- Joined
- Aug 17, 2013
- Messages
- 1,558
Hi All -
Well I've been after an Original Case Red Bone Barlow for some time and since Charlie's Anniversary Red Soups came out I've particularly wanted to see the bone coloring that haunted him for so long and inspired him to new dying heights.
Most of the Old Red Bones with full blades were out of my price range so I had all but given up hope... Then I found one on auction with the most beautiful red bone handle in very nice shape but with almost no blade of any kind left. It was almost like the original owner cared for and admired the bone so much but just wore those blades down to nubs. I decided I'd go for it and got it for a steal. Secretly I had plans... :devilish:
I had been holding onto a sawcut delrin clip pen Barlow with full unused blades from the 70's. If my calculations were correct I should be able to transfer the blades to the old well preserved Red Bone Handle. I forged the check mark by the organ donor line on the Sawcut Delrins Driver's License and that was that.
Well I just jumped right in and tore Grandpa apart as delicately as I could...
Original parts laid out (remind you of anyone's compositions and background?)
Plan of action
Now at first I had thought I might try to put together a WIP ala Evan's most amazing and helpful one here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...simple-hand-tools?highlight=bringing+new+life
BUt alas the job of modding the above knives proved too involved and the concentration it took to do it made me quite incapable of photographing the process. So if you need a tutorial I highly recommend looking at Evan's thread above. It proved invaluable to my own process.
ok ok before I reveal the finished product just a few caveats. The original Old Red Bone had the pen in front of the clip blade and the Clip has the nick more toward the end of the blade. The blades from the Sawcut Delrin Barlow were configured to go on pen behind clip and the nick on the clip as you can see is more towards the center on the spine. I originally thought I'd put the blades and springs from the "newer" knife onto the older handle but again things dont always work out like you plan and I found that I had to use the old springs in order for everything to line up correctly with the pin holes of the older scales. Here it is all finished and polished.
While mine aint soupy I thought I'd show it next to Charlie's Anniversary to compare the coloring:
all by itself (downright Christmassy with the green background right?)
some glamor shots
and that's that. I have to say I am very pleased to carry it now. In my humble opinion it really came out nicely. No gaps or wobble, nice easy smooth action and satisfying walk and talk on both blades. There's just something special about sharing in the history of a knife and its making and preserving something that seemed like it was on its way out. Thanks again to Evan and Glenn for the help they've given on this forum and to Charlie and his merry band or Barlow lovers for inspiring the appreciation of this classic pattern.
One more for the road
Well I've been after an Original Case Red Bone Barlow for some time and since Charlie's Anniversary Red Soups came out I've particularly wanted to see the bone coloring that haunted him for so long and inspired him to new dying heights.
Most of the Old Red Bones with full blades were out of my price range so I had all but given up hope... Then I found one on auction with the most beautiful red bone handle in very nice shape but with almost no blade of any kind left. It was almost like the original owner cared for and admired the bone so much but just wore those blades down to nubs. I decided I'd go for it and got it for a steal. Secretly I had plans... :devilish:
I had been holding onto a sawcut delrin clip pen Barlow with full unused blades from the 70's. If my calculations were correct I should be able to transfer the blades to the old well preserved Red Bone Handle. I forged the check mark by the organ donor line on the Sawcut Delrins Driver's License and that was that.
Well I just jumped right in and tore Grandpa apart as delicately as I could...
Original parts laid out (remind you of anyone's compositions and background?)
Plan of action
Now at first I had thought I might try to put together a WIP ala Evan's most amazing and helpful one here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...simple-hand-tools?highlight=bringing+new+life
BUt alas the job of modding the above knives proved too involved and the concentration it took to do it made me quite incapable of photographing the process. So if you need a tutorial I highly recommend looking at Evan's thread above. It proved invaluable to my own process.
ok ok before I reveal the finished product just a few caveats. The original Old Red Bone had the pen in front of the clip blade and the Clip has the nick more toward the end of the blade. The blades from the Sawcut Delrin Barlow were configured to go on pen behind clip and the nick on the clip as you can see is more towards the center on the spine. I originally thought I'd put the blades and springs from the "newer" knife onto the older handle but again things dont always work out like you plan and I found that I had to use the old springs in order for everything to line up correctly with the pin holes of the older scales. Here it is all finished and polished.
While mine aint soupy I thought I'd show it next to Charlie's Anniversary to compare the coloring:
all by itself (downright Christmassy with the green background right?)
some glamor shots
and that's that. I have to say I am very pleased to carry it now. In my humble opinion it really came out nicely. No gaps or wobble, nice easy smooth action and satisfying walk and talk on both blades. There's just something special about sharing in the history of a knife and its making and preserving something that seemed like it was on its way out. Thanks again to Evan and Glenn for the help they've given on this forum and to Charlie and his merry band or Barlow lovers for inspiring the appreciation of this classic pattern.
One more for the road
:thumbup:
When I first joined BF, I thought I'd ask 1 question a week. Then I did a quick calculation, and if I really do have 5K Qs, it would take me 100 years to get them all answered. I'll be 63 a week from tomorrow, so I decided I'm going to have to accelerate my questioning pace! 
