American Blade 150 Years 1827-1977

Case Knives

Our roots extend back to 1889, when four enterprising brothers—William Russell (W.R.), Jean, John, and Andrew Case (a.k.a. “The Case Brothers”)—began selling handcrafted knives from the back of a wagon in upstate New York. John Russell (Russ) Case, the son of W.R., formed W.R. Case & Sons, as it is known today. Russ’s father acted as his son’s consultant, helping to stabilize the company's early finances while building a reputation as the most respected name in American cutlery. Today Case is owned by Zippo Manufacturing Company, makers of the world-famous Zippo® windproof lighter, another family-owned business based in Bradford.

Crawford Knives

Pat Crawford and his son Wes are recognized as leading practitioners of the bladesmith's craft. Their company, Crawford Knives, is located in West Memphis, Arkansas. Pat, a pioneer in the combat folder genre, has been a member of the Knifemakers' Guild since 1973. He was among the first to integrate titanium into his folder, and to skeletonize his frames and handles to reduce weight and enhance the grip of the knife. He uses the stock removal method, specializing in high tech, self defense tactical folders, favoring different and unique knives. Handle materials include wood, ivory, stag horn, micarta, and other exotic materials when available. Pat says, "The reason I make knives is for the personal satisfaction I receive in being my own boss, and producing a thing of beauty that will stand the test of time." Pat designed the CRKT Point Guard, Crawford / Kasper Folders and Falcon series.

Lile, Jimmy

It’s not enough to say Jimmy Lile was a legend among knifemakers. He made his mark on the custom knife world long before the Rambo movies made him famous. But even more famous was the knife on which he and Sylvester Stallone had collaborated. The knife would become the star of the great movie, Rambo, First Blood. Jimmy and Sly went on to create a second star for the next movie in the series, Rambo, First Blood II, The Mission. These two knives have enjoyed over 3 decades of fame as either model is still coveted in the knife collecting community. Inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame in 1984 and the ABS Bladesmithing Hall of Fame in 1999. Jimmy passed away in 1991.

Russell, A.G.

"I was born in Eudora, Arkansas, in the extreme southeast corner. I have been designing knives almost since I could first hold a pencil. When I was nine, my grandfather helped me make my first knife. It was a knife that only a mother could love. But I only improved from there. I made knives for fun until the early 1960s when I started selling them as a business. I have founded the oldest mail order knife business (1964), the oldest knife collectors club (1969-1970), and the oldest after-market knife business (1968). I've had a wonderful fifty plus years in this business. Stage by stage we have outgrown our quarters, to the point that I feel like a chambered nautilus. I moved from my kitchen table to a small building on my farm (1966), and then moved again to a larger but still small building in Springdale (1971). I bought the property and doubled the office space (1974), then in 1995, built a fine new 8,000 sq. ft. building. Very quickly, that space was filled. In March of 2002, we moved into new facilities located on Interstate 49, just up the road from our long-time location in Springdale, Arkansas. In November of 1988, my wife Goldie joined the business. She began by using her art background to produce the best catalog we had ever mailed. We mailed ten times as many catalogs as we had ever mailed before. Every year since 1988, our catalogs have increased in quality, as well as the number mailed. It took Goldie about two years to learn everything that I had learned in a lifetime of designing and making knives, then learning how to market them. By mid-1990, Goldie had assumed more and more responsibility, to the point that she was actually running the company. She is now the president and chief executive officer of this company and runs it better than I ever have, which accounts for our growth. Goldie has now been in the knife business for decades, and is considered an authority on knives. In June 2014 she became the first woman accepted into the Cutlery Hall of Fame, which also made us the first couple to have this honor together. There are now almost 40 of us who work to produce all those catalogs to help you acquire that perfectly suited knife. I design knives, work with knifemakers and with the companies who make the great production knives which we sell. I write copy for the brochures and catalogs, while Goldie does the tough day-to-day grind of running an ever-growing business. Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with, and know as my friends, the great knifemakers of the 20th Century; men such as R. W. (Bob) Loveless, R. L. (Bob Dozier), D'Alton Holder, Jess Horn, Ron Lake, Buster Warenski and D. E. (Ed) Henry. Hundreds of very fine knifemakers have blessed me with their friendship, as have thousands of knife collectors. I have been involved with guns and knives most of my life and my life has been much fuller because of that." Founder - A. G. Russell Knives, Inc. (1964), Co-Founder and Honorary President - Knifemakers Guild (1970), President - The Knife Collectors Club (1970), First Honoree - Knife Digest Cutlery Hall of Fame (1974), Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame (1988), Regent - The American Knife and Tool Institute. A.G. Russell passed away in 2018.

Schrade Cutlery