O.V.B. Really ?

[kootenay joe]

I was thinking the nick is for the master blade but when closed it might not line up.
Bob, are there 2 springs or 1 ?
kj

[msteele6]

Here is an H.S.& B. O.V.B. whittler. It is very similar to the earlier posted knife, especially note the swedge on the main blade and the nail relief for the spey blade. This knife has the very typical NYK celluloid scales with the red tinted liners. The pen blade on this knife is, unfortunately, a replacement, however, I believe that the rest of the knife is original:

[knife7knut]

Here's a couple of mine:
The hunter must have had a broken blade and someone drastically shortened it to make it useful again. I love the size it is and have used it in my shop for cutting patterns.
The carver has the marking Rev-O-Noc which I have no idea what it means.
The tickler was part of a collection I got in trade for some paint work on a friends truck.

[Paladin]

Here's a couple of mine:,,,... The carver has the marking Rev-O-Noc which I have no idea what it means.

Rev-O-Noc is Conover spelled backwards. If I recall correctly Conover was a long time employee who was memorialized in that fashion.

Ray

[philco]

Here's a couple of mine:,,,... The carver has the marking Rev-O-Noc which I have no idea what it means.

Rev-O-Noc is Conover spelled backwards. If I recall correctly Conover was a long time employee who was memorialized in that fashion.

Ray

Little bits and pieces like this are what make me love AAPK. Thank you Ray for sharing that bit of info.

[peanut740]

Here's an OVB jack knife made by New York Knife with an "The Anchor Packing Co."etch.

[Tsar Bomba]

I've missed out on so many OVB Barlows in my life that I still taste bile sometimes when I think about it...

This is my one, and I still haven't decided how far I want to go with the cleanup. I kinda like it as-is, after just a toothbrush and soapy water treatment. The blades are wicked sharp, the master frighteningly so, both blades are delightfully full. I love the fat bone handles and the build is top notch. This may be my only classic NYKC knife, if I'm right about the age.

The OP's red composite handles seem out of place. The tang stamps are identical in placement and font to the ones on my one-armed Barlow and the same can be said for the bolster stamps, plus the OP's blades look like they may have been fuller in the past. The pin placement is also identical to mine, though that doesn't help me because my collection is notably lacking in early Camillus Barlows and any NYKC examples. Is it possible yours is a rehandled and buffed/cleaned up example from the same era as mine?

[kootenay joe]

Tony, very astute observations in comparing my bright red handled OVB Barlow and your old NYKC OVB Barlow.
The answer could be "yes" mine could have been cleaned up & re-handled. However why choose the lowest end handle ? There are enough old beat up OVB Barlows around that bone handles could have been found and thus make the knife worth a lot more. I paid about $25(?) for it. I'm sure the red handles kept OVB bidders away.
Thank you Tony for helping with a most interesting post.
kj

[Tsar Bomba]

Great point, KJ, it's a mystery to me. If I had a nice solid frame and blades for an OVB Barlow and the access to get it rehandled by a talented individual I'd probably go for horn or mammoth ivory, make it really special. It's all conjecture without being able to handle the knife and see if it feels and works like my sprightly old Barlow. I'm also not ruling out the possibility of both being Camillus builds, though it's a smaller likelihood due to the hammered pins and some differences between the pen blade and those on my (more recent) Camillus Barlows.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will chime in at some point.

[tongueriver]

Here is a Schrade Walden with a tang stamp dating to the first half of the 1950s (no U.S.A.), in butter and molasses celluloid, with an O.V.B. 1249Y Our Very Best etch. It is the same pattern as the Schrade Walden 896K, @ 3 9/16 inches closed.

[kootenay joe]

It seems that "O.V.B." was probably not trademarked. The above example of a regular Schrade Walden knife being etched "O.V.B.", i.e. any knife company could call any knife "Our Very Best".
kj

[outkast]

Was used on many items made by H.S.& B. such as this square I recently bought.

[peanut740]

It seems that "O.V.B." was probably not trademarked. The above example of a regular Schrade Walden knife being etched "O.V.B.", i.e. any knife company could call any knife "Our Very Best".
kj

I would say they were knives sold by HSB.It was late in their existence has a company, and to cut cost they just had the knives etched and not tang stamped.Maher & Grosh did the same same in their knives.I have several Schrade stamped knives with a M&G etch.

[tongueriver]

It seems that "O.V.B." was probably not trademarked. The above example of a regular Schrade Walden knife being etched "O.V.B.", i.e. any knife company could call any knife "Our Very Best".
kj

I would say they were knives sold by HSB.It was late in their existence has a company, and to cut cost they just had the knives etched and not tang stamped.Maher & Grosh did the same same in their knives.I have several Schrade stamped knives with a M&G etch.

I agree.

[FRJ]

outkast, that a nice old try square.
Do you work wood?

[Miller Bro's]

The liners are nickle silver (or stainless steel ?), and the handles are a red plastic.
A Red Plastic ?? You said this is your "Very Best". Is plastic the best you can do ?
Was "O.V.B." simply a marketing ploy ? or was this designation only used on the best of their knives ?
I'm hoping to learn the "Truth About O.V.B.": really "The Best" ? and which companies used this logo ?
kj

The liners are plain old steel. Barlow knives were made to be inexpensive and sold cheap. Old one's were handled in smooth bone or wood which were your low end handle materials. The red handles on this knife look original to me the way it is shrinking is normal for this material. Why red handles? To catch the eye of the buyer the same reason all early celluloid handles were used to get the attention of the potential buyer and it could be made/sold cheaply.

As far as the use of " Our Very Best" I don't think they had the handle material in mind but rather the quality of the steel and workmanship. Sure they could have put mother of pearl on a cheap Barlow knife but how many of those did the ever sell? Not many.

[outkast]

outkast, that a nice old try square.
Do you work wood?

No it was just closet knife related item that wasn't junk, that I could find in local flea mall so I had to have it.

[FRJ]