colonel coon knives question

Colonel Coon Knives were made by Adrain A. Harris, Mr. Harris started making fixed blade knives as a hobby in the 60's, in 1976 he became the only authorized field repairman in the U.S. for Schrade, a few months later he became the only authorized repairman for Kissing Crane and J.A. Henckels in the United States, in 1978 he founded Tennessee Knife Works Inc. in his home town of Columbia, Tenn. and began making Colonel Coon Knives the old style a true bench made or handmade pocket knife. In 1988 he sold his manufacturing processes to W.R Case & Sons and retired.
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PLMPLM8
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colonel coon knives question

Post by PLMPLM8 »

Hi, I'm showing a col. coon knife I bought back in the 90s which I'm pretty sure was made by colonial. my question is why they were made by colonial.im showing a pic of the knife and a pic of the 1991 catalog page from the catalog. I'm just wondering of the story behind them if their was one. Thank you
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PLMPLM8
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Re: colonel coon knives question

Post by PLMPLM8 »

By the way when I bought it it was 10 dollars,it's a pretty study knfe, snaps like a bear trap,and in the catalog there were other brand new regular colonial 3 blade stockmans for 6.99 those were the days.
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New_Windsor_NY
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Re: colonel coon knives question

Post by New_Windsor_NY »

PLMPLM8 wrote: Wed Jun 24, 2026 6:35 am Hi…..
Try here:
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... m.php?f=73
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ThatWeirdKnifeGuy
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Re: colonel coon knives question

Post by ThatWeirdKnifeGuy »

I think Bob Paolantonio mentioned once that he and Adrian Harris were friends and that Harris started his brand using Ranger or Old Cutler parts, both Colonial house brands.
::nod:: https://newlifeknives.etsy.com ::nod::

That's my Etsy store where I sell old knives and sometimes handmade knife accessories to support my knife habbit. Thanks for looking my friend. ::tu::
PLMPLM8
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Re: colonel coon knives question

Post by PLMPLM8 »

Thank you for the info.ive got Bob's book ,is it mentioned in his book.i^ll go look at his book to see if it's mentioned.
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Re: colonel coon knives question

Post by Rookie »

ThatWeirdKnifeGuy wrote: Wed Jun 24, 2026 8:33 pm I think Bob Paolantonio mentioned once that he and Adrian Harris were friends and that Harris started his brand using Ranger or Old Cutler parts, both Colonial house brands.
Yes, in Bob's book in Chapter 8 he mentions

"Sometimes, with special order or entire secondary lines of knives we made for other companies were designated with their own private shield and were provided or special made for that company; Smith and Wesson, Tennessee Knife Works, and Colonel Coon, to name a few."
Carl B.
PLMPLM8
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Re: colonel coon knives question

Post by PLMPLM8 »

:( thank you for the information. I.ll llook it up ,by the way a very interesting book.
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