What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?

I may be in the minority... But being fortunate to have a few of the TC Barlow spey blades, I think the long pull would be a mistake.

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The nail nick near the end of the blade, makes it easy to open the spey with minimal effort. The nail nick's location is perfect. I think a long pull, closer to the pivot, would require more effort, and make the blade thicker along the spine.

The original Days Work TC Barlow is perfect. So, I fall in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" camp.

But of course, if I have the opportunity, I will purchase one of the new speys no matter how you open it...
 
Al - My Friend. your kindness and generosity is very much appreciated :cool::)

The Camillus in its new home :thumbup:

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A family reunion for 2 long lost cousins :thumbup:

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Thanks again Al :D
 
Wow...that has to be the nicest Camillus barlow I have seen! Well done, Al!! Your barlow collection is a royal flush, Ron!
 
coolio said:
Here's Pablo resting after he did some roughing in work on a ball/cage! A first for both of us. I used the TC and a Case peanut to get me to this point, probably peanut the rest of the way.

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Brad, nice work with the TC and peanut!
 
So, at the risk of sounding foolish, I'm assuming the bolsters on the copperhead will be in copper, is this correct?
 
Peregrin said:
This is not an official point of announcement for anyone's run of anything. This thread is for the discussion of "What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow". Lots of companies made and still make Barlows.

The best place to keep an eye on what's coming in the way of GEC, is the GEC website.



Is that a new Barlow? :confused:
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Ok, thanks for setting me straight. I appreciate it.
 
Alright.. lol right after I clean out my wallet the TC is coming around.. all about the timing eh? :D :thumbup:
 
trevytrev said:
So, at the risk of sounding foolish, I'm assuming the bolsters on the copperhead will be in copper, is this correct?
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That's a good question, and your idea about copper bolsters would make sense. But in this case, GEC has named a color of bone handles "Copperhead." I think because it resembles the pale orangey brown of a copperhead snake. In this thread, it is famous as being an especially rare and early TC Barlow.
 
Peregrin said:
This is not an official point of announcement for anyone's run of anything. This thread is for the discussion of "What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow". Lots of companies made and still make Barlows.

The best place to keep an eye on what's coming in the way of GEC, is the GEC website.
Click to expand...

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

I think it'd be good for all of us to pause, take a deep breath, and read this twice :thumbup:

Half/Stop said:
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Lovely Camillus :) Class act Al :thumbup:
 
Old Engineer said:
I have to correct the possible age or date stamp on my Russell Barlow . The name of Russell stamped on the tang was a straight line from 1876 to 1933 . I would like to know if anyone has seen any old Barlow other than my SEO&S that has the integral bolster/liner like the SEO&S , particularly the Russell's. Just trying to date when the industry stopped using that type construction.

Harry
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According to pp36-39 of the definitive work on Russell knives (The History of the John Russell Cutlery Company 1833-1936 by Robert L. Merriam; Richard A. Davis, Jr.; David S. Brown and Michael E. Buerger, Bete Press Greenfield, Massachusetts publishers C1976 and still available in a 120 page hardcover with great illustrations, catalog images and photos throughout for a very reasonable price) the first Russell pocket Jack knives were made in 1875 with 50 'styles' were to expand to 400 'styles' within a year. These styles were often just variations of handle, rivets etc, on one basic design but there was no doubt more designs than just Barlows. By 1877 50,000 dozen jackknives had been sold. The Barlow pattern which was already in common use from its English origins and also already and continued to be made by a number of American makers. Russell's reputation for quality allowed them to 'own' the Barlow in later years.

re the Mark Twain references, the first Tom Sawyer reference was to the Barlow pattern and was published in 1876. Russell versions were not specifically mentioned in the 1884 Huck Finn publication but the Barlow prices quoted match the Russell version at the time.
 
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