Where Did They Put That Pen??

[quattromori]

I own no Barlow, nor I ever owned one...but this concept applies to any two bladed jack with a smaller (pen) secondary blade. I prefer both nicks on the mark side. Not sure why...but I'm sure I do

Fausto

 

[waynorth]

I like the pen in front of the main blade. Sure, how hard can it be, but when it comes down to what feels more natural for me, pen in front is the ticket.

I also want to thank Ken for adding in the info about the swedges. I always wondered on my Case/Bose Dogleg, why is the swedge on one side so much larger, and now I know! So many little things to learn about here. Seems to me most small features must be more thought out than it may appear on the surface.

Kevin

The difference between good knives and Great Knives!!

 

[lambertiana]

I think pretty much every one of my older jacks - Ulster, Southington, Miller Bros, H&B, etc - have the pen in front of the master. I like it better that way; I don't have to flip the knife around and open it awkwardly. For me it is much more natural to open them when they are in front of the master.

 

[pertinux]

Frankly, whether the nail nicks of a knife are on the same side or not matters little. As some have said, use the nail of the opposing finger to open the blade with the off-side nick or just turn it (the knife) over and open the secondary blade. How hard can it be?

1) It doesn't matter to me, not much-- neither placement makes or breaks a knife

2) Not hard!

But, Charlie did ask.

For me, it's like when I go back and forth between an automatic car and a manual-- a noticeable shift (heh) in muscle memory and where I expect the little sticks and pedals and things to be. To my surprise, my "default" seems to be: backside nick for the secondary blade.

I wouldn't have thought I had a clear preference, or would have guessed the wrong one, except that I've noticed that I tend to fumble the first time when holding a knife with the nicks on the same side. Even though most of my knives are built this way, my first inclination is to rest my fingers on each side of the top and feel for that back nick.

Or,

Practically: I am coming around to your attitude, Ed. How hard is it to find the pen, wherever it is?

Aesthetically: I like to see the blades stacked, small in front of large, presenting me with a choice of cutting tool.

Overall: there seems to be no right or wrong way - only personal preference.

What Charlie said.

~ P.

 

[waynorth]

Yes, ~P, I did ask, and glad I did. As a great architect said, "God is in the details"!

I use the quote with great respect.

Everyone has given this question a lot of thought, and I thank you all!!

 

[shrapne1]

thank you for raising this awareness, although it is quite obvious when you think about it, not many give it much thought, but now that you brought it up, it is definitely something to look for. I know your post is about barlows but same applies for others like peanuts etc...:thumbup: