What is it about Barlows?

R

robertj298

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Mar 7, 2014
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244
To each his own but I really don't care for the looks and I've noticed no dealers seem to carry any of the great eastern ones and the ones you see online used are priced quite a bit higher than any comparable model of the same brand.
 
A classic traditional working mans pattern. I think the reason you don't find the GEC ones is because they are very sought after. I loved the 25 pattern barlows especially;





I'm lucky enough to own these two.

Barlows in general are not my favourite pattern. I like a congress myself :)

Paul
 
To me its mostly aesthetics and history.

I love the straight lines with the slight teardrop end, the longer bolster and size.

Its a perfect size for edc carry and it can handle most anything thrown at it.

Plus its one of if not the oldest knife designs, so that got to mean something :)
 
The barlow is just the quintessential american pocket knife. Personally, it is my favorite pattern.

The GEC barlows are extremely popular which is why the prices are high and availability low.

Many cutlers produce a fine barlow though.
 
Well, then I would consider yourself a very lucky man, Robert! Falling in love with a GEC pattern that is hard to come by, is a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone. Stick to the easier to find patterns, and you'll likely never pine for anything... :D

Btw, various dealers do stock the GEC Barlows. In the last run, I think they were gone within about 48 hours. ;)

But in my unapologetically baised opinion, this is a slam dunk of mythic proportions:

oihi.jpg
 
I personal enjoy the history of the barlow. It was the Russell straight line (still don't own one) that turned me on to the beauty of them.

I own one GEC 25 and while I enjoy it I do prefer a longer grip like the 48 trapper and the Charlow

The TC Barlow (Charlow) is in my novice opinion the best barlow ever made.
 
The fact that everyone wants one is part of the reason that everyone wants one. It's just one of those things. I don't get it either, but the TC Barlow from GEC is probably the best way to distract the competition long enough to save some extra cash and buy what you really want.
 
robertj298 said:
To each his own but I really don't care for the looks and I've noticed no dealers seem to carry any of the great eastern ones and the ones you see online used are priced quite a bit higher than any comparable model of the same brand.
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It's surprisingly hard to find a nice new-manufacture Barlow. Case has long since discontinued theirs. Buck never had one, AFAIK. I had a Utica briefly and it was so poorly made I traded it away. There are any number of Chinese ones in production -- I got one of those and had to tighten up the pivot and reprofile the edges to get it cutting. Vintage examples from reputable manufacturers are nicely affordable, but have also often been used-hard/used-up, and it can take some patience to find a good "user", let alone something like-new.

I've handled the new GEC versions and they're as close to perfect as I've ever seen. IMHO they're worth it if you want a good classic Barlow specced-out by a fine gent who really knows what he's talking about.

Of course none of that does you any good if the pattern itself doesn't appeal to you, but it's pointless to argue that. :) (I will say they are nice in-hand. The long bolster gives them a solid, weighty feel.)

--Mark
 
ThievesLikeUs said:
To me its mostly aesthetics and history.

I love the straight lines with the slight teardrop end, the longer bolster and size.

Its a perfect size for edc carry and it can handle most anything thrown at it.

Plus its one of if not the oldest knife designs, so that got to mean something :)
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Bingo, this is essentially why I like the Barlow so much. A very classic and OLD pattern - Barlows from the 1600's have been found. The TC Barlow is the finest production Barlow today IMHO.
 
I like the Barlow pattern and at one time though of collecting them but instead decided to concentrate on older Queen patterns.
I do have a few Queen Barlows but by far my favorite is the one pictured below, Queen 1972 Drake Well.



 
It's a matter of individual preference. if you don't like them, it's no big deal, not everybody does.

Some people just like the looks of the single long bolster.

It's interesting that they are priced higher and more sought after these days, since the original idea of a Barlow was as a lower-cost working man's jack knife.

I've got a few Case Barlows myself, but none of the GEC variety.
 
Well, when America used to be the America of my youth, every apple pie eating boy wanted to emulate Huck Finn, who BTW, used a Barlow. That said, it takes a special individual to appreciate the Barlow. For me, a Barlow was my pocket treasure for everything but camping/scouting....for that, another piece of Americana was coveted, a Boy Scout knife for everything else.
 
JustinR said:
One correction: Case still produces barlows.
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Huh? *searches* Son of a gun. Looks like they do still do a few sort of special edition ones -- stag and whatnot. (Good to know, but I have a hard time counting that, personally. I do have some sympathy with the notion that a "special edition barlow" is a contradiction in terms :))

--Mark
 
It's Charlie. Seriously. I didn't give the barlow a second glance until Charlie collaborated with GEC on their extremely well-made offerings.

- Christian
 
For me it was my first knife that I owned and I still have it. It was the first knife my son owned, he had his choice and picked it without knowing about my first knife.

Dave
 
I don't know about barlows in general but when I saw my first Charlow in this forum some months back, it was love at first sight.

I was determined to buy one to mark a special time in my life. However, like the OP said, no dealers seemed to carry them. Then I found out they were a special factory order and not easily available online.

Fortunately I was gifted one by Chief, to whom I'm eternally grateful. I've since managed to buy a few more from the exchange and the recent production run but that first one will always be special because of who it came from and why.

To me, these Charlows are a beautifully made representation of a traditional style. There's just something about them.

They may not be for everyone but for me they'll always be cherished.
 
jc57 said:
It's interesting that they are priced higher and more sought after these days, since the original idea of a Barlow was as a lower-cost working man's jack knife.
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Indeed.

I love Barlows myself, for the gestalt and because they really are a good working knife. So it was interesting to find all the high end ones when I started to look around for them. They are awesome as well, but not a work knife.

There are still Barlows that are great, old work knives to be found used. They are harder to find than many, but available.

Or you could get a good ol' shell handle Imperial or Colonial. They are easier to find used. They belie the the Barlow name because they are light duty but anyone old enough had one as a kid and they are wicked slicers.
 
Ka bar made a nice working barlow in the past. I saw an old U.S. made one like new at a flea market for around $20. Google kabar barlow on the net and they can be found reasonable.
 
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