Was Bull Dog brand named after the race horse?

[swills1]

Was Bull Dog brand named after the race horse?

[Quick Steel]

No, Swills1. This fine German made brand used the Bulldog logo referring to, unsurprisingly, bulldogs. In fact it briefly represented a prize winning bulldog owned by the wife of the brand's owner.

[1967redrider]

to AAPK! However, Bulldog did have a Quarter Horse stockman pattern I believe.

[Quick Steel]

Yes, horses such as you describe were used on some Bulldog patterns. The brand however was named for the canine.

[kennedy knives]

Yes, horses such as you describe were used on some Bulldog patterns. The brand however was named for the canine.

[swills1]

What is the story of the Kentucky thorobred models? Why did they randomly etch "kentucky thorobred" on some knives?

[Quick Steel]

Two big themes that turn up frequently on Bulldog knives are horses and tobacco. They were initially made for, I believe, a hardware business located in Kentucky and surrounding states. As you probably know, Kentucky is famous for its horses and was a big tobacco producer as well. Consequently, these knives would have drawn the attention of the local population.

I have found the workmanship on these knives to be consistently excellent.

[swills1]

Two big themes that turn up frequently on Bulldog knives are horses and tobacco. They were initially made for, I believe, a hardware business located in Kentucky and surrounding states. As you probably know, Kentucky is famous for its horses and was a big tobacco producer as well. Consequently, these knives would have drawn the attention of the local population.

I have found the workmanship on these knives to be consistently excellent.

Right but my question more was - why was kentucky thorobred a theme on a german knife ? Yes kentucky ia famous for horses but5 that doesn't explain why the theme or history of the theme / why they went with it.

[Quick Steel]

The brand was almost always owned by and brought to market by Americans. There was a brief period when it was owned by two German sisters until it was bought by Mr. Parker who, over the years, owned Case and many other brands. So, tho it was manufactured in Germany, the brand was originated by Americans initially for the American market.

[swills1]

So the owner just liked horses?

[peanut740]

Bulldog brand knives were started by Charlie Dorton(first generation).Those were by far the best Bulldogs made.He went on and was an early partner in Bluegrass Cutlery.Charlie was from Kentucky and around the horse and tobacco trade.Parker picked up the brand and all the other generations of Bulldog.

[Quick Steel]

Roger, I have encountered your observation several times from others and I have a certain reluctance to agree with it. I have a good sampling of each generation of Bulldogs. I just have to allow for the fact that different people have different experiences. I have just been unable to detect a decline in quality in the generations following the first. I find the brand consistently excellent. I am sure there are exceptions, but I have just not run into them. I do try to acquire the best examples that I can.

[peanut740]

Roger, I have encountered your observation several times from others and I have a certain reluctance to agree with it. I have a good sampling of each generation of Bulldogs. I just have to allow for the fact that different people have different experiences. I have just been unable to detect a decline in quality in the generations following the first. I find the brand consistently excellent. I am sure there are exceptions, but I have just not run into them. I do try to acquire the best examples that I can.

It is opinion.The bone and stag on the early knives was far superior to the later knives,especially the stag.Much of the stag on the later knives were European stag and not India stag.Charlie Dorton was a master knife maker.

[Quick Steel]

Roger, I take your point about the stag. As you know sambar stag has had a checkered history of availability. While Red Stag is clearly not Sambar, I personally do not find it off-putting. I find the stag to be well selected and matched.

[robpa]

how about the GEC Bulldogs. I havent been able to find one as yetr. They made 20 models.

[1967redrider]

swills1, if you want a good knifer learning experience, try researching Blue Grass Cutlery and see what you come up with. It almost makes me want to jump in my car and drive to Manchester, OH just to see what's going on there.