Shapleigh Hardware Knives

thawk

thawk

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Oct 28, 2006
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I've been seeing quite a few new Shapleigh knives for sale lately, mostly equal end cattleman knives with a punch. They usually look very new with a Certificate from James Parker (RIP) vouching for their age.

Most are for sale by Bulldogknives, which is an Ebay store for Silverladdie, James Parker's son. He always has a lot of listings, with a lot of traffic.



I saw this whittler and thought I'd ask you all if you have any knowledge of these Shapleigh knives.

Maybe a gut feeling, but I think they look like they might be reproductions.
 
Supposedly "found parts" in the old Krusius Brothers cutlery factory were finished up by Parkers connections in Germany.
Maybe they found the pins (haw haw). They have been selling those knives for years. The early ones were well made, despite the tale behind them. I bought a couple when the prices dropped from the $100 dollar area to around $50 2-3 years ago. I guess they are finding new models and materials on a regular basis. Sheeeesh! It's hard to believe how brazen these goblins are!!
 
As usual I agree with Charlie's assessment. Despite the hype, they seem to be nice, well made knives. They are made in the Olbertz factory in Solingen, same folks who make most Bulldog, Fightn Rooster, Indian head, Eye Brand and some others.

Edited: I should mention that I have two, both 3 5/8" equal end cattle patterns with buff horn handles. I paid about $40 apiece and I consider them a bargain at that price, due to the quality.
 
And I agree with LBG. $40-50 is the right price, as long as the quality is still there. I've heard that later Bulldogs are not as good as the older ones??!!
 
I have several hundred older Bulldogs and it's my opinion that the new ones are just crap. After the 2004 knives they just went downhill, but the 2004 (25th anniversary knives, likely the best they made since 1993) were excellent, the prototypes anyway. I won't bother even buying a 2006 model again, bought a couple, they look and feel like Rough Riders, hate them. Seems like they made them cheap to compete with the Chinese, I think they went waaay too far.:barf: You can actually get Bulldogs cheaper on eBay than if you paid Parker's catalog price, seen it many times now.:rolleyes: Mind you, this comes from a long time Bulldog collector.
As for all that found in a warehouse NOS,:jerkit: :jerkit: Never know what to believe anymore.:eek: Well, that my short version opinion.:barf:
 
I agree with everything that's been said about Bulldog, though I'm not an expert.

However, would that necessarily apply to Shapliegh's? I know that like Bulldog they are made for Parkers, but my two Shapleigh's cattle knives are very nice with strong springs, good fit and finish, and good carbon steel blades. Another example of a Parker's line made by Olbertz with a spurious backstory is Weidmannsheil. However, again I find them to be well made and all around good knives. Better than my experience with recent Bulldog anyway.

It seems to me there is a hierarchy of Olbertz manufactured knife lines which I would rank thusly, in descending order of quality:

Fightn Rooster
Shapliegh's/Weidmannsheil
German Eye/Indian Head
Bulldog

I also don't know what they are currently producing, and what may be "new old stock".

I'd be very interest in Charlie's and Hukk's views on this, as I know you both to be very knowlegable.

Regards,

Jim
 
There does seem to be a change in the Bulldogs after 2004. Don't know about all of them, just the ones I have handled. I didn't know that Parker had the rights to Shapleigh. Obviously they do. If I were in the knife business and found a bunch of old knife parts in a warehouse I had just aquired, I doubt that I would throw them away. I really don't think anyone would.
Greg
 
I think the blade etch is the thing that made me think they were repros. There are 7 of them for auction under a search for "Shapleigh knife"
 
They also did this with Simmon's Hardware Hornet brand knives.I have one and like it alot.It is a large stockman with stag handles and i got it for $48.00It seemed like a good deal at the time and i soon learned they found the blades supposedly in a warehouse in Germany.I think that is probably what the Shapleigh's are,just stamped out blades.Then when they find them,they finish them out and put the knives together.Oh well,it's probably a pretty good using knife but you will not retire from selling them someday.
 
I would never have wished what happened to Jim Parker on anyone, but he was not known for his honesty in knife dealings. In the last few years before Jim's death, there wasn't much he didn't claim to be "warehouse or factory finds". In spite of his ridiculous claims, there were several good buys to be had in his catalog...I wish I had bought some that I passed on.

The sad part is many of German knives Jim claimed to be "rare finds" would have stood on their own merit at the prices he charged.
 
I believe "Rare Find" would have been a selling point. Much like "New and Improved" as claimed by other things we buy in life. I have never known Jim Parker to flat out lie. Enhance, definitely. I know for a fact that some people do believe they are getting a rare and precious item but that is usually something that was derived in their own mind. Like any good salesman will point out, you tell people what you consider it to be, not what it isn't. Did anybody really believe they were instantly receiving a rare gem for that kind of money? If you were in the knife business, what would you do with a bunch of knife parts. Assemble them into knives and call them "Knives assembled with old parts"? The "rare finds" obviously sold. Everyone seems to have one for some reason??? Was it Parker's sales pitch that got them out the door or was it a slight touch of a buyer trying to fool himself?
Greg
 
longbeachguy said:
I agree with everything that's been said about Bulldog, though I'm not an expert.

However, would that necessarily apply to Shapliegh's? I know that like Bulldog they are made for Parkers, but my two Shapleigh's cattle knives are very nice with strong springs, good fit and finish, and good carbon steel blades. Another example of a Parker's line made by Olbertz with a spurious backstory is Weidmannsheil. However, again I find them to be well made and all around good knives. Better than my experience with recent Bulldog anyway.

It seems to me there is a hierarchy of Olbertz manufactured knife lines which I would rank thusly, in descending order of quality:

Fightn Rooster
Shapliegh's/Weidmannsheil
German Eye/Indian Head
Bulldog

I also don't know what they are currently producing, and what may be "new old stock".

I'd be very interest in Charlie's and Hukk's views on this, as I know you both to be very knowlegable.

Regards,

Jim
Click to expand...

What I can think of, some NOS found in a warehouse
Standard - looks like a Bulldog Warncliffe, it should, made in Germany at Freidrich Olbertz :rolleyes: Parker Trust owned the trademark at one time
Simmons - Hornet
All of these below were made in Germany at Freidrich Olbertz, from what I understand. They found some trademark blades with parts somewhere.
Marshall-Wells Zenith model in 3 different celluloids
Krusius Brothers Gazelle model in 2 different celluloids
Marshall-Wells Cactus model in 2 different celluloids
Krusius Brothers Govenor in 2 different celluloids
I don't know if Parker's Trust owned any of the trademarks, I guess they did since they made the knives.

I would rate them as follows:
Fightn Rooster & 1st and Second Generation Bulldogs when Charlie Dorton was in charge.
Shapliegh's/Weidmannsheil
Third Generation Bulldogs & 25th Anniversary Prototype Bulldogs (2004)
German Eye/Indian Head
4th generation Bulldogs
5th generation Bulldogs 2004 to 2000
5th Generation Bulldogs 2005 to current crop.
As you can see, I rated each generation of Bulldog seperately because there is a discernable difference in quality, sometimes quality falling off within the generation. As of now, I would not buy a 2006 or 2007 Bulldog. I did buy some 2006 Barlows and 2006 Swing Guards. The barlow was OK, the swing guard, well, not anything to recommend in my opinion. Seems like quality keeps going downhill, which you can see by how I rated each generation.
 
Thanks Hukk! Very informative and fascinating post.

Speaking of Olbertz made knives, today I received a 4 1/4 inch Eye Brand stockman with real bark stag on both sides. Fit and finish are excellent. This is my third try with Eye Brand, and the first time I've been really satisfied.
 
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