Need a little help on this big boy...

[Alien883]

A large Big Daddy barlow, made in Solingen...I have not found info about a maker...seems to be a bit of a mystery!??? Any help is greatly appreciated !!

[philco]

Goin's Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings has four tang stamp listings that contain the name "Bower". All four have the same approximate date range, g. 1950-1980. The listings are shown below:

Bower Dist. Co.
Bower Imp. Co.
F.A. Bower Germany
F.A. Bower Imp. Co. Germany

That is the entirety of the information that I could find in that book.

I've owned a couple of Bower knives and I'm pretty sure there's a Bower Barlow in my pile somewhere. They appear to be good quality although perhaps not quite as refined as some of the more widely known German brands such as Henckels, Boker, Eye Brand etc.

[1967redrider]

Thanks, phil. I have a Bower Folding Hunter and Barlow, both seem to be well made.

[Bamarick]

The Standard Knife Collector's Guide---5th Edition has a 5" Daddy Barlow stamped FA Bower Dist Solingen, Germany listed. They have it valued at $44.00 but I'd say that is outdated since the 5th edition was from 2007. Your knife looks to be in excellent condition. I have a couple of F.A. Bower knives around here somewhere. One is a small stockman and the other is a fixed blade with a stag handle. Both seem to be well made knives. Nice find.---Ricky