GEC #77 Medium Barlow Impressions

draggat said:
I would have preferred they put the standard mirror finish on the #77 Barlow primarily because it's the Northfield Barlow. Satin finish, or whatever the experts might call it, looks great too. I know Mike Latham chose this finish, maybe because it's the one he prefers, or thought others would. At any rate, they are very nice pieces of cutlery.
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When you pay the Piper, you get to call the tune. :D
 
The knives are fantastic just the way they are. I'm glad they didn't use the Northfield High-Polished finish.
 
I couldn't be more pleased with Mike's 77 Barlow. I dare say it's the nicest of any pocket knife I've ever owned. The overall package is just outstanding. I'm nearing two weeks since it arrived at my PO Box and it's NEVER left my reach in that time - it's been a constant companion.

I use it multiple times a day and just love this knife. Today it sliced my morning apple, I used the blade's spine to crack my hard-boiled egg and cut open food packaging. Tonight it will do the honors on pork chops for the grill and at the table afterwards.

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Dr. Scott said:
:thumbup:

I love the rounded end on the ebony and Autumn Bone. I think I need to have one in hand to actually appreciate it.:rolleyes:
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Yes it's unique and I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it, but as soon as it arrived I knew - Oh yes! It's a nice feature.
 
It is not only rounded on the ends but the Ebony handles are radiused (rounded) along all edges. This makes for a smoother more pleasing in hand feel. This radiusing of handle slabs was fairly standard on vintage knives, esp. the old Sheffield ones. Knife companies stopped doing this in more recent times, likely as a cost saving measure.
The rounding of the ebony on my 77 is perfect, not a 90 degree angle or edge anywhere on the handle. I think this is a big part of why we all find these 77's to be so pleasing. I have not seen any other knife receive 100% positive feedback.
kj
 
kootenay joe said:
It is not only rounded on the ends but the Ebony handles are radiused (rounded) along all edges. This makes for a smoother more pleasing in hand feel. This radiusing of handle slabs was fairly standard on vintage knives, esp. the old Sheffield ones. Knife companies stopped doing this in more recent times, likely as a cost saving measure.
The rounding of the ebony on my 77 is perfect, not a 90 degree angle or edge anywhere on the handle. I think this is a big part of why we all find these 77's to be so pleasing. I have not seen any other knife receive 100% positive feedback.
kj
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Yes, these Blackwood scales are incredibly smooth and with those rounded edges it just feels so warm and pleasant in hand. :thumbup:
 
Exactly the reason I kept the Blackwood and smooth bone versions. Alternating both trying to decide on "the one" I'll keep. Quite thin and melts in your hand, nice show all around.
 
I love my tan bone but man! After seeing the Autumn Gold and Red I wish I'd ordered one of those instead.

I do wish they had radiused the scales all the way around. Sharp edges belong only on the blade. The unbeveled end feels wrong somehow.
 
Maybe I'm alone on this, but I like angled edges on a barlow, especially sawcut. The radiused edge of my autumn bone felt great in the hand, but felt very un-barlow-like to me.

It felt more like a gent's knife or something.
 
I think it was a way of appeasing all tastes. However I too like the traditional chamfered edges. My old tan saw cut is perfect that way.
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Perry
 
To me the squared end of the Barlow goes very naturally with sawcut bone. I wouldn't want a rounded end on a sawcut, but with the wood scales it just seems right to me.

It's not a deal breaker by any means, I LOVE Barlows!
 
tstaut said:
Maybe I'm alone on this, but I like angled edges on a barlow, especially sawcut. The radiused edge of my autumn bone felt great in the hand, but felt very un-barlow-like to me.
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singin50 said:
I think it was a way of appeasing all tastes. However I too like the traditional chamfered edges. My old tan saw cut is perfect that way.
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I too would rather the edges not be rounded off. This preference is probably from the time I worked on a rifle stock blank. I think the newbie might round off all the sharp edges, but I realized the trick was to retain the edges and give the stock some features in its shape. So that's my take on it, but I know when it comes to knives people have different opinions and I respect them.
 
I would like to see a 'spine shot', blade open, looking down on backspring and blade spine, mainly to see how thinly Marlow wears his Stag.
kj
 
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