What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?

pertinux said:
I hear tell that some have been dunking 'em in hot vinegar, making 'em "ugly and uncomfortable," with further talk of "sanding 'em off."

:eek:

Normally, I'd say "No, no, you shouldn't have one, send yours back," but....

;)

~ P.
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O.K, O.K! I am sorry for putting everyone through such pain. I hope it helps you all to know that the there is a happy ending here! Besides learning a little about this run of knives, I have further "prepped" said Barlow for a life in my pocket - no safe queen this one. A life of enjoyable work is in store!
I did indeed sand off the raised grain; man that stuff is hard on your skin!
A good rubdown with Walker Wax, and a second - no, a third oiling, and a carefull honing session on a bench Hone - the Old Fashioned way - how appropriate is that!? - and it is ready for everything.
Through all that experimenting, it is nice to see the PPP etch has umm.. stubbornly persisted!:)
The sawcut texture is mostly gone, but the mahogany-like look is growing on me. Sorta like fine furniture. I'd like to add that the dye goes nice and deep into the bone!
It remains, still, a beautiful knife!!
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Whew.

Thanks for the update, Charlie.

I like the header on your last post. Heh.

-- Is the knife in question Copperhead, or Antique Yellow? I'm guessing the former.

~ P.
 
I finally have my Barlows.

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The top knife is a single blade copperhead bone (Thanks, Mike) and the bottom is an Antique Yellow 2-blade (Thanks, Charlie). Of the few GEC patterns I have, these are my favorites. I think I am going to like the single blade version better. I may like the 2 blade better after my thumbnail grows out again; it's a little tough getting to the nail groove on the master with it as short as it is now. Not impossible, but not second nature either. By the way, both of these knives were/are usably sharp right out of the tube.

Charlie, two thumbs up for coaching/nudging GEC into building these wonderful knives. I like them a lot.

Ed J
 
TLARbb said:
I finally have my Barlows.

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Those look great!

I may like the 2 blade better after my thumbnail grows out again; it's a little tough getting to the nail groove on the master with it as short as it is now. Not impossible, but not second nature either.
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For whatever this is worth, I still struggle if I try to open my 2-blader with the Usual Suspects, the thumbnail or nail on the middle finger of my left hand. However, I can still instantly access and open the nail nick with the thumb of my right hand. For whatever reason, the angle and/or leverage is "correct" when I use my right hand, and frustrating-to-impossible with t'other-- I stop when I feel like one of my left nails is coming loose.

-- Does anyone have a tan barlow? I'd like to see pictures of that one in the wild.

~ P.
 
Here are pictures of a tan TC Barlow in the wild Sarah, with two of its tamed buddies.
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As an experiment for future projects, I over-dyed the bone handles on two of these to see what we could see.
The top one is Antique Amber straight from GEC. The middle one is the same, but over-dyed with a reddish tan, and the bottom is over-dyed with dark brown.
They were then rubbed with slightly abrasive Walker Wax, to see if the dyes penetrated well, and they did.
Opinions on the colors are welcome!
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What, you didn't boil 'em in vinegar....?

Progress!

;)

I was concerned the tan, once it had its shave and a haircut (2 bits!), might look a little "bald" toward the bolster. It seems my concerns were not ungrounded.

It's fine as-is, but I really like the middle one in your picture above-- "over-dyed with reddish tan."

Would you mind sharing your process, and/or what dye you used? (I am hopeful that such a question can be answered here, as it is specific to these knives and your process.)

Also, how much color, whether from dirty hands, exposure to sunlight, etc., do you think the bone would take on over time without dyeing?


Thanks for the picture from the wooly wilds of your scanner.

~ P.
 
I received my Antique Yellow Saw Cut Bone Barlow this evening and it lives up to everything that has been said about it! Thank you Santa ;)

I can't resist making a few additional comments, even though it may be repeating what others have already said. The F & F on this knife is absolutely wonderful, Charlie. Both blades have a perfect pull of "5" - and smooth all the way from closed to half-stop to open, and back again. Hair shaving, push-cutting-paper sharp out of the tube. It feels great in hand and looks cool and old-timey.
 
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Santa's elves from the US Post Office stopped by today. This should put to rest those rumors that I had been a naughty boy this past year.

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:Nice shot Thomason..., I think though having three makes you a bad boy, just wait until I see Santa...Im gona trash his sleigh, I aint got no Barlow. lol
But thats just fine, because if there is ever another lot, I will buy them all, and post photos...and laugh ( not that I am sore or anything ) :D
 
Thanks for showing them off, Ed and Rob! Nice photographs!!
Rob, I guess, like Google, even Santa can be wrong sometimes! (JK, JK!):D

Sarah, I scrub the bone real good with strong dish soap, and very hot water and lots of rinsing. Dry them real good with a hair dryer, rolling them constantly, but not touching the handles. Working on paper towels helps. On dry paper toweling, with the knife still hot from the dryer, I q-tip Feibings oil dye onto the bone (it won't hurt the steel), let it dry under the dryer, then coat it again. Keep it hot under the dryer. Three coats works well. Let it dry for several hours - I stood them in an old coffee mug, blades still open, and down into the mug so the bone doesn't touch anything.
Next day I rubbed them with clean cotton (old t-shirt). Then cleaned/waxed them with Walkers Wax.
As far as wear and aging/patina only time will tell!
Time to turn off the computer and turn on Christmas!
All the best to everyone!!
 
pertinux said:
What, you didn't boil 'em in vinegar....?


~ P.
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I did try Charlies Technique-Oh My!...I was extremely surprised... I 3/4 filed a cup with Cider Vinegar and let it rip on HIGH for 3 & 1/2 minutes in the Microwave...took the cup out - I was surprised that there was no bubbling from the Cider being so very hot - it must be in the nature of the product? - but I can guarantee you it was extremely hot!

I then opened the knife and dropped it into the cup blades first - so as to ensure the scales were to stay out of the water...
What happened was a surprise to me...the reaction of the boiling Cider was huge-the Cider flared and bubbled like crazy ....this continued for at least 20 seconds... I am talking bubbling and spilling over the cup edge-it was fascinating to see such a strong reaction - in a Kitchen!...once the major flare - up settled there was a continuous smaller bubbling reaction ( a bit like coke fizzing ) going on all the time.

I then pulled out the knife-dried with hand towels...and Wow, I am real impressed with the finish!
Once cooled I used 0000 grade steel wool with Mineral oil to gently go over the new Patina...I just love it!
This is one of the most fascinating threads -Thank you everyone involved!
 
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Merry Christmas, Wade!

You too, Duncan, now I know you are safe!!
Glad you didn't burn yourself!! Your vinegar was super-heated (over its boiling point), and the insertion of the knife started vaporization! Yikes!! 2 minutes in the microwave is usually enough to heat the vinegar, to speed up the metal oxidation.
But it worked, so no harm done! Can't wait to see pictures!!

And to all a Good Night!! (this time I mean it!)
 
waynorth said:
Merry Christmas, Wade!

You too, Duncan, now I know you are safe!!
Glad you didn't burn yourself!! Your vinegar was super-heated (over its boiling point), and the insertion of the knife started vaporization! Yikes!! 2 minutes in the microwave is usually enough to heat the vinegar, to speed up the metal oxidation.
But it worked, so no harm done! Can't wait to see pictures!!

And to all a Good Night!! (this time I mean it!)
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Yes, Duncan, such a situation can be very hazardous as initiation by putting an object into the superheated material can cause the whole batch to flash instantly and can seriously burn if it happens. Glad you didn't get hurt.

Ed J
 
Charlie, what a great thread, and fantastic knife too!!! That wood grain effect isn't at all uncommon on bone handles, I've got a few Schrade Cut. barlows with that same type of grain. I also see it on newer bone quite often as well, actually prefer it over really smooth bone as it adds some texture to it.

That superheating effect is very dangerous, I've read of incidents where just the act of touching the cup sends the contents into an explosive boil that pretty much empties the contents in a second. It most often happens on cups with very smooth sides such as glass. You need a bit of texture, or an object in the water for the oxygen to adhere to in order to start that rolling boil.
 
The blade forum trapper had present opening duty today. The Barlow pictured along side one of Charlies other special orders was a Christmas present. Really like the Barlow, and the antique yellow bone handles look great to me.
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