"Marbles" Seki Japan

[kootenay joe]

This metal handle lock back knife is 3 5/8". Box says "Bench Made by Tak Fukata".
I do not think this is a custom knife made by Mr. Fukata.
So, what does "Bench Made" mean ?
Nothing ? just a marketing term ? or ??
Back tang is marked: "Hand Made/Seki Japan". How much can one believe this marking ?
Also of note on box is "Marble's is the trademark of Marble Arms Company/CRL, Inc., Gladstone, Michigan. This knife is a licensed product to Parker's Knife Collector Service"
And finally is this from 1990's ?
kj

[americanedgetech]

From what I understand "Bench Made" to mean is the knife was hand built in limited or one of production.

From that definition I believe these knives are hand fitted, and finished to a better quality standard than regular run production knives.

The only input on Mr Parkers involvement... You all know he was prolific, and a very good percentage of his knives were made in Japan. I can see Mr Fukata building knives by hand for Mr. Parker. OR at the very least doing the final finish, and hand tuning them.
There are several Parker knives built by Mr. Fukata floating around the net for sale, right now,

I wouldn't discount the knifes value just yet because of the names of the players involved. I am sure others will know more.

[knife7knut]

I have a couple of knives by Parker that are marked "Bench Made Tak Fukuta".One is a liner lock folder that while nicely made I don't think really qualifies as a hand made item. The other is a rather large fixed blade fighter that is also nice but not whatI would call custom quality.

[stagman]

Hey KJ...got the Marble's stamp cause for a brief time back about 1990,
Jim Parker aquired somehow the Marble's trademark
I think there mite have even been some court and legal proceedings that went on,
not totally sure on that, but that is when that knife was made
If you have ever looked at Marble's knives, you will see a Stag / Stag Woodcraft with the full
roller coaster old mark on it, but on the off side of blade, it says Hurbertus, Solingen, Gemany, one on ebay right now,
also a big Trailmaker that is stamped, MSA Co. USA 1992
this is just 2 examples of knives Parker had made with the Marble' mark during that time frame

Will
http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/stagman

[kootenay joe]

Online search of "Tak Fukata" brings up little information. He is a knife designer primarily but no indication that there is manufacturing shop associated. Do you know if this is correct ?
Likely the knife i show as designed by T.K. and then made in one of the many cutlery manufacturers in Seki, Japan.
The "Bench Made by Tak Fukata" on the box is probably just marketing ploy with Mr. Fukata's involvement limited to the design.
If you are aware of anything to refute this assumption i would sure like to know about it.
kj

[americanedgetech]

This is just a google search but there are quite a few hits for him. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=tak+fukata+fa ... era&ia=web
He also is still making knives, and I'll bet my dollar to your dough nut that you can contact him directly...

Arizona Knives may be a source of his contact info .

Just found this... Pintrest. You're very same knife.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/85357355416348602/

You may very well be correct on the advertising ploy but who knows

[kootenay joe]

Ken you are a good googler. Is there a price associated with the knife on pine interest ?
kj

[americanedgetech]

Google Foo is an ancient art. Sadly it is not strong in the younger crowd...

There is no pricing info on the pinterrest knife but there is on this one in an AAPK store.
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... -1990s-mib

I guess it is a fair price for a 1990 Parker contracted knife.
I thought it might be slightly higher tho...

[kootenay joe]

Thanks Ken. It is a well made attractive knife but has very little collectibility factor. There are a few 'Parker' collectors but there are so many Parker knives that prices remain low. I think $50 is high for this knife.
kj

[americanedgetech]

Any time sir... I enjoy the chase but I never remember everything I find.
There are a lot of Parkers out there. 100% on that one.