Comparing vintage Russell Barlows...

[56Dodgers]

Knife 1

• Both pen and master have roughly the same nail nicks
  Both blades also have the long, shallow swedge on the mark side that extends from the tip almost to the tang
  Letters in Russell stamp do not all run together

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133947205779?_ ... %7Ciid%3A1

Knife 2

• Short shallow swedges on both blades
  Nail nicks do not match
  Russell stamp - letters are almost touching

https://www.ebay.com/itm/194586388793?_ ... %7Ciid%3A1

[celluloidheros]

Well what are you saying ? Id take Knife #2 over knife 1. I'm not a barlow guy or A RUSSELL GUY. i'VE OWNED A FEW OLD GREEN RIVER wHITTLERS. The stamping on Russells has always beena little weak, When the just put the name Russell on. I like the whole companies name.

[knifeaholic]

My opinions....

#1 - the real thing

#2 - authentic Russell barlow frame with a cobbled blade, looks to be an older blade of some other brand that was restamped RUSSELL and artificially aged.

[danno50]

For posterity: some of the pictures of Knife 1. Knife 2 pictures in next post.

[danno50]

Knife 2 pics:

[1967redrider]

5 pages of great info and examples in this thread-

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37404&hilit=Russell+barlow

[56Dodgers]

Well what are you saying ? Id take Knife #2 over knife 1. I'm not a barlow guy or A RUSSELL GUY. i'VE OWNED A FEW OLD GREEN RIVER wHITTLERS. The stamping on Russells has always beena little weak, When the just put the name Russell on. I like the whole companies name.

I guess I am noticing two things: in the first one, the tang stamp is more like R U S S E L L with definite space between the letters. In the second example, the name is like RUSSELL all very close together. I have one of each variety, both with what appears to be a correct Russell frame, i.e. backspring middle rivet in the middle of the handle scale vs. close to the bolster as in many fakes. What I am asking is: do both versions of the single line Russell stamp (with definite space and all smooshed together) appear to be genuine Russell items? My thinking is the ones with the definite space are the genuine single line Russell knives, but I don't know. Either way, the stamp with the spaces between the letters looks older, wheras the other one looks like it could be from the 40's, but that' s just conjecture based on years of looking at knives.

Does anyone have a hard date range for the single line Barlows? I heard they stopped that around WWI timeframe, so pre-1920's. Is that correct?

Also, those long thin swedges are usually always present in the R U S S E L L stamped blades, which is one of my favorite designs. Its subtle, but it make the knife a little "softer" when closed, especially if its in a pocket or something.

[celluloidheros]

Yes I believe they are both genuine.

[1967redrider]

There's speculation that the long pull Russell's aren't originals.

[celluloidheros]

Its possible, Ive never been interested i Barlows. i like the russell green river stamps. ill have to look into long pull russell Barlows.

[celluloidheros]

Take a look at this mark which i believe to be fake.

[tvic]

Mine looks like Dan’s pic.

[56Dodgers]

Take a look at this mark which i believe to be fake.

Yep, something about this one doesn't look right. Looks like a cold stamp. And there are tons of Russells out there with this stamp, some of them in frames that otherwise look right. I am wondering if this is how Russell stamped them for a while, or if someone was churning them out.

[56Dodgers]

Mine looks like Dan’s pic.

At a glance, this one looks right. Color on the bone is right, center rivet spacing is right, the R U S S E L L stamp looks right, and overall everything looks in place and screams 1880-1900's era. The ones with the smooshed RUSSELL stamps look like they are from the 40's or 50's, which according to what I read falls outside of the time when Russell made barlow jackknives.

[celluloidheros]

YOU ARE RIGHT MY FRIEND, in taking a closer look, the rounding of the russell stamp makes me suspicious. Its hard to tell without holding the knife.

Are those blue marks from heating on the barlow in question ? I really have not spent any time looking at Barlows but this will be a good time to learn.

It really makes me sad for man and mankind that people would take a great hobby and great patterns an ruin them. Winchesters used to be so popular an fakes really hurt the brand.

[1967redrider]

Knife 2 pics:

danno, I have a long pull Russell like yours but mine has a clip and has been buffed. The arched stamped one I'm pretty sure is original, but don't think the long pull one is. Now who made it and when is a mystery.

[danno50]

Knife 2 pics:

danno, I have a long pull Russell like yours but mine has a clip and has been buffed. The arched stamped one I'm pretty sure is original, but don't think the long pull one is. Now who made it and when is a mystery.

Hi 1967redrider, the pictures are not of a knife I own, they are the pictures from the ebay Russell's from the OP, which I added to the thread for posterity.

[1967redrider]

Knife 2 pics:

danno, I have a long pull Russell like yours but mine has a clip and has been buffed. The arched stamped one I'm pretty sure is original, but don't think the long pull one is. Now who made it and when is a mystery.

Hi 1967redrider, the pictures are not of a knife I own, they are the pictures from the ebay Russell's from the OP, which I added to the thread for posterity.

Gotcha.

[celluloidheros]

Not a Barlow but questionable

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274826998092?h ... SwtkBgwC7P

[just bob]

I'm unsure of what that knife actually is? Best guess is that it's a modern knife made with new & old parts. I wouldn't be a bidder for it. When they released the Russell Green River reproduction series, they did have a 3-blade stockman included, but it is much different looking than the knife in the OP. Here are 2 that were easy to find. No doubt there are other variations of this pattern. In fact, some have sold here in the AAPK stores.


https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... -proto-set

[just bob]

I just had another thought about the knife in the OP. A while back an eBay seller with the ID Nashville Fleas or something similar to that sold several knives that were described as knives being made from new & old parts. Was this one of those? It looks familiar.

[zed6309]

I always find these posts interesting, my grail knife is a old Russell Barlow but nothing in the uk and tbh I would worry about paying too high with so many fakes around

[just bob]

That's exactly why I don't chase those older Case knives. There are just too many walking wounded out there. If one falls in my lap at a reasonable price I'll grab it, but not entering any bidding wars for something I'm not 100% certain of.

[zed6309]

That's exactly why I don't chase those older Case knives. There are just too many walking wounded out there. If one falls in my lap at a reasonable price I'll grab it, but not entering any bidding wars for something I'm not 100% certain of.

[celluloidheros]

I dont think there is anything old or legitimate bout the cattle knife. Its made to deceive.