AG Russell Gent's Knife Review
Note: This review, as with all content I write on this site, is my opinion. It does not reflect the opinion of others, including the American Knife and Tool Institute (AKTI), the cutlery trade group that I advise on legal matters.
In the Renaissance there was an intellectual tradition of writing apologetics. One of the most famous of these writings, the Pensees, by Blaise Pascal lays out Pascal’s Wager (which, notably, does not prove the existence of God, but instead reasons for holding such a belief). Apologetics were writings in defense of religious beliefs. The idea was that people writing in this style would avail themselves of logic and reason to defend theological positions, such as, in the case of Pascal’s Wager, a belief in the existence of God. The Attic Greek work apologia is the root of the word apologetics, and it means, in a literal translation, speaking in defense of. The religious connotations came in later.
Think of this review as an apologetic for true pocket knives. My goal here, using logic, reasoning, and evidence, is to convince you that these small cutters still have a place in modern life, even in a market crowded with folders that are faster to deploy and have the convenience of a pocket clip. By “pocket knife” I mean any folder that is small in size, around a 2” blade, that does not have a pocket clip. These knives are knives that truly live in your pocket. For years, these knives were the go to blade choices for folks wanting to have the convenience of a knife without the burden of shlepping around a fixed blade. My Grandfather’s Case Mini Trapper, the oldest, knife in my collection, is a perfect example of a true pocket knife—ultra compact carried loose in a pocket.
The knife reviewed here is the AG Russell Gent’s Knife, another true pocket knife. But unlike the Mini Trapper it has quite a few modern touches. First, it has a lock. Many true pocket knives don’t bother, but having one, in my mind, is just a nice luxury. Second, it has powder steel. The technological leap from the 1930s Mini Trapper steel to Elmax is almost like the difference between a horse and a Tesla. My particular Gent’s Knife, which I purchased with my own money, has burgundy rucarta handles.
ASIDE
If you have even a passing familiarity with AG Russell Knives, you might be asking what is Rucarta? How is it different from micarta? Well here is the story from the man himself:
When Westinghouse owned the trademark Micarta, I wanted a color they would not make so I went to Norplex and had it made and called it Rucarta (Russell's Carta) and now wherever it is made for me I name it Rucarta.
It is functionally identical to micarta, just made for AG Russell Knives.
END ASIDE
After more than a year of carry and use I can assure you that true pocket knives have a place in modern knife collections AND that the AG Russell Gent’s Knife is one of, if not the, best iteration of this particular kind of knife available today.
That said, before we get to the review, I want to make a bias clear. I love AG Russell Knives. Goldie is a pioneer in the knife business and one of the smartest minds about knife design in the world. Before he passed away I spoke to AG a few times and he was a wise and lovely human. His company has some of the very best customer service on the planet. Here is a snippet from an abandoned article I was writing about customer service and gear:
I placed the first order on a Friday. Then I placed another on Saturday. When neither resulted in an order confirmation email I emailed customer service. Around 10 AM Eastern on the following Monday I got a call from Susan (note that Arkansas is in the Central Time zone, so a call at my 10 AM meant she called me at her 9 AM, likely the first thing she did that day). She greeted me with a pleasant and cheerful hello and the kind of Southern accent that tells you this is a nice person that values manners and human contact. Within 90 seconds, Susan had it figured out and the order was on its way, with an email confirmation about 30 minutes later that it had shipped.
If this were my first experience with AG Russell, I might think it was a fluke, but I have been ordering knives from them for years and this is NOT a fluke. In fact, I think I might have dealt with Susan before. When my second son was born I bought matching knives for all four of us—me, my Dad, my oldest, and my youngest so I wanted to make sure they were in stock—I called and was, again, taken care of in the best way, and I think it might have been her. My youngest turned 11 this year.
This is customer service perfection—it took care of the problem, which was likely on my end, it did so quickly and courteously, and reinforced my good opinion of the brand. If you are a regular Joe or a Wharton MBA, you would be able to tell immediately that the way AG Russell handles customer service only builds the brand. They make it a core part of what they do and that makes me want to shop there more.
Add to that their truly unsurpassable warranty, and you have the makings of the best customer service in the world, no exaggeration. Here is their warranty—your satisfaction is guaranteed forever. You can’t beat that. And while most of the time that saying means something is really good, in this case, it is literally true. What more could you ask for? If you don’t like something for any reason, no matter how long ago you bought it from AG Russell you can return it. If you can think of any company in any industry that does customer service better than this, let me know. I don’t think it is possible.
So, yeah, I like AG Russell Knives. And if you haven’t had the pleasure of buying something from them, you really should try them out. It’s like your favorite aunt, who lives in the American South, started a knife business and you are ordering from her. Absolute delight.
Here is the product page. The knife costs $125. There are no reviews of any kind on the Gent’s Knife. There have been previous iterations of this design made by different OEMs with different steels but an identical design. I do not know who the OEM is, but the knife says “Made in Italy.” There are two versions of this knife: one with rucarta covers and another with white smooth bone covers. You can order a slip that fits the knife perfectly for $6.
TLDR: A great slicer that could live quietly in the pockets of men (or women) of distinction everywhere.
Design: 2
This is as basic and as classic a folding knife design can get. Other than the double bolsters there is not a single form of excess or ornamentation. That simplicity works well for the design, letting the materials—the nickel silver, rucarta, and Elmax really shine. The entire package is pretty slim and though it is small the entire thing is quite dense. This is a knife that won’t get lost in a pocket unless you are wearing pants made from the bulkiest material. Shorn of decoration, the Gent’s Knife is the Platonic Ideal of a pocket knife.
Fit and Finish: 2
All of the surfaces are smooth with transitions fingernail flush. The blade opens with a silky, push-pull feel. The centering is perfect. The edge grind is clean and even. The nail nick is well-machined.
Grip: 0
Obviously, this is a not a knife you skin a deer with in the rain. There is simply no way around the fact that this knife has essentially no grip enhancements or design features that help with grip. When you add to that the fact that it is quite small, this can be a wet bar of soap in the hand.
Carry: 2
Given its size and shape, you’d be hard pressed to find a knife that carries better than this little gem. It can ride in a coin pocket or breast pocket with ease. Even loose in a pocket, the Gent’s Knife is pretty darn good. This is a set it and forget it carry if I have ever seen one.
Steel: 2
In this class of knives, Elmax is a revelation. Compared to 440C or 420HC, Elmax is lightyears better. Its higher hardness means less sharpening and a thinner blade allowing for better slicing. Given the already thin design, the steel allows the knife to be even better at cutting. I’d put this knife in the Spydiechef tier of cutters—truly elite. And that is in part because of the steel.
Blade Shape: 2
This is a classic penknife/drop point blade. In that regard it does a lot of stuff really, really well. Though most people don’t get physical papers anymore, if you were the kind that would clip articles for others, this is an ideal knife in that role. It also is a great package zipper for Amazon boxes and the like.
Grind: 2
Thin stock, made thinner by the steel, then ground with a full flat grind to an absolutely blistering cutting edge—that is a beautiful recipe for success. Again, this is an elite cutter.
Deployment: 2
For a knife like this, when you purposely choose to slow down and do things the right way, there is not much reason for a flipper or a hole or a stud. The nail nick here is very nice and the pull is smooth, smooth, smooth. If you are a bit older, but still want a great pocket knife without a nail splitting pull, this is your blade.
Retention Method: 1
This is really tough. Technically speaking I originally conceived of this category as how good the pocket clip or other device allowed you to easily retrieve the knife. The Gent’s Knife has no such design. Instead, it just lives in your pocket. But when you can very easily store a knife in the coin pocket of your jeans or the breast pocket of a dress shirt or sports coat, the lack of a clip isn’t a big deal. I like the slip and but for it tarnishing the bolsters a bit, it is perfect. Add 1 point if you buy the slip.
Lock/Blade Safety: 2
This is a lock back and it works well. It is easy to engage and disengage. It is also bank vault solid, which is surprising given how light and thin the knife is. It is a tribute to how well made and how expertly designed the knife is.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: High
With a finish that gives the knife the texture of a worn beach stone, the Gent’s Knife is wonderful in the hand.
Fett Effect: High
Watching the swirl of scratches appear on the bolster and the rucarta become even more smooth is pretty delightful and critically, the Elmax steel will never look worse for wear.
Value: Moderate
$125 is not cheap by any means, but the overall design and materials is just a very nice combination making the Gent’s Knife a finely crafted item that sits next to a nice fountain pen or a expertly made watch quite well. That fit and feel for just $125 is a good deal.
Overall Score: 17 out of 20
The scoring system has a weakness and the Gent’s Knife exposes it—because it looks only at the knife as a sum of parts, missing a part or two really impacts the score. This is a superb knife. The 17 out of 20 is a true disservice. I’d be tempted to give it a perfect, but that would break the scoring system. It’s just really, really great and a beautiful and perfect exemplar of the true pocket knife design.
Competition
There isn’t a lot of competition. This is because the steel is a real difference maker. There are obviously a lot of pocket knives from Case. Specifically the Case Lockback is a very similar design, all the way down to the double bolsters, but the steel and fit and finish are very much a step down from the Gent. In fact, very few of these knives have steel as good as Elmax. The Case Crossroads Barlow is closer, but it has taken a distinctly modern approach to the knife’s appearance. It’s anti-double silver bolsters.
Then there are a bunch of small knives with excellent steel (here I am thinking of stuff like the Urban EDC Supply Baby Barlow 2.0), but they all have clips making them not true pocket knives. Similarly Jack Wolf Knives makes two dozen knives without clips and good steel but the vast majority of them are monstrously large. In the end, I can only think of a few knives that are real competitors.
If we are talking true pocket knives, no discussion would be complete without a comp to the Northwoods Knives Indian River Jack. This still one of my very favorite knives of all time and although its steel is “only” 1095 I can say it is wonderfully slicey in the 2020 version of the knife. It’s hard for me to pick between these two, though in terms of emotional pull, nothing can top of the IRJ. I have loved this design for so long that in my mind it is the perfect true pocket knife. But in terms of everyday use and performance, I have to say that the Gent’s Knife is better. It’s thinner, lighter, easier to carry (drop it in a dress shirt’s breast pocket and its virtues over the IRJ are instantly obvious), and the steel is better. Sentiment tells me to pick the IRJ. Use tells me to pick the Gent’s Knife. That’s a high compliment.
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