All About Pocket Knives

Hey guys, I am new to posting on this forum but have been lurking behind the scenes for a very long time. I collect mostly German Bulldog Brand and started collecting them in the mid 90s until about 2010 when the last of the USA runs were made.
Quick Steele requested I post a few knives in my collection for everyone to see. I know I always look forward to seeing what pictures you guys post. My first time trying to post pictures and they are only cell phone pictures so please forgive the quality.

WOW AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy Smokes! Glad you came out of that "lurking phase" !!! Looking forward to some close-ups...maybe of some of those exotics!
Welcome out of the closet!!!!

My goodness, what a great bunch of knives. I know that wow has been said already but WOW! Yes I would love to seem some close ups of individual knives. Great collection.

Well what took you so long? Unbelievable holding out like this. Don’t you know that pictures of knives is what we live for around here?
Most impressive.
SSk

Good golly Targetman. A little mercy please. If I had a heart condition, which I do not thankfully, seeing all your knives at one time might have sent me to the hospital. I discovered BDs a little over a year ago. Like you I stay clear of celluloid. The high quality and great value of these knives has me thoroughly hooked. I only wish I had discovered them years ago.

Your collection is magnificent. It gives me something to aspire to, though I will hardly approach it in this life time. Congratulations on a superb and focused collection. Well done sir.

Fantastic knives Targetman. That is a beautiful collection and you obviously have a great eye for selecting fine knives. I hope you continue to post pics here. Welcome aboard.

Thanks for your comments, I am humbled! I started collecting German Bulldogs in 1995 when I started going to Parkers Knife shows then located in Pigeon Forge Tenn. That summer show(3days) I bought a few misc knives from Jim Parker and each time during the show we would talk about knives and collections of various brand names. By Saturday afternoon with the show winding down, and Jim having more time to talk, I came away from that show with an eye opening understanding of what a true knife collection is. Jim explained that buying knives of various manufacture is just an accumulation of knives but a collection of knives is specializing in one brand of manufacture and collecting all their variations.
So, I started collecting Bulldog Brand! Not because Jim Parker talked me into it, but because Bulldog gave me more bang for the dollar than anything W.R. Case could offer...especially the pearl and exotic handle materials. For years I went to both of Jim's shows each year and he would always have new interesting Bulldogs in handles of pearl, stag, bone, and exotics.
Jim would extend discounts to me as I purchased more and more and then by 2001 Jim would just ship me something he thought I might like. That blew me away! No money up front, no phone call, nothing...just one day the UPS man would deliver a package to me. Prices were always reasonable and payment was upon receipt. I would send a check off and everyone was happy.
I lost a great knife collecting buddy when Jim passed away in Nov. 2004 and. I thank him for mentoring me in my early collecting years. He had a vast knowledge of all knives and was especially proud of his Bulldog Brand line of knives
Jim's son Buzz and Ed Henley continued the Bulldogs until 2007 and then started having them made in the USA. They were as good as the German made knives but after 2010 no more were made.
Bulldog trademark was sold and Frost Cutlery now imports them from China. These knives are far from the original quality and I refuse to collect them. I would rather carry an $8 Roughrider.
I have had a wonderful ride collecting Bulldogs for the last 24 years. Like most everyone else now I have to buy from EBay but still fondly remember my golden age of buying directly from Jim Parker. Thank you each knife collector one and all!

Hey guys (and gals). I unboxed a few more of my Bulldogs and put together a few more frames. Again please excuse the poor quality cell phone pictures

Ha! Cell phone changed my word mastadon to master in so substitute where needed. Thanks

As a side note, the 5 blade Anglo Saxon mastadon bark ivory pictured above in open position is the same knife Jim Parker used on the cover of his Pocket Knife Traders Price Guide Volume 7.

Targetman wrote:As a side note, the 5 blade Anglo Saxon mastadon bark ivory pictured above in open position is the same knife Jim Parker used on the cover of his Pocket Knife Traders Price Guide Volume 7.

You’re killing me! What a magnificent collection.
SSk

Don't stop. Great story as well.

An enviable experience with Mr. Parker resulting in an enviable collection.

Hey guys, unboxed a few more pearl Bulldogs and put on the display case. These are various dates from early years to late 90s. The plain gunstock pattern is set #36 and scrimshawed gunstock pattern is set #92.
Jim Parker had a series of Christian knives made of the 4 Gospels which are shown as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These 4 blade Congress had scripture etched into the master blade.

Thank you for posting this great collection Targetman.

Next picture is a set of 7 Bulldog Damascus lock backs made in 1997. The Friedrich Olbertz factory sent Jim Parker 35 samples of Damascus lock backs in various handle materials and 2 frame patterns.
The first 4 have short bolster frames and came in red jigged bone, green jigged bone, stag, and antique amber jigged bone. The last three have long bolster frames and came in pearl, stag, and antique elephant ivory
Jim never ordered Damascus Bulldogs in this frame pattern but did commission 2 Damascus Bulldogs that year in a smaller lockback frame and were offered in stag and pearl.
These 35 samples made up 5 complete sets before Jim sold them off

This next picture is of a year 2000 pearl display lockback knife in Rose damascus. Fully open The knife is 12 inches in length. The damascus blade is 330 layers and made by Sasche in Germany. All the hand polishing and fitting work was done by Mr Augustus Schmidt. Augustus was one of the last remaining master cutlers in the Bulldog Knife Factory.
Jim Parker sent this knife to Danny Best who does engraving on high grade custom knives. Jim found that it was cost prohibitive to market these with engraving so this one piece is unique and the only one engraved. I have a framed letter from Jim attesting to this information.

The following knife is of a 8 1/4 inch 3 blade whittler display knife with genuine heart abalone handles. The master blade has a colored peacock etch. Jim Parker had 80 made with abalone swirl celluloid handles to go with his cased sets but there were only 4 made with genuine Heart Abalone. August Scheidtmann, master cutler for Bulldog Brand, did the fitting and hand assembly on this knife. I have a framed letter from Jim attesting to this information.

Last post today is of 5 1/4 inch 3 blade Anglo Saxon Whittlers. First 4 are from year 2000. Mastadon bark ivory, pearl, mastadon bark ivory(blade etch different) , mastadon interior ivory.
Last 3 are pearl from 1998, heart abalone from 1999. And heart abalone bulldog knife club etch from 1999. I believe 1999 was the last year any Bulldogs were offered as club knives.

Target I thought I was approaching a collection but I see I only have a token. Amazing collection and documentation.

Hey guys, here are a few Bulldog stag knives that came out of Mr Gronauers retirement stash from the Friedrich Olbertz Co. These were accumulated from over runs through the years. Jim Parker bought these and they were distributed in 2003-2004.
4 bl canoe 1998 . 3 bl stockman. 3 bl cattle knife 1999. 4 bl Congress 1984. 4 bl Congress 1985. 3 bl gunstock. 3 bl copperhead 1983. 3 bl stockman 1984. 4 bl congress, ( Luckys congress) 4 bl Torched stag Congress 1985. 3 bl sowbelly tobacco-NC 1984. 3 bl sowbelly tobacco-NC 1984. 3 bl sowbelly tobacco-Ohio 1984. 3 bl sowbelly tobacco- VA 1984. 3 bl small sowbelly S&D cutlery co 1984

Hey guys, one more display of Mr Gronauers retirement stash.
2 bl Barlow tobacco- Ohio 1986. 2 bl Barlow tobacco-NC 1986. 2 bl Barlow tobacco-KY 1986. 2 bl Barlow Our Best 1986. 2 bl trapper. 2 bl dogleg trapper 1985. 2 bl dogleg trapper Old Reliable 1985. 3 bl stockman. 2 bl canoe 1986. 3 bl canoe 1986. 3 bl trapper. 3 bl Cattle King 1985. 3 bl sowbelly 1985. 2 bl Lumberjack 1983. 2 bl copperhead.

In 2001 Jim Parker had these 10 and 12 blade exibition Congress knives made in Mother of Pearl. Jim hadn't used the fighting dog trademark in a while and had these made to protect his trademark from someone moving in and using it.
These are quite a handful to open all the blades at once!