Rod "Caribou" Chappel Folding Knife

M

maggie23

Joined
Jul 15, 2023
Messages
8
Hello all,
I've just joined this forum as I frequently work with knives at my job and am always scouring the web for information. I'm hoping to save myself some time by asking for help here!
We recently acquired a Rod Chappel folding knife. It is signed and the blade has that signature "look" I've seen with a lot of his pieces. However, I have not come across a single Chappel folding knife in my research. Did Rod make folding knives? Has anyone come across something similar?
I can't figure out how to attach photos, but I have them if that would be helpful (edit: photos are located a few comments down). Thanks to anyone who reaches out!
Maggie
 
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As a registered user, you can post pictures using a picture hosting site. I use Imgur, but there are others. Once you have uploaded a picture to the hosting site, copy the web address of the picture. Note: picture web addresses must end in .jpg or .gif

Then go to your post and click the image tool on the toolbar next to the smiley tool. Click the link icon in the popup. (Looks like a chain.) Paste the picture address into the window. Then click the INSERT button.
 
maggie23 said:
Any idea what it might be worth?
Click to expand...

Welcome to BladeForums! Hang around and enjoy all knife related topics.

But allow me to direct you to this, the mod above must have missed the opportunity:

NEW MEMBERS :: Please read this :: WHAT IS MY KNIFE WORTH?

From Bladeforums rules: WHAT IS MY KNIFE / GADGET / SPATULA / TUNING FORK WORTH ?!?!?!?! In order to curtail potential abuse of membership privileges associated with the forums, questions regarding valuation of knives and collections are limited to those with a membership level which permits...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
Thank you both! I don't really want to set up an image viewing account, so I think I'm going to pass on sharing the photos. Thanks for the tip!

I can move this post to the what it's worth thread, but I'm really mostly wondering if anyone else has seen these Chappel folding knives before. I can delete the sentence asking if anyone knows what it's worth too, as we have a pretty good idea on pricing already. Thank you both again!
 
Is it a shadowfox? See here

My Knife Life, Roderick Caribou Chappel

I got out of chronological order, having met Rod before J.D.....please forgive me. So I'm standing watch on the USS Sacramento (AOE-1) on a cold winter night in Puget Sound, 1988. The Officer of the Deck is this salty old goat who fancies himself a gun enthusiast, and he is telling me about...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
fishface5 said:
Is it a shadowfox? See here

My Knife Life, Roderick Caribou Chappel

I got out of chronological order, having met Rod before J.D.....please forgive me. So I'm standing watch on the USS Sacramento (AOE-1) on a cold winter night in Puget Sound, 1988. The Officer of the Deck is this salty old goat who fancies himself a gun enthusiast, and he is telling me about...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
Click to expand...
No, it doesn't look like that one. It has a wood and brass handle with a clip point blade. It's signed "Rod Caribou Chappel Puma", so maybe Puma is what he called it? Thanks for the reply.
 
maggie23 said:
No, it doesn't look like that one. It has a wood and brass handle with a clip point blade. It's signed "Rod Caribou Chappel Puma", so maybe Puma is what he called it? Thanks for the reply.
Click to expand...
LIkely the other way around. Puma has been a well known German manufacturer for decades. They might have named a model after Rod Chappel, whoever that might be.
 
knarfeng said:
LIkely the other way around. Puma has been a well known German manufacturer for decades. They might have named a model after Rod Chappel, whoever that might be.
Click to expand...
Rod Chappel was a custom knife maker from the Pacific Northwest who worked from 1970 to his death in 2017. I believe it's his, as it has his signature on the blade, just followed by the word puma. From my research, it looks like he named several of his other blade styles after animals, Native tribes, and other regional things.
 
Rod Chappel, custom knife maker, owner of Davis Custom knives in Spokane Wa, mentored by Gil Hibben and Harvey Draper.
Seen fixed blades but haven't seen a folder like that.
If you really want information you will need to post pictures so we can see what it actually looks like.
Its free and its not hard to do......
>Open free account at Imgur
>Upload pics to account
>Copy BBCode url for the image you want to post
>paste url here in the text box

Oh, if you are a dealer you might want to upgrade your account and save yourself a lot of trouble. Once you upgrade you can ask about values and post pictures using the forum software.
 
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Arathol said:
Rod Chappel, custom knife maker, owner of Davis Custom knives in Spokane Wa, mentored by Gil Hibben and Harvey Draper.
Seen fixed blades but haven't seen a folder like that.
If you really want information you will need to post pictures so we can see what it actually looks like.
Its free and its not hard to do......
>Open free account at Imgur
>Upload pics to account
>Copy BBCode url for the image you want to post
>paste url here in the text box

Oh, if you are a dealer you might want to upgrade your account and save yourself a lot of trouble. Once you upgrade you can ask about values and post pictures using the forum software.
Click to expand...
I caved and made an account haha. I got the photos to upload but they're huge, so my apologies. They're right below your comment. Thanks for the help!
 
Looks like a Puma Game Warden, made January 1971....
Don't know what the engraving is or who did it....
Oh, pics are fine......bigger with good resolution is better.....
 
Arathol said:
Looks like a Puma Game Warden, made January 1971....
Don't know what the engraving is or who did it....
Oh, pics are fine......bigger with good resolution is better.....
Click to expand...
Wow, that's what it is, isn't it? See, I would have never figured that out. Thank you so much for your help!
 
A Arathol How familiar are you with Rod Chappel's work there, bud?

Arathol said:
Huh.....So you send this guy a nice Puma folder so he can grind off the makers markings and replace them with his own as if he made the knife.....? That should do......wonders....for any resale value.....LOL......
Click to expand...
 
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It looks like a someone wanted the frame rounded over (melted). 70's - early 80's it was actually kinda common. Blade magazine had an article or two on it, the gun magazines too. Thinning the whole frame of the knife, rounding over the scales and bolsters, adding finger grooves, etc.... were all services that were advertised as side hustles by pros and amateurs alike.
 
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