What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?

JerryIsAlive said:
What's the story with the walnut?
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I searched keyword walnut, and on 6/1/13:
waynorth said:
There will be some Ebony, two sawcut bone colors, and possibly some black walnut.
My father had a couple of walnut gunstock blanks in his closet from the 1950s. My brother gave me one of them, and I of course immediately thought "knife Handles"!
We are just looking at it to see how it finishes up.
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and on 9/27/13
pertinux said:
As far as 'how it finishes up,' the walnut was/is stablized, the ebony isn't.
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Now to anticipate your next question, what is stabilizing
wood that is not very dense, like walnut, benefits from being soaked in acrylic resin. this makes the material extremely stable and durable.

Untreated Walnut has a density of 40 pounds per square foot. Water has a density of 62, and acrylic a density of 72. Untreated Walnut will float, because 40 is less than 62. Stabilized Walnut might sink, because it is impregnated with material that is heavier than water. fwiw, untreated ebony has a density of 72 also, it sinks in water, and does not need to be stabilized with acrylic

acrylic stabilization is used on high end custom knives and produces a very consistent material that takes a high polish.

Walnut gunstocks are typically already stabilized, but because the material was sawn into little knife covers, GEC stabilized the Walnut for the Charlows, in house. Essentially, the walnut is sealed, protected, hardened, and will not shrink or crack, because the acrylic penetrates all the fibers of the wood.

I have one of the Walnut Sheepfoot Charlows and it is very beautiful. I highly recommend Charlies gunstock walnut.
 
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That pic shows all four of the single blades being produced in the current run.
Thanks for importing it, Armando!!
 
The dealers, including me, will have 1-blades by the weekend or Monday latest.
 
Man they look just great! The jigging looks just fantastic, and the Walnut single looks like it should be in my pocket!
 
Is there a difference in the spearpoint blades with this run compared to the last time time the spearpoints came out? It's the swedges right?
 
csisland said:
Is there a difference in the spearpoint blades with this run compared to the last time time the spearpoints came out? It's the swedges right?
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Both the cut swedges and long pulls, CSIS.
 
waynorth said:
Both the cut swedges and long pulls, CSIS.
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Amazing how the simple reposition and smaller nail nick and swedge make the spearpoint blade look different. Would you say it's still a spearpoint with leaning towards a drop point?
 
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csisland said:
Amazing how the simple reposition and smaller nail nick and swedge make the spearpoint blade look different. Would you say it's still a spearpoint with leaning towards a drop point?
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It's a pure spearpoint, csis, nearly symmetrical. The drawn swedge dramaticizes the upper curve I guess.
 
csisland said:
Is there a difference in the spearpoint blades with this run compared to the last time time
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Long pull, cut swedge, sawcut bone, none in Walnut, some in Soupbone, pile side pens, the Gabon Ebony from Charlies Private Reserve. You will have a very hard time finding Ebony for sale, while the RedBone is slightly more available occasionally on the auction site or the exchange. The single blades are most rare.

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Crescent pull, drawn swedge, jigged bone, some in Walnut from Charlies Private Reserve, and none in Soupbone, no pile side pens, the Gabon Ebony from GEC is very beautiful too. And you can buy these now, even in single blade. If you wait a couple of weeks, they might be all gone. The Walnut will be the first to disappear, imho.
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What makes a "good Barlow"? I've had this one for much longer than I can remember. It's like an old Chevy Biscayne or Ford Fairlane. It's the same as an Impala or Galaxy, it just don't have all the bling.
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>That is a great comparison, displaying the GEC "Mag Covers" Jon! Good illustration of the differences!

>That Kutmaster reminds me of an old '52 Willys I used to have, Bob. Barebones, but useful and reliable!

>Look what followed me home today. I'm guessing this was more like an Impala in its day!!
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Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Jon!
 
Sweetness to infinity!! Look at that thing!! What is it called....a dog leg barlow? ...a saddlehorn barlow? Wow!!
 
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