What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?

Wow what a bunch of beautiful knives! I just FINLLY tracked down a TC of my own :DThe coolest part is that I found it here on BF and at a real fair price. I cant wait to get it home and in my hands. Ill put up some pictures if I can ever figure it out lol
 
RDaneel said:
I went to the Knife Days show in Wilmington, OH today with the express purpose of getting some more Barlows. I have been waiting months for this show. All of them are solid and in great condition. Here they are:


The whole gang together.

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Dean I missed these until now...wow!! Super fine hard to find beauties:thumbup::thumbup: Congrats!
 
Jack Black said:
Have you thought about Lignum Vitae Charlie?

I have some lovely old historic teak, with a very interesting pedigree, but I'm not sure my ship's timber garden bench would fit in the post-box! :D :thumbup:

The 14 TC's look good Charlie :thumbup:
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Lignum Vitae is a really impressive wood. Known as the hardest heaviest wood in the world with a density almost equal to iron! It's no wonder it's used on mechanical parts both above and below the water. Pretty cool idea for handle material and no question about its durability.



I know Ebony is very popular and has been used forever on knife covers. What about Macassar Ebony which is a colorful variation that has yellow/brown/gold striping mixed in with the darker colors?




The last one that crossed my mind was Mesquite. I can't find any supporting info that it was used back in the day but with its abundance in the United States, being medium density and an attractive polished wood I'd think they may have made a fair amount of covers out of it in times past.

 
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Nice pic and nice Barlow, Ben. I sure wish Boker would make those again. I just don't understand why not? They still produce a number of traditional patterns in Solingen including congress, copperhead, stockman, etc. Imagine a new Barlow as part of the "beer barrel wood" series. :thumbup:
 
Q) What makes a good, traditional Barlow?

A) The unknown!

Two new ones that I bought without handling first and hit the jackpot both times. A smooth bone 2-blade Russell (Fake? Don't care, it's gorgeous :p) that came yesterday and got carried today, and a Dixon Cutlery 'XTRA' 4¼" Barlow from Germany I know absolutely nothing else about. It's dirty, it's rustic, F&F could be better, the bone is hand-cut and weirdly angular (a little like my Wingen, but far more exaggerated) -- and I positively love it. My only clues to its age are the hammered (not spun) pivot pin and a post or two from another large knife forum allegedly quoting Goins about a "J. Dixon Cutlery" from the 1920s. Is a ~90 year old Barlow traditional enough, Mr. Waynorth? :D







 
Thinking I should have waited to reserve my 14 and held out for the barlow :/
 
tdkfm said:
Thinking I should have waited to reserve my 14 and held out for the barlow :/
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I'm waiting for the Barlow. Hope I don't miss it.
I might not be able to resist a clip version, though.
 
tdkfm said:
Thinking I should have waited to reserve my 14 and held out for the barlow :/
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r8shell said:
I'm waiting for the Barlow. Hope I don't miss it.
I might not be able to resist a clip version, though.
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Are the 77s that are supposed to run this year going to be produced in Barlow format, as well? With those plus the prospect of a smaller Barlow like the 14 I have found myself wondering where the $$$ for a 15 fits in. I've been trying to fill the big GEC gap in my Barlow collection (can't be a Barlow collector without a Charlow, right?) but as of yet I've found no common ground negotiating, and like they say, I may've been born at night but it wasn't last night. :o

Anyway, now that I've binged on 18s I really need to start planning out the rest of the year. Missing the 98 was bad, but I won't miss a run of Barlows. :mad:
 
Turning 32 in a little over a week here and I had been looking for a TC to mark the occasion. With the help of the forum I was able to get a new day TC in copperhead pick bone with Spey/Pen combo. I'd tried watching the exchange but I work lots of random hours and always seemed to be a little to late. Really happy to finally get my hands on one and I won't make the same mistake with the new #14 Barlow. I've been trying to hold off breaking it out of the tube until my actual birthday but I can't resist any longer. I can now see why they are so hard to come by. Amazing knife from top to bottom! Here's the first but it won't be the last.



 
Sorry to post another photo of a non-TC knife, but this is a Barlow nonetheless, and therefore "traditional" I think. Robeson 521179 Barlow, found at an estate sale today for the grand sum of $2, (believe it or not). Not so much rusty as spattered with paint. It's farm fresh for sure, but should clean up nicely. Blades are tight, great half stops, full blades. Best $2 I ever spent.

 
Sonny14 said:
Sorry to post another photo of a non-TC knife, but this is a Barlow nonetheless, and therefore "traditional" I think. Robeson 521179 Barlow, found at an estate sale today for the grand sum of $2, (believe it or not). Not so much rusty as spattered with paint. It's farm fresh for sure, but should clean up nicely. Blades are tight, great half stops, full blades. Best $2 I ever spent.
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Should never apologise for a non TC Barlow :o this is a Barlow thread after all, not a TC Barlow thread. Great pickup for 2$! Looks like it'll serve years of use.
 
Here is a spear point case with some interesting bone made in 1992. Feels pocket worn, didn't come with the box so I am not sure if it was part of that series or not. Not sure if they were even doing the pocket worn series in '92 yet.



 
TsarBomba, love the XTRA, real nice bone on that one.

Sonny, no need to apologise, this thread is for Barlows.

Found a couple this morning, a real nice Ulster,

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And another one of the infamous B or Owl :D bolster Barlows, this one stamped American Winsted on the main blade, not in great shape but how often do you find them.


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Augie, the Ulster knife is great! Fantastic handle color and cutting marks, the blades look like new.
So, the B on the second one is for Barlow, or...? Oh, now I see the Owl...!:D
 
Sonny14 said:
Sorry to post another photo of a non-TC knife, but this is a Barlow nonetheless, and therefore "traditional" I think. Robeson 521179 Barlow, found at an estate sale today for the grand sum of $2, (believe it or not). Not so much rusty as spattered with paint. It's farm fresh for sure, but should clean up nicely. Blades are tight, great half stops, full blades. Best $2 I ever spent.
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Awesome find, Sonny! I don't have any Robesons except for a trapper and a whittler made by Queen. From the photos, yours almost seems like a Camillus build -- it looks a lot like some of my new Westerns and one or two newer Camillus #51s.

JustinR said:
Here is a spear point case with some interesting bone made in 1992. Feels pocket worn, didn't come with the box so I am not sure if it was part of that series or not. Not sure if they were even doing the pocket worn series in '92 yet.
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IIRC pocket worn just had a 20th anniversary, which would mean they started a couple years after your Barlow was made. I don't see many Case Barlows with a single spear, and that bone is outstanding. Beautiful Barlow!

Augie said:
TsarBomba, love the XTRA, real nice bone on that one.
...
Found a couple this morning, a real nice Ulster,
And another one of the infamous B or Owl :D bolster Barlows, this one stamped American Winsted on the main blade, not in great shape but how often do you find them.
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That's the best-looking Ulster I've seen yet, love that natural sawcut bone. That "owl" Barlow is fantastic, too. I've never seen one in person, and I rarely see them photographed. Great discoveries! My new XTRA has got me inspired to hunt down some more "unique" Barlows, but I really don't have many places in town I can go. Thankfully, we have lots of gun and knife shows in the county, but even there it's hit and miss as far as slipjoints go -- lots of newer CCC and mall ninja crap which apparently fits some sort of faux "rebel" ethos. I always bring a little extra foldin' money with me to those shows just in case someone shows up with a TIP TOP or one of my other grails.
 
TsarBomba said:
Awesome find, Sonny! I don't have any Robesons except for a trapper and a whittler made by Queen. From the photos, yours almost seems like a Camillus build -- it looks a lot like some of my new Westerns and one or two newer Camillus #51s.
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Thanks Tsar, I think I agree, the master blade is very similar to those CC used on the Buck 300 Series prior to 1986, (and Craftsman, and, and... ). The long nail pull is almost identical, and so is the general profile of the master blade; it really does look Camillus(ish). Not sure who it was, but whoever made it did a superb job.
 
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