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- Jul 10, 2013
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- 1,123
A few weeks ago I picked up a Schrade Taylor Brand 280OT, otherwise known as the Old Timer Barlow. I grew up around Schrade knives, and carried either an Uncle Henry or Old Timer from Jr. High until I joined the the Army. I loved those old Schrades for their ease of sharpening, edge retention, quality for the price, and beauty. It was like hearing about an old friend passing when Schrade closed their doors in 2004 after 100 years of production. And, for the past ten years I've been very dubious about a China made "Schrade", but after seeing one firsthand, I decided to give it a chance. I don't have a pre-Taylor Brand 280OT to compare, but I do have a 35-40 year old 34OT I can compare with to an extent.
The first and most obvious difference to me between the old and new is the colors in the sawcut delrin covers. I have a couple more older OT's and the delrin covers are like this middleman stockman. The grain in the sawcut is finer in the older knife as well. However this old stockman did see a lot of pocket time in my youth. The next thing I noticed was the color of the nickle silver bolsters. I've often heard that nickle silver is simply white brass, but I have haven't researched so more information would be appreciated. The bolsters on the old Stockman are definitely more white than the ones on the Barlow. The Barlow's solid bolsters have a slight yellow tint that I've seen on the Rough Rider knives I have which are also made in China. I'm curious if this material is naturally this way and if location has any bearing.
Looking for gaps, I didn't initially see any, but then discovered one between the mark side liner and spring once I held it up and saw a very faint sliver of light leak through. It's there but very hard to see. The stockman also doesn't show gaps nor does it leak light. However pocket time and debris may have closed what was there.
Looking down on the blades I can see they are not centered and both pull toward the center brass liner. However neither are close enough to the liner to rub. I can also see a slight lack of uniformity of the grind of both near the shoulder. Other than that, both blades are straight and well ground in my opinion. They came sharp out of the box as well. Pull is about 5-6. Good walk and talk with no half stops. It has a very authoritative snap on both blades. No play at all, but there is a little flex like the Schrades of old. Likely from very thinly ground blades.
Another big difference between this new OT and the old OT's is the fact it has stainless blades. OT's of old had carbon blades which distinguished them from Schrade's Uncle Henry line. UH's covers were different, but I still feel that a knife's heart is in the steel. This one sports 7Cr17. Though I'm by no means an expert on steels, I can tell you this one took an edge like the OT's of old. Quickly, and scary sharp. Though it was sharp out of the box, I wanted to see what a stone would do and honed it up on a 20 year old Doublestuff ceramic stone and a strop. It was hair shaving sharp in no time, just like the Schrades of old. Closer inspection of the newly honed polished edge revealed minor imperfections in the uniformity of the original edge. Still scary sharp though. So far it's only done some light work, cutting chicken, packages, and string, so I'm still curious about retention.
My overall impression of this knife is it is a superb little knife at a spectacular bargain at $19 dollars (the shopkeep is rather proud of his wares). Solid, well built, with a fit and finish that is better than any Rough Rider I have. I have one GEC that leaks way more light. Did I mention how easy it is to get it sharp? It's not American made, and I miss the carbon blades, but I'm impressed and would put it on par with the Schrades of old at a much cheaper price. Well done Taylor Brand.
The first and most obvious difference to me between the old and new is the colors in the sawcut delrin covers. I have a couple more older OT's and the delrin covers are like this middleman stockman. The grain in the sawcut is finer in the older knife as well. However this old stockman did see a lot of pocket time in my youth. The next thing I noticed was the color of the nickle silver bolsters. I've often heard that nickle silver is simply white brass, but I have haven't researched so more information would be appreciated. The bolsters on the old Stockman are definitely more white than the ones on the Barlow. The Barlow's solid bolsters have a slight yellow tint that I've seen on the Rough Rider knives I have which are also made in China. I'm curious if this material is naturally this way and if location has any bearing.
Looking for gaps, I didn't initially see any, but then discovered one between the mark side liner and spring once I held it up and saw a very faint sliver of light leak through. It's there but very hard to see. The stockman also doesn't show gaps nor does it leak light. However pocket time and debris may have closed what was there.
Looking down on the blades I can see they are not centered and both pull toward the center brass liner. However neither are close enough to the liner to rub. I can also see a slight lack of uniformity of the grind of both near the shoulder. Other than that, both blades are straight and well ground in my opinion. They came sharp out of the box as well. Pull is about 5-6. Good walk and talk with no half stops. It has a very authoritative snap on both blades. No play at all, but there is a little flex like the Schrades of old. Likely from very thinly ground blades.
Another big difference between this new OT and the old OT's is the fact it has stainless blades. OT's of old had carbon blades which distinguished them from Schrade's Uncle Henry line. UH's covers were different, but I still feel that a knife's heart is in the steel. This one sports 7Cr17. Though I'm by no means an expert on steels, I can tell you this one took an edge like the OT's of old. Quickly, and scary sharp. Though it was sharp out of the box, I wanted to see what a stone would do and honed it up on a 20 year old Doublestuff ceramic stone and a strop. It was hair shaving sharp in no time, just like the Schrades of old. Closer inspection of the newly honed polished edge revealed minor imperfections in the uniformity of the original edge. Still scary sharp though. So far it's only done some light work, cutting chicken, packages, and string, so I'm still curious about retention.
My overall impression of this knife is it is a superb little knife at a spectacular bargain at $19 dollars (the shopkeep is rather proud of his wares). Solid, well built, with a fit and finish that is better than any Rough Rider I have. I have one GEC that leaks way more light. Did I mention how easy it is to get it sharp? It's not American made, and I miss the carbon blades, but I'm impressed and would put it on par with the Schrades of old at a much cheaper price. Well done Taylor Brand.
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