What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?

waynorth said:
Jon, can you comment some more about the "pin treatment"?
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only what you see in the photo of the beautiful clip bladed poisonwood, the pin has what looks like a dimple in the middle, but it seems to just be a figment of my imagination, caused by the lighting. In other photos the pin looks like the normal domed or spun pin as before.

You could probably just look at one of your poisonwoods and confirm the pin is not dimpled. In any case, I find that poisonwood absolutely beautiful. Congratulations on your courage and initiative with all the cover materials youve introduced us to, and moreso the marmalade blade. I love how it sits so low in the handle pocket. Correct me if mistaken, there is no marmalade blade in poisonwood right?:)
 
Jon you are right - there is no Marmalade Blade in Poisonwood.
An inappropriate match as your smiley implies.:rolleyes:

The dimple is an anomaly. I have 2 P-woods here, and neither is dimpled. Thanks for getting back to this.

BTW, I am sure that the Bone is not stabilized.
Walnut has to be, but I am not sure about Poisonwood. ???
 
waynorth said:
I'm going out to buy some Marmite!
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Here's my 'Marmite' gravy recipe Charlie (I actually use Meridian organic yeast extract) ;)

(Makes just under a pint)

1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, diced and crushed
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
Black pepper
Dash of Henderson's Relish*
Good squeeze of tomato puree
Large teaspoon of yeast extract
1 pint of low-salt vegetable bouillon/stock

Fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft.
Add the bouillon and all the other ingredients.
Bring to a gentle boil and then simmer to reduce (aprox 45 minutes).
Adjust seasoning to taste.

* Henderson's Relish is very difficult to obtain outside of Sheffield, where its made, so you'll need to find something else to replace it. Maybe a splash of Worcestershire sauce if you can get it?
 
jon_slider said:
only what you see in the photo of the beautiful clip bladed poisonwood, the pin has what looks like a dimple in the middle, but it seems to just be a figment of my imagination, caused by the lighting. In other photos the pin looks like the normal domed or spun pin as before.

You could probably just look at one of your poisonwoods and confirm the pin is not dimpled. In any case, I find that poisonwood absolutely beautiful. Congratulations on your courage and initiative with all the cover materials youve introduced us to, and moreso the marmalade blade. I love how it sits so low in the handle pocket. Correct me if mistaken, there is no marmalade blade in poisonwood right?:)
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Sorry I just got back to this thread. I hadn't noticed the 'dimple' until you mentioned it, but saw it as plain as day in the photo. When I looked at the knife this morning though, I couldn't see anything that resembled the dimple on the pin. Weird, right? So at that point I'm thinking that it was probably just some strange lighting effect when I shot the picture, so I went back to my camera to look at other pictures I had taken, and what appeared to be a dimple was showing up in them as well. By then I was genuinely confused. With my naked eye, I can't see this dimple, but it's showing up in multiple pictures. Even with the aid of a magnifying glass, I couldn't see the dimple, so I decided to take some more pictures today - but when I did, no dimple. I'm left to draw one of two conclusions: 1) my knife is haunted by a ghost dimple; or 2) as I took the original pictures immediately after removing the knife from its tube, it's possible that the pin still had some sort of compound on all but the very crown of the pin which in my photo gave the appearance of a dimple, but has since been removed by my handling of the knife. I choose for obvious reasons to believe conclusion 1, I mean, how cool is it to have a haunted knife? Just one more reason to love my new Barlow. Merry Christmas!
 
Old & In The Way said:
Sorry I just got back to this thread. I hadn't noticed the 'dimple' until you mentioned it, but saw it as plain as day in the photo. When I looked at the knife this morning though, I couldn't see anything that resembled the dimple on the pin. Weird, right? So at that point I'm thinking that it was probably just some strange lighting effect when I shot the picture, so I went back to my camera to look at other pictures I had taken, and what appeared to be a dimple was showing up in them as well. By then I was genuinely confused. With my naked eye, I can't see this dimple, but it's showing up in multiple pictures. Even with the aid of a magnifying glass, I couldn't see the dimple, so I decided to take some more pictures today - but when I did, no dimple. I'm left to draw one of two conclusions: 1) my knife is haunted by a ghost dimple; or 2) as I took the original pictures immediately after removing the knife from its tube, it's possible that the pin still had some sort of compound on all but the very crown of the pin which in my photo gave the appearance of a dimple, but has since been removed by my handling of the knife. I choose for obvious reasons to believe conclusion 1, I mean, how cool is it to have a haunted knife? Just one more reason to love my new Barlow. Merry Christmas!
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Actually now that you mention it, my AB spey Charlow had a small dab of a clear laquer-looking fluid on that same pin that had dried and appeared to be a dimple (like you'd see when you use a steel punch on a pin). I found that this seemed unlike GEC to have this sort of thing happen, so I picked at it very carefully with a dental tool and it snapped off cleanly just like a spot of excess laquer would. There's no trace of it left and the pin is smooth and round just like it should be.

I don't know what this fluid was, but it was similar to dried clear laquer. Whatever it is must have been a result of the finishing of the knife prior to shipping. Or perhaps even some lube that had dried on the pin?
 
Such a beauty! Thank you Charlie and Bill Howard & crew!

charlow1_zps2933b627.jpg


And I can highly recommend the book, too... by none other than our own pa knives aka David L. Anthony :)
 
Chief said:
Duncan, congrats! Well deserved and thanks for sharing your shots. Yellow and the oncoming patina will make a beautiful combo. Was on the verge of snatching up a yellow single clip and while I snoozed they were sold.

Greg, love that bone on your Case XX.

Charlie, I google searched Tryon, and found one post by you on aapk. Have you found out any more info on them?

Tryonsawcutboneweb.jpg


Tryonsawcutboneweb1.jpg
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Ooh, another Philadelphia stamp! Love it! :thumbup:
 
I believe GEC's version of the Charlow has a Tom's Choice etch and came in various handle materials. I believe those Barlows that were some of Waynorth's SFOs had the Genuine Barlow etch and a variety of handle materials. My question is this, other than the etch and maybe the handle were there any other differences between the two?

If Tom carried the Tom's Choice model, did Injun Joe carry the Genuine Barlow model? Which one did Becky Thatcher carry?
 
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Thomason said:
I believe GEC's version of the Charlow has a Tom's Choice etch and came in various handle materials.
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I believe you are mistaken, iirc Gec made boys knives, but not Barlows, using the same blades, but different bolsters and different handles. I do not recall whether GEC used the Toms Choice etch on Boys knives, it was used on some of the Charlows.

Thomason said:
I believe those Barlows that were some of Waynorth's SFOs had the Genuine Barlow etch
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Yes, that is true of the first two batches I believe, but the Toms Choice etch was also on an SFO

So the general idea is, Charlows are an SFO and have the Barlow bolster, with certain etches, and certain handle covers.

Boys knives share the blades of the Charlows, but not the bolster, and not quite the same handle covers.

if you have pictures of knives with etches, that would be informative also.

and if your question is whether you can get the same blade as an SFO Charlow on a Boys knife, yes you can. The difference is the boys knife has a smaller bolster and longer pieces of handle cover material than the Barlows, which are all SFO iirc
 
I was fortunate enough to purchase one of the spey Charlows with soup bone covers. This thing has such great character! I think I am in love. Nobody tell my wife, please. She doesn't much like competition.
 
All the GEC TC Barlows to date were commissioned by yours truly. The Spear blades were the first, and they had the Genuine Barlow Knife etch. It arose from some "Genuine" banter we had going somewhere . . . .:confused:

The Clip blade came next, with a Tom's Choice etch! All clips, even the recent one-blades that were issued along with the Speys, have that Tom's Choice etch.

Tom must have liked the Clip Blade the best, but I can't remember why. The reason might be on the back of the tube!

Becky carried a Clip, to remind her of Tom!

I think Injun Joe carried a Razor/One-armed Barlow (yet to be made!) The blade was a little scarier!!

Next came the Real Sheepfoot Barlow. With the Big Male (Ram) Sheepshead pic in the etch!

Then the Speys with the Day's Work Rooster. Commemorating the farmers, stockmen, and others who work so hard to keep us all fed.
But when Tom's favorite blade was by itself, it reverts to his choice!!

See?

It is all perfectly logical and clear to me, so don't argue!!:D
 
waynorth said:
All the GEC TC Barlows to date were commissioned by yours truly. The Spear blades were the first, and they had the Genuine Barlow Knife etch. It arose from some "Genuine" banter we had going somewhere . . . .:The Clip blade came next, with a Tom's Choice etch!
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Thanks Charlie, that answered my poorly worded question.
 
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