Just an Old Cheap Barlow Knife

[Dave Markowitz]

Well, not any old, cheap barlow knife. This is the first knife I ever owned. My father (THR's RON in PA) gave this to me when I was 8 or 9, sometime around 1976 or 1977 I guess.





The other day I dug it out of storage to look at it and renew the edges on the blades. I gave the blades and backsprings a coat of Hoppe's Gun Oil so they don't rust, and enjoyed the feel of an old fashioned knife in my hands.

It's an Imperial, with relatively soft carbon steel blades. The construction is pretty cheap. The bolsters are stampings and the scales are faux woodgrain plastic. They're loose and the whole thing rattles a bit if you shake it. AAMOF, it feels like if you put too much lateral pressure on one of the blades the whole thing will delaminate.

I don't care.

To me this is no mere knife. Receiving this barlow from Dad was a sign that he viewed me as being responsible enough to be trusted with a potentially dangerous tool. With it, I learned to whittle and play mumbleypeg. That's something too many kids don't get in today's coddled, padded, wimpified society.

Now, I'm a father to two little girls, and I look forward to the time in a few years when I can sit down with them and give them each their own pocketknife. At 5 and 3 y/o, they already know what one is and not to touch any of mine they happen to see out. Under supervision, I let them cut loose threads off clothes with the scissors on a SAK. Once I feel that they have enough hand/eye coordination, I'll let them start learning how to use a sharp blade. Maybe I'll get them barlow knives.

I'm going to put the Imperial barlow away now. I'll take it out again sometimes and let the memories come back.

Nope, not just an old, cheap barlow knife.

 

[Okiecruffler]

Great story. I still have my first knife, a Barlow of questionable construction. My grandad gave it to me. No better knife was ever made for mumblypeg. I remember playing mumblypeg and stretch in the school playground. Rule was you had to be in 3rd grade to carry a pocket knife. Wonder how old you have to be now?

 

[TrapperReady]

Dave - Neat knife. I had one just like it when I was probably 8 years old.

Both my kids (ages 7 and 10) have had knives for a couple years. The older one has a SAK and the youger one has an Uncle Henry Rancher. In addition, they each have a Brusletto Spikkekniv from ragweedforge.com. They use them under supervision and have been extremely responsible in their use. We keep them quite sharp and so far we've only had a couple very minor cuts.

Frankly, I really like the Bruslettos. They're small enough for the kids' hands, can't fold up on their fingers, and the blade size is very useful. They'd make a great camping knife for anyone who doesn't have giant paws. BTW, the little gnome carving shown on the website is easy and fun to make. We've got a little collection of them scattered around the house!

 

[sixgunner455]

Wonder how old you have to be now?

Cannot do it in the school district we live in. Kids are specifically forbidden to have "weapons", and defines them to include any knife.

 

[sm]

Dave,

Thanks for sharing!

Barlow knife has a long history, and who knows how many were a kids first knife?
It would be hard pressed to measure who felt the most feelings: the boy or girl getting the first knife, or the adult giving them that first knife.

 

[TrapperReady]

Cannot do it in the school district we live in.

You can't have them at school, but home is another matter. Any school district that tries to tell me what my kids can do off-hours or when our family is out camping will get to know my attorney very, very well.

Edited to add that I just re-read Okiecruffler's comment. Knives at school at any age have gone the way of the dodo... sadly. Heck, they've re-engineered the compasses, so that the pointy bit is only about a millimeter long. I'm sure the drafting tools we used in high school would be looked at as some sort of medieval weapons cache.

 

[Sistema1927]

My son and I were just talking about "the feminization of the American male" on the way back from dinner tonight.

Hard to believe that all boys carried pocket knives to school "back in the day", and that we could buy ammunition and even guns (gasp!) without restriction.

 

[Okiecruffler]

Well I made that comment tongue in cheek, but I'm lazy and use that quick reply box that doesn't have 's.

I remember my coach borrowing my shotgun out of the back of truck at school to go hit some quail, and I ain't that old.

 

[TimboKhan]

I remember my coach borrowing my shotgun out of the back of truck at school to go hit some quail, and I ain't that old.

Interesting that you say that, Okie. I have mentioned a couple of times that at my high school we used to bring our shotguns to school and hunt with a couple of the teachers after school. We would actually bring them into the school and leave them in the office. I graduated in 1990, so not so very long ago..

Anyway, sorry for the thread veer. I wish I still had my first knife, though I remember it very well. I am not a sentimental person and so I don't have a lot of the stuff that I treasured as a kid (basically, my marbles, and thats it), but thats one of the few things I really wish I had.