Christmas Loot, good cross section/selection!

Bigfattyt

Bigfattyt

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Jun 23, 2007
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So, I decided to ask Santa for some traditional folders for Christmas this year.

I went for a cross section of styles, and makers.

Two GEC Northfields, Two Queen Collabs (one Burke, one Pardue), a Schatt and Morgan File and Wire large Barlow, and an Large AG Russel "Sodbuster" style.

from left to right.

S&M Large Barlow, Burke/Queen large Barlow, AG Russel Large "sodbuster", Northfield Sunfish (steel bolsters/liners), Queen/Burke Canoe (also appears to have steel liners/bolsters?), Northfield mini barlow. (also got two sheaths, and a CS spike hawk.....as well as some non knife related swag).

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Initial impressions.

The GEC are both steel liners and bolsters. They are top notch with fit and finish. No gaps, no wiggle, every thing is tight and lovely.
The burnt stag is lovely on the Barlow. The blades on both are stamped, which is a nice touch. The bone on the Sunfish has lovely jigging. Smooth, warm and rich and it feels great in the hand. The size seems just right for my hand and pocket.

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This little guy will get some coin pocket time! It is very solid, but the pulls on either blade are not bad at all! Stouter than the Boctoe Tideoute barlow that I got for my dad for christmas, but no where near as stiff as I was expecting (see quite a few people who got nail breakers).
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Next up is AG Russel's version of the Sodbuster. This one is made in China. The fit and finish on this one is great. No gaps, smooth tight strong spring. The handles are black linen Rucarta. The price on these is $29. There is a tiny side to side movement on the blade, but nothing disconcerting. (on a side note, I held another one right before Christmas, and did not notice any side to side movement on that one.

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The tang to spring fit is excellent! The machining inside and out is great!.
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I will be sanding the corners a tiny bit on this one just to make them a bit rounder. They are comfortable as is, but the one I held had this done and it was great. This is a great knife, and I intend to order more in both the black and the yellow (which I have been told is a bit thinner). I indent on ordering a smaller in back, and probably another set in yellow.

More in the next post.................................................
 
Next up is the Burke/Queen large Barlow. The finish on the back spring/liners is not top notch on this one. Some gaps pm either side of the back spring. But the spring is strong, and the feeling is very stout. No side to side wiggle. I really really like the feel, and look of this knife. Aside from the gaps on the back, the only thing I would change about this one is the bolsters. They seem like a perfect place for a nice stamp. the Queen Q, or Burke would have been cool. I just like stamped Barlow bolsters......... It would also be nice with a long pull, and to be more pinch-able.

This one will be a keeper, and user. I can't say enough about the color and texture of the bone on this one. It is just great. It feels neat in the hand too.

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Next up was the Schatt & Mortgan File and Wire large barlow. This one is a real looker. Absolutely stunning. To hold, and feel. The bone is smooth and glossy. Probably my favorite bone I have held! So nice looking.

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Too bad the spring to liner fit is terrible. The You can see daylight between both the liner to spring fit, and between one bolster and liner! It is weird because the fit of the bone scales to the bolsters and the liners is perfect. the polish of the springs looks like they took a lot of time to get it right.

As with the Large Burke/Barlow, the gaps would not be a deal breaker. The knife is just that pretty. However, the blades don't feel near as solid. There is a bit of movement side to side on the main spear. There is even more wiggle on the lovely small clip point. Almost a rattling wiggle. This will definitely bother me! The pulls on both blades are very light.

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I am a bit sick about the issues on this knife, as it is the coolest most lovely feeling slip joint I have ever held!

You can see tablecloth through both the spring-liner fit and the bolster to liner fit. Again, this would not be too much if the blades were tight and solid. I will have to figure out what I am going to to get this one fixed.

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Lower down on the same side.
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Cool little clip blade on this.

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Last up is the Pardue/Queen collaboration.

This one also appears to be steel on the liners (as did the Burke). The bolsters may also be steel, or nickle silver. But the liners are definitely not brass on either.

The Steel is D2 again.

Fit of stag to bolsters is great. The liner/spring/bolster fit is not as tight as the GEC, but there is no light coming through these. They are just a little less polished looking than the components of the GEC before assembly.

This is a very solid knife side to side. All three blades are tight from side to side. The springs are soft on this one. Very easy to open on the blades. You can open them with even pointer finger nails easily.

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Note, no see through gaps. Just seem to be a bit "rough" on the liners before assembly. (but nice and solid for sure).

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Great coping blade.

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Nice stag and fit on this one.

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The Canoe pattern keeps the tangs from poking you, and feels good in the pocket and hand. Once I put edges on these blades, it will make a decent whittler I believe.

The D2 blades (including the Burke/Queen barlow) will need some re-profiling to get them sharp. Which I am used to on many knives (even ones costing much much more).

The blades on the GEC's were plenty sharp out of the box, and had a thinner grind behind the edge as well. Sharpening them up is easy as pie (I convex and then strop).

I know the Queen D2 will take me a lot more work to tune up, and get the bevels where I want them.

The Schatt & Morgan File and Wire is the only real disappointment on this batch. I would be disappointed with that much gap on a 20 dollar knife. On a 100 knife that is inexcusable.

It is really telling to compare the fit and finish on the GEC to the S&M. the S&M has a lot of polish, but the bones underneath are not solid!

At least the Burke/Queen is very solid, and will make a great user (that looks nice too).


Anyone do a padded vice squeeze on a barlow like the S&M? Or should I just send it back? Or to Queen? The dealer I bought it from will likely just tell me to send it back to queen, and not to him (past experience with an issue).
 
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I just started carrying traditionals again this year, after more than 2 decades of not doing so. I stopped carying a traditional knife when my Oldtimer stockman was stolen from me (this was grade school......4th grade!).

It is nice to carry a folder that people comment about in a nice way. I had one older gentleman at church fondle my first GEC (one given to me by another forum member to start me back down the righteous path of traditionals again. He said "they sure don't make knives like this any more!

Tonight an aunt was talking about the weapons I carry, and I showed her the Northfield tadpole barlow.....She exclaimed "cute!"

Then I showed her the grandad barlow and she thought it was also neat.

I can't tell you how fast many of my relatives loose interest if I show them a tactical folder or fixed blade. Their eyes just glaze over or they make snide comments!

So far, not so with these traditionals.

Mostly, I just get a warm fuzzy feeling, and think of times past, seeing my own father with folder, or my grandfather carrying one when we visited the farm!
 
Great write-up and pics. I own two of the F&W Large Barlows, and I agree with your sentiments - it is probably the coolest slipjoint that I own. I'm sorry to say that I've also had issues with about half of the 11 F&Ws that I own - mostly gaps along the spine. None of the issues have been serious enough for me to send them back, however. I did have a gap under the one of the bolsters on my Saddlehorn Lockback knife. I squeezed it in a vise, which closed the gap - but caused another small problem. The bolster pin went from being invisible to poking, out the side of the bolster. I filed down the pin with a ceramic stone, then finished it off with simichrome. So, you might want to consider that before trying to close any gaps near the bolster. I really like the designs and materials found in the F&W line, I just wish they would step up the QC a bit.

Adam
 
Nice knives... You must have been a good fella during the whole year for getting such nice presents by Mr. Clause :D

Thank you for the informative thread and the cool photos!

Kind regards
Andi
 
aplehr1 said:
Great write-up and pics. I own two of the F&W Large Barlows, and I agree with your sentiments - it is probably the coolest slipjoint that I own. I'm sorry to say that I've also had issues with about half of the 11 F&Ws that I own - mostly gaps along the spine. None of the issues have been serious enough for me to send them back, however. I did have a gap under the one of the bolsters on my Saddlehorn Lockback knife. I squeezed it in a vise, which closed the gap - but caused another small problem. The bolster pin went from being invisible to poking, out the side of the bolster. I filed down the pin with a ceramic stone, then finished it off with simichrome. So, you might want to consider that before trying to close any gaps near the bolster. I really like the designs and materials found in the F&W line, I just wish they would step up the QC a bit.

Adam
Click to expand...

I believe I will try the padded vice. I wonder if this will tighten up the pen blade wiggle.

Another question, did the vice squeeze stay tight? Or did it loosen up after use?


biglmbass said:
Great review and photos. The S&M would bother me enough to send it back, FWIW.
Click to expand...

The funny thing, is I was at a knife store the day before Christmas, and they had two F&W from a collection. Both were Tight, with no gaps! If they had been different designs, I would have picked up one to match.
 
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Real nice looking lineup you got there.

That Pardue Canoe looks like a serious piece of business!

It's a shame Queen can't straighten out the problem they have with gaps in the liners/bolsters/springs. Both the S&M and the Burke Barlow are worthy of a better effort to say the least.
 
Hey great read-up on your knives bigfattyt.
Yeah...Im pretty sure I would send the S&M back with the issues that go together.
The one knife I picked out of the bunch is that awesome Burke/Queen Barlow...I love the look of those knives, I sure the gaps on the Barlow wouldnt be enough to worry me....I have a few knives like that and to me they would have to be severe for a gap problem to get to me, the one thing that breaks the deal every time for me on a new knife is side play of a blade!
A G Russels' stuff that he gets contracted overseas in my experience is very good work indeed.

I personally would NOT vice a new knife, If I was gifted a second hand knife or bought a cheaper used one?...then yes, but Im disapointed your dealer who wouldn't send your knife back for you...I would certainly loose interest in a dealer who has no interest in customer service. Send the knife back without messing with it, as Im not too sure if vicing a knife stays forever?
Thank you for taking the time to give us the eye candy
 
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So I went back to the knife store today to look at a collection he was selling.


The knife store guy had a large collection of traditional folders he was selling for a guy (divorce).

I had a chance to go through about 10 or more knife rolls with him. (not counting the counter that had 4 levels from the same collection).

It was neat. He had every Knife Collectors Association knife. It was several decades worth of all different brands.
 
wow..someones not having a good Christmas by the sounds of it though, hard to imagine giving up your knives like that
 
Man, great haul! You must have been good this year. (Are you one o' those boring people who never get into trouble?) ;)

That little (not!) Queen three-blade Canoe has been on my list for awhile. I think I'll ask Santa for one next year.

Off topic regarding the brands being discussed, but here's an idea in dealing with gaps:

aplehr1 said:
I'm sorry to say that I've also had issues with about half of the 11 F&Ws that I own - mostly gaps along the spine. None of the issues have been serious enough for me to send them back, however.
Click to expand...

I've had issues with gaps with almost every new [old stock] Camillus slipjoint that I've bought. It seems that when they run the spine on a belt to even it all out, the knife ends up with burrs between the liners and springs. I had a brand new Camp knife that you could hold up, and literally watch TV through the gap. :eek:

One solution - for users only - is to take one of the thinner leaves of a feeler gauge, and gently push it into the gap and then gently run it back and forth. Even on knives where you can't see debris in the gaps, usually something gets pushed out. Sometimes (and this is why I only do this to users) I have to take fine emery cloth and clean up & polish the back again. I guess having crud in the gaps when the knife gets a final polish makes a difference in how the parts sit together. Removing said crud later sometimes makes the fit & finish look a little off.

Over time, the gaps seem to shrink a little, but never fully close up.

~Chris
 
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orca8589 said:
Off topic regarding the brands being discussed, but here's an idea in dealing with gaps:

I've had issues with gaps with almost every new [old stock] Camillus slipjoint that I've bought. It seems that when they run the spine on a belt to even it all out, the knife ends up with burrs between the liners and springs. I had a brand new Camp knife that you could hold up, and literally watch TV through the gap. :eek:

One solution - for users only - is to take one of the thinner leaves of a feeler gauge, and gently push it into the gap and then gently run it back and forth. Even on knives where you can't see debris in the gaps, usually something gets pushed out. Sometimes (and this is why I only do this to users) I have to take fine emery cloth and clean up & polish the back again. I guess having crud in the gaps when the knife gets a final polish makes a difference in how the parts sit together. Removing said crud later sometimes makes the fit & finish look a little off.

Over time, the gaps seem to shrink a little, but never fully close up.

~Chris
Click to expand...

That's not a bad idea. I've often found the 'burrs' working out from between the spring & liners, when checking the finish of the spine with a thumbnail. Sometimes the burrs will catch my nail, and pull out. As mentioned, sometimes the spine of the handle can be cleaned up with a fine/extra-fine abrasive, such as the emory cloth. I've used some high-grit wet/dry sandpaper to the same end.
 
d'you win the lottery?

all good

the sunfish:eek: and the gunboat:eek: are over the top

buzz
 
Wow, I never seen anyone get a whole collection for Christmas! Nice knives, though I can't believe Queen let that F&W get out the door!
 
Very nice haul. No knives for me this year, but I got some nice socks :). Thanks for your pictures and thoughts
 
Big, I'm truly sorry you got a less than stellar File & Wire Daddy Barlow, but that ats-34 is still great steel and it should do a ton of cuttin'. Mine is one of my favorite slipjoints that I own, with a great blade selection and gorgeous bone. The little clip is what puts it over the top for me.

If it were mine, I would VERY CAREFULLY squeeze the front bolster in a padded vice to tighten those blades, then use the hell out of it. "Liner light" never bothered me too much.
 
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