A.G. Russell Knives

In the 1970s, I was an active outdoorsman. As a farmer and a hunter, I used knives daily, and hand and larger axes at least weekly. I found this small A. G. Russell™ axe, which was being made for me in Solingen at the time, so handy that it was almost always in my hip pocket whenever I left the house. If I was on horseback, then it was fixed to the saddle.

In the late 1970s, when I owned Bertram GmbR in Solingen, Germany, we produced a "knife-opener" made of nickel silver. In essence it was a pocketknife liner that was polished and trademarked, with one end dubbed off so that it would fit into a nail mark.

If you have ever broken a nail trying to open a strong springed knife or a difficult soda-pop can, then you know how helpful the proper tool for such a purpose can be. As I get older, I find that my once stout nails are becoming more and more like my hair, thin and fragile. Slipjoint knives, unless perfectly engineered and perfectly made, have become very difficult for me to open without an assist. Square tanged knives are very difficult without the proper tool.

These scissors are made today as they were more than 500 years ago. The only concession we have made is to have them made from a very basic high carbon STAINLESS steel; .50-.60 Carbon, 13-14% Chromium and tiny amounts of Manganese and Molybedinum.