Please help me understand this...

Perhaps "Near Mint" ... meant that it was sitting next to something nearly new and pristine when the ad was composed. Been following this thread - glad you got your money back!
 
ptradeco said:
I have seen some pretty mismatched scales from Case, even XX era stuff, but those are too far off the mark for me. Add to that the frame being bent, and I am sure you paid plenty for an XX, back it would go if me. A lot of knife dealers there are putting No Returns in their listings, hope that was not the case here. I don't know how that flies with eBay and PayPal, I have not tested that. Hope all goes well for you.
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It looks to me like on side is bone (probably the original) and the other is wood (probably the replacement).
 
According to the transaction I have 14 days to send it back. I contacted the seller. Hopefully all goes well. I will keep you guys in the loop.
 
Vanguard41xx said:
Guy probably had it in his backpocket and forgot about it for 30 years. :D
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waynorth said:
I agree - he used to sit on it regularly!:rolleyes:
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This is actually what I thought as well, upon seeing the (apparently) bent liner/scale. I've read here before, it can happen. If bent enough, could also see the bend eventually creating cracks in the bone (near the pins), which may've led to a re-handle at some point.


David
 
akadave2 said:
Did one side of this get re-covered?
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16lydmg.jpg

Res ipsa loquitur.
 
Do you have a picture that actually shows any variance in any spacings? It looks like just and optical illusion to me caused by the bone color variance. I don't actually seen any spacing that varies with blades opened / closed. But you are holding it, thus you are the best judge. Any bent liner would cause a respective gap between liner and bone and/or liner and blade. If there is a spot where not flush and square, capture it in a picture for later use.

These barlows were made to be very inexpensive utility knives and seems like they always had the worst bone on them. I also think this is why they were generally sawcut. Both sides are bone and I see no evidence that one side was replaced. Matter of fact to remove that bare end pin (as well as backspring pin) all the way thru and put another one on and re-spin both sides (without ruining the other side) would take a bit of skill. The pins (backspring on pile, cover on mark) were not left long enough for the spinner to dome them properly, but you can tell it was attempted at least on the mark cover pin. Thus I don't see what logic can be used to imply one side is replaced because a pin is not spun properly that does not have to be applied to one of the pins on the other side - and I seriously doubt anybody is implying that both sides were replaced.

For someone to do this good (good = "factory like") a job of re-handling a knife on a rough cut barlow, would have to be for love and not for money; because it wouldn't pay minimum wage. But any auction should have shown both sides or at least mentioned the extreme mismatch. Not uncommon for Case though; I swear they tried their hardest to mismatch a dark bone to a light bone on late-1970's stockman patterns - because every one I have seen is mismatched.

If you are not happy with it, let him have it back. Nothing worse than getting mad every time you go to rub a knife...
 
knifeswapper said:
Do you have a picture that actually shows any variance in any spacings? It looks like just and optical illusion to me caused by the bone color variance. I don't actually seen any spacing that varies with blades opened / closed. But you are holding it, thus you are the best judge. Any bent liner would cause a respective gap between liner and bone and/or liner and blade. If there is a spot where not flush and square, capture it in a picture for later use.

These barlows were made to be very inexpensive utility knives and seems like they always had the worst bone on them. I also think this is why they were generally sawcut. Both sides are bone and I see no evidence that one side was replaced. Matter of fact to remove that bare end pin (as well as backspring pin) all the way thru and put another one on and re-spin both sides (without ruining the other side) would take a bit of skill. The pins (backspring on pile, cover on mark) were not left long enough for the spinner to dome them properly, but you can tell it was attempted at least on the mark cover pin. Thus I don't see what logic can be used to imply one side is replaced because a pin is not spun properly that does not have to be applied to one of the pins on the other side - and I seriously doubt anybody is implying that both sides were replaced.

For someone to do this good (good = "factory like") a job of re-handling a knife on a rough cut barlow, would have to be for love and not for money; because it wouldn't pay minimum wage. But any auction should have shown both sides or at least mentioned the extreme mismatch. Not uncommon for Case though; I swear they tried their hardest to mismatch a dark bone to a light bone on late-1970's stockman patterns - because every one I have seen is mismatched.

If you are not happy with it, let him have it back. Nothing worse than getting mad every time you go to rub a knife...
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The mismatched covers dont bother me at all. I love the bone actually. Im sure they did stuff just like this all the time. The problem is, this knife actually has a curve to it. I tried to see it as an optical affect but isolating the open blade visually from the rest of the knife with a piece of paper still shows a krink near the kick to make it center when closed. Oddly there are no gaps in the springs on the bottom of the knife. Just a gently curve. The knife walks and talks though. The blades appear to have never been sharpened either.
 
I see that bend in the first picture of your follow-up post. I just can't wrap my mind around a problem that would leave the back spine looking so normal and the top looking so odd.....
 
I think the handles are original, after carefully perusing your excellent side-by-side front/back picture.
The pin work is close enough to have been done at the same time, and the mismatch of the bone is not unprecedented, nor unusual.
I wonder if it was damaged after market, or if it was a factory second??
We'll probably never know. But Mint means "as the maker intended it to look", and this knife is a fair way off that definition! Not even "near" it!!!
 
waynorth said:
I think the handles are original, after carefully perusing your excellent side-by-side front/back picture.
The pin work is close enough to have been done at the same time, and the mismatch of the bone is not unprecedented, nor unusual.
I wonder if it was damaged after market, or if it was a factory second??
We'll probably never know. But Mint means "as the maker intended it to look", and this knife is a fair way off that definition! Not even "near" it!!!
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Maybe it's just me, but it still looks like one side is bone and the other is wood.
 
Great first picture. Although I can't subscribe to the "back pocket" theory as the blades just don't show the knife has been used as one would expect a knife carried that long would be. But some kind of force does appear to have bowed the entire knife.
 
You might be right, Mike.
What it totally bizarre is the fact that the main blade is crinked to fit the curve!
Somebody "fixed" it so it could be used.
 
akadave2 said:
Ive looked closely. Doesnt show up well in my bad pictures but both sides are bone.
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Then whoever put them on did a REALLY bad job of matching them up.

The pictures below of the bend are bizarre, I don't even know what could have caused it to bow like that without breaking the bone.

It's definitely not anywhere close to mint, I'd get my money back.
 
I don't know how much money is involved, but after seeing that last set of pics, I'd think about keeping it just because it's so odd.
 
Sort of a serpentine Barlow ya got there. Unfortunately, not serpentine in a good way. With it bent, I'd expect to see gaps or cracks in the bone.
 
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