what sort of folder should Huckleberry Finn and tom sawyer should have had?

F

flexo

Joined
Mar 14, 2013
Messages
490
hello you all! mostly a lurker on this subforum,more active on the axe one.
my son just finish to read tom sawyer's adventures and asked me what was the kind of folding knife he and Huckleberry Finn had.

pics welcomed...
 
Mary gave him a brand-new "Barlow" knife worth twelve and a half cents; and the convulsion of delight that swept his system shook him to his foundations.

- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Click to expand...

 
"All the stores was along one street. They had white domestic awnings in front, and the country-people hitched their horses to the awning-posts. There was empty dry-goods boxes under the awnings, and loafers roosting on them all day long, whittling them with their Barlow knives; and chawing tobacco, and gaping and yawning and stretching - a mighty ornery lot."
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
******************************************





Part of the reason I love Barlows is reading about them in these books.
 
Just in case we forgot, the "TC" on the Campagna Barlows stands for "Tom's Choice".
 
Aha you stopped in the right place. As all have said above. Tom's Choice barlows are based on the ole stories of lore.
 
On a more historical note, in 1856, a steamboat named the Arabia was traveling up the Missouri River. It sank and was buried in river mud near what today is Kansas City. It was carrying 200 tons of freight. Over the decades the river changed course and the wreck's resting place became a field. The resting place was discovered in 1988 and is now a museum. I say all this because amongst the freight was a shipment of pocket knives.

So historically, here are some of the types of knives to which Tom and friends might have had access.

knife%20background.JPG
 
That's some interesting historical info there Frank. There are some very nice knives in that display. Thank you. :thumbup:
 
davek14 said:
"All the stores was along one street. They had white domestic awnings in front, and the country-people hitched their horses to the awning-posts. There was empty dry-goods boxes under the awnings, and loafers roosting on them all day long, whittling them with their Barlow knives; and chawing tobacco, and gaping and yawning and stretching - a mighty ornery lot."
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
******************************************

Part of the reason I love Barlows is reading about them in these books.
Click to expand...

This passage makes me wonder if "Barlow" meant pocket knife at the time.
 
I doubt it. The "Barlow" pattern was a reasonably specific pattern and dated from much much earlier. Up till the 1900's it was an inexpensive, strongly built folder.

The history of the barlow knife has been difficult to trace. At least four American Barlow families have claimed that they invented the barlow knife. According to Laurence A. Johnson (1) the Barlow knife was probably first manufactured by Obadiah Barlow at Sheffield, England, around 1670. (2) Obadiah’s grandson, John Barlow, joined the business around 1745 and it was he who was chiefly responsible for developing the exportation of the Barlow knives to America. Another source says the barlow knife was also made by Luke Furnace of Stannington, which in the eighteenth century was a small village on the outskirts of Sheffield. Luke Furnace’s name occurs in the Sheffield directories from 1774 and 1787, but not in the 1797 directory, so he was presumably dead by then. He put the mark “1760” on his knives. The original Barlow, after whom the knives are named, was working in Sheffield at the same time as Luke Furnace.An 1823 directory of Sheffield, England cutlers (knife makers) shows Samuel Barlow on Neepsend (Street). In the Sheffield suburb of Stannington, Barlow Bros. is listed as a cutler. (3)

The barlow knife was designed to be tough, and to be affordable. To keep the price low, the blade was high carbon steel, and the handle was bone, and not much time was spent in polishing it. To make it tough, the bolster was big and thick. The original barlows had only one
Click to expand...
http://barlow-knives.com/history.htm
 
Looking at those sunken river knives I have an overwhelming urge to clean and oil.(I know-sacrilege) Imagine finding that lot. How cool.
 
uploadfromtaptalk1433119182403.jpg

I know it's already been said several times, but I just wanted to show off my knife. It has been a true every single day knife. I love this thing. It just fits me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top