have a hard time believing that it's a picture and it looks more like a painting type thing.

I'll have a look around though.

Regards

Alexander

I have to agree that the pictures are low resolution and sometimes it's hard to get a feel for how big a knife is (measurements only help a bit). Examples - try Vintage knives, www.vintageknives.com, especially 'view more pictures'; www.dozierknives.com, especially 'featured inventory', and www.arizonacustomknives.com. AG Russell pictures are clearly done professionally, they just need to be larger and in high resolution. The 'biggest' view tends to only be a bit bigger. Setting the knife next to familiar objects would help show the scale of the knife, too.