All About Pocket Knives

Noob here I have always been someone who carried a pocket knife, but I have never owned a really quality knife. I have recently become fascinated with Bulldog Knives (I own an English bulldog, so I have a soft spot) and I was hoping that you folks could help me out. I am interested in beginning a collection, but I am not really sure what I am doing or what to look for. What should I look for other than a knife that I like? I have been looking on eBay but I am nervous about fakes . I am looking to have a few quality knives to display and perhaps even carry. Thanks in advance.

Whit

hi and welcome to the site. im sure you ll enjoy all the people and postings here. you ll find alot of nice people with alot of knife knowledge. i dont really collect bulldog knives so im not too knowledgeable about them but i saw your post and i am a fellow english bulldog owner, so i thought i would say hi and welcome you to the forum. i have a site for my bulldogs, so feel free to stop by and say hi anytime.

Warm to the site Whit. I'm not a bulldog collector but there are some very knowledgable ones on board who I am sure can help you. It is worth buying a book or two also to learn more about the knives you are considering. Good luck. s-k

KOOL s2welee;

You said " I have never owned a really quality knife."

Well when you get your FIRST Bulldog knife you will have a QUALITY knife. That is if she is older than made in 2002. Seems to me that they are now slipping some in the quality department, but then so is Case now.
I feel it's due to that China sindrome. (CHEAPER is better crap)
Then you need to decide on what pattern and type of handle you would like. Mother of Pearl holds the best resale value it seems to me. Then comes Abalone shell and a favored here is Stag. All this is just IMO or in my opinion. You will find some blades will have some black poop on them do to ageing. That is called patina? Some like it and some don't. I like shiny blades. One other thing is the type of steel the blade is made of. Many Bulldogs come with different types for different reasons.
The biggest thing to remember in collecting is buy what you like. If you want to invest money in knifes to make a profit then buy one made buy a knife Artist that is close to dieing....

But there is a lot more to value in a knife than just $$$. Here is one (Grand Dad always had one and he gave me my first pocket knife but he died last year).. Now can you put a PRICE on that knife ?

I find that E-bay will give you a good average on the $$$ value of a knife.
To get started I would buy a Bulldog from any stores here at AAPK.. You can bet that they will not be FAKES, and to pay $5.00 more than one sold on E-bay is a VERY GOOD DEAL. You can trust the stores here.
E-bay is like a crap shout ( some good and lots not).

Well keep comming back here and learn and buy a book with photos.

Hi Whit,

Ken (justold) had some good advice there,"The biggest thing to remember in collecting is buy what you like".

All I could add is, buy YELLOW knives, and you can send them to him !

Fran

Hi Whit, Welcome to the forum,

Advice is worth what you pay for it, but I would add - handle all the knives you can, to learn quality. Go to every show in your area, ask lots of questions, buy any book that appeals to you (that you can afford), eventually ( it don't take long ), you'll know what you like.

Collecting doesn't necessarily HAVE to have a theme, anything with a sharp edge is fair game. IMO, Bulldogs would be a safe route to start with, I haven't heard of anyone trying to fake them, yet. But don't discount other brands, either.

Cultivate all the knife-buddies you can - learn all you can from them. And stick around here, you're bound to see more than a few knives that you like. We all learn something, on this site.

Take Care,
JR

Thanks for all the great replies. I think I will take the advice and buy a knife from one of the member stores just so that I can get a feel for a good knife. I have always just had big box store bucks and gerbers...very useful knives, but not real nice to look at...I look forward to getting involved.

Anyone know of any knife shows in the Central VA area?

Hey Whit,

Richmond - November 10 & 11.

Norfolk - November 3 & 4

Roanoke - October 27 & 28

Chantilly - October 12,13,14

Harrisonburg - December 8 & 9

That, plus flea mkts, garage sales ought to keep you busy for awhile.

JR

Hi, As a bulldog collector that has almost 1000 of them I can tell you that they are excellent knives if as Ken said you buy the older ones. There are several generations of Bulldogs with the 1st generation, 1978 to 87, being the most collectable. I myself became fascinated with the fighting dogs tang stamp and just went from there.
As mentioned there are several price guides and books to help, most of these can be bought off ebay pretty safely. There are fakes in the bulldog knives just as there are fakes in most of the better brands.
Good luck, you will find that the guys on this forum are happy to help the new collector.
Tom

s2welee Hello again;

I would like to see a photo of the knife you bought.

If you will copy the photo in the store and paste it on your desk top.

Then show us all here and add the photo of what you picked out.

If you need help posting a photo just ask.

Tom said it right, there are fake Bulldogs or cobbled as someone called them and ALWAYS feel free to ask for an opinion and provide a link, picture, or item number. Virtually all, I should say almost all fakes are first generation knives, where Tom has a great deal of expertise. OK I have a little also.

The knives on the right are TRUE First Generation while the knives on the left I'm told are not. If you look closely the set on the left, all 4 are different from the knives on the right with India or Sambar Stag. 2 of these 4 knives on the right have 4 pins instead of 3.

If you look in Parker's vol. 3 with the colored pictures, they look like the knives on the right, the shield is different from the knives on the left and the knives on the left have the shield that CELLULOID knives had in the first generation. Dead give away is that shield, amongst other things.

The knives on the left look to be European stag, high quality European stag at that. Too bad they are not sold as such, they are outstanding knives as they are but there are differences between the two.

An employee of Parker's chose to bash me for posting this picture but refused to answer any questions.

I wonder, should I rehandle these knives on the left. If so, what should I use, pearl, abalone, curly koa, coprolite? Anyway these knives are fairly easy to detect, don't let that deter you from buying a fine knife.

I have yet to buy anything, but I am looking. I think that I will start with a newer one just to get an idea of the quality. Thanks again for everyone's help. You folks are great

Welcome Whit to the site. Hey Hukk, I would do the Pearl on those babies cause the shape and size is very unique and they would really pop in pearl.
Then you could sell one to me. If you would.

Singin46

singin46 wrote:Welcome Whit to the site. Hey Hukk, I would do the Pearl on those babies cause the shape and size is very unique and they would really pop in pearl.
Then you could sell one to me. If you would.
Singin46

I thought about Pearl and you're right these are just perfect for Pearl IMO. Also, none of these were made in pearl, so they would not be counterfeits. These are the 3 5/8 Serpentine Stockman Tobacco set. The set on the right is a true first generation set made in 1984, the others on the left I'm told were made at a later date and there are many, many collectors that convinced me that they were. Taking a look at them the shields are wrong as are the serrations in the matchstiker pull, different number and the backsprings are weaker. You'll notice many sellers selling them as First generation style, also just stag, some never say what kind of stag. Because of these things, coprolite is high on my list, mabe opalized coprolite PIA to work with. BUT I'd rather be working with opalized than fresh.
Maybe small coprolite cigar band on a diagonal with fiery pearl,

Yeah Yeah, like the idea Hukk, a little accent is always killer on a knife like this. The cigar band idea is great, I actually like the idea of yellow pearl and coprolite. Man, what a knife that would be. Would'nt be another lik'em.

Singin46