“Air Zlatoust Knives: Russian Perfection!”
If you know knives, and you’re a fan of Russian engineering and overbuilt beefed up technology in the form of a knife, then the Russian line of knives known as "Air Zlatoust" is for you. The city of Zlatoust, in the South Urals, is proudly situated on the border between Asia and Europe. The streets of the city are vast and there are many of them. Well known to the locals, the “Zlatoust School of Artistic Metal Treatment" was founded and brought to life by Ivan N. Bushuev, and its located in the city of Zlatoust. Air Zlatoust is a company based out of this same area and they are well known for their high quality knives and attention to detail. Many of their knives involve various handmade processes which in turn gives each knife a unique touch. AIR Zlatoust masters use a steel called "100x13M" which, from what we can tell, is a corrosion-resistant steel that has no comparable steels in US . They also use the well-known AUS-8 steel, and another steel called 95x18 which is well suited to cutlery applications. A lot of the guards and pommels on their knives are made of high quality Stainless Steel to protect them. Many of their blades are almost 1/4" thick, making them thicker and stronger than comparable knives. AIR Zlatoust also uses stacked leather washers, rubber/polymer, or various types of wood such as Walnut for the knife handles, and genuine leather for their sheaths.
Review by Dane Draven
Not knowing much about these knives, I was curious about them and what they were all about, quality of construction, materials, etc. I looked thru the various knives on the Legion site and I ordered the AIR ZLATOUST KNIFE "GUARD", the AIR ZLATOUST KNIFE "LYNX", and finally the AIR ZLATOUST KNIFE "KORSAR". The acquisition of these 3 knives gave me a wide variety of the variations available from AIR ZLATOUST KNIVES. I was quite impressed with their blade profiles, the feel of the handles in my hand, how the leather sheaths were made, the great balance, and the sharpness of each and every one of them. It’s clear to me that the AIR Zlatoust team knows knives, and knows how to take standard materials, and turn them into works of art in steel. You may find that you prefer a different knife, or you may need another type for another application. But whatever you need, AIR ZLATOUST KNIVES probably has one for you.
If you're interested in acquiring one of these fine knives you can either go to their website and try to navigate the Russian language it’s written in, which isn’t as easy as it may seem, or you can take the much more simple and faster option of going to Legion USA and buy your AIR Zlatoust knives from them.
"Thanks for reading. Watch your six, Keep ‘em sharp, and keep your sights on target."
