Very Old Edward Barnes & Sons

[eyeselect]

It's obvious that this knife has been worked on over the years, but if the parts are all there that's a good thing. I'm not sure about the secondary blade. Maybe someone could give me a definitive answer about that. I would guess the handle is probably made of ivory and nickel-silver. Let me know what you think about this knife.

Closed - 5 1/8"
Open - >9"
Main blade - 3 7/8"
Secondary blade - 2 7/8"
Both blades have an excellent snap
Excessive side to side wobble

[btrwtr]

Super old knife. Amazing survivor. The second blade does look like a replacement made from scratch.

[eyeselect]

btrwtr,
Thank for the reply. I think it's a replacement too, but they did a nice job on it.

[knife7knut]

Beautiful old knife and maker! Never seen one configured like that.Thank you for posting it.I have one Edward Barnes folding dirk but it is in what I consider relic condition.Very unusual copper front bolster which may or may not be original.

[eyeselect]

knife7knut,
That's a cool knife! I would guess that the copper bolster was probably plated at one time. What's that on the side? Is it a release button? Thanks for showing your knife.

[knife7knut]

knife7knut,
That's a cool knife! I would guess that the copper bolster was probably plated at one time. What's that on the side? Is it a release button? Thanks for showing your knife.

Actually it is on the spine of the knife;it is the lock release.Early lockback knives usually had their locks pretty far forward.Sorry for the lousy pictures;for some reason my pictures are all coming out dark.

[eyeselect]

knife7knut, Thanks for the reply.

About the dark pictures, I use Photoshop so even if the pictures are extremely over or under exposed I just take the pictures from the camera bring them to Photoshop and I use the camera raw filter. The result is amazing. On the other set of photos that I posted today I wanted to take a close up shot of the tang stamps, but my set up wouldn't allow me to get close enough. I took a coffee cup and put the knife across the top to it raised it up high enough to get a pretty good close up. When I brought it to photoshop it was like a 3d effect because the background was further away from the knife so it caused the background to become blurry. I'm going to do that from now on because it makes the knife stand out more. Check it out it's in Knife Lore under Very Old 3" Ivory Sheffield.

[knife7knut]

knife7knut, Thanks for the reply.

About the dark pictures, I use Photoshop so even if the pictures are extremely over or under exposed I just take the pictures from the camera bring them to Photoshop and I use the camera raw filter. The result is amazing. On the other set of photos that I posted today I wanted to take a close up shot of the tang stamps, but my set up wouldn't allow me to get close enough. I took a coffee cup and put the knife across the top to it raised it up high enough to get a pretty good close up. When I brought it to photoshop it was like a 3d effect because the background was further away from the knife so it caused the background to become blurry. I'm going to do that from now on because it makes the knife stand out more. Check it out it's in Knife Lore under Very Old 3" Ivory Sheffield.

That occurs due to a phenomenon known as "depth of field". On an average picture the depth of field is quite large so that everything(or almost everything)is in focus.When using a closeup lens(or setting on a digital camera)the depth of field is very narrow.Depending on the settings and the closeness of the lens it can cause the near side to be in focus and the far side blurred.When using a digital camera in auto focus mode you have to be very careful when doing close ups as I've had the camera focus on the near side and then go out of focus when it attempted to focus on another part of the object.Using an SLR film camera it is easier to control depth of field.
I'm far from an expert on photography;just what I have observed over the years.

[eyeselect]

knife7knut,
Yes I know about depth of field. I believe that the depth of field is directly proportional to the F-stop setting the higher the F-stop the less light is able to get in because the aperture is smaller which increases the depth of field meaning more is in focus. As you said, when using the macro lenses you'll need to compensate for the lack of light getting in. I hear it's even worse if you're using a macro adapter or one of those macro lenses that fit over your regular lens. I bought a Nikon D3200 and by the time I learn everything about it I should be eligible for a masters degree. I don't even mess with the auto mode any more, I usually shoot in manual using auto focus. Once you get it set with a tripod you're good to go. I'm beginning to get serious about photography. It's a good hobby.

[knife7knut]

knife7knut,
Yes I know about depth of field. I believe that the depth of field is directly proportional to the F-stop setting the higher the F-stop the less light is able to get in because the aperture is smaller which increases the depth of field meaning more is in focus. As you said, when using the macro lenses you'll need to compensate for the lack of light getting in. I hear it's even worse if you're using a macro adapter or one of those macro lenses that fit over your regular lens. I bought a Nikon D3200 and by the time I learn everything about it I should be eligible for a masters degree. I don't even mess with the auto mode any more, I usually shoot in manual using auto focus. Once you get it set with a tripod you're good to go. I'm beginning to get serious about photography. It's a good hobby.

I know what you mean;my last camera(Canon XS100 is)has a 224 page owner's manual and that is just the English part! I usually use the auto focus mode because I'm old and lazy but I've been thinking about setting up a light booth and tripod and getting serious abain.

[eyeselect]

knife7knut,
I use the auto focus because I trust it more than I do my eyes. I set the F-stop and the shutter speed manually. It's a lot of fun especially when you use Photoshop. Thanks for the conversation.

[wlf]

Great old knives guy,what's their apx. ages?

[knife7knut]

Great old knives guy,what's their apx. ages?

The dirk is likely mid to late 1800's.

[eyeselect]

wlf,
I would guess 1880's or there abouts.

[Miller Bro's]

Edward Barnes was joined by his sons in business in 1845 the business ceased operating by 1888.

I would date this knife to just before the civil war.

[eyeselect]

Thanks Dimitri!