Knife Maker Hones in on ?Handmade? Business

A.G. Russell loves knives.

Hearing him hold forth on the history of the industry, it’s clear that he has a deep fascination for one of humankind’s most fundamental tools.

Names like Schrade, Case, Buck and Kershaw come up, along with stories and anecdotal flourishes about those companies and their founders. What is also apparent is that, like many others, the business of knife making changed dramatically over the course of the 20th century.

What began in 1964 as a small setup selling Arkansas whetstones has grown into a business that ships more than 90,000 knives a year. Last year, the company filled about 114,000 orders.

A.G. Russell Knives Inc. has about 45 full-time employees, with a few temporary workers necessary to manage the holiday rush.

Russell’s For Men, a catalog that distributes high-end men’s items, was launched in 1998, after Russell and his wife, company president Goldie Russell, realized they needed to diversify the company’s mail-order offerings.

Between the knife side of the business and Russell’s For Men, the company sends out more than 5 million catalogs and brochures each year.

Russell would not disclose annual revenue, but with the price of the K-93 model pocketknife – one of the company’s most popular models – starting at about $35, and other models running into the hundreds of dollars, it’s safe to say the company is a multi-million dollar operation.

“In some ways, I’m like Will Rogers,” A.G. Russell said. “I never met a knife I didn’t like.”

In other ways, however, he’s like a shade tree mechanic who is never at a loss for new ideas and ways to improve his beloved classic.

Although the industry is quite different than when A.G. Russell first got his start, the company is preparing to launch a new venture that is in many ways a return to the old methods of knife making.

A.G. Russell Shopmade knives will echo the “cottage” industries of centuries past in Germany, where one worker forged the blades, another sharpened them and a third polished them before they were sent for assembly, often in a small cottage.

“We’re perfectly situated to make our own knives,” he said of the new line.

Upscale Blades

One recent casualty of the shifting landscape of American manufacturing was knife maker Camillus Cutlery. The company was originally started when Adolph Castor, a German immigrant, bought a knife factory in central New York state in 1902.

Camillus thrived during the mid-20th century, but closed its doors in February after a months-long worker’s strike, which was in response to significant proposed cuts in wages and benefits. Though the union and management eventually reached an agreement, the company laid off the majority of its workers right before it went under.

Phil Gibbs, a native of Sheffield, England, worked for Camillus for 27 years. After the company went out of business, Gibbs came to work for A.G. Russell as a knife engineer.

“That’s something we’re essentially revitalizing,” Gibbs said of the new line.

The Shopmade knives are in the higher end of an already upscale market. The base price for a knife will be $200 to $350, but with premium options such as exotic handle materials and engravings, the price tags on some knives could exceed $1,000.

About four models will be introduced toward the end of the first quarter of next year, and as the brand evolves, more models will be introduced.

Though the knives in the new line will certainly be razor sharp and durable enough for most any task, they’re often regarded as pieces of art, more suitable for display over the fireplace than for gutting a deer by the campfire.

Gibbs was also brought onboard to help some of A.G. Russell’s concepts – which at times are scribbled onto a napkin or scrap of paper – become reality.

Sharp Standards

Since it opened in 2002, many people have assumed that A.G. Russell Knives were manufactured at the company’s highly visible 35,000-SF facility along Interstate 540 in Rogers, Goldie Russell said.

The store is located there, but that only represents about 5 percent of the company’s overall revenue.

“We are primarily a mail order company,” she said.

The knives are made all over the country – New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Idaho, Missouri – and the world, in Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Italy.

As much as possible though, the company tries to sell products and use manufacturers based in the United States.

When A.G. Russell comes up with a design for a knife, he contacts the manufacturer most likely to possess the equipment and know-how to make the knife.

If a prototype knife comes back from the prospective manufacturer and it’s not up to his exacting standards, the company might look elsewhere.

Sometimes, a knife will come back looking nice, but won’t be quite up to snuff as far as materials go.

“Pretty is easy,” A.G. Russell said. “But to have it be pretty and of the highest quality steel, that’s a little more difficult.”

This determination for high quality is apparent in the company’s own knives as well as those it distributes from other knife makers.

“A.G. always pushes the envelope,” Goldie said.

The most popular type of straight knife A.G. Russell sells is the drop-point hunter’s knife, while the K-93 model, which retails for $35-$50 depending on the type of steel used, is probably the biggest selling pocketknife. The K-93 isn’t sold to any other distributors.

Crossover Company

Russell’s For Men was started as a way to sell upscale men’s gear and to expand the company’s offerings. Although A.G. Russell’s customers are loyal “knife nuts,” there are a limited number of high-end knife customers, Goldie Russell said.

Since 1998, the venture has grown, and now accounts for about 40 percent of the company’s overall revenue.

There has been some of crossover as well, with customers starting out buying, say, a leather duffel bag or an engraved flask from Russell’s For Men and finding the company’s knives that way.

Many of the knife customers also love the products available through Russell’s For Men, which are made to be heirlooms, passed down through the generations.

One of the products that kicked off the idea for the men’s catalog is the Gerstner International tool chest.

“It’s still a family thing, that sort of focus on classic, high quality, high end products,” A.G. Russell said.

The company ships most of the Russell’s For Men goods out of the Rogers location, but uses drop shipping for some bigger items such as the tool cabinets and large pieces of art.

While the company mails an impressive amount of catalogs and brochures, what is equally remarkable is that, with the exception of the photography, all of the work on the catalogs is done in house.

A.G. Russell writes the descriptive catalog copy himself. This is very popular with the company’s customers because many feel like they’ve just had a conversation with him after perusing the newest edition, Goldie Russell said.