What to do with this Naugatuck barlow?

What should I do?

  • Rehandle

    Votes: 38 88.4%

  • Leave be

    Votes: 5 11.6%
  • Total voters
    43
glennbad said:
I think you could successfully add a new ebony cover on that mark side, pins and all, without complete dis-assembly. Drive just the spring pins out, twist that mark side liner/bolster clear of the pile side, then do all your work. Drill your new holes, put everything back in line, and re-assemble. A little cleanup on whichever bolster the pin turned, and done!

If the pile side ebony breaks during this process, then replace it too!
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scrteened porch said:
That way lies madness!
For those with skills like mine.

Peening those handle pins is no picnic either. Maybe I did it once.
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Hey, this isn't as bad as I remember.
vN9Z4sj.jpg

I must have used the liners as templates to get these holes in the right place. And the pins were sawed-off finishing nails; brass or NS would have been easier.

Maybe you should do it Glennbad's way. Or do it Rachel's way and think about Glenn's way for a while.
 
Modoc ED said:
Sit back and relax with it along with a soda, beer, or whatever and think of all the stories it could tell.
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I always have to laugh when I see posts like this, cause then I picture some young kid way back when trying to sharpen his knife on a driveway, then leaving it out in the yard till the scales rotted and cracked, and dad yelling and throwing it a junk drawer... till 100 years later someone finds it and imagines all the great adventures this old warrior went through! :D

Great bolsters on that, though!
 
akaMatt said:
I always have to laugh when I see posts like this, cause then I picture some young kid way back when trying to sharpen his knife on a driveway, then leaving it out in the yard till the scales rotted and cracked, and dad yelling and throwing it a junk drawer... till 100 years later someone finds it and imagines all the great adventures this old warrior went through! :D

Great bolsters on that, though!
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And there you have done exactly as Modoc Ed suggested, you let a story play out in your mind and then shared it with us...well played...LOL!
 
Probably I'd get a trusted person, there are a few here ;):D to rehandle it both sides and take it back into light carry.

Alternatively, just have the missing scale replaced, ideally with some weathered Ebony.

For those who talk grandly of the 'heritage' of this knife, nothing must be touched etc it's not The Venus de Milo and you are not trying to glue faux arms back on ;) It was an industrial object, a tool for use but now it's a wreck and cannot be used as you can't very well hold it:rolleyes: However, were it in near mint condition or really good order then yes it should not be cleaned, not 'enhanced' but preserved with care but when it's in a poor shape why not fix it a bit and still contemplate its beauty, it gives it meaning.
 
Yep I think I'd go Glenn's way on that one. Re-handle it properly with gabon ebony but don't touch the bolsters. It can be done with little difficulty with the right skills and you'll have a knife that's no longer a relic but a proper user or even a great display. Like Will said it's no longer a minty or unused example, it's definitely already been through the ringer.

Eric
 
The right thing and what I'd want might not be the same, but I think I'd go with a true-to-original restoration with Ebony covers. Enjoy it!
 
I'd just epoxy a scale on the side that is missing. Either ebony/african blackwood or cocobolo. The grain on the original scale does not look like ebony, I wonder if it is well aged cocobolo that has turned really dark. Take it out in full sunlight to see if there is any reddish overtone to it.
 
lambertiana said:
I'd just epoxy a scale on the side that is missing. Either ebony/african blackwood or cocobolo. The grain on the original scale does not look like ebony, I wonder if it is well aged cocobolo that has turned really dark. Take it out in full sunlight to see if there is any reddish overtone to it.
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Lambertiana you might be right about that, I'm seeing a little brown at that pin crack.

Eric
 
What a beauty. I would send it off and have a new ebony slab placed on the missing side and try and keep the original slab intact. Keep the bolster aged, it’s perfect just the way it is.
 
Surely some new handles would constitute a new part of its history....plus it would look better and work better...
 
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