Northwoods Knives: Everyday Barlow ... Opinions?

Brownshoe thanks, i do know these differences. My statement was that for the average knife knut no real difference would be noted in how they perform. Would a properly sharpened CPM154 blade hold it's edge longer than a properly sharpened D2 blade ? Maybe a little, but both would edge hold long enough for the use most of use put our knives through, that we would have forgotten when we last sharpened it. and if you can't remember, it's not significant.
I wipe my blades down immediately after use or handling whether non-stainless or stainless, so D2 not being grouped with the stainless steels would not make a difference.
kj
 
HST said:
Fit and finish is well done. My blade is centered, I love the rugged feel with the saw cut bone. No wobble on the blade and is put the pull at 4-5. I do have a couple of scratches on the blade from the factory - one snail trail and one mark. It's also razor sharp, which is way more sharp compared to anything I've gotten in 1095 from GEC. All in all I really like it, for what it is, a gentleman's folder that won't rust easily and a great tool.
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Good looking knife. And, I'm glad to see the positive comments on it. I'm expecting a blue spear in my mailbox after work, and having only one Queen that I'm very happy with, I was beginning to get a little apprehensive regarding all the negative comments. This will be my first Northwoods and I'm looking forward to it.
 
You and me both - some of the stuff I read...

I will say the grinds aren't "perfect;" but that comes with the territory. It's not anything I can see, unless I obsessively look at it, in the right light.
 
Well, Queen came through with these with flying colors. Fit and finish on mine is near perfect. I would say perfect but some of you would not believe me. The only potential flaw is the backspring sits proud at the half stop. Not a flaw in my book. Backspring is perfectly flat at full open and closed. Blade is centered with a 5-6 pull. Walk and talk is spot on. Blade is on the cusp of being scary sharp. It is sharper than the 77's GEC just produced. It is a real gem in my book.



 
Looks very nice. I'm partial to blue and I like the looks of the arrowhead on the bolster. :thumbup:
 
If there had been a cut swedge and a stamp on both sides, it may have pushed me over the edge on these...
 
Wow ! What a pleasant surprise to hear how 'right on' these Queen made Northwoods are. Hearing things like fit & finish perfect and scary sharp, i should of bought one.
I think it's good of Derrick to give some of his business to Queen and it sounds like it has paid off with excellent Barlows and happy customers.
Go Queen !
kj
 
I'm reading different reviews elsewhere. There's been complaints of blade wobble and weird grinds. Knives being sent back. But in all fairness, there are just as many people that are happy with their purchase.
 
Bozak takes way better pictures than I do, so I'll post mine to show what I've found on mine. First of all let me say I think it is a beautiful knife. I really like the blue as it is my favorite color and I think it goes well with the arrowhead on the bolster and the brass pins. Running my fingers over the handle, everything is is perfectly smooth with the exception of the end pin on the mark side. I can feel that one, but it's not proud, just a little rough. I also notice the covers on the mark side are not symmetrically ground blending the covers to the bolster. More of the cover was removed on the blade side than the spring side. Pile side is perfect.



I agree with Bozak that the pull is a bout 5-6, and the spring is a bit proud on the half stop. But, spring is flush open and closed, and the blade sits dead center closed. The blade is kind of satin finished in areas and more polished in others, and I saw no waves that others claimed to see in the pictures. The blade is already shaving sharp right out of the package which I wish GEC would do, but I think we all know how to remedy that. Grind is not exactly symmetrical between the mark and pile sides, and the swedge is more pronounced on the pile side.




Looking at the spring, I can some hairlines but no light bleeds through. And it appears as though there are tiny chips in the mark side cover along the liner, but you have to look. Mark and pile side covers are of different thicknesses as well, but I've seen that in GEC knives as also. There is a gap between cover and bolster on the mark side that leak light. There are a couple of tiny dings in the brass liners that are visible that I suspect will become more noticeable when shining it up after the brass tarnishes a bit.







In closing the question is is it a $130 knife? I guess that depends on who you are. As much as I like it, I have to say I prefer GEC's FF over this, especially at lower cost more often than not. Truthfully, I am not disappointed in this knife. The flaws though I pointed them out, are not glaringly obvious to most people and none of those flaws are deal breakers for me. I think it is a beautiful knife and I plan on hanging on to it for a while. I've been wanting a Northwoods for some time now and this is my first. I'm hoping it won't be my last.

Thank you Derrick, I enjoy doing business with you.
 
I received the same knife as Btmccutcheon. Fit and finish on mine is just fine. The blade is not perfectly centered, but nearly so. The grind is good on mine - no complaints. The blade is surgically sharp. The saw cut wasn't perfectly centered up to the bolsters, but that's character. Everything else on the handle was tight. The pull on mine is a six, which allows easy pinch opening, which I like. I'm going to use it this weekend on a few things and see how it does, but for now, I'm satisfied. It's a really good looking, practical and understated knife in a classic pattern.
 
kootenay joe said:
KSF also sells the Queen #69 Barlow with D2 and American Walnut. I like the look of these more than the Northwoods Everyday Barlow and they are $55 cheaper. D2 is a very good knife steel and in real world use is not that different to CPM-154.
Properly ground, sharpened and heat treated i doubt any of us could tell the difference by how well they cut or how long they would edge hold.
I have most of the KSF Northwoods knives and they are all excellent knives (including the Queen made IRJ). However i passed on this Everyday Barlow because i don't see the value in it when compared to the regular Queen Barlow which costs about 40% less.
Once people receive and try out their Everyday Barlow i hope we get some objective reviews (not just a rave because it's a Northwoods and we all love Derrick). Then i will learn if my assessment is correct.
kj
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Thank you KJ for posting this. I have a couple Queen barlows in D2 and this definitely influenced my decision. However, today I ordeed a couple different knives from KSF, and the customer service is excellent. I got in hand descriptions on everything. A real shame I couldn't get my first pick on a stag GEC 83, but bladeplay isn't Derrick's fault. That's on GEC. And I thank Tyler on the phone for his diligence in finding me "the good ones".
 
I picked well on this one.
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Fit and finish is 99% easily. I pick apart anything with my eyes, after all these years 'MD-ing.' So pleased with the new EDB from Northwoods. I can't wait to see how it stands up to a long day at Six Flags this weekend for "Freight Fest." Buwahahahahaaa!
 
I either didn't get, or didn't look at, the first round notification. I received one on the 6th, started to place an order, then walked away from it. When I returned, all the spearpoints in birdseye maple were gone :(. I ordered the sheepsfoot that I had in my cart, and went about my business. A few hours later, I realized that they were Queen and CPM154 - call it a reading fail. I now have mixed feelings about my purchase; but I'm going to keep an open mind.
 
HST, what is "MD'ing" ?
&
mazman, i absolutely agree that KSF is First Rate Top Notch among knife dealers and the main reason for this is "Tyler". He listens attentively and then does what he says he is going to do to make sure you get the knife that is right for you. Because of Tyler KSF is right up there with AG Russell in giving the very best customer service.
kj
 
I have two Queens, the first is just a Country Cousin, an entry level D2 sodbuster. The fit and finish are great, and the knife is a good user. I just received their #69 Barlow with Buffalo covers, and I love it. If I were to nitpick, there is a small gap between the mark cover and the bolster, but I'm really glad I bought it, nice tight knife. I ordered one of the Everyday's too, in birdseye maple. It should get here by Saturday. I'll give my impressions when I have used it a bit. The CPM 154 intrigued me, my first. The price is the same as the Indian River, what a "super steel" in a traditional commands. There seems to be a good amount of interest in quality stainless traditionals.
Sure seems to be no shortage of nitpicking on the everydays here. If the knife has a serious problem, I'd complain, but my knives are all users. The lighter ones in blue looked good to me, but I settled on maple because it was a beautiful one. Got my fingers crossed.
How did people get to buy these knives before I even knew by the Friday newsletter that they were for sale?
 
Just got mine in the mail. Blue spearpoint. Now I have to say that the F&F is a step down from my GEC's but not a big step. The camel bone is darker and more evenly coloured than my Northwoods Broadway in blue camel but I wouldn't say nicer, just a little different. The feel is the same. You can feel the pins but nothing catches, same as the covers meet the bolsters. A few gaps between the liners and spring, nothing large enough to let light through, well maybe a little light. Initially I thought the blade was off centre but upon closer inspection it actually has a slight curve to it, no rubbing at all and certainly nothing to effect use. In checking out the blade I noticed that the whole knife has more flex to it than my GEC's but it still feels very solid with no play. The grinds are equal to those on my GEC's however it came shave sharp which none of my GEC's have, (#83 Tascosa was pretty sharp but not like this). In pictures I thought the pull was uneven, however in person it is perfectly straight, the swedge tricks the eye in pics. Speaking of the pull it is a bit light for my tastes, I'd say a 4 or 5 based on my other knives and what ppl say theirs are. All in all I'm very happy with it and if the steel lives up to the hype, it's a trade off on the F&F that I can live with. One other thing I'll mention is that it came quite gritty, I oiled the crap out of it and after some cleaning up, she's very smooth now, just have to work out the rest of the excess lube now. If I'm not back on this thread updating, you can assume she's performing well as she's going in my pocket and will likely stay there, and in hand for the next while!
 
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