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What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?
- Thread starter waynorth
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JohnDF
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bigfish64
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It’s the only CV Case Barlow I have. If the opportunity to pick up another comes up I’m going to take it! Assuming, of course, it doesn’t cost anThat's a winner with its stamped bolster and yellow Delrin.
and a 
! 
euroken
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waynorth
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Wonderful Case Testeds, John!! I swear, the knife companies swept the floor once a week, and whatever they found, they used for handles on Barlows!!
Yet they are beautiful to my eye!! Real cutlers' Art!!
waynorth
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Nice Winterbottom handles guys!! There have been some amazing handles from Winterbottom over the years!!
Speaking of handles, I am usually a fan of natural handle material, so when the 2017 BF knife came out with a micarta, I asked Evan to rehandle mine!! I told him I coudn't Bear to have anything synthetic (not always true) on a TC!! He found some Stag that worked really well!! It even has hints of other handles I have!!
It alludes to Soup bone somewhat, yet remains beautiful!!
euroken
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Nice Winterbottom handles guys!! There have been some amazing handles from Winterbottom over the years!!
Speaking of handles, I am usually a fan of natural handle material, so when the 2017 BF knife came out with a micarta, I asked Evan to rehandle mine!! I told him I coudn't Bear to have anything synthetic (not always true) on a TC!! He found some Stag that worked really well!! It even has hints of other handles I have!!
That is beautiful!!!
waynorth
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Thanks, Ken!!
Âchillepattada
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You're right Charlie your rehandled Barlow is great ! And stag works well with your BarlowsNice Winterbottom handles guys!! There have been some amazing handles from Winterbottom over the years!!
Speaking of handles, I am usually a fan of natural handle material, so when the 2017 BF knife came out with a micarta, I asked Evan to rehandle mine!! I told him I coudn't Bear to have anything synthetic (not always true) on a TC!! He found some Stag that worked really well!! It even has hints of other handles I have!!
Â
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waynorth
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Thanks J-M!! Nice one you have also!! Too bad Bill would only do the third-cut version!!
Still, they have their own character!!
euroken
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Thanks J-M!! Nice one you have also!! Too bad Bill would only do the third-cut version!!
Still, they have their own character!!
View attachment 1576748View attachment 1576749
waynorth
, oh man, those are incredible!!! 
waynorth
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Codger_64
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The mail lady delivered my Kwik Kut Barlow Friday and I have given it a pretty close look. Still dirty, uncleaned and unpolished, mostly looking at construction and fit.
The blades both have sharpening wear, deep scratches but no bad rust. The pen blade has a very definite flat half-stop tang which would work quite well in a game of mumble the peg or tossed in baseball. But the master blade does not, just eccentric rounded until the final flat that meets the spring when fully opened.
Finishing steps were omitted as a cost saving measure. While materials are mostly the same as more expensive Camillus patterns of the era, the KK Barlow does not have sunken joint. Nor is the back finished flush. I don't expect that the mark side of either blade was originally crocus polished. The linings are steel rather than brass. Whether as a cost cutting measure or because of wartime strategic metals restrictions on brass.
One oddity I noticed was that the bolsters are not the same. Mark side is stamped "Kwik Kut" over "Barlow" and the pile side is stamped only "Kwik Kut"; Usually one bolster is produced and used on both sides of a Barlow.
Interesting to see how they met the low price point (.25 cents at a time when .30 cents was an hour's wage), and still produce a usable knife.
Now where is that Fulton Barlow?
The blades both have sharpening wear, deep scratches but no bad rust. The pen blade has a very definite flat half-stop tang which would work quite well in a game of mumble the peg or tossed in baseball. But the master blade does not, just eccentric rounded until the final flat that meets the spring when fully opened.
Finishing steps were omitted as a cost saving measure. While materials are mostly the same as more expensive Camillus patterns of the era, the KK Barlow does not have sunken joint. Nor is the back finished flush. I don't expect that the mark side of either blade was originally crocus polished. The linings are steel rather than brass. Whether as a cost cutting measure or because of wartime strategic metals restrictions on brass.
One oddity I noticed was that the bolsters are not the same. Mark side is stamped "Kwik Kut" over "Barlow" and the pile side is stamped only "Kwik Kut"; Usually one bolster is produced and used on both sides of a Barlow.
Interesting to see how they met the low price point (.25 cents at a time when .30 cents was an hour's wage), and still produce a usable knife.
Now where is that Fulton Barlow?
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custom bolster or ... ?