All About Pocket Knives

Huh, I wish I could think of where in the world these might've come from.

singin46 wrote:Huh, I wish I could think of where in the world these might've come from.

The boys down at the barber shop were sayin' they came out of Tennessee but you know how full of crap they are.

But apparently not completely full tho

...as long as the barber shop is located in Solingen the boys are right!

realized I don't have a Doctors knife in my herd when I saw a group of these 3rd generation Bull dog Doctors knives on the bay
acrylic handles, looks like abalone or mother of pearl mixed in? last of the two fighting dog tang stamp, has 1995 on tang
did not have time to look up the info about which German knife has bad shrinkage, think I read it was fighting rooster or bulldog? maybe boker or hen and rooster. anyway the first two were gone and I only had 1 minute to pull the trigger, so what did I get , does shrinkage stop at some point?
enlarge and you can see brass side scale showing all around edge and gap between bolsters

not new and posted else where, but just found this sub forum
I though the fighting dogs tang stamp ended in the mid 90's? when the 4th generation Bull Dogs came out? http://www.knifecollector.net/BulldogBrand.html
what is this, special edition?

Mickey, shrinkage with these is very hard to tell. I think it has to do with climate more than anything else. I have owned several Bulldogs over the years and it is so gradual that it's hard to watch or notice. The majority of it probably happened in the first 5 years or so.

Mickeyevans,
Bulldog picked the fighting dogs stamp back up around 2004. They were having knives made in Germany at that time. I don't believe any are made in Germany at the present time. The latest ones I have seen were made in the USA by GEC.
Bulldog actually went from the Standing dog stamp "1996 2000" to a double bulldog head design around 2000, then picked the fighting dogs stamp later, around 2004 as I mentioned before.
I hope this is not too confusing.

Tom

thanks for the info OD, I picked that up after i posted and it must make the info I had obsolete.
that article referred to 6 generations. "Sixth Generation - 2005. February 2005, Bulldog Brand Knives retired the Double Dog Head Tang Stamp, and replaced it with a single Fighting Bulldog Stamp."
I am confused most of the time, I am learning about all the brands at once, maybe I will settle on one, then I could learn all the difference in owners and history, but I do not have a favorite yet

I think the info you have is correct. There are six generations. The latest stamp is the same stamp that bulldog began with. I actually think the 6th generation began in 2004 as I have some knives dated 2004 with the fighting dogs stamp.
It can be confusing if you are not familiar with all of the stamps. Always glad to answer any bulldog questions.
Tom

thanks OD, do you have many Bulldogs?
how has the quality changed over the 6 generations
I have heard that they are under appreciated and valued?
well back to the books

Well, there have been a lot of changes though the years, and this is just my opinion, so here it goes. Others are welcome to comment.
The 1st generation is the best quality, when Charlie Dorton was in charge of quality control as the owner.
When Jim Parker bought the rights in 1991 they finished out a lot of knives with old blades, most of these are excellent quality as well.
Jim released the 3 rd generation in 1993 and they are good quality knives for sure. I don't believe they are quite up to the 1st generation knives. A lot of these knives had stainless, or surgical steel blades. During the 1st generation, only the cowboy's pet and some fixed blades were stainless. There were a couple of patterns made by queen in 1995 that are good ones.
The 4th generation had the standing dog stamp, from 1996 to 2000. Some of these were nice quality as well. Again not as good as the 1st generation but still nice quality.
The 5th generation with the double dogs were at least as good as the standing dogs knives, great users for sure.
After Jim passed away in 2004 and buzz Parker and Ed Henley were in charge I think the knives they produced with the fighting dog stamps were better that any of the bulldog knives with the exception of the 1st generation knives. Most if these knives were dated to tell them from the 1st generation knives as a lot of them were of the older patterns.
So there you have my opinion. I really like bulldog knives but I will always prefer the 1st generation knives as I believe they at on a par with any of the best knives produced during that period.

Tom

I thoroughly trust what Tom says. And having owned some 1st Gens and the later ones, I would agree. The 1st Gens are IMO the last of the great Soligen, Germany made knives and Mr. Dorton had a certain vision that only the rest copied, at best.

I totally agree with Tom on the qualities represented in his post. 1st Generation Dogs are in a class of their own.

olderdogs1 wrote:Well, there have been a lot of changes though the years, and this is just my opinion, so here it goes. Others are welcome to comment.
The 1st generation is the best quality, when Charlie Dorton was in charge of quality control as the owner.
When Jim Parker bought the rights in 1991 they finished out a lot of knives with old blades, most of these are excellent quality as well.
Jim released the 3 rd generation in 1993 and they are good quality knives for sure. I don't believe they are quite up to the 1st generation knives. A lot of these knives had stainless, or surgical steel blades. During the 1st generation, only the cowboy's pet and some fixed blades were stainless. There were a couple of patterns made by queen in 1995 that are good ones.
The 4th generation had the standing dog stamp, from 1996 to 2000. Some of these were nice quality as well. Again not as good as the 1st generation but still nice quality.
The 5th generation with the double dogs were at least as good as the standing dogs knives, great users for sure.
After Jim passed away in 2004 and buzz Parker and Ed Henley were in charge I think the knives they produced with the fighting dog stamps were better that any of the bulldog knives with the exception of the 1st generation knives. Most if these knives were dated to tell them from the 1st generation knives as a lot of them were of the older patterns.
So there you have my opinion. I really like bulldog knives but I will always prefer the 1st generation knives as I believe they at on a par with any of the best knives produced during that period.

Tom

Is there any pictorial information on Bulldog tang stamps and/or blade etchings to help approximate when a knife was made, such as books, websites, or web links? The information above is great, but some visual reinforcement would be even better.
Thank you!

Jim Parkers"The pocket trader's guide" is a good source and "C.Price 15 edition of the knife collectors guide" is a good source on the 1st gen knives.

mickeyevans wrote:not new and posted else where, but just found this sub forum
I though the fighting dogs tang stamp ended in the mid 90's? when the 4th generation Bull Dogs came out? http://www.knifecollector.net/BulldogBrand.html
what is this, special edition?

And hear is where it can get very confusing,they have to use the 2 fighting dog stamp every 3 year's in order to keep claim on it.

Thank you KT. I appreciate the info.

Just added this one to the kennel. 1993 Green Jigged Green Bone Canoe

Very nice, I like the new green bone and that is a cool pattern.

HERE IS 1 I GOT 2 WEEKS AGO! Can anyone tell me about it? Year & all

Around 2004, good looking knife.

This is my only Bulldog.Received it in the mail today.


Grant

Haven´t seen this pattern before from Bulldog Brand. Awesome knife!

Capt. Farrel wrote:Haven´t seen this pattern before from Bulldog Brand. Awesome knife!

Skipper -- Go back to about the middle of page two of this thread.