James Parker.

[dewman]

Can anyone give me sort of a thumbnail bio on the man? It would appear than at one time or another, he had his fingers in many different knife making pies. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he involved with Case at one time? And....where did the "Parker-Edwards" line come in. I have three of the "Parker-Edwards, Jacksonville, Al." razor trappers. And, I have one or two folders that have the "Parker-Frost" name on them. Now, I see that there are some knives called "IXL" that supposedly have "Parker" blades that were made in Japan and are being assembled in the U.S.A. I also understant he went into business for himself, but went belly up.

I've bought several Remington knives from his son off E-Bay. He goes by the name "Silverladdie".

Man oh man....his Dad got around, eh?

[singin46]

Yeah dewman, I'll give you this bit. Mr. James Parker was owner of Case Cutlery for a while and in that time created some of the finset knives case ever had their name on,{ since the early days}. He created the Case Classics,
came up with the idea and designs and so forth. Some of the most collectible knives to date came from his concept of bringing back some older patterns with fresh looks and different scales. He was also founder of the NKCA. He is to be given credit for so much in our fine hobby. Plus just a fine husband and father as well. He was a very savy business man and loved the hobby of collecting knives, also yes, had many connections over the years with several different companies. Uh, that's all I have.

Singin46

[redferd]

I could be wrong but I thought Jim Parker passed away a year or so ago? I bought a few knives from Jim Parker thru the mail some years ago. I'll post a photo of them when I run across them.

[dewman]

I could be wrong but I thought Jim Parker passed away a year or so ago? I bought a few knives from Jim Parker thru the mail some years ago. I'll post a photo of them when I run across them.

Yes....Mr. Parker Sr. passed on in 2002, but his son, James Parker Jr. is still alive and kicking. He is very heavily in the knife business on e-bay, selling nothing but the finest of collectable Remingtons and other fine knives.

[dewman]

Yeah dewman, I'll give you this bit. Mr. James Parker was owner of Case Cutlery for a while and in that time created some of the finset knives case ever had their name on,{ since the early days}. He created the Case Classics,
came up with the idea and designs and so forth. Some of the most collectible knives to date came from his concept of bringing back some older patterns with fresh looks and different scales. He was also founder of the NKCA. He is to be given credit for so much in our fine hobby. Plus just a fine husband and father as well. He was a very savy business man and loved the hobby of collecting knives, also yes, had many connections over the years with several different companies. Uh, that's all I have.

Singin46

One of my most cherished knives....and it's in rotation as an EDC with several others..... is a beautiful Parker-Edwards smooth white bone razor trapper. It has a magical feel in my hand. It's one of the most useful knives I've ever owned. It draws lots of ooohs and ahhs a lot of times when I pull it out.

[jfarmer]

I have had several dealings with Buzz (Mr. Parkers son). He has always been very nice to deal with. As Perry said, Mr. Parker did a lot to promote the knife collecting hobby.

James

[Roger - 50/2050]

Hello knifer friends,

This is what I have on the late & great MR. James F. Parker below from my personal notes, I hope everything is in order.




"Texas collector", Roger - 50/2050







James Franklin Parker - 62, a resident of Chattanooga, passed away Wednesday - November 17, 2004 at his residence.

He was the son of the late John and Donnie Parker.

He was a long time member of Tyner United Methodist Church where he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and was a member of the Fellowship Sunday School Class.

He was a past member of the Board of Trustees of Hiwassee College.

Mr. Parker was a former store manager and credit manager for Sherwin-Williams Paint Company. He went on to be the founder and owner of Parker Cutlery Company which he established in the late 1960's. Jim Parker also owned WR Case and Sons Cutlery Company until around 1990. He was also instrumental in starting and operating Parker’s Knife Collectors Service and for the past several years revived and operated Bulldog Brand Knife Company.

He was the first President of the National Knife Collectors Association, past recepient of the Tennessee Businessman of the Year Award and was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame.

[redferd]

Nice folder dewman. Thanks for the obit Roger. His passing is a great loss to all of us.

[Knifekid]

Neat picture you have there Roger. It was taken at a NKCA Show in Chattanooga a few years ago, I reconize the background. The interesting thing is that he's sitting down, Jim never sat at any show, he was always on his feet. Never could figure out how he done it, it's hard to stay on your feet all day at a show.

Here's a link with some more info on Jim. Click the guestbook and read what others had to say about him.

http://www.mem.com/display/biography.asp?ID=622281

[Hukk]

Can anyone give me sort of a thumbnail bio on the man? It would appear than at one time or another, he had his fingers in many different knife making pies. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he involved with Case at one time? And....where did the "Parker-Edwards" line come in. I have three of the "Parker-Edwards, Jacksonville, Al." razor trappers. And, I have one or two folders that have the "Parker-Frost" name on them. Now, I see that there are some knives called "IXL" that supposedly have "Parker" blades that were made in Japan and are being assembled in the U.S.A. I also understant he went into business for himself, but went belly up.

I've bought several Remington knives from his son off E-Bay. He goes by the name "Silverladdie".

Man oh man....his Dad got around, eh?

I can give several timelines for Parker knives, dates are aproximate.
Parker-Frost 1976-1978 Frost Cutlery still in business and make knives in China. http://www.frostcutlery.com You can see many brands he carries on this website. He carries a lot of brands, many Chinese made.
1979-1983 Parker Eagle brand with the wildlife series.
1984-1986 Parker Imai Some pearl and commemorative knives made. Many sold through Sears and Walmart.
1986-1989 Parker-Edwards
No Parker Eagle Brand knives manufactured after 1989, except some 35th anniversary knives made by Bulldog Brand or the same factory where Bulldog Brand is made.

[dkronholm]

I've got a nice stag stockman Parker Edwards with the Alabama stamp. To me it is really well made and the stag is nice. I have no idea of the value, since I can't find any other non-Damascus stag handled stockmans to compare to. I was cleaning out some of the knives in my collection (swapping), and had a thought to maybe swap it off, but I couldn't bring myself too, it's too well made of a knife. Any others have any Parker Edwards stockmans?

[dewman]

I really appreciate the information on Mr. Parker. Here's a photo of some of the Parker-Edwards, Parker-Frost and Parker knives I currently have in my collection. Presently, I'm bidding on three more. I'm really pi$$ed because I have misplaced a really nice Parkerwood handled razor trapper I had selected as a carry knife last week.....so, it isn't in the photo. The trapper in the upper right has some rather interesting dark green bone scales that don't show up in the photo.

[olderdogs1]

I'll share what I knew about Jim Parker as I traded several knives with him through the years.
Jim Parker was always the guy at the shows that had the most inventory and was making the most deals. He was always glad to take a trade if you had something he could sell and would make 10 trades or sales while most were making 1. Once the trade was agreed on, he could figure the money in 15 seconds or less, always accurate even if the deal was 15 knives.
He was sometimes hard to get to talk to as people were always coming up to him asking a value on a knife or making an inquiry as to where a knife came from. A large dealer told me at a recent show that Parker would ask him if he was having a good show and if he said no then Jim would buy several knives from him so he would have a good show. His opinion on a knife was extremely well respected by the knife community.
Several years ago when I was just getting started trading I saw Jim write a check for $6,600.00 for a knife collection and thought I must be seeing things. You folks that knew him know what I mean. No deal was too large or too small.
I hope this gives a little extra information you might not have had.
Tom, Olderdogs1

[El Lobo]

Here is a little capsule of what I know about Parker Edwards. Jim Parker entered into partnership with knifemaker/steelmaker Fain Edwards after working together on some Damascus (OK, pattern-welded) steel. They did 5 patterns originally, but many of these were not up to quality. More on that later. Anyway, they decided to become partners and make and sell knives and steel. Eventually, Parker bought Edwards' half of the business and it became Parker Eagle Brand. Parker eventually sold the business to 3 of his supervisors, and it became Bear MGC. It is now Bear & Son, and still making knives, steel, and pattern-welded steel.

Below is one of the original 5 patterns (Copperhead) that was deemed unfit and returned. This one was among a group purchased by Wendell Carson, of Fightin Bull fame. He repaired and rehafted this one in burnt Sambar Stag. I think it is a nice knife with alot of interesting history. I hope that was of at least some interest.

Bill

[Mint Set Man]

Perry,

Were you at the Louisville / Shepardsville NKCA Show in 2004 ?? This was 3 months before Jim died. He was not in attendance , but most evryone there signed a pair of small wooden boots that were carved for him.....do you remember signing those boots ??? I have a reason for asking......

[Knifekid]

Hey Bill,
Unfortunately, I missed that show and was not able to sign the boots.

[Gr8Scout]

Well, someone has to do it here, so it might as well be me.

If we are going to discuss Jim Parker, we have to admit he had his share of detractors as well as admirers. I think he did a great job of polluting the knife collecting market with dozens of classic old knife brands that he 'revived'. Beginning collectors get fooled by them all the time. There was the issue of the Marbles name that he had for a while, until the courts gave it back to the rightful owners.

Here's a knife I think says much about Jim Parker: A Nazi whittler that someone else created as a fake, that Parker copied and sold many of.
Anything for a buck.

[olderdogs1]

As one of the ones who had a lot of positive things to say about Jim Parker let me say that your point is well taken and shared by a lot of collectors. I am an avid Bulldog collector and will be the 1st to say that a lot of the Bulldog knives that were "vault knives" and such were never explained to my or other collector's satisfaction. I was just pointing out the obvious which was when they buried Jim Parker a whole lot of knowledge went with him. He was definitely a cagey marketer with his knives. Can't deny that he also had a world of knowledge and talent in the field.
It is such a pleasure to talk to the people who have the great knowledge such as Tony Foster, Jim Sargent, and the like. These are resources that won't be with us forever and should be appreciated and valued.
Tom , Olderdogs1

[DR_MAGOO]

I first became aquainted with Jim Parker when he was working at Sherwin-Williams Paint Company and selling knives out of the trunk of his car. Went to his house several times and purchased knives from the trunk. Fine individual. He would sell you only one or two knives or several and he always treated everyone the same. Seen and talked with him at knife shows. He gave me information about older knives that I had purchased that I couldn't find anywhere. He forgot more about knives than most of us will ever know.
The knife museum, now located at SMKW, has a great tribute to Jim.
If anyone is ever up that way, they need to stop by.

[dewman]

.....with all this being said about Mr. Parker, what would you guys consider the more "collectable" knives Mr. Parker was involved in. Parker-Edwards? Parker-Frost? Parker? Some of the Japanese Parkers?
Help this newbie out with some info on his knives. For some reason, I've developed a great liking for his two blade, Jacksonville, Alabama razor-trappers. Probably never be a true "collectors item", but....still....I like 'em. They appear to be made of some good steel and take and hold an edge pretty well.

[Gr8Scout]

Dewman, the very, very cool thing about knife collecting is that whatever you want to be 'collectible' is. Keep on eye on ebay and always check Parker knives that have been sold, most expensive items first, and you will see there are plenty of Parker collectors and some of the peices sell at a pretty good price. There are several different volumns of the Jim Parker pocket guide to knives out there, and they will give you a fairly extensive rundown of the knives he had produced. Do not put a lot of stock into his values of his own knives, however.

A few of my Parker folding dirks. I like these.

Phil

[Mint Set Man]

Hey Bill,
Unfortunately, I missed that show and was not able to sign the boots.

Perry at that NKCA Show in Louisville, it was decided that all of us dealers should do something to show Jim we missed him...he was not in attendance. By that time , Jim was so ill , he was bedfast.

I am somewhat of a wood carver. ...and at those shows it can be a little boring from time to time. I volunteered to carve a pair of wooden boots approximately 3" X 4" with real leather shoe strings and such. It only took a couple hours , at which time , I went to each dealer and had them to sign the boots. There were about 200 signatures on these little pups and most were lifelong friends of Jim.

After the show, I stained and installed the leather strings and sent to Jim with a note of thanks for all his years of service to our hobby ( business ).

Just thought you would like to see these.

[singin46]

Great that you did that Bill, did Jim see them before he passed away? Did you guys hear from him?

Singin46

[methadoneman]

Just hearing about this mans shady dealings makes me so damn mad I just bit the filter off my Camel.

[big monk]

Thinking this maybe a "'Parker Razor"" made during the years,Jim owned the Case Knife company--have been told,it may have been made at the Alabama,plant for Case???====nothing in the Case books,I have_________very interesting reading,and wheather you liked him or not_____the man did take "Knife Collecting" to a different level---thanks for sharin',some great stories