A Kabar Barlow Story

B

Brian.Evans

Registered Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
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3,267
A few days ago I posted about finding a Kabar 1013 barlow in an antique store, the same knife as my grandfather carries. It is a little neglected, so I as happy, but I still wanted to find a nicer example. One of the guys emailed me several suggestions from the bay, and I almost pulled the trigger on one, until I got an email..... One of our members asked me for my address, saying he'd like to send me a Kabar 1013 he picked up a little while ago. In fact, I hope he doesn't care, but I'm going to post the history of the knife verbatim:

"The box is in the exact condition that it was in when I bought it new. ( They had the rubber band around it. ) I picked the knife up at Roach Hardware store in Topeka Kansas on June 16, 2005. I bought the knife on a whim while I was there getting a universal handle bushing to repair a loose shower handle. I brought the knife home, put it in the drawer and forgot about it until two weeks ago when I found it while sorting through some things. When I read your post on the traditional forum it seems now that I picked the knife up for you."

So, it seems like maybe it was fate. Kind of funny how stuff like that works out sometimes. I have been swamped with doctors appointments and sick kiddos, but I hope tomorrow I can get the old oil cleaned out of the joints, drop of new oil and run it over some stones to get it tuned up for carry. I've been carrying it anyway, just so I can admire it several times a day. It is definitely a knife built for work. 100% no bull, hard work knife. I love it and I will cherish it forever.

Now, what would a thread like this be without pictures? Nothing say I, nothing!

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I like the bottom right hand corner of the box in this picture.
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Simple work knife.
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Centered blades.
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You can see the old oil, smudges from me on the main blade. The knife is quite literally brand new.
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The "collection."
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Now this was kind of interesting. I was looking at the box and noticed there were price stickers stacked on top of each other. Looks like it was $15.50 when Ace Hardware owned the store, then $16.50 and then up to $21.59 when Roach's came into the picture. Kind of neat.
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Proof, they will last a lifetime! Thank goodness, or I'm going to have a few rotting knives here soon. Lol
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How to take care of a knife, not just Kabar. Note, using your knife as a hammer is not recommended. Well, dang. Now I have to find my pliers. How else am I supposed to drive a nail!?
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Thank you Joe. I love it. I sent you a coin, it should be there any day.

And finally, the knife and man who started it all. Ronald Evans, born 1933.

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Thats amazing - new in Box! What a fantastic gesture by the member who sent it to you. A special knife indeed.
 
I remember reading the first thread, that is really awesome. I love this forum because of things like this. congrats on the new knife, carry it and use it well. make it your goal to use it like your grandfather did and have it look like his after many years
 
crazyengineer said:
I remember reading the first thread, that is really awesome. I love this forum because of things like this. congrats on the new knife, carry it and use it well. make it your goal to use it like your grandfather did and have it look like his after many years
Click to expand...

+1 Ditto. Thanks for sharing.
 
That's a very kind gesture. Thanks to the member who made the gift of that knife. And thanks to you for sharing your story.

- Christian
 
Very cool. With any luck you'll be fishing that knife out of your pocket at a grandchild's request decades from now :thumbup:
 
Steel bolster--nice touch. I think granddad wins the patina contest this week! Nice looking knife--both the old and the new Kabars.
 
That's what makes this forum great. Such an awesome gesture from that forum member!
 
Very cool, and I'm glad you got the knife you wanted.

This has happened to me a few times here on the forum, there's just a lot of great generous people here willing to help each other out.
 
Very interesting postings about KaBar 1013 Barlows. Interesting to me that I have two 1013s, one with a straight blade exactly like your grandfather's, and another with a fatter, curved blade. Neither blade shows signs of extensive sharpening, tho neither are mint. The straight blade is the correct thickness at the blade edge, not overly thick as though someone had "sharpened" the curved blade down to a straight one. Leads me to believe there were two styles of blade depending on the year of manufacture.
 
Brian.Evans said:
The "collection."
20140224_171647


Now this was kind of interesting. I was looking at the box and noticed there were price stickers stacked on top of each other. Looks like it was $15.50 when Ace Hardware owned the store, then $16.50 and then up to $21.59 when Roach's came into the picture. Kind of neat.
20140224_172312


Proof, they will last a lifetime! Thank goodness, or I'm going to have a few rotting knives here soon. Lol
20140224_172801


How to take care of a knife, not just Kabar. Note, using your knife as a hammer is not recommended. Well, dang. Now I have to find my pliers. How else am I supposed to drive a nail!?
20140224_172846


Thank you Joe. I love it. I sent you a coin, it should be there any day.

And finally, the knife and man who started it all. Ronald Evans, born 1933.

20140125_145547

20140125_145523
Click to expand...
Brian, I have been trying to identify the maker of a Barlow that was my grandfathers. After careful cleaning I could read USA below the bottom of some partial characters that I later identified as being 1013 the rest had been filed or ground off sometime in the past. I had already matched it to a KaBar Barlow but closer inspection led to confirmation. I will attempt o post some pictures of my knife soon. Cool Story about your knife and grandfather. Mine has the nail nick like your grandfathers.
 
Brian.Evans said:
The "collection."
20140224_171647


Now this was kind of interesting. I was looking at the box and noticed there were price stickers stacked on top of each other. Looks like it was $15.50 when Ace Hardware owned the store, then $16.50 and then up to $21.59 when Roach's came into the picture. Kind of neat.
20140224_172312


Proof, they will last a lifetime! Thank goodness, or I'm going to have a few rotting knives here soon. Lol
20140224_172801


How to take care of a knife, not just Kabar. Note, using your knife as a hammer is not recommended. Well, dang. Now I have to find my pliers. How else am I supposed to drive a nail!?
20140224_172846


Thank you Joe. I love it. I sent you a coin, it should be there any day.

And finally, the knife and man who started it all. Ronald Evans, born 1933.

20140125_145547

20140125_145523
Click to expand...
 
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