The Morseth brand of knives was founded by Harry Morseth, a native of Norway who emigrated to the United States at age 17. After his death his grandson, Steve Morseth continued making knives under the Morseth name. AG Russel 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

Hunting knife

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....

. After a trip to Norway in 1938, Morseth stopped using A2 planer blades, and began importing Brusletto

Brusletto

Brusletto is a Norwegian knife manufacturer founded by Rognald Brusletto in 1896. The company's factory and store are located in the resort town of Geilo, where the founder was born in 1861....

 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, Washington

Clinton is a community and census-designated place located on southern Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, United States. The town was named after Clinton, Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the village was 928. However, the post office serves at least 2,500 people.Clinton is the western...

.

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, Arkansas

As of the census of 2010, there were 69,797 people, 22,805 households, and 16,640 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 64.7% White, 0.82% Black or African American, 1.8% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 5.7% Pacific Islander, 22% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more...

; Russell sold the majority of these as kits, for collectors and beginning knifemakers toassemble, themselves. Steve Morseth relocated to Redmond, Washington

Redmond, Washington

Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 54,144 at the 2010 census,up from 45,256 in 2000....

and made knives marked "S. Morseth" until his death in 1995.