A British Barlow

[scruffuk]

...and a new one at that!

As I commented in the "What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?" thread, I was tired and, admittedly, a little frustrated to see all this talk of American made Barlows and not be able to show off a 'native' offering.

Well, after some procrastinating, I went ahead and ordered from Sheffield's Little Mester Mr Trevor Ablett (via a Sheffield based retailer).

My previous experiences with Mr Ablett's work, was with a Barlow actually, one handled in Buffalo. The quality was not quite there, bruised and uneven areas around the pins, and a ridiculous nail breaker to boot!

This time round things were better....MUCH better.

It was another tricky day with it being so bright, so the photo's aren't quite up to par as some, but I'll let what I did take do a little of the talking:

Nice Rosewood scales, one side a bit lighter with a nice deep stripe.

Well ground, nice and even....but not especially sharp.

The fit and finish was rather good, surprisingly so in fact, and much better than the Otter.
Minimal 'burr' in the liners, which are a reet nice bit'o'brass. The fit of the bolsters is even and square.
No high spots around the pins.

The handle has a lovely shape and contour, sitting very well in my mits.

Ignoring the 'hand made' contention, and the possible outsourcing of the blade production, my faith has been restored a little in the quality of some of Sheffield's modern day offerings. It'll be nice to add this bit of Blighty, nay bit o'Yorkshire, into the rotation, especially on Wednesdays!

Thanks for looking.

EDIT: Ooops! Dup'd those last two pics.

 

[Jack Black]

Glad you got a good 'un mate. So much for 'not buying any more knives'! You're as bad as me!

Been prevaricating about this one for a while, but maybe I'll have a look the next time I'm over in Sheffield

 

[sturzi]

I'm glad that there still are some cutlers left in Sheffield.
I really like the swelling of the wooden covers, usually you only see that with stag. :thumbup:

 

[pertinux]

I'm glad that there still are some cutlers left in Sheffield.
I really like the swelling of the wooden covers....

Yes, that was a pleasant surprise. Thanks for showing the handle so clearly!

Very nice little knife. I appreciate your providing all these pictures, and the extra information. :thumbup:

~ P.

 

[Will Power]

Ken??

I've got one of these Abletts but in stag and I like it a lot. Despite arriving with 'work needed' (brass shards in the liners, ultra stiff action and none too sharp) after cleaning and sharpening it's become a favourite. I particularly like the handle shape and the size/weight ratio is satisfying, not too light not too gross, a pleasing and authentic knife in my view. The spring tang mating is right there and NO gaps on this one. Had to wait several weeks for it but I think this was hype due to a 'Guardian' article , the lemmings all took the bus at the same time....

Regards, Will

 

[puukkoman]

Looks like a really nice one! Thanks for showing it; glad to see such good work still coming out of Sheffield. I'll be interested to hear your opinion on the quality of the blade steel, after you've had a chance to use it for a while.
:thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[paulhilborn]

Beautiful Barlow Scruff!!! I to really liked the swelled wood covers on this one---must make for a very comfortable grip.

Paul

 

[Peregrin]

I too like the contoured handle. Nice looking Barlow!

 

[sitflyer]

+ yet another :thumbup: on the contours of that handle! What a beauty! I love everything about that Barlow except the fact that they might be hard to come by stateside very nice indeed!

 

[Campbellclanman]

Nice one Scruff, I was wanting to see this a bit more, and I am so glad that you took the time to show us, I like the Brass Bolsters, also what I really like is the way the flat top runs off the Bolster onto the very nicely fitted Rosewood and it Tapers off just after the pin, this gives a different handle shape, and an extremely attractive one at that!

 

[shrapne1]

in my best sean connery james bond accent: Thatsch schekschey

 

[midnight flyer]

Ditto on those wood covers. What a gorgeous knife! I don't but a couple of knives with wood covers on them anymore, and for the life of me can't figure out why. I am not nearly as hard on knives now as I was as a kid, so they should last well, stabilized or not.

Thanks for posting that one.

Robert

 

[russde]

in my best sean connery james bond accent: Thatsch schekschey

All right, fess up. How many of you, while reading this, said the above line out loud, in your best Sean Connery voice?

 

[CJZ]

in my best sean connery james bond accent: Thatsch schekschey

^^^+1

 

[meako]

The middle one with barlow written on it is stamped "BEXFIELD SHEFFIELD"
I don't know who made it but it is a solid chunk of a knife.Looks similar.
cheers.

James Bond/every other character he's ever played accent. The most spectacular being Marco Ramius the Scotto/Russian sub commander in Hunt For Red October.

 

[scruffuk]

Thanks for the comments folks.

Glad you got a good 'un mate. So much for 'not buying any more knives'! You're as bad as me!

Been prevaricating about this one for a while, but maybe I'll have a look the next time I'm over in Sheffield

You can have a closer look at the weekend sir.

Nice one Scruff, I was wanting to see this a bit more, and I am so glad that you took the time to show us, I like the Brass Bolsters, also what I really like is the way the flat top runs off the Bolster onto the very nicely fitted Rosewood and it Tapers off just after the pin, this gives a different handle shape, and an extremely attractive one at that!

Thansk Dunc. Yes, you have picked out on the same features that make it for me there. She got a real purty figure.

Meako - Nice little gathering, but I wonder about the knife you mention, if the bolster is really big enough to make it a barlow in the strictest sense?

 

[yabantas]

beautiful mix of wood, brass and steel.

 

[meako]

Agreed -I've got another that's even less barlowesque than this .

 

[MTHall720]

I'm getting addicted to Barlows. Thanks for showing us yours! Great looking blade.

 

[scruffuk]

Agreed -I've got another that's even less barlowesque than this .

I've seen many an example that isn't but sold as a Barlow. Mainly cheap junk being rebranded or peddled by companies in the UK. Shame.

I'm thinking I'll convex the edge on mine.