With centuries of steel working and making fine armaments, the craftsmanship of Russian knife-making has evolved from the practical to the state of the art. Unique one-of-a-kind Russian collectible art knives that rival any made anywhere in the world are winning competitions in Europe; while practical Russian camp, hunting, and fishing knives are becoming available for sale at a price and quality unrivaled by most imported knives.
The owners of Russian American Company first met a group of Russian knife makers in 1990, when they were showing their wares at an outdoor market near Moscow. The shortages of everything during the last days of the USSR had these bladesmiths scouring old wrecked Russian military vehicles to scrounge the tempered steel leaf-springs for raw materials to forge their own Damascus steel billets for blades. Impressed by the quality of the work, we began importing these practical outdoor knives to Alaska for our store, and soon we were introduced to a culture of fine knife artists there that were flourishing in the underground "black market" of the old USSR.
Today, Russian knives and Russian knife-makers have become well known in Europe as some of the absolute best in the world. Currently, they call on generations of old world craftsmanship along with modern materials and techniques to create masterpieces of the art form. Using traditional woods like Karelian birch, fossil mammoth ivory, and proprietary steels developed and perfected for swords and shields from the old armories, these custom knife makers stand out for their creative designs, unique materials, and most important their high-quality for the price!
