Utica Cutlery's Catskill slipjoint knives

Good looking knives. I'll be waiting for reports on them myself.
Is Barlow normally stamped on the bolster like this company does?
Don't think I care for that, but then Barlows never caught my attention till pics were posted on the '09 forum knife.
 
Mick57 said:
Good looking knives. I'll be waiting for reports on them myself.
Is Barlow normally stamped on the bolster like this company does?
Don't think I care for that, but then Barlows never caught my attention till pics were posted on the '09 forum knife.
Click to expand...

That's a tradition for that pattern. The long bolsters were used for stamps going back into the 1700s with the original Barlow clan barlows. Many used their trademarks, but some- Imperial and Sabre for starters- just used Barlow.
 
I gots a package in the mail today.

While not actually mine till Sunday, I took a sneakie peek just to see. Sorry, no pics till Sunday. (The company picks do it justice and having seen the knife, I do not think they were photoshopped..)

Positives.
-It's a Barlow. :thumbup::thumbup:
-The scales are nicely finished and fit the knife well.
-All the corners are well rounded with no sharp edges. Everything is nicely polished, much like a Case is.
-No wobble on the blades.
-The springs were absolutely flat both with blade open and with blade closed. Good tolerances were held on the machining.
-The blades were sharp. I need to touch them up a bit to suit me (as I do with every knife I buy), but they are sharp OOB.

Negs
-A couple of the rivets weren't countersunk into the bone as much as they should be. One sticks up enough to catch my fingernail.
-The spring action on the main blade was quite anemic. The pen blade was weak, but acceptable. I'll see what a little lube can do come Sunday afternoon, but I don't think this one is ever going to have a lot of snap. The antithesis of GEC spring action it is.

Overall, a heavy knife, as a Barlow is supposed to be and a nice little pocket piece. I have Camillus knives that are not as nicely finished. I've only had a couple of Case knives. I'd guess this is maybe a tad shy of the fit and finish of the Cases I've had, but not much. I'll fuss with the blades after Sunday and maybe do some comparisons with the blades. At this point, I am not disappointed with this $27 US-made knife. It will definitely see some pocket time. If the blades hold an edge well it will see more.
 
It now being Father's Day, I got to play a bit with the little Utica.
Once I lubed it up, the action improved. It still is not as strong as I like, but it is quite usable.

I've not done any cutting comparisons and likely won't for a couple of weeks until I take some time off work. (Cutting comparisons are time consuming to perform.)

Even without the cutting comparisons, I am happy enough with it that I will likely buy a Utica Stockman once those are available. They are advertising a 3 7/8" Stockman in 1095 (not yet available) that looks about like what I like to carry on the weekend.

Here are a couple of pics of the Barlow.

100_3101.jpg


Here is my poor attempt to show how nice and even the knife springs are in the closed position. They are just as flat in the open position.
100_3100.jpg
 
Very nice looking Barlow, I really like the looks of their Muskrats also. I sure would like to see one of these in person. I will have to check and see if Red Hill cutlery is going to be carrying these.
 
After looking at Utica's website, I felt the "need" to check out one of their knives...
Went ahead and ordered the stockman today, I'll let you folks know what I think of it after it arrives next week...

4749781446_eba793d335.jpg
 
Hi,

Yes please do. That's the one I've kind of been thinking about. Just have to convince SWMBO I really need another Stockman.;)

Dale
 
That's the 3-9/16". I'm still waiting for them to stock the 3-7/8".

But I'll be happy to hear how you like it. I'd like to see if your springs are firmer than the ones on my Barlow.
 
I'm resurrecting this thread because like a few posters, I didn't know they were still making knives up there in Utica until I read Mark Z's article in the current KNIFEWORLD. Terrific and informative story that sent me right to the internet to get the 2 piece commemorative 100th anniversary set, a Catskill Barlow and an Adriondack stockman (their stainless). Got a little worried 'cause the last time I bought an 100th anniversary knife it was a Schrade and they went broke about two weeks later.
S
 
I hate bumping older threads but I put two of the new Utica knives in my cart. Before pulling the trigger, are there any other reviews or opinions on these. The prices seem almost too good to be true for US made knives.

billinvegas, how did you like yours when it arrived?

Thanks again,

Chris
 
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