This knife arrived yesterday. It's one of those AG Russell Premium Scouts that have been floating around the big auction site lately, with no blade etch on the main blade. AG himself has mentioned that these non-etched knives never crossed through his store, so I'm assuming that they were probably assembled after the closing of Camillus Cutlery from leftover parts.
Overall, it's a very nice using knife. Fit and finish is good.The covers aren't too thick, and are both are the same thickness. Pull on the main blade is a solid 4.5. I'll be sharpening and testing the main blade this week, to determine whether the main blade is indeed 154CM like the real AG Russell Premium Scouts, or whether it's simply 420HC like Camillus used on their scouts during this period of manufacture. I'm guessing that it's 154CM. The blade is a hair thicker behind the edge than the 440 and 420 series stainless blades that Camillus routinely used in their scouts, and consistent with the black micarta Premium Scout in my collection.
The only real issue with the knife is the mismatched stag covers. The mark side is very light with relatively shallow accents , while the pile side is extremely dark and deep and bold. The mismatch is far more than the pictures actually reveal. The two sides don't even remotely resemble one another.
Fortunately, the scale mismatch and lack of blade etch makes this a solid user or project knife, and not a collector item. So I'll be carrying it if it is indeed 154CM steel on the main blade. Does anybody have any good ideas on how to even out the coloring on the covers? I like both scales, not preferring one over the other. Do you think the scale shading will even out over time with use and hand sweat? Or should I send the knife out to somebody, to have the covers replaced with better stag? The other option is to send out the knife to somebody, along with one of my precious Camillus C4's, and have the 154CM blade thinned out and fit to the C4, and have some custom covers made for it, to make it sort of the ultimate Camillus C4. The blade swap is theoretically possible, as they are both manufactured from the same Camillus #5779 equal end pattern.
Choices.... choices..... choices.......