John Nelson Cooper

John Nelson Cooper (1906–1987) was an American custom knifemaker who was a founding member of the Knifemakers' Guild. He was a mentor to Jody Samson and made knives for over 60 years.

History Cooper began making utility knives and butcher knives in Tremont, Pennsylvania, in 1924 while working as a welder. Eventually he moved on to welding in the Virginia shipyards and began making hunting knives, fishing knives and combat knives as a second business. Cooper's knives were made by the stock removal method and he attached his handles using traditional methods such as rivets and pins until 1965 when he retired from welding and relocated to Burbank, California, as a full-time knifemaker with his nephew, Greorge Cooper as Cooper Knives. He was a charter member of the Knifemakers' Guild. Cooper made push daggers for police officers and FBI agents.

Celebrities such as John Wayne, Sammy Davis Jr. and Lee Marvin collected Cooper's knives.

In 1978, Cooper opened a new knife shop in Lufkin, Texas, where he made 1,000 knives per year until his retirement from knifemaking in 1981. In retirement he made a few knives every year until his death in 1987.