A.G. Russell Knives

If you look at the web site of custom knifemaker Allen Elishewitz, you'll see that he is a wide-ranging designer, offering not only exquisite custom folders, but also timepieces and writing instruments. But Allen is also a serious martial artist, hence his interest in designing a superior fixed blade.

The Hisshou™, designed by James Williams, is a specialized tool that is intended for military personnel and Special Forces operators. James developed this design to meet the specific requests of coalition forces overseas for a more powerful tactical tool than the CRKT Hissatsu™, which is in wide use. The Hisshou comes into play when the operator's firearms cannot be used, as often happens in entry and search operations. It is designed for multiple carry options depending on the choice of the operator.

Here's a knife designed by Russ Kommer for Special Forces units. He knows that operators want a knife that gets right to the point. So there are no bells or whistles, nothing to break or fall off. Instead, it is a single hot-forged piece of carbon steel that is just about indestructible. CRKT calls it the Kommer Integral Fixed Blade, or I.F.B.™

One of Russ Kommer's favorite custom knife sheath packages is the 2-Shot™. As a hunting guide, he has used it daily in the field in Alaska and around the world. Russ explains the sheath this way; "For me, a horizontal sheath makes getting around easier. It doesn't interfere with your rifle or backpack waist strap, and it's not always banging the bush plane, pickup, or fouling the packhorse guide rope.

Terry Renner, custom knifemaker and owner of TR Blades in Palmetto, Florida, is becoming well known for his high-end folders and art knives. But he has a fertile mind, and the idea for the Neckolas came while he was toying with an index-finger-ring folder design. The result is the Renner Neckolas™ knife/sheath system.

Doug Ritter is the founder of the Equipped To Survive™ web site and an international authority on survival equipment. The RSK Mk5 is a collaborative effort based on Georgia knifemaker David White's custom Shrewd Survival Knife, itself the result of collaboration with Dr. Andrew Osbourne.

Alan Folts is a knifemaker and metalworker in Greenville, N.C. who makes a remarkable range of custom objects, including titanium chopsticks. His Minimalist™ neck knife has proven to be so popular it drew the attention of Columbia River Knife & Tool.

Terry Renner, custom knifemaker and owner of TR Blades in Palmetto, Florida, is becoming well known for his high-end folders and art knives. But he has a fertile mind, and the idea for the Neckolas came while he was toying with an index-finger-ring folder design. The result is the Renner Neckolas™ knife/sheath system.

Because Tom knows knives from his life as a meat cutter, professional knife sharpener, and designer of knives and Columbia River Knife & Tool® (CRKT®) exclusive Veff™ Serrations, he designed one of the most carefully thought-out fixed blades we have ever produced, even though it also has the lowest price of any knife in our catalog. He calls it the Marine Utility Knife (M.U.K.™).

When Jon and Josh Graham of Graham Knives in Cleveland, Tennessee, developed their custom Graham Razel™ in 2001, most knife blades came to a single point. Not the Razel. It's a cross between a chisel and a razor with a knife handle. The result gives two useful Razor-Sharp™ edges, one for pushing or tapping, and the other for precise cutting. You also get two strong blade points. The Graham brothers have been very successful with their custom versions in a variety of sizes and styles.

After 4,000 years of scientific progress, the only thing the Ultima shares with its bronze ancestors is its role in the mission."

Jim Hammond has All Bases Covered with this knife/sheath system. It's the ultimate dive and whitewater knife, with two sets of scales included.

One good idea often leads to another. As custom knifemaker Jim Hammond was designing his A.B.C. (All Bases Covered) diving and whitewater knife/sheath system, it suddenly became obvious that the system had all the qualities to make an excellent dry land fixed blade: strength, a flat profile, carry versatility, corrosion resistance, and a low reflectance black finish.

James Williams, the designer of the Hissatsu, is a former army officer and martial artist and current owner of Bugei Trading Company, a source of high quality Samurai swords.

Russ Kommer, an Alaskan maker, designed a knife for his wife to carry in her purse. Every bush pilot, parachutist, and commercial fisherman who saw it wanted one and kept Russ with more work than he could finish. The answer to his problem was a joint venture with Columbia River Knife and Tool. This is a cutting tool that really gets into webbing, rope or netting. The blade comes either razor sharp or in an EMT style, with fully serrated edge and safety tip, just right for cutting away clothing from accident victims or cutting seat belts.

In my search for the lightest knife that could really be practical, I arrived at what we are calling the Ringer. There's not much to these skeletonized designs, most of the steel is cut away to save weight and make the knives easy to control. About all that's left is the cutting power and utility.

Designed for Quality, Visibility and Affordability. CRKT has developed a line of knives specifically for emergency rescue. The knives are based on CRKT production models with brushed blade finished for tip corrosion resistance in wet environments and handle scales that are a highly visible orange Zytel®.

"Today's tactical fixed blade knives still resemble the first Bronze Age daggers of 4000 years ago, especially in their handle design. Michael Martinez, inventor of the Merlin® knife deployment system, didn't start out to redesign the fixed blade, but he explains, "We tested over 400 knives with the Merlin system, and I kept noticing how many knives, even expensive ones, didn't feel right, didn't have a grip that gave both control and comfort in the four fundamental tactical grips.

Both Triumph N.E.C.K.™ models are based on the same 1/8" thick blade of 3Cr13 stainless steel at 54-56 Rc. It is a full-tang skeletonized design, with a recurved grind on a 2-3/4" Tanto blade to aid cutting and a false top edge grind for penetrating. Overall length is 6-1/2".

The MAK-1™ (Multiple Access Knife) and Extrik-8-R™ (Seat Belt Cutter and Multi-Tool) were created by James McGowan, who is a professional firefighter in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Due to his career in one of Canada's busiest fire halls and his passion for the outdoors, he started making "hard-working knives" and joined the Canadian Knifemakers' Guild in 1998.

When you pickup a Big Eddy Fillet knife, you'll immediately feel its balance and comfort. The unique Twin-Fused handle is a rigid, high-impact polypropylene core wrapped with a soft, comfortable checkered grip for a firm, safe hold.

Russ Kommer keeps coming up with ideas for high-value knives and tools that every hunter needs. CRKT calls this growing group of products The Kommer Collection. It includes a high-hollow ground skinner, a utility hunting knife and a unique chisel/sharpener.

Russ Kommer keeps coming up with ideas for high-value knives and tools that every hunter needs. CRKT calls this growing group of products The Kommer Collection. It includes a high-hollow ground skinner, a utility hunting knife and a unique chisel/sharpener.

CRKT's shorter Tanto in desert dress, with Desert Tan Zytel scales and Desert Tan titanium nitride blade coating. Suggested retail $99.99.

Since we introduced the Folding Sting in 2004, there have been so many requests to bring back the original that we went searching for a company that could follow the original design at an affordable price. Columbia River was the perfect choice.

From the manufacturer:

Today's tactical fixed blade knives still resemble the first bronze age daggers of 4000 years ago, especially in their handle design. Michael Martinez, inventor of the Merlin® knife deployment system, didn't start out to redesign the fixed blade, but he explains, "We tested over 400 knives with the Merlin system, and I kept noticing how many knives, even expensive ones, didn't feel right, didn't have a grip that gave both control and comfort in the four fundamental tactical grips."

Bob Kasper, the late writer and combat instructor, designed the basic outline of the C/K Dragon after ten years of study into the principles of extreme in-close fighting developed by Dr. Gordon Eric Perrigard over fifty years ago. These techniques use automatic conditioned reflexes with minimal body movement. The knife is considered as part of the hand.

CRKT has developed a line of knives specifically for emergency rescue and are based on CRKT production models. The Hammond A.B.C. E.R. is a Jim Hammond design whose name stands for "All Bases Covered." The blunt-tipped A.B.C. E.R. is designed to fill all the needs of the scuba diver and whitewater enthusiast in a single knife. The bottom hollow ground Razor-Sharp edge is suited to fine cutting tasks.