Are these the newest Coons?

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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Meridian_Mike
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Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Meridian_Mike »

I see these Coons for sale on ebay right now.
I was thinking of getting one. Are these just the newest out? I see this one has a different shield.
USA coon.jpg
It it worth $30?

Mike
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cody6268
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by cody6268 »

I've been wondering the same thing. They look a whole heck of a lot like Bear and Son production.
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Quick Steel
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Quick Steel »

It looks to me like other recent CCs handled in walnut. If it was made by Queen it is certainly worth the $30. I am unaware that SMKW may have shifted production to Bear & Son. Cody could you point out what features lead you to suspect Bear & Sons? I have two from this current (walnut) series and am very pleased with their fit and finish.

I spent some time on google trying to nail down the current producer but did not come up with anything.
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Meridian_Mike »

Quick Steel wrote: I spent some time on google trying to nail down the current producer but did not come up with anything.
Me too. I couldn't come up with any info on the maker. That is why I came to the experts!

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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by philco »

Garry Bear And Sons is known for only using one pin in the handles, the rocker pin.
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by bkazz5 »

Not sure who the maker is, I am guessing Queen, but I am certain they are not the origianl Adrian Harris Colonel Coons.
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Quick Steel
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Quick Steel »

SMKW holds the license to the CC brand and Queen had been making their current product. Until I can contact SMKW, I won't know if that status has changed. The walnut handled CC are definitely current/recent issue. It may be that SMKW has switched its production to Bear & Son. Or even sold the Brand. Mr. Harris sold the brand in 1988. Stay tuned.
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Meridian_Mike »

10-4... it will be nice to know the current status of the CC maker.

Thanks for your research.
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Quick Steel »

Just got off the phone with SMKW. I provided my contact [Mary] with a couple of the item numbers for the walnut handled recent CCs. She confirmed that they continue to be made by Queen. Her records showed no supplier other than Queen.

I have to take that info as pretty much definitive. Mike, you might put in a call to Queen and verify the issue from their end.
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Meridian_Mike »

10-4.... Thanks so much for checking into that.
I ordered that knife I had the question about so I will report the F&F here when it come in.

Mike
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Tsar Bomba »

I'm confident in saying there's no way the new Colonel Coon Barlows are Queen builds unless Queen either bought Bear & Son or completely reworked their tooling to match Bear's. I can't speak to the pictured trapper although the bolster does evoke the newer Bear builds (compare to the stag Bear trapper I recently posted in the EDC thread).

The CC81W walnut Barlow is a dead match for Keen Kutter, Remington, and Bear & Son branded Barlows of recent years. Same long pulls, same frame shape, same bolster shape, same pin placement, even the long pulls on both blades with the "slope" on the bottom. The retail pricing for new knives seems to confirm this, too, as you will rarely find a new Queen-built Barlow in the $30-35 price range.

Take a look at the CC81W compared to some Bear-made Barlows. The first picture is from SMKW. I included a couple Queens at the bottom for contrast:
Colonel Coon CC81W
Colonel Coon CC81W
Bear & Son-made Keen Kutter Barlows
Bear & Son-made Keen Kutter Barlows
Bear & Son-made Remington Barlows
Bear & Son-made Remington Barlows
Queen #69 Barlows
Queen #69 Barlows
Queen #69 skate key Barlow
Queen #69 skate key Barlow
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Quick Steel »

Tsar & Mike, I just got off the phone with one of the Bear & Son Owners. They began making two series of Col. Coon knives: the wooden handled, and a yellow handled. This began about 4 months ago. He did not know if other companies are making other series.

So, very good reading of the knives Tsar. ::tu::
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Quick Steel »

One unresolved issue. Why is SMKW showing wooden handled CCs as provided by Queen. Perhaps a failure to update their computer listing?
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Meridian_Mike »

Good deal.
I am happy with my new Coon. It seems like a really nice knife. The F&F on it is very good.
So, made by Bear and Son.... 10-4 to that! I have a few Bears and I like them so all is good.

Mike
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Meridian_Mike »

Quick Steel wrote:One unresolved issue. Why is SMKW showing wooden handled CCs as provided by Queen. Perhaps a failure to update their computer listing?
I just went to SMKW... They have several Coons showing but some are out of stock.
I see they have 4 or 5 original Coons for sale.
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Tsar Bomba »

Quick Steel wrote:Tsar & Mike, I just got off the phone with one of the Bear & Son Owners. They began making two series of Col. Coon knives: the wooden handled, and a yellow handled. This began about 4 months ago. He did not know if other companies are making other series.

So, very good reading of the knives Tsar. ::tu::
Thanks, QS. ::handshake:: The telltale signs of the Bear Barlows were burned into my memory when I received a set of Remington-branded one-armed man Barlows sans boxes and quickly debunked the seller's assertion that they were Camillus-built like the 80s-90s Remingtons. Of the two dozen or so Bear knives I have, many of them exhibit the same traits as the knives in the first few photos above.
Quick Steel wrote:One unresolved issue. Why is SMKW showing wooden handled CCs as provided by Queen. Perhaps a failure to update their computer listing?
When I first stumbled across a listing for the CC walnut Barlow I was a little puzzled myself because I was familiar with years of Queen builds under the CC marque (including a #71 short run I own which is my only CC) and I recognized right off the bat some indicators that these knives were built by Bear. I didn't bother trying to flag anybody down for confirmation -- and it seems like maybe SMKW's customer service staff didn't either. :mrgreen:

I am heartened to see that Bear is getting more business these days and still sticking around an excellent price point for an American-made knife. I don't much mind running a new Bear knife over a stone upon arrival as long as it's built right (Bear seems to ship their products butter knife dull, but a few good swipes on a diamond stone fix that right up).
Meridian_Mike wrote:Good deal.
I am happy with my new Coon. It seems like a really nice knife. The F&F on it is very good.
So, made by Bear and Son.... 10-4 to that! I have a few Bears and I like them so all is good.
Glad to hear it. F&F on the Remington and KK Barlows is also excellent, they seem to bump up the QC when they're building knives under other names. I'm right there with you as far as Bear goes.
Meridian_Mike wrote:Yep, I noticed that. But there are some differences between those and the ones up for sale now.
I should have called SMKW to see if I could get one of those they listed.
If you can swing a new Queen Barlow at that price you'd be doing better than most. ::nod:: ::tu::
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Re: Are these the newest Coons?

Post by Quick Steel »

Tsar Bomba wrote:they seem to bump up the QC when they're building knives under other names. I'm right there with you as far as Bear goes.
I had the same thought. It was my distinct impression that the F&F of the Queen made Col. Coons was a step better than the standard Queens. If correct, it is no doubt due to a manufacturer taking extra care to preserve the contract with the licensee.
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