What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?

waynorth said:
Yet another page of wonderful pics! I wondered if you would appreciate the Ancients, after the beautiful knives I saw in your collection, Achille!! Nice background in your pic!

"Did you ever master the *guitar pick pinch* we were talking about a few weeks ago?"
Yes I did, DelOro. A little more finger behind the blade helps the pinch!

I like your weathered boards, Ron! Fitting background for some old knife!!:)

Great Posts, Duncan and John!! Went back and looked a dozen times!!

:DHa ha!! Nice observation, Lance! Can I use that some time??:D


Well, they are going to be one-blades!!:cool:


Nice paraphrase, JP!!:D

Dean, Perry and anyone I missed, thanks for your comments!!
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I'm listening, intently! :eek::eek::D
 
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I recently got this Queen made Schatt & Morgan Grand Daddy Barlow in Maple. I have been trying to find well made Queen knives for reasonable prices being that they will likely become scarce. This one has really great action, super snappy with a solid 6 pull. It's well centered. It has no blade play. It does have some small gaps, but I kind of expected that. I wish it was in D2 (I love Queen's D2 as heat treated by Peter's), but carbon is fine also.

Now I just have to decide whether it should be a user. I initially planned to use it, but now with its large size and the upcoming scarcity I have put it away.

I also get the urge to keep some knives in good shape as collector pieces every time I go to the Allegheny Mountain Knife Club meetings. They all have such incredible collections of pristine knives both new and old.
 
Chief said:
Dark sawcut bone highlighted by a lighter border ... long pull short of the tang, button rivets. Royalty for 5 years and still reigns supreme. Dark blue / med blue would look good.

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John, great cutlery and beautiful photography!! As usual very impressive!
Sure do like the color of Antique Amber on saw-cut bone. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
I’ve got my reserve in for an upcoming 14 Charlie Campagna SFO Barlow.

I’m super excited for a clip Barlow. I don’t have experience with a 14, but I loved carrying a Case Peanut as a teenager so I think it will be great.

You can’t go wrong with a clip blade or a Charlie SFO.
 
Fox79 said:
I’ve got my reserve in for an upcoming 14 Charlie Campagna SFO Barlow.

I’m super excited for a clip Barlow. I don’t have experience with a 14, but I loved carrying a Case Peanut as a teenager so I think it will be great.

You can’t go wrong with a clip blade or a Charlie SFO.
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Where were e the reserves?
 
It’s been posted on these threads before how to find a Charlie Campagna SFO dealer and then you have to contact them. Each dealer has a different reserve process, lottery, or no reserve. Dealers that don’t do early reserves just do random drops when they have the knives in hand.

For me, I really enjoy the chase for my favorite knives (old and new). It’s the hunt that makes them really special sometimes.

For me, my 2018 NF Barlow is my all time favorite. That was one hell of a chase!
 
Fox79 said:
It’s the hunt that makes them really special sometimes.
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That is very true.
I hope to get the system figured out for when the #14 TC sheepsfoot barlows come out in a couple of years. If not, I'll gladly pay extra for it on the secondary market. It's about finding "that knife", not how much you have to pay for it. I'm also hoping GEC does a #25 sheepsfoot barlow.
 
JohnDF said:
That is very true.
I hope to get the system figured out for when the #14 TC sheepsfoot barlows come out in a couple of years. If not, I'll gladly pay extra for it on the secondary market. It's about finding "that knife", not how much you have to pay for it. I'm also hoping GEC does a #25 sheepsfoot barlow.
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Sounds good. These fellas on this forum are pretty good about pricing on the exchange here.
 
I’m not sure where to put this, but this thread seems appropriate. I have been wrestling with my 2-blade 77 Barlow, and I think I’ve given up. I can’t stand the fact that the tang sticks out so much on whatever blade remains closed, digging into my forefinger.

Here are some pictures of my 77 vs an old Schrade. These have exactly the same dimensions on the handle profile from the bolster, though the 77 is longer. The Schrade has a sunk joint, making the knife very comfortable to hold.

I understand from reading other threads that the sunk joint is less strong and maybe messes up the lines of the knife. You can see in the picture how much more shallow the spring is on the Schrade. But it still seems plenty stable.

For a single blade, I don’t care about the tang. Also, I’m more likely to do harder work with a single blade that would perhaps benefit from the added strength.

So anyway. Is the 2-blade 77 Barlow traditional? Certainly. And it is SO well made and beautiful to look at. Is it good? Not for me. I’d rather use a Churchill to get that blade combination.

I recognize I am in the minority, and lots of people love these. That’s great. I’m not trying to start a fight. This is just me learning what I do and do not like, and thought it could be an interesting point of discussion.

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I agree with your points completely. I would either use a larger single blade or even a fixed blade if tough work was needed done, so the slightly less strong sunk joint doesn't bother me at all. I've always favored them, but there are so few to choose from any more. Jacks with a copperhead bolster like this Case WT are another good fix for the exposed tang. Feels the same regardless of which blade is deployed.

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JohnDF said:
As far as I can tell: gottaknowsomebody/secretsquirreldecoderring/goodlucktoya.com
I've never been able to find one... Not even seen a "drop".
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:D:D:D

Sometimes GEC Barlow SFO's are also made of Unobtainium (aka high grade carbon steel) :eek::rolleyes:;)
 
Kiro said:
I’m not sure where to put this, but this thread seems appropriate. I have been wrestling with my 2-blade 77 Barlow, and I think I’ve given up. I can’t stand the fact that the tang sticks out so much on whatever blade remains closed, digging into my forefinger.

Here are some pictures of my 77 vs an old Schrade. These have exactly the same dimensions on the handle profile from the bolster, though the 77 is longer. The Schrade has a sunk joint, making the knife very comfortable to hold.

I understand from reading other threads that the sunk joint is less strong and maybe messes up the lines of the knife. You can see in the picture how much more shallow the spring is on the Schrade. But it still seems plenty stable.

For a single blade, I don’t care about the tang. Also, I’m more likely to do harder work with a single blade that would perhaps benefit from the added strength.

So anyway. Is the 2-blade 77 Barlow traditional? Certainly. And it is SO well made and beautiful to look at. Is it good? Not for me. I’d rather use a Churchill to get that blade combination.

I recognize I am in the minority, and lots of people love these. That’s great. I’m not trying to start a fight. This is just me learning what I do and do not like, and thought it could be an interesting point of discussion.

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If you like your 77 Barlow, but not the two blades then you could have it modified into a single blade. Just a suggestion.
 
Im really looking forward to the upcoming 14 Barlows. Wonder what cover choice/choices Charlie has in mind? I brought a 14 from the last run recently and was surprised how much I liked the size.
 
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