What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?

MrVandercar said:
I for one would really appreciate it if GEC would go just a little deeper with the blades in the closed position. Not sure why they seemingly to aim to get the point just below the handle.
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I'm not sure but is this possible to have the blade sit a little deeper in the pocket? I guess they only have so much room to play with.
 
MrVandercar said:
Kirkwood, the blade in the bone seems to be seated a little deeper than in the ebony. Is that the case or just my imagination? I for one would really appreciate it if GEC would go just a little deeper with the blades in the closed position. Not sure why they seemingly to aim to get the point just below the handle. Still, they are a fine pieces of American craftsmanship.
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Jack Black said:
Nice post Charlie. I don't think your contribution can be overstated :thumbup:
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csisland said:
I'm not sure but is this possible to have the blade sit a little deeper in the pocket? I guess they only have so much room to play with.
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Thank for the kudos, Jack.

You have touched on the problem, CSIS!
In response to the depth-of-blade seating question, it is indeed an interesting one! I have thought about it often. I know that blade-rapping is always a danger in the final setting of the blade resting depth. This is where the blade raps the spring, with consequent damage to the sharp edge!:eek:
When the blade snaps shut it often goes past the rest point, very slightly of course. Also, if you set the blade too deep, sometimes the spring will drop below flush at rest. And it is harder to raise the blade at rest once it goes past the optimum point. Finally, the peening that happens to the kick over time can also lower the blade.
Every knife will have a thousandth of an inch variance here and there. So with all these possibilities of the fitting going wrong, it has become evident to me that stopping at a functional point is far better than going too far, making it harder to fix. Of course, as the owner, I can take the risks, and file the kick as far as I want!:D
 
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Makes sense. The recent run of the Northwoods Barlow is a good example of what can happen if the blade is slightly too low. As far as I've picked up, many knives off that run hit the back spring when snapped shut. I have one and the tell tale dimple in the center of the blade is evident. Doesn't really bother me, as there is a lot of blade to use on the knife and the ding is negligible but I can see how it could bug people. Two different arguments on this one, if a blade rides high eventually the tip will poke out the top and you have to file the kick, if the blade is low and hits the spring you've got a ding to deal with until you've ground enough steel off. I assume most people would want their new knife in perfect condition and deal with the aging process along the way rather than have to lose fresh steel to solve a problem. So yeah, makes sense, thanks Charlie.
 
I had the same problem as MrVandercar above ^^ on my user 2009 forum barlow. I put a large cut off wheel in the dremel and ground the back spring where the blade was hitting. Gotta be careful though! ;)


Dave
 
knowtracks said:
I had the same problem as MrVandercar above ^^ on my user 2009 forum barlow. I put a large cut off wheel in the dremel and ground the back spring where the blade was hitting. Gotta be careful though! ;)


Dave
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Ouch! You gotta be careful doing that procedure all right!!
That is a critical part of the backspring!
You are a braver man than I am, Gunga Din!!
 
MrVandercar said:
Kirkwood, the blade in the bone seems to be seated a little deeper than in the ebony. Is that the case or just my imagination? I for one would really appreciate it if GEC would go just a little deeper with the blades in the closed position. Not sure why they seemingly to aim to get the point just below the handle. Still, they are a fine pieces of American craftsmanship.
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I think you and Charlie already covered this, but just to answer the question, you're observation is correct. I actually noticed that some sat a little more proud in the progress pics, so I wasn't surprised by it.
 
waynorth said:
Ouch! You gotta be careful doing that procedure all right!!
That is a critical part of the backspring!
You are a braver man than I am, Gunga Din!!
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One must be careful but I didn't need to cut much out of the backspring, maybe 15 or 20 thousands.
At first I tried to add to the kick, with a welder! :eek: Epic fail!! :grumpy: And I didn't see any other solution.
Dave
 
The safer way is to peen the kick! You can easily add several thou with a punch, or by direct peening.

KickPeen_zps74941c42.jpg


My crapulent kick drawings! The dots represent strikes with an obtusely sharpened center punch (both sides).
Alternately, the "striped" area represents an area peened (both sides).
Of course you have to be firmly on an anvil for either.
 
Thank You for that information Charlie! :cool:
Now I have an alternative if this problem ever raises it's ugly head again!

Dave
 
waynorth said:
The safer way is to peen the kick! You can easily add several thou with a punch, or by direct peening.

KickPeen_zps74941c42.jpg


My crapulent kick drawings! The dots represent strikes with an obtusely sharpened center punch (both sides).
Alternately, the "striped" area represents an area peened (both sides).
Of course you have to be firmly on an anvil for either.
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Good tip Charlie :) :thumbup:
 
A good traditional Barlow should come in a nice box or tube!
And it could have Jigged bone handles, as an alternative to Sawcut handles!!

TCBARLOWPLAID_zpsbd333261.jpg

TCBARLOWDANCINGTHEJIG_zpsd1b2621b.jpg
 
Thanks for the tube art Charlie, always a pleasure to see :)

Jack
 
"artisanal"?? My someone brought out the BIG dictionary! ;)
I love the artwork, the little synopses and the ever chancing bucket of this series Charlie.
Must keep you up nights! :D

Dave
 
Thanks Jack and Dave.
I usually wait until the back label is overdue, and rattle off my confused thoughts in a couple of minutes, before Bill starts shouting louder!!
Then my talented editor keeps me from being completely embarrassed (I did spell artisanal correctly though!).

GEC's Sue the Graphics woman made something else different from the original - spot it?
 
Charlie, it's fair to say jobs are safe when it comes to designing the tube art and blade etches for your SFO's!

Thank you again for glancing us a sneaky peek.

The new threads look great ;)
 
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