German Bulldog knives

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Quick Steel
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by Quick Steel »

billbeer, I'll attempt some answers. Anyone with more or better input please join in. Tobacco and Horses are two common themes with BDs especially in the earlier generations. Many were made for S&D Hardware which was (is?) located in Tennesse and Kentucky. This was big tobacco growing and horse racing country. In fact S&D sold saddles and tack as well as general hardware for the tobacco growers and abundant farmers.

Since you have a 1st. gen Barlow were talking about a knife at least; 30 years old. I believe I see some rust spots on the spine of the pen knife. Also the bolsters and perhaps the covers look dull, I suspect the covers are quite dry. In other words your knife was evidently not well maintained.

My suggestions are: -remove any rust. Pencil erasers often work. I have an eraser made for knives but it is just a larger version.
- I would let the knife soak in plain mineral oil for at least a day. Do not use Baby Oil which has chemicals added.
-Then wipe it down with a clean cloth; apply polish. As you use the knife wipe it down with an oily rag when done.
-If you find the joints stiff even after the mineral bath put a few drops of break free or other good lube and work the
blades

Don't know if you can save the "black" but if you keep the bolster polished it will look good. A good knife deserves good
maintenance.
doglegg
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by doglegg »

Thanks QS for the explanation on the prevalence of Tobacco and race horses on early Bull dogs. And great advice too on maintainence. ::nod:: ::tu::
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by billbeer »

Thanks for the info QuickSteel. I have heard different explanation for the "SD". Interesting stuff though. Yes, I suspect the knife was not cared for but no rust anywhere that I can see but I did give it a bath with mineral oil but not a soak. Wiped it down and lubed the blades. Pen is a little rough but the master has smoothed out. Thanks much for your maintenance advise.
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edge213
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by edge213 »

BD tobacco stag barlow.
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David
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by doglegg »

Very sweet David, handles look a little pocket worn, knice look! ::nod:: ::tu::
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by edge213 »

doglegg wrote:Very sweet David, handles look a little pocket worn, knice look! ::nod:: ::tu::
Thanks man!
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by billbeer »

edge213 wrote:BD tobacco stag barlow.
Beautiful knife David. Love the blade combination.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by billbeer »

Targetman wrote:Hello billbeer, yes blue steel refers to the blade steel.
Thanks for your follow-up on the blade steel question(s). I also took your advice and did a little digging on the topic. As a former steel worker and engineer I was a little curious as to the metallurgical qualities of "Blue Steel". Seem the Japanese use it a lot in their chef's knives. However, I don't believe it has anything to do with the Japanese being the sole producers of that very fine steel. Since my blade yang stamp on the pen blade says "English Steel". Here's a web site that you might find interesting (if you haven't already seen it).
https://japanesechefsknife.com/collecti ... rbon-steel

Looks to me that our German Bulldogs have great steel in them.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by Targetman »

Hello billbeer, interesting read on your link. I have a couple of Bulldogs that I actually carry and are not part of my collection!. I have found that blue steel sharpens easily on a hard Arkansas stone but keeps its edge under hard use. A chef's steel is all that's needed to straighten the blade edge to maintain sharpness before resharpening is needed.
However, as with all carbon steels, fruit acids will darken the steel as you peel , slice, or core certain fruits. Clean the blade asap and re-oil. I keep one a lot in my pocket and have never had any issues with them. As with any good knife of merit, they are not screwdrivers, prybars, or chisels. Abuse is for your crap China made knives!
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by billbeer »

I have done more digging and for anyone who is interested, here's what I've managed to cobble together from several sources:
Bulldog Brand Knife History......
Charlie Dorton had the first Bulldog Brand Knife produced in 1978 in the Friedrich Olbertz Factory in Solingen West Germany. Bulldog Brand Knives are still produced in the same factory. Bulldog Knives have five important periods in their existence; collectors refer to them as different generations.
First Generation. 1978 – 1987; Thirty two different patterns were produced. Out of 32 patterns came 469 styles. A Bulldog Brand Knife Collectors Club was formed in the early 1980’s and a number was assigned to each knife as it went to a customer. There were no Bulldog knives shipped into the United States from late 1987 to 1992. While Charlie Dorton owned the Bulldog Knife Company in the 80's, Dave Scott joined with him to produce knives with the S&D, OUR BEST, blade Etch. They felt, and most agree, that they were some of the finest knives being imported from Germany. As Dave Scott has been quoted as saying, they have a different feel than almost any other knife. The Barlow pattern is one of the finest, as I am sure you know.
S&D Enterprises was the sole distributor of these knives and they were in limited quantities. The S&D OUR BEST blade etch is on several different patterns and I like the quality of them all. S&D Enterprises had an office in Maysville Ky. and some of the 1st generation bulldog knives bear this blade etch also. They are in Manchester Ohio now but it is believed they only produce display cases for knives.
Second Generation. 1991 – 1992; Jim Parker purchased the Bulldog Brand Knife Company. In 1992 the Olbertz factory shipped about 7,000 Bulldog knives to the USA. Later, some knife parts were purchased from Blue Grass Cutlery to complete additional Bulldog knife sets.
Third Generation. 1993 – 1995; 17 new knife patterns were ordered from the Olbertz factory and 5 new handle materials were introduced. Oyster Shell handle material and Lady Leg knives were introduced in this year. The third generation knives ended the era of the two “Fighting Dogs” stamp.
Fourth Generation. 1996 - Early 2000; Jim Parker commissioned an artist to draw “Lucky” Mrs. Parkers purple ribbon bred American Pit Bull Terrier. This drawing appeared as the new Bulldog Knives trademark in 1996.
Fifth Generation. 2000-2003; According to Jim Parker’s “Pocket Knife Traders Price Guide”, the double dog head stamp was introduced around this time.
2004 Silver Anniversary; Reintroduction of the “Fighting Dog” Tang Stamp. 25 Year – Silver Anniversary of Bulldog Brand Knives.2005 – 2008; February 2005, Bulldog Brand Knives retired the Double Dog Head Tang Stamp, and replaced it with a single Fighting Bulldog Stamp. A trademark has to be used every three years to keep it active, so a few knives with the rare two “Fighting Dogs” stamp are released every few years.
Those Bull Dog Brand Knives that are 100% Completely Handmade in Solingen, Germany by Master Cutlers have each Carbon steel blade individually hammer-forged with over 240 hand operations going into each knife, then each blade is reverse frost etched with the Double Dog Head logo. Nickel Silver Pins and Shield, and Brass Liners add to the top quality craftsmanship.
Source: "Pocket Knife Trader's Price Guide Volume 8" By: James "Buzz" Parker and Ed Henley
Sixth Generation – 2009 to Present; Bulldog Brand USA Knives are being manufactured by Great Eastern Cutlery in Titusville, PA and models are product by Queen Cutlery in Titusville, PA. Bulldog Brand USA Knives are high quality Knives, made in the USA, that carry on the Bulldog Brand Legacy.

Some have said that Frost now has the Bulldog name. If so that probably explains the made in China on some Bulldog knives. All of the Chinese made Bulldogs are imported by Frost Cutlery and can be easily identified by the raised fighting dog shield. I have heard that are a pretty decent knife for use. They are made in the same factory as Rough Rider and other higher quality imports offered by Frost. But they are still China made, can be purchased for less than $10.00 and don't resell well at all.
There are more Bulldogs on the market that are German made. After Jim Parker passed away, The Frederick Olbertz factory in Solingen got stuck with a large quantity of knives and a lot of parts. Recently someone bought the remaining knives and stock and they are releasing fighting dog tang stamp knives with 1995 date stamp and a round dog head shield. It has been claimed that those knives are of excellent quality just like the original Parker Bulldogs. I can’t corroborate that though. Sorry for any grammatical and spelling errors.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by Quick Steel »

billbeer, the info sheet has been around quite a while and a point needs to be emphasized to the casual reader. On the "other" forum some people believe BDs were still being made in Germany or the U.S.as late as 2015. I cannot pin down the specific year Frost bought the name and move it to China. But until I am corrected, I do believe all BDs were China made no later than 2011; in other words no German or American made after that date. If anyone has contrary info please share it.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by billbeer »

Quick Steel wrote:billbeer, the info sheet has been around quite a while and a point needs to be emphasized to the casual reader. On the "other" forum some people believe BDs were still being made in Germany or the U.S.as late as 2015. I cannot pin down the specific year Frost bought the name and move it to China. But until I am corrected, I do believe all BDs were China made no later than 2011; in other words no German or American made after that date. If anyone has contrary info please share it.
Thank you for your clarification.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by billbeer »

Thank you Quick Steel for your advice and your willingness to share your expertise. I applied your maintenance recommendations and the results turned out really very good.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by Targetman »

Hello guys, below are a few 2 blade 4 inch toenails with the standing dog tang stamp. These were made in 1998 and featured sporting dog blade etches. The master blade has deep color etches and the smooth Appaloose bone was colored to closely match the natural color of the dog. There were 40 made of each etch.
1) Beagle
2) Blue Tick Coonhound
3) Black and Tan Coonhound

The last one is from 1995, also from the dog series. It has the Fighting Dog tang stamp. There were 10 different dog breed etches made in celluloid handle material. These were made in quantities of 84 of each etch from high carbon steel. The Stag German Sheppard was the only one of the series made from natural handle material. I have not collected the celluloid because of the potential outgassing problems.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by doglegg »

Very knice Targetman. You always enlighten. Thanks. Like the scales on that last one best. ::tu:: ::tu::
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by Quick Steel »

I'll be looking for the German Shepherd.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by Targetman »

Thanks guys, I almost bid on a series of dog breed toenail celluloid from 1995 2 weeks ago on EBay. It was almost a complete set. Upon closer look you could see the celluloid shrinking away from the bolsters. It was a no go for me even at $75 apiece.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by Targetman »

Hi guys, just one knife this morning and it's kind of an oddity. Its a Bulldog Garter Dirk women would wear under their dress on their thigh. These were made only in 1994 and had a stag handle. The blade has a friction fit folded leather sheath that was metal tipped and metal capped at the tiny finger guard. Total overall length is only 5 inches. Blade etch shows a Bulldog head and says Bulldog Brand Garter Dirk. I have not found any production numbers anywhere.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

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Another really cool knife Targetman. I like those little knicker knives. That one is sweet. Original concealed carry. ::tu:: ::tu::
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by Targetman »

Hello guys, here are three Bulldog 3 5/8 inch 6 blade Scout knives. These were made in 2006. There were about 30 different celluloid handled knives made but only two natural handled knives made. The Stag and Buffalo horn variations were produced in quantities of 150 each. There were several exotic handle prototypes made but only in quantities of 10 each.
Celluloid knives did not have any master blade etch but the natural and exotic handled knives had a Bulldog Brand laser etch on the master blade.
Below are the Stag, Buffalo Horn, and Tiger Coral prototype examples that I have.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by doglegg »

I enjoy the variety you have Targetman. I'm kinda skittish of the celluloid as well. Great group. ::nod:: ::tu::
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Quick Steel
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by Quick Steel »

Super fine Target man. A trifecta!
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by mariacrow44 »

Targetman What A beautiful Story!! Thanks For Sharing. And A Beautiful Collection Of Bulldogs As Well.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by Targetman »

Thank you for your kind words. Glad you think my Bulldog collection has some merit. Thanks again.
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Re: German Bulldog knives

Post by doglegg »

Targetman, I've slowed a bit on the Bulldogs, just haven't spotted any ivories in my price range but I sure enjoy looking at and hearing about yours. Thanks. ::nod:: ::nod::
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