Irish made barlow with no bolster stamp?

[Fixall]

Alright, you all are easily the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to slip joint history. I figure if you can’t answer this, the knife doesn’t exist.

I am on the hunt for an Irish made barlow with no bolster stamp. Does one exist? I think every Irish made Imperial barlow I’ve seen has “BARLOW” on the bolster. I’d like to find something suitable to re-cover and then have engraved. I don’t mind playing the waiting game for a particular model to pop up.

Any ideas?

 

[Hickory n steel]

Alright, you all are easily the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to slip joint history. I figure if you can’t answer this, the knife doesn’t exist.

I am on the hunt for an Irish made barlow with no bolster stamp. Does one exist? I think every Irish made Imperial barlow I’ve seen has “BARLOW” on the bolster. I’d like to find something suitable to re-cover and then have engraved. I don’t mind playing the waiting game for a particular model to pop up.

Any ideas?

Is there any particular reason you want one that's made by Jowika in Ireland and not made by Imperial themselves in Providence Rhode Island?
Are you looking for SS blades or something ?

For the imperial barlows, all except some of the new ones currently made in China are shell construction with a stamped sheet metal bolster.
You will have to flatten the liners or make new ones, and you'll need to make bolsters for it.

 

[Fixall]

Is there any particular reason you want one that's made by Jowika in Ireland and not made by Imperial themselves in Providence Rhode Island?
Are you looking for SS blades or something ?

For the imperial barlows, all except some of the new ones currently made in China are shell construction with a stamped sheet metal bolster.
You will have to flatten the liners or make new ones, and you'll need to make bolsters for it.

It doesn’t need to be an Imperial. That was just the only Irish made Barlow I could think of.

It’s going to be a theme piece for the collection. I didn’t realize the older Irish made Imperials we’re a shell construction with stamped bolsters though (I’ve never owned one).

Making new liners and/or bolsters isn’t a dealbreaker. In that case, I guess it wouldn’t matter if the current bolster is stamped with “BARLOW”.

 

[Hickory n steel]

It doesn’t need to be an Imperial. That was just the only Irish made Barlow I could think of.

It’s going to be a theme piece for the collection. I didn’t realize the older Irish made Imperials we’re a shell construction with stamped bolsters though (I’ve never owned one).

Making new liners and/or bolsters isn’t a dealbreaker. In that case, I guess it wouldn’t matter if the current bolster is stamped with “BARLOW”.

Maybe look into Jowika , they might have made something with regular bolsters.

 

[dsutton24]

There were Diamond Edge knives made in Ireland, I don't know if they made a Barlow. A tin shell Imperial would give you a frame, backspring, and a blade. I've never taken one apart, attaching bolsters and scales might be a tremendous pain.

There had to have been other Irish pocketknife makers, building them for export or domestic use. Whether or not they made Barlows might be another issue altogether.

 

[meako]

I have daddy barlow STAG IRELAND...which was shell construction.

 

[screened porch]

Every knife I've ever seen stamped Ireland had the shell handles, until Imperial went to nylon shadow covers. The Imperials are easy to peel off because they're crimped over the ends of the liners. The Jowikas need more prying, but it's no big deal.
This nylon shadow jack is the same proportions as a barlow and would work, too. With any of them you'll have to cut and fit your own bolster.

The big one is an Imperial I recovered in my unskilled way. The bolsters are from the rail of a garage door, because I had the material and it was the right size. My bolsters have an extra pin, because I can't solder and I didn't trust myself to keep them in place by means of carefully fitting the handles.

 

[Fixall]

Great info! Thanks everyone. Looks like I’ll just snag an Ireland made barlow with any old bolsters since they’ll have to be replaced anyways.