A.G. Russell Knives

In the late 1960s, I designed a knife for the pilots in Vietnam. By 1972, we were producing this knife in our newly aquired Morseth knife company which I purchased in 1970 from Harry Morseth's son Gordon after Harry's death. I hired a very young Bob Dozier to move the Morseth shop to Springdale, Arkansas where we made Morseth® knives until early 2000.

Thirteen years ago Tinus, a teacher of Afrikaans and other subjects at an English School in South Africa, had never seen a handmade knife. His world changed when a friend showed him a knife that the friend had made. Tinus describes it as being rough indeed, but it inspired him to attempt his own.

The Dozier Buffalo River Hunter was introduced late in 2005. It is a drop point hunter that was designed for A. G. Russell customers. At the time it was introduced, Desert Ironwood was plentiful. It is a wonderful handle material, but has become increasingly hard to find forcing Bob to look for other suitable handle material. He has found a source of Cocobolo that has as much striking contrast in grain, perhaps more, as the finest Desert Ironwood. Buffalo Hunters are now available with Cocolobo and Green Linen Micarta®. Like all of Bob's standard hollow ground hunting knives, these are hand ground in Bob's shop on grinders designed and built by him.

Most knife people know Bob Dozier as a great knifemaker, but few know him for the open hearted and generous person that he is. He told me of a remarkable knifemaker in Carolina who made great knives which were really under priced.

Brian Tighe, pronounced "Tie", is a Canadian tool and die maker who has become a huge success as a maker of high-end folding knives and as a designer folders for the newer production houses. In only a very few years, he has leapt to the forefront of those recognized as leaders of the remarkable CNC Custom Knife Movement. Brian has the advantage of being able to use the equipment himself. He is not just a fine designer but a hands-on craftsman as well.

This is a very limited fighter from the remarkable Dietmar Kressler, Europe's answer to R. W "Bob" Loveless. Thirty years ago Dietmar took Bob's inspiration back to Western Europe and overwhelmed knife collectors with his work. When he visits knife shows in this country, he wows collectors here as well.

3" drop point blade of mirror polished ATS34. Handsome California Buckeye Burl handle with a nickel silver hilt and butt, and maroon and black micarta and nickel silver spacers. The hand tooled leather sheath is made by his wife, Sonja.

In September of 1939, W.D. Randall began stamping his knives with the same mark you see on them today. Being a fine knifemaker, a great business man, and a master in the art of self-promotion helped W. D. Randall to become the best known maker of handmade knives in the world. "Bo", as the world knew him, continued to lead his handmade knife firm until he turned the business over to his son Gary in 1970. Gary had been very active in the firm for years and has been in charge for nearly 30 years. Continuing in the family tradition, Gary's son Jason is now a part of the business.

Keith Murr is a Northwest Arkansas maker who worked for a period of time in Bob Dozier's shop.

Japanese knifemaker Takeshi Saji makes knives using the very best materials. The White Steel center core of this 6" blade, which provides the cutting edge, is a pure carbon steel with a Rockwell hardness above 60. Each side consists of 11 layer Suminagashi, the Japanese equivalent of Damasteel. This is high-carbon tool steel and must be protected against rust. We have included a bottle of RustFree for that purpose.

Rick Schuchmann calls his business "Schuchmann Cutlery and Replicas" or SCAR. He is a buyer for the German chemical giant Siemans, lives in Ohio and has been making knives since 1997. He has been making the Scagel replicas since about 2000. You can judge his progress for yourself.

During the time when a cutting tool was some form of stone, volcanic glass (obsidian) was the most prized of all the materials available. It enabled blades to be made that would cut better than any other material. Obsidian was so prized that men would travel hundreds of miles on foot to gather enough for a supply of tools. Landon Selby, the expert craftsman who has made our obsidian knives for years, uses the same materials and the same techniques to create all the models we offer.

The Inspiration is one of two models being produced by Canadian knifemaker Laurent Doussot under the Skalja™ trademark. Laurent was born in France and now lives in Quebec. In 1990, while studying Fine Arts, he discovered handmade knives which became a vehicle for his passion for sculpture and mold making. His knives are inspired by forms found in nature and all have a three-dimensional, carved shape.