Passing of Adrian Harris

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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mnstuff
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Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by mnstuff »

Sad to note that Adrian (Colonel Coon) Harris has passed away . He will be much missed by myself and all that knew and cared about him.
samb1955
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by samb1955 »

May he rest in peace.
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Sorry to learn of that. I have the pocket knife repair book he authored. The knife world is losing too many good folks. “Who’s gonna fill their shoes?”

Ken
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OLDE CUTLER
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by OLDE CUTLER »

Mumbleypeg wrote: Sat Apr 11, 2020 4:00 pm Sorry to learn of that. I have the pocket knife repair book he authored. The knife world is losing too many good folks. “Who’s gonna fill their shoes?”

Ken
Yes, I have that book too. That book is what started me on disassembling and fixing knives. I feel as though Adrian taught me a lot of what I know about knife repair.
May he RIP
"Sometimes even the blind chicken finds corn"
olderdogs1
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by olderdogs1 »

Adrian was a special person with many gifts. When you 1st met him he made you feel like you were old friends and he was loaded with knowledge. Old original Colonel Coon knives are some of the finest and highest quality knives out there. A lot was due to Adrian's creativity. The knife world lost a giant and we all lost a great friend.

Tom
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carrmillus
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by carrmillus »

..how did I miss this!!!!........ ::dang:: .......I met him years ago at a knife show, and later bought his book on knife repair, he was a great person!!!............... ::tu:: ::tu:: ::tu:: ...................
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carrmillus
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by carrmillus »

....I do have one of his knives, as best I can remember, I bought it from him when he had a booth he had set up in a mall in Gainesville, ga. years ago. also have a stag handled whittler I bought from him!!......one of my treasures!!!.......... ::tu:: ::tu:: ::tu:: ......................................
bkazz5
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by bkazz5 »

Carrmillus, I would love to see pics of your colonel coons
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carrmillus
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by carrmillus »

..I don't have a clue about how to do that!!, aapk is all I do on a computer!!...computers cost me my job, I hate 'em!!!............ ::facepalm:: ....................
Breeze
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by Breeze »

Sorry to hear this. May he rest in peace. The only genuine Colonel Coon I own (I have others, but they were made by Queen after Mr. Harris was no longer involved).
Adrian Harris-1.jpg
Mike
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carrmillus
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by carrmillus »

.........I got to wondering if mine was an "original" col. coon so i dug out the box and looked, there is no "queen" marking on the box or the knife, so, I'm thinking mine is an "original"????......................... ::tu:: .....................
Breeze
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by Breeze »

carrmillus wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 2:41 pm .........I got to wondering if mine was an "original" col. coon so i dug out the box and looked, there is no "queen" marking on the box or the knife, so, I'm thinking mine is an "original"????......................... ::tu:: .....................
I'm not an expert, so there may be exceptions. Original Colonel Coons were made in Tennessee. All the ones I've seen are etched "Made in Tennessee by Tennesseans" and have a tang stamp that says "TENN. USA."
CCMTEtch1.JPG
They also have a small Colonel Coon figure on the Shield. My Queen made Coons have "CC" on the shield and don't mention Tennessee. Bear made Coons don't mention Tennessee and although some of them have the Colonel Coon figure on the shield it is noticeably larger than on the original - the figure, not the shield.

Hope this helps (and is correct :D )
Mike
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carrmillus
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by carrmillus »

.........mine has nieither of those marks, so I guess it is made by Queen!!.............. ::facepalm:: ...................
olderdogs1
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Re: Passing of Adrian Harris

Post by olderdogs1 »

I have several original Colonel Coon knives or sale in my eBay store, “olderdogs1”. Not all of them have shields but I believe all have the Tennessee Etch. If a knife has an orange box, almost certainly made by Queen through Smokey Mountain Knife Works.

Hope this helps.

Tom
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