Barlow Knife

[Papa]

I need a user barlow knife. I have looked arround and the major brands are expensive {USA}. What should I look for in a minor brand that is a good knife. Are any made in China good users. I use a pocket knife and do not need a collector.

[Blues]

If you can find one of the "Russell Green River" barlows that are made under contract by Boker (Solingen), those are some very nice little knives at a low price point. I believe I paid about $25 or $30 for mine from SMKW. (I've since given it as a gift.)

I wouldn't be surprised if you can find them on the net or on ebay. They came with either clip or spear master blades. (Secondary blade is a pen.)

The other option would be to get one under the Boker name directly.

Hope that helps.

[upnorth]

I'd buy a good old one made in Germany or the U.S.(on Ebay?) before I'd buy a Chinese one. A used one of good quality is infinitely better than some junk steel from a repressive country.

[Papa]

I have been watching ebay and there are several Barlow's called Baby doll, also Imperial. The Imperial say made in USA. If some one could give info on this. I am new here but sure do enjoy learning about knives. Please excuse me if I ask a dumb question, I do try to look up and learn. I am an older person and have carried a pocket since junior high school and in the past just go buy a made in USA name brand. I like to have a few extra knives to carry {one at a time} like women with shoes. I hope this knife buying stuff is not habit forming. Thanks for all the help....I like this forum and excuse me if I post in the wrong place, the mod does a good job....

[Cope]

Papa if I understand you correctly, you want a good user knife. You mentioned China, so I assume you don't care to own a knife from this country to go along with everything else we buy of course. I USE a knife that I carry and although I have knives from practically every maker I could never USE a good knife. I've always farmed among other things and the knives I carry in my pocket get USED and they show it. I am only adding this in the case that your like me with your knives and can't stand to actually USE a knife and not just carry it in your pocket. I can carry one all day long and keep it practically mint. So my answer to you is that YES there are some good USERS coming out of China. I won't go into brands but they will be labeled and affordable for using or losing. I won't USE a $25 knife myself, but that's just me. The Boker's that Blues mentioned are good knives in my opinion and I have a few in my collection but I couldn't bring myself to USE these knives. If that's affordable for you for a USER I don't think you could go wrong with a Boker but if you want something cheap that's going to get lots of USAGE or you afraid you may lose it, I'd go cheap and China is making some good cheap USER knives. They aren't intended to put in a safe for your grandkids education and won't increase in value but they WILL give you good service.


Brad

[Papa]

Brad: You are right on. I use my knife. If I owned a good {expensive}knife I would not carry it. I also was raised working on the farm and use a knife a lot now even though I do not work now {retired}. I have been doing some research and seen some bokers at a good price and watching ebay. Thanks for the info.

[JoeBob441]

I disagree. You really can get some very good quality USA knives very cheap. My dad had two Ka-bars that he brought home from the 2nd World War. One was the standard Marine issue. The other was a dirk type that he said was a throwing knife. I think he used them a lot. Anyway he had a bull durham sack full of teeth with gold in them. Those knives were cheap. The marines gave them to him. So you can get a user made in the U.S.A. at a very cheap price. But I digress, I am talking about Japan not China. We have never been to war with China. Just ask any Korean Vet. We all know no one can buy all goods made in the USA. This computer was made in Asia. Carhartt finally went overseas. Walmart is the biggest employer in America. So there really is little pressure from citizens to buy USA. My wife bought me a scrimshaw Parker in about 1981. It was a very good knife. I used it for tough jobs out in the yard, combination pry bar and screwdriver. It was so nice I could not bring myself to show it off. I was too afraid my fellow construction workers would be envious. Out on the farm that would not be a problem. I say buy the China knife and enjoy it.

[orvet]

Sorry guys, but I have to disagree with you on using a cheap knife.

There several reasons that I can think of to use a better quality knife, they are the same ones that attract you to the collectable knives in the first place.

Better edge holding ability in a quality knife & therefore safer to use. A dull knife requires more force to cut & with more force comes less control.

It is more comfortable to use a quality knife that fits your hand better.

If you tend to loose knives you will probably be less likely to loose a quality knife, as you will be more conscious of where it is since you don’t want to loose it.
You will also have pride in ownership & that will make you more conscious of it.

Life is just too short to use a low quality or ugly knife!

I have knives that are worth very little to knives that are worth a few hundred. I usually carry a vintage knife in my pocket & have several on my workbench that I use daily. They are far superior to even some expensive knives that have lower quality steel. I want a good cutting instrument when I reach for a user knife. To me that usually means a vintage knife. I do have some user Kershaw & Swiss Army Knives. Neither brand is expensive and both are of the highest quality. I have some old Imperial knives that have excellent steel in them…….they get used. Also many old Schrade knives that are not expensive to buy used, but are far superior as users to anything I have seen coming out of China.

Personally, a knife I carry is usually worth from $5 to $150, but quality not price it what I use to determine the knife I will use or carry.

There are many mechanics that spend thousands of dollars for Snap-On tools. Why, because they are quality tools & quality tools mean that they can work better & faster and therefore make more money with the quality tools. Good wrenches mean better fit & fewer rounded bolts or nuts, which can be very time consuming to a guy who gets paid on a flat rate.
I grew up working on ranches. Some ranchers used a crescent wrench for every nut or bolt. Those guys always spent more time fixing their gear because all the nuts & bolts had rounded heads on them.
A knife is a tool, in the final analysis. I want mine to be the best I can afford to use.

As far as Chinese knives go, the best I have seen are the Boker Magnum. They seem to be well finished, though the edge holding ability is a bit lacking, but better than most of the knives from China. I think China has a lot to learn yet before they start making a knife that will sharpen easily & hold the edge.

Just my 2¢,
Dale

[Blues]

Well, I'll go on the record and say that I prefer my USA built knives for one reason or another but I have to say I think it's kind of silly to think that China can't build a decent knife that sharpens easily and holds a good edge.

Politics and government aside, China builds everything from computers to rocket ships and submarines and (unfortunately) most things that used to be built here in the USA.

I don't doubt that they can build as good a knife as there is a marketable demand for.

There's an ongoing discussion on another forum about Chinese slipjoints bearing the Rough Rider, Steel Warrior, Frost, and Remington names amongst others. As I don't own any, a member sent me a handful for me to look over just the other day.

Now keep in mind that these are very inexpensive knives. Yet, they (nearly) all came with well ground and sharpened edges, no blade play whatsoever (except for one blade on one knife of the six I received), and pretty darn good fit and finish as well as flush and squared spring/tang junctions on most every knife.

I did think the scale material and color could use an upgrade and I would prefer carbon steel or a better grade of stainless to the 440.

But the point is, these knives (again, outside of the politics) have received very good reviews in general from people buying and using them.

Now, all that said, I personally don't plan on buying them unless I did so with the intention of giving them as gifts. But, the level of quality at such a low price point is eye opening.

My two cents. Offered without the intention of getting anyone's hair up.

[jonet143]

it seems a lot of people who recommend the chinese knives don't buy them. we all have the choice, higher quality steel or lower quality steel. other members who buy, collect, and tout the quality of $10 chinese knives never show them off. why is that? no politics , but if an inexpensive user knife is what you want or need, but quality matters, then buy a used german, english, jap, or u.s. made knife. jmo.

[Blues]

Just so there's no misunderstanding, Johnnie, I'm not recommending them. I'm saying that they are capable of making good knives.
Nothing more.

I spend my money on production and custom knives from makers and manufacturers I prefer. Had the knives not been sent to me, I'd not have known anything firsthand about them since every time I read about them on the other forum I'd raise an eyebrow and wonder what the heck these guys were going on about.

That's the sum total of my point. And as I mentioned in my first reply in this thread, the German Boker made barlows for Russell are very good little knives at an excellent price point.

[jonet143]

that's cool blues. one point i think is overlooked is the chinese knives are built to the specs of frost and smkw. the chinese simply follow the specs given to them by the u.s. producers. bottom line...profit made by producing a kazillion knives a year at the lowest cost.

[Blues]

that's cool blues. one point i think is overlooked is the chinese knives are built to the specs of frost and smkw. the chinese simply follow the specs given to them by the u.s. producers. bottom line...profit made by producing a kazillion knives a year at the lowest cost.

Agreed. That was what I was kind of trying to get at with my remark above: "I don't doubt that they can build as good a knife as there is a marketable demand for."

I think you hit it on the head.

[edgy46]

Just my 2pThere are tons of old users out there.Imperial carbon steel is great, and five bucks will get you one.Any name brand with carbon blades will take and hold a good edge.I collect mostly old to very old american knives (very old being over 100 years) My current favorite EDC is a ten dot 6232 Case redbone with a lot of pocket wear 20%blade loss, but good snap and half stops. A 22 dollar knife that will go up in value faster than I will wear it down.If a person really uses a knife a lot and wears them down quickly, as in carviing, an old knife with a broken blade is often the way to go.

[Cope]

Blues your post makes MORE sense than any I've read on this subject "including" mine!! I have never tried to promote China in any way or help Smoky reach the trillionth sell on a China knife this year. ALL I've ever said is that for the money, and you get what you pay for, China puts out a decent knife. I guess what gets my goat the most on this topic is the narrow-mindedness that is shown about China knives. (AND THAT IS NOT MEANT TO BE AN INSULT) I was raised around "old timers" and this topic always reminds me of the Democrat/Republican arguments I've heard so many times. An old time Democrat would draw up at the sound of Republican and the Republican at the sound of Democrat. One party wouldn't vote for the other party if they had to vote for a blind monkey. Instead of talking about the merits of knives, the first thing you here is COMMUNIST, REPRESSORS, HATRED, or quotes from Rod Neep's website. OK enough said on that.

Orvet I agree with what you have to say but I still can't use a "good" knife to work with. The same knife one guy cuts a piece of string with and calls it a user I may have to get off a tractor in the middle of a field and scrape a pound of grease off a grease fitting or dig something broken out of a tiny crevice with mine. Yes there are tools for everything but you can't carry everything with you. I own expensive working tools and I would never do anything INTENTIONALLY to destroy one and I feel the same way about a "good" knife. Yes I'm giving up quality but it gets the job done and when I have to get it all greasy or scratched up.....it never enters my mind again. Now if I had a $150 knife like the highest one you mentioned I wouldn't be able to sleep for the next week. Right now I carry a Swiss 2 blade that I got as a ride along with some other knives I bought...very good knife all the way.

Johnnie I guess I'm the main one of the guys you mention not showing pics of the knives they talk about. You are exactly right and no one regrets that worse than me. I have knives I'd like to ask questions about and some I'd just like to show off but I've never had the necessary equipment to do that. I now have a scanner and it might as well be a F-16 fighter jet sitting here. I am hoping to get help soon with it though. I can post numerous pics of the China knives I talked about, but that thought never really hit my mind. They are so numerous I wouldn't expect anyone would want to see another one. I have plenty I'd like to post pics of rather than those but I get what your saying and if others want to, when I get capable I will post of what I have.

Again Blues......thumbs up on your post!!


Brad

[Blues]

Thanks for the kind words, Brad.

I've got to say I agree with Bill on carrying some of those older gems. I have a few older knives that I just love putting in my pocket and carrying. A Schrade Walden stockman from the late 40's/early 50's, an older Imperial cattle knife, a Case XX 6231 1/2 and "47", "32" and "92" pattern stockman and jacks from the 70's/80's.

As the guys here have shown, there are lots of good choices and options available.

[W5RWU]

I'd buy a good old one made in Germany or the U.S.(on Ebay?) before I'd buy a Chinese one. A used one of good quality is infinitely better than some junk steel from a repressive country.

Sorry guys, but I have to disagree with you on using a cheap knife.

There several reasons that I can think of to use a better quality knife, they are the same ones that attract you to the collectable knives in the first place.

Better edge holding ability in a quality knife & therefore safer to use. A dull knife requires more force to cut & with more force comes less control.

It is more comfortable to use a quality knife that fits your hand better.


USA - YES, CHINA - NO!!!
W5RWU