Long bolsters on Barlows

orca8589

orca8589

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Jan 27, 2007
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Somebody chime in & help me out: What's the reason for the long bolsters on the Barlow pattern? I read somewhere (here?) that is strengthens the joint, but I'm wondering - wouldn't the joint strength be determined more by how well the joint is built, regardless of the length of bolster? How does an extra 3/8" or 1/2" of bolster material strengthen the joint?

That said, I love the long bolsters on Barlows; makes a great place for stampings & such. (Them new GEC's Mike Latham's got are sure purty...)

thx - cpr
 
The long bolsters made *the knife* stronger - not really the joint -- but you have to realize that the original barlows were built a bit differently than the current ones. For one thing, the bolster and liner were forged in one piece -- but the bolsters were a *lot* thinner than you see on barlows now - only maybe a half to a third the thickness of the typical modern barlow bolsters (which are often a substantial chunk of iron or nickel silver). (This is generally true of all old integral forged bolster/liner built knives -- I have a couple of old congress knives built this way.) Also, we're talking iron here - as in soft, malleable iron -- the thin liners are *soft* - much softer and weaker than your typical brass liners of the same thickness (which are typically supplied in a "half hard" work hardened state). So adding some length to the bolsters meant more of the thicker, stronger section in the grip, which was now where you primarily exerted pressure with your fingers, rather than the much thinner, much weaker liner section.

The barlow was conceived as a cheap, strong knife - minimal processing, minimal materials - everything had to count in its production and construction. In fact, the scales were really not fitted whatsoever to the bolsters, just to the general profile of the handle.

-- Dwight
 
All true. The longer bolster also adds a protective 'nose' to the knife,yesterday I was poking through some wire mesh with a Barlow and a conventional bolstered knife would've taken some nasty scratchings on the scales,not this boy!
 
Thanks for the info folks - good to know. I need to get another one of these for my collection, for me - my son 'adopted' my Imperial. This got started because he asked me why it was different.

thx - cpr
 
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