The John Russell Co. Green River Works......

[stockman]

I think I have the same knife. Not as clean as yours.

Harold

Cracking knife - Not a name I've seen over here but certainly one I'll be looking out for from now on

Good luck, hope you find a nice old Russell.

[just bob]

I bought this small Russell stag several years ago and have been looking for a blade since then. When I first got it I thought the blade from a Barlow would work but they are way too big. This is about the size of a Case 63 pattern. These early stags don't come up often and I thought others would enjoy.

[JohnR]

Added this Russell Barlow to the collection, still has full blade with factory grind marks present.

[Doc B]

That's a sweet one, John!!!

[danno50]

Nice one, John! Don't often see blades so close to full on an old Russell.

[Corso]

That's a lovely example

[JohnR]

Corso, Dan, Doc, thanks for the comments.

Picked up a Russell thistle top hunter, made roughly 1900 to 1930, nice diamond checkered ebony handle and a fitted sheath.

[FRJ]

John, your Barlow is beautiful but that thistle top is extraordinary.
The checkering still looks sharp. Two fine knives. Congratulations ...... again.

And great photos, by the way.

[JohnR]

John, your Barlow is beautiful but that thistle top is extraordinary.
The checkering still looks sharp. Two fine knives. Congratulations ...... again.

And great photos, by the way.

Joe, thank you for the kind comments. The thistle top is in pretty good shape for it's age but it does have a pin crack and chip on other side. The diamond checkering is still sharp.

[TripleF]

Picked this up a couple weeks ago....

[edge213]

Picked this up a couple weeks ago....

Does this knife have a specific purpose?
If so, what is it?

[TripleF]

Picked this up a couple weeks ago....

Does this knife have a specific purpose?
If so, what is it?

Cotton sampler???

[danno50]

Great thistletop, John, and with a sheath in what looks like pretty good condition!
Scott, that slightly resembles some varieties of a military bolo knife! I though there were some Russell catalog pages in the catalog pages sticky, but there aren't. Maybe an agricultural knife of some kind?

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Added this Russell Barlow to the collection, still has full blade with factory grind marks present.

Great knife John.

[JohnR]

Added this Russell Barlow to the collection, still has full blade with factory grind marks present.

Great knife John.

Thanks Paul, plenty of Russell Barlows out there but so hard to find in this condition, I think the best are buried in collections.

[Papa Bones]

Not a knife, but thought this was an interesting about J.Russell and Green River Works. http://www.mman.us/jrussellco.htm

[JohnR]

J. Russell&Co Navy Knife showed up and it's a pretty nice example of a hard to find knife. Tight with no play and bear trap snap, if you get your finger in the way closing you will lose it. Tang stamp is J. Russell&Co Green River Works, from what I can find that tang stamp puts it pre 1895.

[LongBlade]

Sweet John ... only 2nd Russell rope knife with stag (same stamp) I’ve seen other than mine .. Here’s mine as I don’t think I posted it here ..

Hey John - Think this one is a good candidate for uncovering the etch?? I can see it still exists if you look closely... problem is I don’t trust myself to try it ..

[JohnR]

Sweet John ... only 2nd Russell rope knife with stag (same stamp) I’ve seen other than mine .. Here’s mine as I don’t think I posted it here ..

Hey John - Think this one is a good candidate for uncovering the etch?? I can see it still exists if you look closely... problem is I don’t trust myself to try it ..



187194CA-0ADE-4C69-88F1-F89F44A5F8B7.jpeg

Thanks Lee, nice Russell, they sure used some great stag on these. I bet you could bring some of that etch right back, if you want to be careful start with 2500 grit, pretty much will just get rid of gunk and rust, it will load the paper up, then I clean the blade with Balistol which is mainly mineral oil. Just do a little at a time if you are worried and start on pile side just so you can see how it works before tackling the etch.

[JohnR]

Picked up this interesting old Russell barlow, typical well worn, tip needs to be reprofiled, saw cut covers are in nice used condition, good snap and no play. What is interesting is it's a straight line tang stamp that has been overstamped with the later arched tang stamp. Some say that tang stamp was applied when knife was sent in for Russell's refurbish program, however that would usually be a blade replacement which should only have the arched stamp.
I've handled a fair amount of Russell barlows and this is the first I've seen with double stamp. Wonder if this one only received new covers.

[Reverand]

At least you know it a legit Russel - I can't see a counterfeiter double-stamping a blade like that.
It does look really nice. I have no information to offer, but your explanation about a factory repair sounds good to me. Any repairs done on that knife were done long ago, so that still counts as a factory original knife in my book!

[Ridgegrass]

Smitty: Nice article.
Aside from their famous Barlows, Russel made some fine table cutlery. Here's a Green River stag carving set and 2 of a set of 12 carved pearl dinner knives. Actually 11. One was dropped by a customer at a show and shattered. Oh well! J.O'.

[Madmarco]

This is my one-and-only Russell Green River knife, a full 9" oal Barlow with spear-point blade cross-cut burnt bone covers and E/O notch! This knife displays super-strong and loud walk n' talk!

[Jacknifeben]

15 inch J.RUSSELL & CO. 1834 GREEN RIVER WORKS knife. Nice stag handle.

[Ridgegrass]

JKB: That's a beauty. Nice stamp too. J.O'.