Making custom scales for a barlow

needler420

needler420

Joined
Apr 29, 2011
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Anyone ever do this? I got a barlow cheap at the flea market and it was all rusted. Took the scales off to clean rust and snapped one side. I kept the pins. Anyone ever make custom scales for one out of natural materials?

Pics soon.
 
This isn't the Delrin that came on this Barlow in 1975 ;) ... mammoth
You have a flea market find that was all rusted ... why not pick/make/shape some handle material from some wood you may have laying around?
Bet it would be awesome

Ak1HecLcVJEmwQjR0mLB6skMz5XPlVOh4epT1OQp7TQ=w1050-h750-no


j0si92uAtn4Ju8frrYjcx0f8H2cGbuQ50lSFd3Yk-Eg=w1050-h700-no
 
No, I didn't replace mine. Had someone do it for me. If I'd replaced the scales, I'd have probably had to epoxy them on.
 
Does anyone know a way to custom make scales for a barlow. I can't find anything related online pertaining to the scales of a barlow. Its a Imperial prov RL USA.

It it worth just throwing in the trash? The old scales broke.

Also can someone help me identify this other knife. It says Schrade sc506 or 508 can't tell which number. It also has two slashes going through the logo and when you hold the knife at a certain angle you can see the bottom of the tang is dented from however those slashes were made which appears to be machine. It doesn't bend the blade but you can tell its there. Problem when I research it , it shows tons of other knives like mine but with designs and much better condition. So I am having a hard time being able to identify it.

The other one I took apart was pretty much rusted shut so I wasn't worried about trying to restore it and doing damage to its original shape.





 
Clam shell construction like that will be hard to fix. (May be swinden key construction)

Some traditional knives are built with brass or nickle silver or iron liners, and bone or wood scales. Normally to take them apart they must be cut through the pins. Then they have to be rebuilt.

You may be in the same boat. I don't know how you would fix that construction. Those scales are not meant to be easily taken off and put back on.
 
Don't throw that Imperial away. They are nice old carbon steel although the blades are thin.

They are riveted, not pinned.

You have a few choices depending on how much you want to get into it.

You can just fix up what you have as best you can. I have a number of Imperials where the plastic has come off. They aren't Barlows and they look good enough. I have a Barlow where I've repaired the plastic covers and filled the shells the best I could with epoxy. You'll have a shell handled, possibly ugly knife. If the appearance matters a lot to you it would be a good glovebox/toolbox knife. These knives take more than you would think. I like my uglier little Imperials better than, say, a Rough Rider. They are functional and take a wicked edge.

You can take the shells off and glue some wood, or whatever scales on. I've meant to do this for a while and haven't gotten around to trying it. I'm a bit leary of the glue holding up. If it did you could make a fairly nice looking, very functional knife easily.

You can do a complete rebuild. New scales and bolsters, you would probably need new liners, and using pins instead of rivets.

Here's a link with some good links to follow in it. I think the first link is the complete rebuild. There was a great rebuild thread here on BF I was looking for if anyone can find that.


https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=28721
 
I made new bolsters and covers for a barlow once. There's a thread on it somewhere. If you replace shell bolsters with real ones you will have to chop (or drive) the pins and replace them. Easiest thing is to epoxy a piece of wood over the whole side and forget about the bolsters. I've never had one come off. The rust will loosen up with a bit of penetrating oil.
 
I don't understand why the bolsters would have to be rebuilt. They are universally sized you'd be building a exact replica of what's already there.

The barlow design is so universal that I can't believe scales don't exist for them on a consumer production level. Not even tutorials on how to make them.

I just don't get how come new scales can't be built with the existing bolsters.

I really don't want to epoxy it but I don't think I have access to machines to drill the pin holes. I'm too rough with it for epoxy. I almost rather just leave it for a future project or pass it along someday to someone who wants to tinker with it more.

If I had exact matches of the scales I could just hammer shape it back on the handle and pop the rivets back in.
 
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There are plenty of companies out there that sell slabs you could put on that knife but they all have to be sized to fit. The reason you cannot find a tutorial is because most don't find them worth fixing.

Find a material you like then sand and shape them to fit.
 
needler420 said:
I don't understand why the bolsters would have to be rebuilt. They are universally sized you'd be building a exact replica of what's already there.

The barlow design is so universal that I can't believe scales don't exist for them on a consumer production level. Not even tutorials on how to make them.

I just don't get how come new scales can't be built with the existing bolsters.

I really don't want to epoxy it but I don't think I have access to machines to drill the pin holes. I'm too rough with it for epoxy. I almost rather just leave it for a future project or pass it along someday to someone who wants to tinker with it more.

If I had exact matches of the scales I could just hammer shape it back on the handle and pop the rivets back in.
Click to expand...

You have two totally different designed knives needler. The Imperial shell comes off by bending the tabs on the top and bottom of the knife. You will then end up with 3 liners, 2 backsprings and two blades riveted together. You can epoxy handles on and it will look like a shadow pattern knife or yo can grind the heads off, push the rivets out and pin your handles on. Either way you will lose the steel bolsters.

On the Schrade you can use a cut-off wheel in a Dremel, cut the pins as close to the liner as possible. Remove the plastic handles and use them for a template to make your new ones. Measure your pin diameters and use the same size to chase (drive out) the old ones out with out tearing the knife down. put your new handles on, haft the pins to half their dia to the handle and then peen them.
 
Anatomy of a shell handle knife
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=21596

I'm now guessing you want to leave the shell slabs on (which are integral to the "bolsters") and just replace the plastic covers. I'm not sure how you would rivet them without removing the shell slabs.

I don't know, something like that shouldn't be that hard to carve/dremel/fabricate. You're not going to find it aftermarket. You wouldn't find that pre-made on any knife.

Those Imperials were great old knives but they were the "el cheapos" of their day and there's not a lot of interest in them now. One reason I like them a bit.

If it was me I would just gussy it up the best I could and use the snot out of it.
 
The knife is a Schrade SC506. The knife is a factory 2nd as indicated by the slashes through the blade stamp. The SC506's were designed to be scrimmed however some weren't. Perhaps the fact that it's not scrimmed is what makes this particular one a 2nd? The SC506's were made 1978-1986. More information is available here on the Schrade Knife Collectors forum.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/732-Schrade-Knives-Collectors-Forum
 
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Ok having seeing Glen's thread and him having the exact barlow imperial that her restored I decided to go through with all the labor.

So far I got the bolsters removed and got 1/3 pins holding the the liners and blade together. I think taking the pins out is much harder then it will be to put new ones in. You pretty much have to work them till you cut off a head on one end and I managed to badly bend up the liners but I should be able to mallet shape them back into place.

If anyone has any advice please feel free to help. I messaged glen because I saw the work he did is the same I'm trying to do. I just don't know what to do once I have it 100% disassembled.
 
needler420 said:
Ok having seeing Glen's thread and him having the exact barlow imperial that her restored I decided to go through with all the labor.

So far I got the bolsters removed and got 1/3 pins holding the the liners and blade together. I think taking the pins out is much harder then it will be to put new ones in. You pretty much have to work them till you cut off a head on one end and I managed to badly bend up the liners but I should be able to mallet shape them back into place.

If anyone has any advice please feel free to help. I messaged glen because I saw the work he did is the same I'm trying to do. I just don't know what to do once I have it 100% disassembled.
Click to expand...
Hey, link that thread for me.

No matter what happens in your rebuild you are going to learn a lot. I'll bet you have a great knife when you're done.

Good luck!
 
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1184347-Glennbad-is-a-baaaad-man

If you see he starts with the exact same brown scaled imperial barlow that I have that is all rusted.

Just to clear things for everyone the schrade is very good condition and being left alone.

The barlow is being modded. Update with pics in about a hour.

Disassembled


Cleaned


I'm stuck.. I don't know what to do now. At this point I don't know what to do with the bolsters or how to shape the new scales. I have the old ones if needed for casting a model or reference. I also don't know what to do with material to use for new pins. I figure some kind of wire I can use and cut with wire cutters that will give it a tight fit. I can hammer it in place.

All of the liners were bent up upon dissembly I had to mallet them back to shape. The whole procedure has involved a lot of time and labor. Hoping someone like Glen can come give me the tutorials I need.
 
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Our good mate Glennbad did a magnificent job for me on an old STAG IRELAND daddy barlow with the cheapo PLASTIC handles.It now has solid bolsters and bone scales made from a steel handle which was my grandads.It is without doubt one my most prized possessions.Beautifully executed.
 
Maybe a WIP thread is in order for this, but I don't have anything prepared yet. You will need access to some power tools and other materials. I have seen some people get very creative with what they have on hand, and do some really awesome work with very little, but some basic things will be required.
 
I'm starting to be on the lookout for knife making tools. Access to tools isn't my biggest problem. Its not having the knowledge to know what to do next.
 
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