A dilema

The Barlow has been around for a long time for a reason. It's just so damn useful. Spear and pen blades cover all the bases for me since I rarely castrate anything. If you have specialized needs for a sheepsfoot or warncliffe I guess you need to have one but I have gotten along without them for all this time. The handle of a Barlow is simple but comfortable to hold too. I'll throw in the Copperhead and Copperlock as darned good all around blades too. I can't help it if the Copperlock is a lockblade, it would be just as good as a slipjoint.
 
KnifeHead said:
I would have mentioned the 3 1/5" Case Swayback Jack but it didn't meet your size requirement. That said, it would be a dandy EDC regardless of whether you chose SS or CV. Every one of them that I have handled work well and have very nice FnF.
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Is it really 3-1/5"? I've seen it listed as both 3-1/2" and 3-1/5", so I assumed the latter was a mistaken cut and paste off the WRCase site that just got propagated around the web. 1/5" is not a dimension I normally see with pocketknives.

For example, the CaseXX site has them at 3-1/2", but XXCutlery has them at 3-1/5".
 
mhawg said:
The Barlow has been around for a long time for a reason. It's just so damn useful. Spear and pen blades cover all the bases for me since I rarely castrate anything. If you have specialized needs for a sheepsfoot or warncliffe I guess you need to have one but I have gotten along without them for all this time. The handle of a Barlow is simple but comfortable to hold too. I'll throw in the Copperhead and Copperlock as darned good all around blades too. I can't help it if the Copperlock is a lockblade, it would be just as good as a slipjoint.
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I'm glad you posted this, because right before I read it, I had just purchased a GEC northfield barlow w/ stag scales and clip point blade. They just do such a good job, I'm really impressed by my stag scout. It's funny, until a week ago I thought the barlow was ugly as hell, shapeless and boring looking. But once I learned the history, it all turned around for me. Now I think it is absolutely beautiful in its simplicity.

GEMLN251208LPBST.JPG


Got it from collectorknives.net , Mike is a great guy so I love to help him out.


Sold my seb, picked up the barlow and set aside money for a swayback CV (waiting for knifeworks to stock up). Still have enough for a queen, still looking at the gunstock and whittler. I really would like to see those amber scales and would like to have a knife in D2 because it is a wonderful steel. Right now all I have is carbon.
The comment about the gunstock being uncomfortable for carry is off-putting, but I do carry in my back jeans pocket which has pretty rigid denim. Hell, if can carry my GEC scout there...I can carry anything really.
 
The comment about the gunstock being uncomfortable for carry is off-putting, but I do carry in my back jeans pocket which has pretty rigid denim. Hell, if can carry my GEC scout there...I can carry anything really.[/QUOTE]

You'll be fine then- I was trying to carry it in my front pocket, which was not ideal.
 
traderran, i have a cv trapper. true there is no such thing as too many, but i like to get new patterns to use, before i go for the familliar ones that i already have. So what does everyone here think, 6.5 bonestag large stockman or a new CV swayback jack? the jack is calling to me but the price point isnt...
 
The allure of the Swayback Jack is that it is an old pattern that is not often seen. AFAIK Case or Case/Bose are the only game in town. Before the recent reemergence, I don't even known when it was last made. I suppose we are all paying a premium for the tooling and the fact that they are not common.

If you wait a few years, there may be many of them and the price might come down. On the other hand, if you wait a few years they might be out of production and all gone. Choose your own poison wisely. :D;)

For me, I like historic, less-common patterns at a mass production price. Overall I like thinner blades and slimmer knives, and I don't care for the weight of a stockman's third blade, which is a blade I don't really need. I would get a Swayback, but that's just me based on my above criteria. Both knives are historic and certainly have their place. You can't go wrong with either.
 
A few I'll recommend are the Case Slimline Trapper in CV, the Queen Toothpick (D2) in amber bone (4" blade on that one), and the Tidioute/Great Eastern Cutlery/Northfield #23 Pioneer (3.5" blade).
 
RobbW said:
Is it really 3-1/5"? I've seen it listed as both 3-1/2" and 3-1/5", so I assumed the latter was a mistaken cut and paste off the WRCase site that just got propagated around the web. 1/5" is not a dimension I normally see with pocketknives.

For example, the CaseXX site has them at 3-1/2", but XXCutlery has them at 3-1/5".
Click to expand...

I know, I thought it was a strange non-standard measurement as well. BUT, this is the measurement they use all over the WR Case website and in the Case printed materials. http://www.wrcase.com/knives/pocket...et Worn Bermuda Green'&Folding='1'&Item='9730'
 
I just asked someone that has access to new Case SB knives to measure one to sixteenths of an inch. They are 3 3/16" closed....there you have it.
 
KnifeHead said:
I just asked someone that has access to new Case SB knives to measure one to sixteenths of an inch. They are 3 3/16" closed....there you have it.
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Thanks for the legwork. Wow...1/5"...it's like taking a step towards the Metric system, then taking a half step backwards.

I actually like knives in the 3-1/4" neigborhood, so this should be great for me.
 
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