Canal Street English Barlow

mnblade

mnblade

Joined
Feb 7, 2000
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Maybe I'm late to the party, but I just stumbled across this Canal Street English Barlow. Mighty sweet looking. Anyone have one?



Their site says it's 3 3/8" and has flat-ground blades (14-4CrMo or 440C).

-- Mark
 
smiling-knife said:
I don't have one, but it looks great. What wood are the scales?
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Pretty sure these are what they call "Sunset Smooth Bone Handles." If you root around online a bit, you can also see "Reclaimed American Chestnut" handles, which I think look even better.

-- Mark
 
A CSC barlow is going to be my next purchase. Just not sure if I want one with g10 scales or the reclaimed chesnut.
 
I'm a bit surprised they left the bolsters plain. Not that they've had bold, deep stamps on their barlows that I can recall but that real estate cries out for something to me.
 
The bone is beautiful; I have one of their pinch lockbacks in the same material.

I'm a bit surprised they left the bolsters plain. Not that they've had bold, deep stamps on their barlows that I can recall but that real estate cries out for something to me.
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I know some guys aren't fans, but I wish it had the coin shield. :)
 
I was thinking because the coin shield wasn't there it would be a reason to have something on the bolsters to outwardly mark it as a CSC. When I checked out the barlows on CSC's website the product description lists them as having a shield but the images do not show it.
 
Some have bolster etchings, not sure why the factory photos don't show it.

From a google search:

IMG_7739_zpse328ba84.jpg
 
I've always loved the way this Barlow looks just never gotten around to ordering one. I'm not a big stainless steel fan on traditional knives I think is the main reason but if they offered this in 1095 I'd be all over it!
 
I looked at a couple of their Barlows today at (removed non BF dealer member reference). Really well made knives. I didn't own a Canal Street knife, so I decided to pickup an American Elk Trapper in 440C there. Pretty nice slip joint; it was not cheap.

My first good knife was a Case Barlow when I was around 10 years old. I loved that knife. Broke the main blade and Case replaced it with a new one. Pretty nice service for a kid. Now I lean toward a slightly larger knife than the Barlow and as a result, have not bought one.

The American Chestnut scales is very nice!

Maybe one of you guys can confirm this.... I was told that the origin of Canal Street Cutlery was Schrade folks after the bankruptcy who started up another cutlery business in NY state. I don't know much about them other than their knives are about equivalent to Shatt & Morgan or Queen's high quality (and price) line. This is my first.
 
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thats a nice looking knife in the op.
i will respectfully disagree with some posts in that i think the lack of a shield and ornament on the bolsters is appealing. it gives a classy look to what i think of as a rougher old style pattern. ymmv, of course.
 
22-rimfire said:
I looked at a couple of their Barlows today at (removed non BF dealer member reference). Really well made knives. I didn't own a Canal Street knife, so I decided to pickup an American Elk Trapper in 440C there. Pretty nice slip joint; it was not cheap.

My first good knife was a Case Barlow when I was around 10 years old. I loved that knife. Broke the main blade and Case replaced it with a new one. Pretty nice service for a kid. Now I lean toward a slightly larger knife than the Barlow and as a result, have not bought one.

The American Chestnut scales is very nice!

Maybe one of you guys can confirm this.... I was told that the origin of Canal Street Cutlery was Schrade folks after the bankruptcy who started up another cutlery business in NY state. I don't know much about them other than their knives are about equivalent to Shatt & Morgan or Queen's high quality (and price) line. This is my first.
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Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia, which I believe is correct;
Knife manufacturing was a major industry in Ellenville and Napanoch for over 100 years; the Ulster Knife Company set up in the 1870s, eventually merging with Imperial Knife Company and Schrade Cutlery, finally becoming Imperial Schrade until its closing in 2004. Famous for "Uncle Henry" and "Old Timer" knives, the Schrade tradition is now maintained by several former executives and employees in the newly-created Canal Street Cutlery,[13] specializing in high-end quality collector knives.
 
That barlow looks nice! I do agree that a stamped bolster would appeal to me more though. Interesting that some schrade folks started CSC, Perhaps they should take a tour of the GEC factory to get some pointers......;)

Some guys getting newer CSC knives should post about their quality, I'm not trying to start anything, just curious. My last couple run-ins with CSC knives had really sloppy craftsmanship. Has that changed at all?

I would love to pick up one of these barlows if I heard a couple good reviews... Haven't heard a lot about CSC on the forums lately.
 
I have this one in Chestnut, as well as most everything else CSC makes in Chestnut. All are recent purchases and quality is on a par with GEC.


 
Looking at the new two blade moon pie trapper (with the elk scales) and steel liners.... Very slim and tight knife. No blade wobble. The grinds are pretty even. High polish on the blades. No sharp edges except of course the blade. Snap is good, but not as hard as most GECs. I looked at two of these and the stag varied in thckness which made the knives very individual. High quality knife!

Interesting comment there... I habitually check every knife I pick up for sharpness and I notice a chunk of my skin on one of the blades. I wiped it off and mentioned the knives were sharp and about the skin... she said there is a lot of DNA floating around this place!
 
22-rimfire said:
Looking at the new two blade moon pie trapper (with the elk scales) and steel liners.... Very slim and tight knife. No blade wobble. The grinds are pretty even. High polish on the blades. No sharp edges except of course the blade. Snap is good, but not as hard as most GECs. I looked at two of these and the stag varied in thckness which made the knives very individual. High quality knife!

Interesting comment there... I habitually check every knife I pick up for sharpness and I notice a chunk of my skin on one of the blades. I wiped it off and mentioned the knives were sharp and about the skin... she said there is a lot of DNA floating around this place!
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Very nice to hear. I wasn't trying to bash the company, and there are some things I like about CSC, sometimes I like a lighter pull, and I really like the blade/handle ratios on the half moon.

I'm glad to hear the quality is good or improving, my older CSC half moon trapper is a wreck, but I guess every company lets one slip by now and then. I really like that chestnut barlow!
 
roninelh said:
Some guys getting newer CSC knives should post about their quality, I'm not trying to start anything, just curious. My last couple run-ins with CSC knives had really sloppy craftsmanship. Has that changed at all?
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My first CSC was a Swing Guard. Beautiful and perfectly functional, but the fit and finish didn't compare well to the similar knives by AG Russell/Boker.
The subsequent knives from them, a drop point hunter, ring opener, and smooth bone lockback, have all been excellent. I would absolutely buy more of their products (not the football knife though :p ) based on the quality of that lockback, my most recent purchase.

One caveat, many of their knives have been advertised as having 420 stainless blades. For CSC prices I expect something better than that. Fortunately, many I see now are 440C or D2. :thumbup:
 
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