A. G. Russell - Misplaced Pages

American knife maker (1933–2018)

A. G. Russell
Born	(1933-08-27)August 27, 1933 Eudora, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	October 12, 2018(2018-10-12) (aged 85)
Occupation(s)	Knifemaker, CEO
Spouse	Goldie Russell
Awards	Blade Cutlery Hall of Fame

A. G. Russell (August 27, 1933 – October 12, 2018) was an American knife maker.

He was born in Eudora, Arkansas where his great-grandfather taught him how to make knives when he was nine. Russell went on to make knives as a hobby and profession. In 1964, Russell switched his focus to selling Arkansas whetstones and a year later began selling knives. In 1968 he started the first forum for selling aftermarket knives, the A. G. Russell List of Knives for Immediate Delivery, which later became The Cutting Edge. His mailing list was used as a basis for the first two knife magazines, Knife World, and The American Blade, now known as Blade. In 1970 he co-founded the Knife Collectors Club and the Knifemakers' Guild, both of which are the oldest continuously functioning organizations of their types.

Russell was the first member of the Knife Digest Cutlery Hall of Fame and produced the first commemorative pocket knife. Russell designed and produced the first linerless pocket knife with all-plastic handles in 1970. In 1975, he designed a unique boot knife he called the "Sting", a small knife intended for hunting and personal defense. In 1987, he introduced the "A. G. Russell One Hand Knife" which was one of the first production knives to use a blade thumbstud for one-handed opening. In 1988 he was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame.

A. G. Russell Knives

A. G. Russell third variant of the Sting boot knife. Knife courtesy of Mike Cumpston

In 1964 Russell founded "A. G. Russell Knives", the largest reseller of aftermarket knives. The company began selling Arkansas Whetstones and moved on to sell Randall Made Knives, Morseth Knives, and what were becoming collectible custom knives. By the 1970s, Russell was hiring knifemakers to assemble in-house designs.

References

Rogers knife-maker A.G. Russell dies
Lewis, Jack; Roger Combs (1992). Gun Digest Book of Knives. Iola, WI: DBI Books. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-87349-129-7.
Ahern, Jerry (2010). Armed for Personal Defense. Iola, WI: Krause. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-4402-1408-0.
Pacella, Gerard (2002). 100 Legendary Knives. Krause Publications. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-87349-417-5.
"Mr. SpeedSafe Joins the Club". Blade Magazine. 2008-07-22. Archived from the original on 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
Lewis, Jack (1995). "Knifemaker of the Month". Gun World. 35 (10): 60.

External links

A. G. Russell Knives

v t e Knives and daggers
List of daggers List of blade materials
Kitchen and table knives	Boning Boti Bread knife Butcher knife Butter knife Caidao Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Electric knife Fillet knife Grapefruit knife Lame Mezzaluna Parmesan knife Pizza cutter Splayd Steak knife Tomato knife Japanese kitchen knives Deba bōchō Maguro bōchō Nakiri bōchō Santoku Sashimi bōchō Udon kiri Unagisaki hōchō Usuba bōchō Yanagi ba
Other knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boot knife Bowie Cane knife Ceramic knife Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Golok Gravity knife Guna Hacking knife Higonokami Hunting knife Husa knife Ivan's Knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kard Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Marking knife Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pesh-kabz Pirah Pocketknife Phurba Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Sheath knife Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Verlängerungsmesser Warrior knife Wedung X-Acto Yarara Parachute Knife Yatagan
Daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh nakh Balarao Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dha Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Gunong Hunting dagger Jambiya Jile Kabutowari Kaiken Kalis Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Kunai Liaoning dagger Mark I trench knife Microtech Jagdkommando Parrying dagger Poignard Pugio Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō U.S. Marine Raider stiletto V-42 Yoroi-dōshi
Manufacturers	Aitor Knife Company Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Aritsugu Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Chroma Cnife Clauss Cutlery Company Cobray Company Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Dalian Hanwei Metal Dexter-Russell Ek Commando Knife Co. EKA Emerson Knives F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Gerber Legendary Blades Füritechnics Glock Ges.m.b.H. Imperial Schrade Ivan's Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives Marble Arms Medford Knife and Tool Microtech Knives Morseth Muela Murphy Knives OLFA Ontario Knife Company Opinel Randall Made Knives Ranz Cuchillos Rösle Sabatier Shun Cutlery Slice, Inc. SOG Specialty Knives Spyderco STI Knives Strider Knives Thiers Issard TOPS Knives Tramontina Victorinox W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Carl Walther GmbH Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Wüsthof Yoshida Metal Industry Global Zero Tolerance Knives Zwilling J. A. Henckels
Knifemakers	Rex Applegate James Black Tom Brown Jr. Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Jack W. Crain Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Bill Harsey Jr. Phill Hartsfield Gil Hibben Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve A. G. Russell Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler
Associations	American Bladesmith Society Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association Knifemakers' Guild
Category:Knives / Daggers

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