A.G. Russell Acies

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Aug 26, 2005
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1,180
I’ve been searching for the perfect EDC knife ever since I decided it was time for me to downsize from my usual EDC rotation of the Benchmade Skirmish 630BK1 and Spyderco Manix C95 that I’ve used for several years. My first attempt was in form of the wonderful Spyderco Sage 2, what a great knife, the fit and finish of my Sage 2 is near perfection and it opens and closes as smooth as silk but it was just too much of a step down in size (for me) after being so use to the larger EDC’s. I saw pictures of the A.G. Russell Acies, a Titanium framelock with a blade of ZDP-189 and a Hinderer stabilizer; it looked like it could make a very nice every day carry so I figured I’d give it a try.

For me the Acies is the near perfect size for an EDC, it feels great in my somewhat larger hands and I attribute that to the length and slightly curved shape of the handle. The Acies ZDP-189 blade cuts like a scalpel and is probably the sharpest knife I’ve ever received right out of the box. Mr. Russell did a great job designing the shape of this blade and the amount of blade length and height you get given the size of the handle is near perfection. When first saw videos of the Acies online I wondered why there wasn’t another pillar along the back of the knife but now I believe that it would have prevented the Acies from having what I believe is near perfect blade to handle ratio.

I wasn’t so sure about the pocket clip at first but once I moved it for tip up carry (the setup I prefer) it worked great, the clip may even aid in the knife filling my hand a tad more and I’ve noticed that it allows my pinky a place to grip when opening the knife without applying any pressure on the lockbar. My Acies locks up beautifully with zero blade play; the lockbar was a tad sticky at first but a couple evenings of opening and closing the knife while watching a movie alleviated any stickiness. The Acies has the Hinderer stabilizer which should help to prevent the lockbar from being over flexed when disengaging the lock. I carry the Acies in my right front jeans pocket and with its size and shape I rarely notice that it’s there which is exactly what I was looking for in a knife of this size. The clip allows the entire knife to rest inside the pocket so I attached a small lanyard that I’d bought from the Busse website a year or two ago and the setup works perfect for me.

My son, who also has a fondness of well made knives (maybe it genetic <grin>) was over this past weekend and while handling the Acies he mentioned that he hadn&#8217;t heard much about this knife but said he really like it a lot and he planned on putting on his &#8220;to buy&#8221; list. He then said something that is probably true, he said IF the Acies had featured a blade that was twice as thick, just for the sake of looking beefier (a bit more tactical looking) even if it no longer cut as well, he said he&#8217;d bet that the knife would be a bigger hit even thought it probably would NOT function as well as does in its current form. He&#8217;s probably right, I know that love the look of some of the more tactical (whatever that actually means) looking knives that are available now and I do buy them and enjoy them (plan to buy more) but I&#8217;m so glad that I didn't overlook the Acies because it&#8217;s exactly what I was looking for in an EDC.
 
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I cant agree more. Its a sweet design. Simple, easy to clean. And the ZDP holds a edge extremely well. My only problem is i have to use diamonds to sharpen it, and i am not that good at diamond plates yet.
 
I cant agree more. Its a sweet design. Simple, easy to clean. And the ZDP holds a edge extremely well. My only problem is i have to use diamonds to sharpen it, and i am not that good at diamond plates yet.

Do you have a Spyderco Sharpmaker? My son uses the white rods to keep his Spyderco w/ZDP-189 (Stretch?...I'm not sure) extremely sharp but we both have a habit of never allowing our knives to become dull. My Acies hasn't lost its edge yet and after cutting up several (maybe a dozen or more) cardboard shipping boxes I just gave it a couple swipes on the Sharpmaker (white rods) and it felt just as sharp as it did out of the box. I know that A.G. Russell also makes a ceramic sharpener much like the Sharpmaker but with round rods and I plan on getting one soon and giving it a try.
Take care.
 
Thanks for the writeup. I've been pondering one for awhile.

Finally got to handle it at Blade and was quite impressed. It's moved up on my want list.

I do keep looking at it and wondering if I should put the money toward a CRK Sebenza or Umnumzaan.

So many knives, so little time (or money). :D
 
Thanks for the writeup. I've been pondering one for awhile.

Finally got to handle it at Blade and was quite impressed. It's moved up on my want list.

I do keep looking at it and wondering if I should put the money toward a CRK Sebenza or Umnumzaan.

So many knives, so little time (or money). :D


I think that any of the three would be a great choice, these are some very nice knives so it's difficult to make a mistake. I don't see the Sebenza nor Umnumzaan going anywhere but I'm not sure that A.G. Russell will be making more Acies once his stock is sold out. I believe I read somewhere here that he may be coming out with a smaller version of the Acies in the future. Have fun with your choice, I think you'd love owning any of them. :thumbup:
 
AG did suggest on his forum that there would be no more Acies after the supply runs out and that the next model would be a smaller version.

The Acies is a beautiful, top quality piece. Mine is sticky to open and sometimes a lot harder than that to close. I'm still looking for solutions.
 
AG did suggest on his forum that there would be no more Acies after the supply runs out and that the next model would be a smaller version.

The Acies is a beautiful, top quality piece. Mine is sticky to open and sometimes a lot harder than that to close. I'm still looking for solutions.

So your lockbar is sticking and the pivot isn't smooth?

When I first used mine the lockbar would stick a bit but I just used pencil lead on the back of blade where the lockbar hits and as it wore off the lockbar started getting smoother and smoother. Now my lockup is tight, no blade movement but the lockbar doesn't stick. I've had several Ti framelocks that stick a little at first but they break in with use.

If the pivot isn't smooth have you tried any lube? It should already have whatever lube it needs but may be worth a try and if that doesn't help contact A.G. Russell.

Good luck!
 
AG did suggest on his forum that there would be no more Acies after the supply runs out and that the next model would be a smaller version.

The Acies is a beautiful, top quality piece. Mine is sticky to open and sometimes a lot harder than that to close. I'm still looking for solutions.

Flash,
Why on earth have you not returned it for us to correct the problems?
 
Just wanted to add, you can't go wrong with the Acies. I was in the exact same situation with deciding between the Zann, Seb, and Acies. After it arrived (Acies) and I handled it, I decided to buy another (just in case). Zaan's and Seb's will be around but the Acies.........well.
 
Wizzard,

I agree that it can make for a difficult decision deciding which to buy first, second or third but who are we kidding, we want all three and once we have all three we'll then fall in love with another knife.:D You make a very good point, the Seb's and Zann's aren't going anywhere but it sounds as if there will be no more Acies once this batch is sold.

My decision was a bit easier in that my son has a large Sebenza 21 so I've had the chance to handle/use one before buying the Acies. It's not a matter of one being better than the other to me, its just if I want to borrow the Sebenza for a while I can but I will be buying my own in time.

We have an Army Navy store near here that carries just about everything in the CRK line so we can actually go in and handle the knife before buying. I can't decide if I'm going to buy the Umnumzaan or Sebenza first, both are great (no doubt) but I kinda like the blade shape of the Zaan a bit more. You can't go wrong with either one.

Right now I'm more than happy with the Acies as my new EDC, it has me looking for an excuse to use it.
 
Thanks for the write up KLJTech. I also have an Acies in my collection and it is a well designed and well built knife. I really like the feel in hand, along with the blade shape. I am fortunate in that mine is not sticky and is very smooth opening and closing. I also really like the deep pocket clip - this has become my "Casual Friday" knife around the office since the clip doesn't really reveal any of the knife.

I'm glad I have one. I really like the tactical / big / thick bladed knives also - but when you need a really good slicer you can't beat an Acies.
 
Flash,
Why on earth have you not returned it for us to correct the problems?

Thanks for weighing in, AG, and it's coming back to you for a checkup.

I haven't wanted to let go of this beautiful girl. Plus, I've been trying the familiar lead pencil trick.

It works for a while, but then the problem starts up again.
 
So...will another batch of these things be made after the present stock disappears? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
So...will another batch of these things be made after the present stock disappears? Inquiring minds want to know.

No! when the present stock is gone there will be no more, If you want a full size frame lock with ZDP this is the one. We will have one with a 3 inch blade in a few months.
 
This is not good news. Why not make both sizes available? Is that not an option?

No! when the present stock is gone there will be no more, If you want a full size frame lock with ZDP this is the one. We will have one with a 3 inch blade in a few months.
 
No! when the present stock is gone there will be no more, If you want a full size frame lock with ZDP this is the one. We will have one with a 3 inch blade in a few months.

Thanks, AG. I can hardly wait.

Can you give us more details -- is this a smaller version of the Acies or will there be other changes in addition to size?
 
LOOKS LIKE THE wash water was way too hot and it shrank. Perfect smaller Acies.

The reason there will be no more of the large one is that we have to put our efforts and catalog space to new designs.
 
Just out of curiousity, may I inquire as to the number of Acies' that were produced? and for that matter how many of the shunken ones will be made available? cheers
 
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