Ethan Becker
Moderator
- Joined
- Sep 1, 1999
- Messages
- 3,564
I just received word that a man that the cutlery world owes a huge debt of gratitude to, has passed from our consciousness to the next.....
A.G Russell went into get some heart work done and things went south....
In his 85 years he made a huge impact on the cutlery world.... He encouraged, helped, invented, bought, sold, organized, promoted and designed and quite obviously loved it all..... He lived one of my favorite Robert Anselm Heinlein quotes”If you love life take big bites - Moderation is for monks”.....
In my view he was onof the three people who really built the vibrant, modern “alternative”
Knife community which has transformed the cutlery industry as a whole.....
Back in the day, there were some new custom makers, Randall, Moran, Loveless, Ruana to name a few who I regard as one. Ken Warner wrote about them and A.G. both promoted them and made a market in their knives.... Eventually the “Big Boys”- Camillus, Schrade, Etc. Took notice, did collaborations with the makers and the whole thing snowballed into the giant “thing” it is today....
I first met A.G. At the 1977 NRA convention in Cincinnati and bought one of his Iconic “ Sting” boot Knives from the great man himself..... I had no idea who he was and although our paths did not cross again for decades I kept his image in my mind..... Much later he would have a large impact on my life..... A couple of beers are required to get some of that story but, he was always helpful and always struck me as an incredibly wise person... He was a prolific designer and held more than one patent and his wisdom transcended much more than Cutlery.... In all our conversations I never heard him say something stupid or vapid but, I heard a lot of bright and smart things.... I did not spend enough time with him.
He was a gentleman in the beat sense of the word, and elegant in thought and demeanor..
The cutlery world will miss him greatly....
I too will miss him a lot.....
E
Check out his wiki page.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.G._Russell
A.G Russell went into get some heart work done and things went south....
In his 85 years he made a huge impact on the cutlery world.... He encouraged, helped, invented, bought, sold, organized, promoted and designed and quite obviously loved it all..... He lived one of my favorite Robert Anselm Heinlein quotes”If you love life take big bites - Moderation is for monks”.....
In my view he was onof the three people who really built the vibrant, modern “alternative”
Knife community which has transformed the cutlery industry as a whole.....
Back in the day, there were some new custom makers, Randall, Moran, Loveless, Ruana to name a few who I regard as one. Ken Warner wrote about them and A.G. both promoted them and made a market in their knives.... Eventually the “Big Boys”- Camillus, Schrade, Etc. Took notice, did collaborations with the makers and the whole thing snowballed into the giant “thing” it is today....
I first met A.G. At the 1977 NRA convention in Cincinnati and bought one of his Iconic “ Sting” boot Knives from the great man himself..... I had no idea who he was and although our paths did not cross again for decades I kept his image in my mind..... Much later he would have a large impact on my life..... A couple of beers are required to get some of that story but, he was always helpful and always struck me as an incredibly wise person... He was a prolific designer and held more than one patent and his wisdom transcended much more than Cutlery.... In all our conversations I never heard him say something stupid or vapid but, I heard a lot of bright and smart things.... I did not spend enough time with him.
He was a gentleman in the beat sense of the word, and elegant in thought and demeanor..
The cutlery world will miss him greatly....
I too will miss him a lot.....
E
Check out his wiki page.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.G._Russell
