Help selecting a new knife

[315]

Guys, I am looking for a new knife. I'll start out by saying I'm not a knife collector, I'm a knife user. Anything I have gets used but not abused. For the last 35 or more years I have almost exclusively carried either a 3 bladed Old Timer or a Swiss Army knife. I dabbled once with a one handed opening knife with a pocket clip but gave it to a co-worker. I just prefer a traditional style knife in my pocket.

Given that, I recently came upon a post in another forum where the guy mentioned he liked his TC Barlow. The knife intrigued me so I started doing some research and decided I really liked the design. In my quest to find one I've found they aren't so easy to acquire, as all of you already know. So I thought I'd look for other options and I figured the people on this forum would be the ones to ask.

If you were looking for a good quality, handmade Barlow design what knives would you consider? Given the choice I would prefer a 2 bladed knife where the larger blade is a spear point. I like a saw cut handle better than anything else but it would depend on what was available. I am not opposed to a custom made knife as I also view this as something I could hand down someday. But there does get to a point where spending too much on a knife that I'm using seems to be a bit counter productive.

Any advice and direction would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[pyreaux]

Not a traditional guy, but posting a price range or upper limit and maybe preferred handle materials may help narrow down the suggestions you get.

 

[Txjohn]

John Lloyd for reasonably priced custom

 

[Henry Beige]

Perhaps not the knife you end up with, but why not risk ten bucks on a Rough Rider Barlow in a finish of your choice. At the very least, it will scratch the itch while you look for the knife of your dreams. And who knows? It could turn out to be all the Barlow you need.

 

[Kiteman72]

Gotta throw out a suggestion for the GEC 15 Crown Lifter.

Uses the same frame as the TC Barlow and has the very handy screwdriver/caplifter combo along with the sheepfoot blade. Easily my most carried GEC since I got it. I will say the 35 Churchill has seen a lot of pocket time lately as well.

 

[315]

Not a traditional guy, but posting a price range or upper limit and maybe preferred handle materials may help narrow down the suggestions you get.

Price is hard for me to say as I've often bought on impulse before. I spent $200 more than I needed to on a rifle because it had a walnut stock with a lot of character once. But recently I shopped around to save $20 on a coat, so it's really hard for me to say. I will say that as much as I admire some of the beauty in some of the $1000 knives I've seen, I won't be spending that much.

John Lloyd for reasonably priced custom

Thanks, I'll take a look at him. Any idea if he has a website or is on this forum?

Perhaps not the knife you end up with, but why not risk ten bucks on a Rough Rider Barlow in a finish of your choice. At the very least, it will scratch the itch while you look for the knife of your dreams. And who knows? It could turn out to be all the Barlow you need.

Appreciate the input.

 

[black mamba]

315, we're not supposed to deal spot in the forum, but if you'll send me an email to papajeff27 at gmail dot com, I've got some suggestions.

 

[315]

Gotta throw out a suggestion for the GEC 15 Crown Lifter.

Uses the same frame as the TC Barlow and has the very handy screwdriver/caplifter combo along with the sheepfoot blade. Easily my most carried GEC since I got it. I will say the 35 Churchill has seen a lot of pocket time lately as well.

I did take a look at that one and it's a nice knife but I really like the Barlow pattern with the two blades. Depending on what I'm cutting or opening I find a single bladed pocket knife just doesn't seem to be as versatile for me.

 

[Camillus]

Sounds to me like a 77 barlow is a better pick for your needs

 

[Dirk D]

Look for a A.R. Wright Barlow. Reasonable price and good value for the money. If you want to spend some mor money, look for Taylor´s Eye Wittness premium line, they have one like this:

OOps, sorry, forgot, you´re searching for Spearpoints. Wait a sceond.... sometimes Boker makes some of these, mostly for other traders

 

[Will Power]

I think the GEC 77 Barlow might well be to your liking. They're an SFO from Collector Knives and they have runs from time to time. Mine is single blade, which I prefer, but there were plenty of 2 blades and a host of handle choices. Keep an eye on the Exchange.

 

[Will Power]

Also, look out for an GEC 85 Jack (2 blades) this might well suit your needs, tough and yet not too heavy or big in the pocket

 

[Txjohn]

picked up a cripple creek Barlow on the big auction site awhile ago . It's a nice knife and available from time to time

 

[Trout Hound]

Keep an eye on the exchange here and something you like might pop up. Also watch the GEC production schedule. That’s part of the experience of buying GEC, waiting around for your favorite pattern to come around again. It just makes you appreciate it more when you finally get one. The 15 and 77 Barlows are very popular, so they tend not to go too awfully long between runs of one or the other.

 

[LastRodeo]

picked up a cripple creek Barlow on the big auction site awhile ago . It's a nice knife and available from time to time

This is what I was thinking. Spear point 2 blade, sawcut bone. I’ve picked up a few of the one blade and two blade knives over the years. Same quality as the TC in my opinion, at a fraction of the price.

 

[315]

Thanks everyone. I've done some research on most of the suggested knives so far. Short of a custom it looks like I'll just have to be patient in my search until the right one pops up. It looks like Cripple Creek still has an accessible website but archives don't show anything made for a few years.

 

[Railsplitter]

You may have already gotten this suggestion but do an image search for the Queen Dan Burke Barlow. I would post a pic but I would have to steal it from someone else because I've never owned one. Looks like it might be right up your alley if you could find one.

 

[Txjohn]

Not sure when the last cripple creek barlows were made but my example is 1994 , Queen made. Not sure what steel they used.

 

[Planterz]

Boker has made barlows for many, many years. You don't have to look too hard to find sawcut ones with spearpoints.

 

[neal70]

Queen Barlow’s are worth looking at, NOS preferably. Older Schatt & Morgan too. Don’t rule out 2 blade Teardrops either. Very common with spear blades. Finding a good one...Canoes have the right blade shapes, opposite ends. Comfortable ones have a single spring and ride nice for their size.
$.02
Thanks, Neal