AG Russell Knife Info Please

Joe58

Joe58

Joined
Nov 11, 2002
Messages
1,969
Many years ago, I purchased this AG Russell knife and never used it. I ran across it today and decided I'd carry it some.

It's made in Japan, quite sharp, with good snap. Seems to have a red micarta type scale insert. Great fit & finish.

I was just wondering, since I've long forgotten, if one of you knowledgable fellers may recall year of production and steel type of the blade. It's stainless it appears, but it doesn't say, or give a model number.

Just AG Russell, Made in Japan.

Thanks guys!

Joe
 

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A.G. Russel is a member, paid dealer, and frequent contributor of history and knowledge to Bladeforums. I'd suggest shooting him an PM or email; likely there's nobody who could tell you more than the man himself.
 
That's a sweet knife :thumbup:
AG has made a few reverse Congress style knives, I really like them.
 
Joe58 said:
Many years ago, I purchased this AG Russell knife and never used it. I ran across it today and decided I'd carry it some.

It's made in Japan, quite sharp, with good snap. Seems to have a red micarta type scale insert. Great fit & finish.

I was just wondering, since I've long forgotten, if one of you knowledgable fellers may recall year of production and steel type of the blade. It's stainless it appears, but it doesn't say, or give a model number.

Just AG Russell, Made in Japan.

Thanks guys!

Joe
Click to expand...

Saw a lot of the red 'Rucarta' knives in his catalogs in the '90s and later. A lot of A.G.'s Japanese-produced patterns in that time frame were done in AUS-8 (or AUS-8A), or sometimes ATS-34. All of these are Japanese-origin steels, all pretty good. The ATS-34 was a little higher-end, usually found on pricier knives, and most of those examples were marked as such. A lot of his AUS-8/8A knives were also marked accordingly; but there's no guarantee all were marked with steel type.

Wouldn't surprise me if something like AUS-6 (also Japanese) might've also been used, most likely on less-expensive knives, many of which may not have been specifically marked with steel type.

Nice thing about virtually every Japanese-made knife I've ever owned is, regardless of price tier, I've always been pretty impressed with how much performance they've gotten out of any steel they produced. I've always had the feeling they take a large amount of pride in workmanship and quality. A.G. Russell's high standards take that even further. :thumbup:


David
 
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Planterz said:
A.G. Russel is a member, paid dealer, and frequent contributor of history and knowledge to Bladeforums. I'd suggest shooting him an PM or email; likely there's nobody who could tell you more than the man himself.
Click to expand...

Good call Planterz but for the life of me, I can't locate his forum.
 
From the 2001 catalog: coral (red) linen Rucarta. AUS8A hardened to 57-59Rc. Model#AG-438CR....$44.95. Hope this helps, Joe.
 
JoeKansas - thanks for the great info. I think that's the one. Really appreciate all the help. I'm kinda coming around full circle back to pocket knives and am finding out that there sure are some nice ones out now.
 
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