Nobody would question the straight-up fact that A.G. Russell, Bill Moran, and Bob Loveless contributed mightily to making the knife industry in the United States, and indeed worldwide, what it is today.
Their contributions to the growth and prosperity of knife manufacturers and their partners in the custom knifemaking world are well known to many, but during BLADE®’s 50th year a moment to recognize their achievements and their contributions is appropriate. Of course, there are others whose involvement and support have had a positive impact through the decades, but Russell, Moran and Loveless—all long-time members of the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame®—are the core triumvirate that ushered the modern knife industry into its golden age.
“Moran gets credit at the top of the list because of the founding of the ABS [American Bladesmith Society],” related Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Bruce Voyles, past publisher of BLADE and, along with Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Jim Parker, cofounder of the BLADE Show. “That was followed by the development of the hammer-ins and the [Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing].” As he noted, the ABS was a team effort that included Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer B.R. Hughes, who was an educator.
“Bill was a renaissance man if
