The Morseth brand of knives was founded by Harry Morseth, a native of Norway who immigrated to the United States at age 17. After his death his grandson, Steve Morseth continued making knives under the Morseth name. AG Russell bought the rights to the name and the equipment in 1971.
Harry Morseth
Harry Morseth (1889-1967) began making knives in 1936 in Everett, Washington. Morseth primarily used A2 steel and for the most part made
hunting knives
A hunting knife is a knife used during hunting for preparing the game to be used as food: skinning the animal and cutting up the meat. It is different from the hunting dagger which was traditionally used to kill wild game.
Some hunting knives a ...
. After a trip to Norway in 1938, Morseth stopped using
A2 planer blades, and began importing
Brusletto laminated blades. He ground the bevel of these blades to provide the desired edge and attached his own custom-made handles. In 1953 he patented the "Safe-lok" sheath system and in 1956 moved the factory to
Clinton, Washington
Clinton is a community and census-designated place, census-designated place (CDP) located on southern Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The town was named after Clinton, L ...
.
Steve Morseth
After his death in 1967, Morseth's work was carried on by his grandson, Steve Morseth, who had been making knives since 1961 at the factory. The younger Morseth continued the business until December 1971, when he sold the equipment, supplies, and brand name "Morseth" to
A. G. Russell of
Springdale, Arkansas
Springdale is the fourth-largest city in Arkansas, United States. It is located in both Washington and Benton counties in Northwest Arkansas. Located on the Springfield Plateau deep in the Ozark Mountains, Springdale has long been an important i ...
; Russell sold the majority of these as kits, for collectors and beginning knifemakers to assemble themselves.
Steve Morseth relocated to
Redmond, Washington and made knives marked "S. Morseth" until his death in 1995.
Notes
References
*Beall, James R. and Gordon Morseth Sr. ''The Keen Edge of Perfection: A History of the Morseth Knife''. 2007. .
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