AG Russell Acies

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Tripton said:
At Sebenza prices, I expect Sebenza quality. When I see an Acies at WalMart for 50 bucks, I wont be concerned about rough, unfinished pieces and off-the-shelf hardware.


I am sure that the Acies is a great knife, but it is disappointing to see some parts of it. I wish Mr. Russell the best and hope he sells a buttload of these. Looks like a good alternative in the Ti framelock field.

It's just not for me.
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$50 for a Ti/ZDP knife? In what dimension? And other than the Blur thumbstuds (which are made in-house, along with all the other parts including the screws), what off-the-shelf hardware parts are you referring to? I have a Sebenza also. The Acies is just as nice; slick opening and well put together. And as I said, you get a good sized ZDP blade instead of one in a soft run S30V.

But to each their own. Perceived value is subjective. And speaking of being subjective, have you actually used one for a few days?
 
Nice review swmp4l. I've been thinking about an Acies for awhile now. Your likes/dislikes list along with the close up photos is very informative. Impressive edge finish also. Thank you.
Being a light weight user (and I might hesitate to use an edge that nice - unless I knew I could sharpen it the same way again) I can't offer much wisdom on blade chipping. As you know, it has a lot to do with the steel, grind, heat treat, and usage so I'll just throw this out there - I've seen a couple of high end makers (of quality knives) discuss chipping and one thing they both mentioned was that higher lateral forces (pushing more sideways on the edge as opposed to going edge on) will tend to chip blades more. Don't know if this is what's happening to you or if it even would make a difference. My simplistic two bits.
 
JNewell said:
Tony, is the clip polished stainless, or chromed steel?

I agree on the studs. Actually, much as I love my three Sebs, the studs on those are disagreeably sharp.
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I'll be honest with you, I have no idea. I do know that I hit the clip on all sides with a small torch and it dulled the finish to a shiny dark grey and blue. I wish I would have had the foresight to clean the clip thoroughly because now there are permanent finger prints on it. Oh well, it doesn't really matter when its in use.
 
Thanks for the postive feedback on the review.

The only part that really bothers me that is unfinished is right under the locking bar, because you see it, it's very rough cut, I will probably take my blaster after it and tone it down, but I was just trying to point out that on other high end knives in the $300-up range most makers put alot of effort into finish.

J_Curd said:
Smart guys dont complain about taking a 66RC ZDP blade to 18* and it chipping. Seriously?
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I wasn't complaining about it chipping at 18* I was complaining that it chipped at 30* The pictures show the 18* primary bevel, and the 30* secondary bevel with the chips.

I wonder if maybe I got a bad piece of zdp? Bad heat treat? Wrong composition? I don't know? It is still chipping after many many sharpenings, most guys say the chipping stops after they sharpen it a few times.

I've taken it from stock 22 chipped to 25 chipped 30 chipped and down to 18.

It might have something to do with my stripping technique, because I do move the blade lateral to the wire to remove the insulation/sheathing...
But now that I think about it more, the chipping occures with a perpendicular touch from blade to copper...because I can hear the blade crumble and give away to the soft copper. You can hear it crunch. And I'm not give it alot of pressure at all, because I know that it'll dull other knives, so i'm very careful, but you do hear a definite crunch.

But that will all be in hindsight once my custom s90v blade is finished (hopefully) :rolleyes:


I have to agree on the thumbstud being my favorite of all thumbstuds, I could care less if it is on the blur, because it works, and it works well. I can easily flick it open left or right handed and it provides a lot of purchase.

P.S. Thanks for the postive comments on the edgepro job, it was one of my best purchases yet, took my blades to a whole new level.

Oh and the pictures show the sandblasted clip, which perfectly blends into the finish of the titanium handles. The only problem is the sandblast shows scratches easily, so I might try a deeper blast or maybe a coarser media. But def. an improvement off of the super shiny stock finish, it almost looked out of place shiny.
 
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SPXTrader said:
$50 for a Ti/ZDP knife? In what dimension? And other than the Blur thumbstuds (which are made in-house, along with all the other parts including the screws), what off-the-shelf hardware parts are you referring to? I have a Sebenza also. The Acies is just as nice; slick opening and well put together. And as I said, you get a good sized ZDP blade instead of one in a soft run S30V.

But to each their own. Perceived value is subjective. And speaking of being subjective, have you actually used one for a few days?
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I wasn't serious about finding anything like this for $50, but the fit and finish at that price level is something that I am not too concerned with, unlike this higher level.

Off the shelf - I was refering to off the Kershaw shelf....kind of like the Shelby Series 1 "supercar" of years past. Super high quality parts mixed with a so-so engine and gauges pulled off of the GM shelf. Ho hum.

The Sebenza doesnt have ZDP, but it doesnt have chips either. Besides, you can get ZDP for much less money than this too, so that shouldnt add significantly to the cost at this level. Does the Acies have a pivot bushing and tolerances to .0005 of an inch? Hard tempered lock face?

Nope, I have not tried one...for the reasons that I have already mentioned.

I like Kershaw too, but there is no reason to defend them to the death every time a person has an opinion that isn't direct praise. I have had multiple small issues with many of their knives, but still like and respect the brand.

I respect your opinion and comments, but in this case, our opinions and perceived value differ. No harm, no foul.





I really, really didnt mean to and dont want to drag this thread into the dregs of another Sebenza vs. Acies thread, so lets move on knowing that these are two very nice, very capable knives with many happy buyers on both sides.
 
Kershaw made the Acies. They're "off the shelf parts" because they're made in Tualatin Oregon, in house, and used to construct the Acies. Kershaw, FWIW, is the only US company to have it's own stocks of ZDP as I remember. So yes, every "off the shelf part", is off the shelf because that's where Kershaw stores them after they make them. :D
 
swmp4L said:
Alot of people compare it to a sebenza, and with first hand experience they are two completely different animals.
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JNewell said:
I agree that the comparison to the Sebenza (I currently own three) is apples/oranges.
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Tripton said:
At Sebenza prices, I expect Sebenza quality.
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Tripton said:
The Sebenza doesnt have ZDP, but it doesnt have chips either. Does the Acies have a pivot bushing and tolerances to .0005 of an inch? Hard tempered lock face?

I really, really didnt mean to and dont want to drag this thread into the dregs of another Sebenza vs. Acies thread, so lets move on knowing that these are two very nice, very capable knives with many happy buyers on both sides.
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It seemed that nobody wanted to turn this into an Acies vs. Sebenza thread. In fact the first two quotes state that quite plainly. You were the first to compare the two, and then you compared them again, and then you made a bunch of comparisons in a row. Then you say that you never wanted to make your posts about one knife vs. the other and that it's time to move past the comparison because you say so??? :confused:

And don't tell me that CRK S30V doesn't chip because that's BS. I've had the S30V on my Large 21 chip, roll, and plain old flatten out at times. It doesn't make me throw in the towel on my Sebenzas, it just makes me realize what the knife can and can not take. I'm not trying to be a dick. I'm just pointing out the obvious in this thread.
 
i had both a large sebenza 21 and an acies. still have the acies. anyone a wee bit concerned by the ease with which it can be unlocked?
 
Tony8179 said:
It seemed that nobody wanted to turn this into an Acies vs. Sebenza thread. In fact the first two quotes state that quite plainly. You were the first to compare the two, and then you compared them again, and then you made a bunch of comparisons in a row. Then you say that you never wanted to make your posts about one knife vs. the other and that it's time to move past the comparison because you say so??? :confused:

And don't tell me that CRK S30V doesn't chip because that's BS. I've had the S30V on my Large 21 chip, roll, and plain old flatten out at times. It doesn't make me throw in the towel on my Sebenzas, it just makes me realize what the knife can and can not take. I'm not trying to be a dick. I'm just pointing out the obvious in this thread.
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Well, clearly they went towards the Sebenza with this knife when they decided to make it, so comparisons are fair to do. Not really what this thread is about though, initially.

In my second post though, I only mentioned the Sebenza as a benchmark of fit and finish in this price range, of which it dominates.

Really, you could probably take any knife in the $400 range, and my points would stick. As I inferred to in my last post, different strokes for different folks.
 
Tripton said:
Well, clearly they went towards the Sebenza with this knife when they decided to make it, so comparisons are fair to do. Not really what this thread is about though, initially.

In my second post though, I only mentioned the Sebenza as a benchmark of fit and finish in this price range, of which it dominates.

Really, you could probably take any knife in the $400 range, and my points would stick. As I inferred to in my last post, different strokes for different folks.
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You know what? You're absolutely right.:rolleyes:
 
I really like the bladeshape on these. I am wondering though, are all the Acies unfinished in the same way this one is? I've never owned or held one, but would like to some day.
 
Great review on the Acies. :thumbup:

One question though, just how stain resistant is the ZDP-189 blade when it comes to food preparation (e.g. making sandwiches) ?
 
mesoscopic said:
Great review on the Acies. :thumbup:

One question though, just how stain resistant is the ZDP-189 blade when it comes to food preparation (e.g. making sandwiches) ?
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It will take a patina, anything that is not neutral on the pH scale (around a 7) will create discoloration. I have a Spyderco Stretch in ZDP.
 
mesoscopic said:
Great review on the Acies. :thumbup:

One question though, just how stain resistant is the ZDP-189 blade when it comes to food preparation (e.g. making sandwiches) ?
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If staining is a concern for you then zdp isnt for you. It stains very easily from pretty much anything including fingerprints but its fairly rust resistant from what I've seen. Near VG-10/S30V like. Its definitly a worthwhile tradeoff for me to get the extra edge retention over some staining resistance. I actually like the look of a patinaed blade.
 
mesoscopic said:
Great review on the Acies. :thumbup:

One question though, just how stain resistant is the ZDP-189 blade when it comes to food preparation (e.g. making sandwiches) ?
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It does rust, I have to keep a nice coat of vegetable oil on it. Once a week I've been taking it down and rubbing it over with veggie oil, and it hasn't discolored or rust besides the first week I had it, I didn't know that it would rust, and I had it in my pocket all day in the humidity and a few spots formed by the pivot and thumb stud.

Freaked me out and did a little research, and found out that 3% carbon steel will rust not matter how much chromium is in it.

Either keep it dry or splash it with some vegetable once and awhile and you shouldn't have any problem with food prep.

It slices very nice! :cool:
 
You noted cutting wire and lateral pressure. I think your experience is to be expected at that RC. Just my .02.
 
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