What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?

[pertinux]

Can you ever forgive me?

Let's see it closed.

~ P.

 

[burnside]

Forgive me Charlie, for I have sinned...

Once so beautiful...

...now crippled and deformed for the rest of its natural life.

The others laugh at it and will bully it

I'll go stand in the corner now
I'll keep the blackwood version untouched, or I'm afraid some angry Canadian with a Mickey Mouse hat will fly over here and spank me to death

Can you ever forgive me?

Now that's what I'm talking about! Wharnie Charlow for the win! Great job!

 

[CoffeeCat2112]

Wow! I really like that.

 

[sturzi]

Let's see...

It could almost pass as a spear

Still very much pinchable. The spear is pinchable as well as long as you have dry fingers...

 

[burnside]

That is just gorgeous. I love the way it looks closed especially. The greatest mod that I've seen on a traditional. Really, that is some professional looking work. :thumbup:

 

[CoffeeCat2112]

Holy cow; I like it even more closed!

 

[jon_slider]

wow, thats a great start on a Gunstock SpearPoint.. LOL!

And an Ode to Sheep:

I have been carrying my Single blade Walnut Sheepfoot as an experience this week. It works very well, and the point makes great cut finishes. In fact Ive had to lighten up considerably on my cut pressure.

It is also very easy to pinch open, and a very useful shape for lifting pieces of scone that fall into my coffee . Im also enjoying how safely I can slip it between layers of package wrapping that I dont want to pierce prematurely, and the resemblance to a safety blade, in public.

So far the Sheepfoot seems to also work just as well as my Spear for stabbing bits of cheese and other snack foods, in lieu of a fork. I am also enjoying reflecting on the Sheepfoots history as a traditional sailors blade.

The Sheepfoot is proving to be an extremely practical food blade, in terms of it ability to make clean straight press cuts, very sharp pull cuts, and as a spork. Another benefit Ive noticed is that the asymmetry of the Sheepfoot blade makes it instantly recognizable to orient the cutting edge correctly. There have been a couple of times when using my Spear Blade, that I had to focus a bit more intently on the visual cues of the long pull and swedge, to prevent bringing the blade to bear upside down.

Big Thanks to Barlie for bringing this pattern to the foreground of my EDC assortment.

 

[sturzi]

Thank you all, it's nice to see that at least some people like it

Jon, those photos are awesome, they could fool anyone

 

[sitflyer]

.....

 

[waynorth]

Forgive me Charlie, for I have sinned...

Once so beautiful...

Absolutely!:thumbup:

...now crippled and deformed for the rest of its natural life.

Hmmmmmm. . .
Certainly a nice smooth job!

The others laugh at it and will bully it

I'll go stand in the corner now
I'll keep the blackwood version untouched, or I'm afraid some angry Canadian with a Mickey Mouse hat will fly over here and spank me to death

Can you ever forgive me?

How can I object to such fine workmanship??
The Barlow looks happy . . .
As long as you keep your promise, I'll keep Mickey at home!!

 

[sturzi]

As long as you keep your promise, I'll keep Mickey at home!!

Now that's a relief

 

[cards94]

Does anyone have any info on whether gec will be making more barlows soon?

 

[burnside]

I think it would be hard not to only collect/acquire TC Barlows if GEC continues to do limited runs with varying cover selections! Jon's photo magic makes me yearn for a spearpoint walnut!

 

[waynorth]

Does anyone have any info on whether gec will be making more barlows soon?

This question has come up several times.
For this year, GEC and I are going to run a Spey version, and a one-handed (Razor style) version.
If time allows we may try to squeeze in a Christmas special (Top secret blade config!!), but for now the Spey and Razor are sure things, heaven willing.

 

[pertinux]

Sturzi, in all seriousness, you've done a really great job here. I was wondering what was "damaged" in your first posted pictures, studying the edge to see what was messed up before realizing what I was looking at-- that's how excellently you've carried this out. These pictures with the blade closed cements it. :thumbup:

Ack, you got me again! Sure looks good, though. Hmmmm.

Wow ~ P, you've got it bad. Not only are you one of the few women interested in knives, you might also be the only one I've known who can sharpen them.

Well, I'm getting there. There's often cut newsprint confetti all over the house, and it's been a while since someone's seen a picture of the tip of one of my open blades and said, "Wait, you dropped it?!"

... Funny (in a good way), that for me what has become part and parcel [and the challenge, still] of having and enjoying (and properly maintaining) knives is readily translated into "got it bad."

I'll take it. (Thanks.)

So when can I expect the Spey barlows to come out...Most excited for those. Hoping for smooth ivory bone. Charlie, has sawcut blue bone ever been considered?

No one, but no one, enjoys a good blue more than me, but take a look again at the scans Charlie posted at the beginning of this thread:

Blue, on a barlow, is not Traditional.

Charlie can of course answer for himself (he's way good at that!), but his passion in these current runs is for the barlows of the past, re-enlivened and brought forward, and the chosen palette reflects that.

I agree, the most recent bone edition, smooth white, knocked it out of the park yet again; a revelation.

I only wish I were around 50-100 years from now to see what the TC barlows look like then.

Maybe something like this...?

~ P.

 

[burnside]

This in Blue Saw Cut Bone (or smooth bone) would be pretty amazing

 

[sogflash]

Amazing work! What did you use? It looks like it came that way from the factory.

 

[JustinR]

Some of the red marrow bone covers like the case barlows of yesteryear would look mighty fine on one of the future runs.

 

[JSCHENK]

I Absolutely love the sheepfoot modification to a warnie. I wasn't brave enough to try this but I have defiantly considered it...looks superb!

 

[Jack Black]

Well at least you've done a very good job of the mod.

But I have to say, in relation to the comments: "What is wrong with you people?!!"

Aren't there enough Wharnecliffe blades around? How often does a great Shepsfoot come along? Please leave them alone!

And it's the Walnut!!!

(Can't find a smarticon for 'tear slowly trickling down an old man's cheek'!)