What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?

Haha! You guys have me rolling on the floor laughing!!

Campbellclanman said:
Thank you Gentleman, I put a LOT of thought into my new look, I wanted something that commanded leadership - hence the placement of the #15 - I thought of Charles Manson immediately - being a famous leader - Im pretty sure I have done the right thing!
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Duncan, when you show the family picture, it's a whole different way to appreciate the Charlow. I think, when viewing them all together, that the one that catches my eye as the classic, is the white bone sheepsfoot.
 
philllll said:
Still fresh, better photos when the bandage comes off...

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Well done, sir!! :thumbup:
 
Congratulations, Phil, and be sure to post a photo of your new Charlow!

And congratulations to Charlie! This date will go down in Jon Slider's history of the TC Barlow. Has any other thread resulted in forum members making such permanent expressions of their love of knives? The WMaGTB thread breaks new ground and goes where no thread has gone before!
 
puukkoman said:
Haha! You guys have me rolling on the floor laughing!!


Duncan, when you show the family picture, it's a whole different way to appreciate the Charlow. I think, when viewing them all together, that the one that catches my eye as the classic, is the white bone sheepsfoot.
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Hi Alex, I have a slight confession in that the family is going to grow considerably more! - thank you for the kind comment my friend, in my eye for Radiance is the Red Bone - just Gorgeous!, and for a down-right Handsome beautiful knife is the Walnut - I am trying NOT to use the word perfect here.
 
Well, they say madness can often be closely related to genius, so there is hope!:rolleyes:

Thanks for bringing those pics of presumed-third-cut stag forward, Jon. I wonder if they were common, that is, knives with those handles, and were used harder because it was a cheaper, hence more disposable material.:confused:
That would explain the relative scarcity of it. Used up and worn out . . . .
 
Inspired by Codger's post about a nice Kastor-made XLNT Barlow (a nearby thread), I thought I would trot out a couple that have come my way. These are in the 100 year old range, and it seems that the Kastor brothers had a large influence on cutlery, especially before WWI.
They imported knives from Germany via their New York based company. They eventually built one of the largest cutleries of its time in Germany!
And they eventually purchased Camillus, ca. 1901.
They made barlows for Simmons and others. And, they used trade names somewhat incomprehensible to me, on several of these. I am not sure what Knox-All means, nor ONB!!??
These tang stamps and Brands all likely come from the Kastor Brothers in some way.
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You would be correct on both of those Kastor knives Charlie. O.N.B.? Well, if O.V.B. stood for "Our Very Best", then maybe "Our Next Best"? Knox-all... meaning "Beats-all". I made that up and I'll sell it darned dirt cheap. Any buyers?

1913 Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. This one with "Cruso" branding.

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A 4-dot Case that I got off the Bay almost ten years ago now. It was rusty and the previous owner had put a wire wheel to it. I did my best to clean it up. It still snaps like a gator and had three notches cut into the delrin handle that I like to think represented some previous adventures.

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Codger_64 said:
You would be correct on both of those Kastor knives Charlie. O.N.B.? Well, if O.V.B. stood for "Our Very Best", then maybe "Our Next Best"? Knox-all... meaning "Beats-all". I made that up and I'll sell it darned dirt cheap. Any buyers?

1913 Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. This one with "Cruso" branding.

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I like Our Next Best! :D
I was thinkin', "Oh, Not Bad"! :rolleyes:
I thought Knox-All meant "everyone eat your (Knox) gelatin, because yer gonna break a nail on this sucker!!:D

I wonder if there was any rhyme or reason to all these brands and names?
Cruso is a new one for me, and another oddball.:confused:
 
waynorth said:
I like Our Next Best! :D
I was thinkin', "Oh, Not Bad"! :rolleyes:
I thought Knox-All meant "everyone eat your (Knox) gelatin, because yer gonna break a nail on this sucker!!:D

I wonder if there was any rhyme or reason to all these brands and names?
Cruso is a new one for me, and another oddball.:confused:
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A. Kastor & Bros was the nation's largest importer of pocket cutlery. A unique name gave a jobber a unique product, even if it was the same knife as one with a different name. For example, the boys EO jack below left is marked A.W. Wadsworth & Son and the one below right that is on it's way to me is marked Swan Works, a mark of the actual maker Altenbach.

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With some luck, I will likely find the same knife under another of Kastor's over 200 brandings, maybe several.
 
I am thinking that KNOX-ALL does actually mean KNOCKS-ALL, I think those two Barlows are Great!

The Wadsworth is a champ of a knife, the way the Wadsworth knives Stamping is always struck so deep - its something that always commands my eyes to go there! Just look at the Bolster Stamp - Wow!, another thing that impresses me with this knife is the age of it, and the next to NO use it has had, the beautifully Rough Saw Cut Bone is something else!
For the life of me I cannot phantom what O.N.B means!
 
My apologies for the very poor quality pics, but I thought I should introduce The Marmalade Barlow to this thread ;)



 
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