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What is with A.G. Russel?
- Thread starter akadave2
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2001
- Messages
- 2,033
Well, I guess that Parker and Mad Dog managed to kill this thread dead as dead can be. Too bad, I learned a lot and if you pay close attention to our web site over the next few weeks you will see some of the results.
I understand that you have to be in my shoes to see mcclung as I do. The doctor has been a buyer of knives for years, I don't think he has ever sold a knife before. I priced the knife after the disgusting talk with mcclung in response to his weird behavior, then Goldie would not let me post my opinion of the maker so it really lost the point. The knife being mis-marked in his shop should make it worth as much as any knife he ever made.
I understand that you have to be in my shoes to see mcclung as I do. The doctor has been a buyer of knives for years, I don't think he has ever sold a knife before. I priced the knife after the disgusting talk with mcclung in response to his weird behavior, then Goldie would not let me post my opinion of the maker so it really lost the point. The knife being mis-marked in his shop should make it worth as much as any knife he ever made.
actually, i have a comment regarding the web-style of the "knives immediately" display method, speaking in my hat as web-master
when you change pages, it appears to refresh inside the div, but leaves the display scrolled (or not)... it would be GREAT if the page refreshed entire... just a thought
otherwise, keep loading it with tasty knives, especially old beckers, and i'll be buy from time to time to buy from time to time
as for the other learning, well, i learned to keep my receipts for things i might consider valuable, shipping, etc to prove authenticity. even with those, all it takes it ONE person to challenge that, then poof. nothing.
Bladite
Bladite,
Thanks for saying that b/c I think that that is one take-home message. Maybe paper wouldn't have saved the day here but it can come in handy for many reasons incl. computing capital gains, estate taxes, proof of ownership. If the good doctor suffers an audit the good old boys and girls from the IRS can look at his corporation, his office and his home. If they don't find anything after say three weeks, they may even look at those knives or proceeds from the sale of knives. They can be very detailed in their review of every bloody cent and you will feel invaded like a colonoscopy or worse.
If filing isn't your thing, just throw it in a box.
Edit: To document a phone conversation send an email recapping the discussion. This is your paper trail and if the other party has a different interpretation of the phone call you can settle the matter before it is too late.
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Or More $$$$$$ !.
I got to thinking about this early on too!.
I truly believe after reading this entire thread from where Parker started into it, and based on your good reputation and the Doctor's good reputation, because of your character recommendation of him, that this knife is exactly what you purport it to be. End of story for now.. But perhaps not for much longer.
I feel bad for you and the Doc at this juncture, and I wonder if at some point soon the sale of this knife could be salvaged?!
My suggestion is to have the Doc not use this knife as a common camp knife and to hold onto it for a bit longer. I have seen situations like this work themselves out because additional folks came forward later to bring new evidence and details to shed new light on the truth.
Best,
Anthony
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2007
- Messages
- 3
After reading ALL 465 posts, I felt inspired to make my first post & my first order with A.G.Russell.
If more people and companies conducted themselves as Mr. Russell
does , there would not be a need for "The Bad & Ugly " part of this section
If more people and companies conducted themselves as Mr. Russell
does , there would not be a need for "The Bad & Ugly " part of this section
I just read all 24 pages of this thread...I've done business with AG and know Parker as well.
If I recall, the topic of this thread has to do with knife prices. When I shop for something I like to get the best deal going; price, while a major consideration, isn't always the deciding factor when I buy something.
I spent 30 years on active duty in the Coast Guard (first 4 Navy then 26 Coast Guard) retiring as a CWO4 in 2001. The Coast Guard has a Base Exchange system; like the other services. Prices for tobacco and alcoholic beverages are competitive with the rest of the world but other then some USCG specific items you can buy cheaper elsewhere. So why is this and why would I shop there? Well first of all the profits generated are returned to the service in the form of Morale Funding for units - sporting goods, entertainment equipment like DVD players, etc. so I would benefit from spending my money there - more money but I was supporting myself and others by my purchases.
So why is the cost higher? Volume purchasing pure and simple. A USCG Exchange may buy a dozen dozen golf balls embossed with a Coast Guard Logo. Sold in packs of 3 that's 48 packs. A Navy or Army Exchange, much bigger then a USCG Exchange, part of an entire system of exchanges will buy one or two trailer loads of golf balls and distribute them over the system. Walmart - heck they buy 3 freight train loads. You get a better price if you buy a million golf balls then 144...
I buy from AG Russell once in a while; because I am supporting the knife industry - and not some giant anti-labor corporation...
Now what about the knife in question? Is it really that important to prove or disprove its heritage on a public discussion forum? Without besmirching anyone's reputation or delving into the reasons why, I believe AG and his 30 year customer.
If I recall, the topic of this thread has to do with knife prices. When I shop for something I like to get the best deal going; price, while a major consideration, isn't always the deciding factor when I buy something.
I spent 30 years on active duty in the Coast Guard (first 4 Navy then 26 Coast Guard) retiring as a CWO4 in 2001. The Coast Guard has a Base Exchange system; like the other services. Prices for tobacco and alcoholic beverages are competitive with the rest of the world but other then some USCG specific items you can buy cheaper elsewhere. So why is this and why would I shop there? Well first of all the profits generated are returned to the service in the form of Morale Funding for units - sporting goods, entertainment equipment like DVD players, etc. so I would benefit from spending my money there - more money but I was supporting myself and others by my purchases.
So why is the cost higher? Volume purchasing pure and simple. A USCG Exchange may buy a dozen dozen golf balls embossed with a Coast Guard Logo. Sold in packs of 3 that's 48 packs. A Navy or Army Exchange, much bigger then a USCG Exchange, part of an entire system of exchanges will buy one or two trailer loads of golf balls and distribute them over the system. Walmart - heck they buy 3 freight train loads. You get a better price if you buy a million golf balls then 144...
I buy from AG Russell once in a while; because I am supporting the knife industry - and not some giant anti-labor corporation...
Now what about the knife in question? Is it really that important to prove or disprove its heritage on a public discussion forum? Without besmirching anyone's reputation or delving into the reasons why, I believe AG and his 30 year customer.
why dont you buy the thing then??
with the history it has, and the doubt in folks minds about if it is legit, i dont see where it would be worth anything to anyoone who collects MD knives which is who would choke up $$ like that for a knife.
FWIW i wouldnt want the thing.
YMMV though.
and again i have no beef with AG other than they used to send me a catalog and dont anymore lol, and have no dog in this hunt either, but from looking at the thing i dont see how it can be ATAK #1 when its not an ATAK to begin with, imho the best thing to do with it would be to use it as a camp knife or whatever like the guy said he's gonna do.
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2001
- Messages
- 2,033
SIFU1A
Sorry about the lack of catalogs. In the early years we mailed catalogs to everyone who had ever bought, after a bit more than 10 years in the business I learned something about the mail order business, after a great deal of research and years of experience our computer now does a complex sort of our 1,000,000 plus names and the staff decides who to mail the catalogs to. If you have not bought in the past three years then you must have bought three times or more and/or have spent x amount of dollars, etc
Basicly, if you can resist everything in our catalog for three years, that is 33 catalogs, we give up on you.
Please buy something, anything, so we can send you another 33 catalogs.
A. G.
Sorry about the lack of catalogs. In the early years we mailed catalogs to everyone who had ever bought, after a bit more than 10 years in the business I learned something about the mail order business, after a great deal of research and years of experience our computer now does a complex sort of our 1,000,000 plus names and the staff decides who to mail the catalogs to. If you have not bought in the past three years then you must have bought three times or more and/or have spent x amount of dollars, etc
Basicly, if you can resist everything in our catalog for three years, that is 33 catalogs, we give up on you.
Please buy something, anything, so we can send you another 33 catalogs.
A. G.
i understand how it is AG & have bought from ya in the past and certainly might again in the future, i do miss the cat's though and enjoyed them, just dont buy/need a lot of cutlery anymore it has to be something really special to "grab" me these days, but it does still happen,
best wishes to ya and happy holidays,
best wishes to ya and happy holidays,
Now that's funny.
I make my brother save his AG catalogs for enjoyable reading matter when I go to the states. Otherwise he only has the most recent one on hand. By the way, he's in no danger of having his catalogs discontinued.
The website is nice, and I order stuff based on that--but--it just ain't the same as flipping through those catalogs, sipping coffee or whisky.
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2008
- Messages
- 2
I have purchased several knives from A.G. Russell including two Randall Made. The Randall knives that A.G. has for sale are priced higher than what you may purchase them from Randall, but you don't have to wait 5+ years a couple months tops if he is out. One of the nicest Randall's I have is an A.G. Russell dealer special and it was well worth what I paid for it. The best thing about A.G. is he has knives for every price range from William Henry to a Ka-bar folder. Any knife you buy from him is guaranteed, if you don't like it send it back. Unlike some of the e-bay stores you don't have to check to see what A.G.'s feedback is, he wouldn't have been able to stay in business as long as he has. One of the latest Blade magazines show A.G receiving an award for his contribution to the knife industry calling him "Mr. Knife". Enough said!!
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2005
- Messages
- 293
A.G. Russell is as good as it gets in the knife world. He has probably forgotten more about knives than Kevin Mcclung, Mick Strider, and Duane Dwyer combined ever knew about knives in the first place.
It is funny that some poster was trying to put A.G. Russell in the same boat as Mick Strider and Duane Dwyer on a thread that has turned out to be more about Mad Dog Knives and Kevin Mcclung than about A.G. Russell. What that poster failed to understand is that without Kevin Mcclung we would have most likely never heard of either Mick or Duane, In fact it was their buddy buddy relationship that went south causing the epic bitch fight that aired both parties dirty laundry, much of it right here on Blade Forums.
Observations, It seems clear to me that any investment spent on a knife with Mad Dog Knives or Kevin Mcclung has no future guarantee. At one time I was accused of being on Mcclungs payroll for taking a interest in the Strider Military Mythology but the truth is I have never met the man, do not have any personal relationship with him, never owned any of his knives, and from all the information I have gathered on the subject, mostly from his own words, I don't care for him or his attitude. In fact his attitude completely sucks 100%. It seems that if anyone had a interest to get to the bottom of the ATAK #1 story it would be him but it appears from all the information presented he is more interested in dodging the issue. What this leaves me wondering is how many other knives are out there that have come from his shop that he will deny making causing them to have no value when the original purchaser paid a premium price for a premium product? They say much can be made of a man by the company he keeps, before the big fallout it was Kevin, Mick, and Duane who were all in bed together with all their combat boots and MRE crackers, of course where those boots have been is still "Classified" but we all know the rest of the story about the crackers, it ended badly.
Much has been made of the A.G. Russell pricing. I have never known the catalog to have high prices but I see that on some items they could be found cheeper through super discount sellers and ebay. Cheeper in no way means a better value, it just means cheeper. In fact with all that's gone on here, it seems to me that any knife purchased from Russell is of a very good value considering the record keeping that goes on at Russell and the fact that if you by a knife from them they will actually at a future date be able to confirm that they made and or sold the knife. Another observation that was obvious is that any person searching for a great value in a knife for a lower than market pricing could find it by purchasing a blemished knife for a well discounted price and there were also sale prices and close outs from time to time. There were too, brand new collectible knives available as inexpensively as 30 Bucks so I don't see the original posters point at all, if anything, A.G. Russell, The same A.G. Russell I have known of since the 70s, is still competitive, putting out great products, and still backing them up after all these years.
It is funny that some poster was trying to put A.G. Russell in the same boat as Mick Strider and Duane Dwyer on a thread that has turned out to be more about Mad Dog Knives and Kevin Mcclung than about A.G. Russell. What that poster failed to understand is that without Kevin Mcclung we would have most likely never heard of either Mick or Duane, In fact it was their buddy buddy relationship that went south causing the epic bitch fight that aired both parties dirty laundry, much of it right here on Blade Forums.
Observations, It seems clear to me that any investment spent on a knife with Mad Dog Knives or Kevin Mcclung has no future guarantee. At one time I was accused of being on Mcclungs payroll for taking a interest in the Strider Military Mythology but the truth is I have never met the man, do not have any personal relationship with him, never owned any of his knives, and from all the information I have gathered on the subject, mostly from his own words, I don't care for him or his attitude. In fact his attitude completely sucks 100%. It seems that if anyone had a interest to get to the bottom of the ATAK #1 story it would be him but it appears from all the information presented he is more interested in dodging the issue. What this leaves me wondering is how many other knives are out there that have come from his shop that he will deny making causing them to have no value when the original purchaser paid a premium price for a premium product? They say much can be made of a man by the company he keeps, before the big fallout it was Kevin, Mick, and Duane who were all in bed together with all their combat boots and MRE crackers, of course where those boots have been is still "Classified" but we all know the rest of the story about the crackers, it ended badly.
Much has been made of the A.G. Russell pricing. I have never known the catalog to have high prices but I see that on some items they could be found cheeper through super discount sellers and ebay. Cheeper in no way means a better value, it just means cheeper. In fact with all that's gone on here, it seems to me that any knife purchased from Russell is of a very good value considering the record keeping that goes on at Russell and the fact that if you by a knife from them they will actually at a future date be able to confirm that they made and or sold the knife. Another observation that was obvious is that any person searching for a great value in a knife for a lower than market pricing could find it by purchasing a blemished knife for a well discounted price and there were also sale prices and close outs from time to time. There were too, brand new collectible knives available as inexpensively as 30 Bucks so I don't see the original posters point at all, if anything, A.G. Russell, The same A.G. Russell I have known of since the 70s, is still competitive, putting out great products, and still backing them up after all these years.
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- Joined
- Mar 16, 2005
- Messages
- 3,652
+1!:thumbup:
It wasn't just anybody, it was Parker. In my opinion, Parker is to Mad Dog as DngrRuss1 is to Cold Steel.
Regards,
3G
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2005
- Messages
- 293
Does anyone have any idea how many knives A.G. Russell has sold? I know he has been making/selling knives since before I was born and I have half a head of gray hair and the other half is bald.
A.G. Do you know how many knives you sold? Any way it goes if this is the only complaints, those listed here in this thread, that is one hell of a positive testimony and a fantastic track record. I haven't bought a knife from you in some time so I'm glad this thread has come up. When I was boy I just loved Trappers and I think I will start collecting them again, I guess that's my new years resolution for 2009, happy holidays everybody.
wolfmann601
Gone, but not forgotton. RIP Ira.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2001
- Messages
- 7,385
And, if you made contact with AG and voiced your displeasure he would have taken the knife back instantly and either refunded the knife or sent a replacement and picked up postage,,,,,,
No one has said AG is perfect; what is being said is that AG strives for a perfect transaction!!!
- Joined
- May 9, 2000
- Messages
- 29,205
So what did you do about it? Did you contact the company so that they could correct the mistake?