What Makes a Good, Traditional Barlow?

Few new ones I picked up today, 2 Queen made Robesons with clip main blades and a very small FA Bower, German made, these small Barlows are not that common and I don't remember seeing another with a one arm blade, pic shows it next to a 14 TC for comparison.

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Those Robeson/Queens are very well made Knives Augie- well done! F.A.Bower...I have owned quite a few Bowie knives made by them, usually they had The Carbon Blades as well, I am surprised with ...A.....You finding a F.A. Bower Barlow, and B...... The Size!!! Good stuff Augie!
 
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Nice Barlow "scoops" Augie! They live up to the great knives we expect of you!!:D

Pt-Luso, I have always loved those "filigree"-style bolsters that Schrade made!

I was reorganising a shelf, and thought I would scan this misplaced Barlow before I put it away.
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Yes - black RIT dye. It was a two-toned green - a factory second - but I couldn't bring myself to like it. The dye was uneven, and the lighter colored dye color was just unappealing, and made worse by the fact the darker shade didn't even seem the same color.





I used black RIT and it worked out ok. The black RIT dye is dark purple, which I didn't expect. It did get the bone black, but a quick once over with a sharpie, left to dry then washed off with WD-40 brought the little extra sharpness required to make it pop. The only issue is, there is no obvious way to tell it's bone anymore. It could just as easily be a plastic or composite. I think a very dark brown is likely better than straight up black for that reason.

What a cool transformation. I admit that though I am a fan of green, particulary earthy greens, I haven't really warmed up to the green colored bone in regards to knife covers. Your dye job came out really nice, despite your reservations.

The only two Barlows I own, but two of my favorite knives. I hope to be able to add a TC this year.
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I really wish I had been into more traditional knives when that Ka-Bar Barlow was more widely available. It is such a striking and unique knife. Nice pairing you have!

Nice Barlow "scoops" Augie! They live up to the great knives we expect of you!!:D

Pt-Luso, I have always loved those "filigree"-style bolsters that Schrade made!

I was reorganising a shelf, and thought I would scan this misplaced Barlow before I put it away.
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I might be putting my ignorance on full display here but that is quite the unique blade. Is that how it was made or is it reworked in some way?
 
I might be putting my ignorance on full display here but that is quite the unique blade. Is that how it was made or is it reworked in some way?
That knife is from a run of TC Barlows called the "Ancient Barlows". It is factory.
The knives were crudely finished, with forging scale remaining on the bolsters, and roughly finished blades. We tried to capture some of the spirit of old Sheffield-made barlows from 150 years ago. Some handles were "scratted", some were smooth parchment, and a few were "soup" bone (cut with some pith or core showing, like the example. And some were made with low-grade Ebony.
Here is a picture of the other three handle choices:

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That knife is from a run of TC Barlows called the "Ancient Barlows". It is factory.
The knives were crudely finished, with forging scale remaining on the bolsters, and roughly finished blades. We tried to capture some of the spirit of old Sheffield-made barlows from 150 years ago. Some handles were "scratted", some were smooth parchment, and a few were "soup" bone (cut with some pith or core showing, like the example. And some were made with low-grade Ebony.
Here is a picture of the other three handle choices:

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Those are really fantastic, more so now that I know what they are. Thank you for the explanation and history.
 
Here is one of the old Barlows that influenced the design of the Ancients;




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Wow. Charlie, that is "ancient". I had a chance to buy one of your GEC Ancients from a seller on the exchange. It wasn't cheap, but when I look at it, I thought it had marks on the bolsters:rolleyes: . I passed. I later discovered the treatment you described above. I'm probably not the only dummy who has done that.
 
Charlie's Ancient Barlows are really something special. Stamped on the blade are his initials and the Sicilian Trinacria or Triskelion, the symbol of the island.
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The Ancients are a very unique Barlow,came out great. I was joking with Charlie that he needed to do a run of TC's with broken secondary blades for his next original Barlow, bet they would still sell out in 2 minutes.

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Wow. Charlie, that is "ancient". I had a chance to buy one of your GEC Ancients from a seller on the exchange. It wasn't cheap, but when I look at it, I thought it had marks on the bolsters:rolleyes: . I passed. I later discovered the treatment you described above. I'm probably not the only dummy who has done that.

Alan, I have heard of a couple of people who polished the bolsters, to correct the "flaws"!:rolleyes:
I should have included more specific instructions!!:D
 
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