Will Case ever release another Barlow knife?

sitflyer said:
Here we have a skewed perspective having had our Barlow renaissance thanks to Charlie and his wonderful TC's popularity. Case does huge runs in comparison and if the numbers moved was abundant and timely I can't imagine they would drop them.
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I think you have hit the nail on both heads! On the one hand, semi-custom SFOs from GEC have raised the bar of expectations among collectors, who are looking for something semi-hand made. On the other hand, the large numbers of factory made Barlow knives coming in with a variety of brand names from elsewhere has flooded the market for less critical buyers simply interested in the pattern. It is difficult to produce a factory made knife of higher quality in numbers that pay for factory production at a price point that is acceptable. Everyone wants the highest quality for the lowest cost.
 
Bartleby said:
I think they discontinued the Barlow pattern last year. Not seeing Barlows on the Utica/Kutmaster website any longer.
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Alack-a-day!
sitflyer said:
Makes me wonder what the real world numbers were sales wise for Case Barlows. Here we have a skewed perspective having had our Barlow renaissance thanks to Charlie and his wonderful TC's popularity. Case does huge runs in comparison and if the numbers moved was abundant and timely I can't imagine they would drop them. I'd definitely be down for one or two if they brought them back.
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I must admit I like Barlows in principle, but never carry one. Kind of a thick, heavy package.
jc57 said:
I spoke with a Case factory rep (Katie Shonts-Saar) a few years ago at a local event about them discontinuing a number of patterns and also doing away with the "vault" program, where they would rotate patterns out of production for a while, then bring them back out and put something else in the vault.
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I just went to Case looking for a replacement shield, and saw they're reintroducing the doctors' knife for a limited run. ("These classics will go fast".)
 
scrteened porch said:
I must admit I like Barlows in principle, but never carry one. Kind of a thick, heavy package.
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I tend to agree. I have one of my three Case Barlows in my group of potential users, but other than a few pocket rides where it didn't get used, I never carry it. For the length, it is too chunky. For the blade height, it is too short. I always go for another alternative - usually a slimmer jack or stockman pattern.

I don't have a #15 TC Barlow but I do have a #15 Boys Jack, which is the same size as the TC. It's a slimmer more tapered handle, with slimmer blades, and is more conducive to carrying which may partly explain the popularity.

When I was active in the Case Collector's Club a few years ago I don't remember a lot of discussion or even sales posts about the Barlow pattern. Maybe it had fallen out of favor and, as sitflyer sitflyer said, the resurgence in interest in the pattern is entirely from Charlie's efforts in reviving it in the 15 and then Mike Latham expanding it to the 77 pattern and Lionsteel SFO.

It may be a smaller niche than we realize.
 
scrteened porch said:
I must admit I like Barlows in principle, but never carry one. Kind of a thick, heavy package.
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I was of the same opinion for a long time, until I started carrying a single Queen #69 Workhorse Barlow a couple of years ago. Neither thick nor heavy, I was quite disappointed when it was discontinued. I find the flat sided version of the Barlow made by Arthur Wright of Sheffield carries very nicely as a user as well and is perhaps a little more pocket friendly in terms of weight as it uses a shorter than standard Barlow bolster. Neither version would win a beauty contest, but both have been great carbon steel tools for EDC, both among my favorites.
 
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Knives having thick handles are common in the "newer" age of pocket knives. There's not a real cut off time per se that I know of where you notice handles getting thicker and other changes, but the introduction of delrin as a handle material in the early 60's is a starting point at least.

Take a look at some pre ww2 knives and you'll see how most of them have thin handles, sleek and svelte in comparison to the same patterns made more currently.
 
scrteened porch said:
Kind of a thick, heavy package.
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My thinking exactly - I have a couple later model Case barlow's with the smooth bolsters - pro's would be the very stout clip blade & half stops. Con's would be weight, thickness and bulk for a relatively short knife. If we're talking jack knives, I much prefer the 62087 serpentine texas jack ...
 
Case should do the Vault again, on that note there’s a little gun/coin store near me that has a Case Barlow that’s missing a lot of main blade will case replace the blade?
 
Bugdoc said:
Yes to another run of these please. The Barlow doesn't have to be thick. Just look at the pre-64 Case barlows.
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They only made 250 of the 154 cm barlows in 2007 and coincidentally that's the minimum order for our forum knife from Buck. I wonder if Case would be willing to do a run for the forum in the future?
 
I contacted Case through Facebook. The reply was to hang on and that there were things in the works. No date given. Thanks for the replies and information everyone. People here are great!
 
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