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Comment by Tobias Gibson on September 6, 2013 at 11:26

Howard, you make a good point. However I think you need to do a risk assessment and be prepared for what is likely and not fret the improbable.

For instance, the likelihood of me needing a shotgun or bowie knife in my office at work or fairly slim. The likelihood of going to jail or losing my job for bringing them to work is fairly high.  This I have my Vic Spartan Lite on me at work and something a little more substantial buried in my back pack, just in case.

At the same time I have a shingle axe, an aluminum baseball bat and an entrenching tool in my the trunk of my car. All would not draw the ire of a cop if he felt he had probably cause to pop the trunk.  But if I had say a Shotgun, machete and a combat axe in the trunk I'd probably be cuffed.

The statement is you aren't always prepared you're never prepared is correct. However being prepared and being armed to the hilt is not the same thing.  Having what you need for the hear and now as well as having contingencies in place for the unlikely is being prepared.

Even the best knife gets dull and or can break.  Jethro Gibbs' rule about always having a knife is great rule.  Always have a back-up is an even better one!

Comment by Howard P Reynolds on September 6, 2013 at 11:09

Hahahaha.  Tobias, I never tried to return my box.  Figured that I would need all of em - get mad and throw one as far as I could when it let me down or break if I tried to pry with it.  But, there is a rub in your post I would like to explore:  "It might not be the best choice to bet your life on..."  And there is the rub.  It ain't the knife you have, it's the knife you have on you at the time.  Living in suburbia these days it is embarrassing, and probably illegal, to wear a "real" (blade longer than 4"-5") knife in case I have to go in to town for something.  I like a big knife for the woods, but since there are no bear or puma around the neighborhood where I live, I might have to depend on the little Frost if it happens to be on my belt that day that I really need a knife (against a rabid squirrel or something).  Maybe I should always be wearin a knife I feel confident about.  As Adam at Equip 2 Endure says:  "If you aren't always prepared, you are never prepared."  

Comment by Tobias Gibson on September 6, 2013 at 10:24

My problems with Cutlery Corner Network.

1- they're not upfront with their shipping charges.

2- too much of a hassle to return things.

3- most everything is sold in lots.

4-  They are not upfront about the steel used in the knives.

5- they're not upfront with their shipping charges.

6 - too much of a hassle to return things.

7 - 420J2 is not a tool steel!

(Yes I know I listed shipping charges and hassles to return things twice!)

I also know that 420J2 has come along way over the last few years and deserves more respect than it gets, especially when it comes to inexpensive beater knives that you plan to abuse.  It might not be the best choice to bet your life on but it'll get you through a camping trip or twelve.  And yes you will need to sharpen it frequently.

Comment by Howard P Reynolds on September 5, 2013 at 12:28

Sorry, guys.  In the pic, the Frost knife is the one on the bottom.  Top is the Western.

Comment by Howard P Reynolds on September 5, 2013 at 12:24

Frost Cutlery:  I'm bringing this post here from the "Knives of the Great Outdoors" where Charles Sample showed his Frost Bowie (Japan).  I don't collect Frost knives, but damm if I don't have a "Box Full of Knives" from Frost.  Guys who like knives will watch anything with knives in it so I watched Cutlery Corner for months without buying anything.  But, they wore me down and I got a box of fixed blades to see if they were as bad as I expected them to be.  I put one (rubber handled drop point "hunter") in my EDC rotation.  

I I don't know what steel is in this Frost knife, and I don't know what steel is in the Western (1991-2007 tang stamp) - bought closer to 1991 than 2007, and also in my EDC rotation, but the Western seems to hold an edge better than the Frost.  However, the Frost isn't too bad considering that I wasn't expecting a lot.  Have to hit it on the stone more, but like Charles Sample's Frost Bowie - gets used for whatever, I can use it to do whatever an EDC knife does, and it is soft enough to sharpen easily. I was able to baton this Frost (4.5" blade) through a 2,5" diameter standing dead (dry) hardwood tree out in the woods without dulling the blade.  It ain't my first choice for a go-to knife, but it is better than I expected,

In Memoriam Comment by Robert Burris on August 27, 2013 at 8:33

Donald, you are right, you can get a Barlow collection going for just a few Bucks$. You can spend $100 also, there's a place for all collectors, with the Barlow pattern. The low or high end collector can both be very happy with their collection. I think, it's all in the eye of the collector.

Comment by Donald Lee Hargrove on August 27, 2013 at 8:26

Hey, I was going to start a Barlow collection because I thought that they'd be inexpensive.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Let's go for it!

In Memoriam Comment by Robert Burris on August 25, 2013 at 13:21

Okay, Let me get a good picture and we'll start her up. Barlow's forever....lol

Comment by J.J. Smith III on August 25, 2013 at 13:10

One of the first knives that I bought on a regular basis.  Still like them as a whittler alternative.

Count me in, Robert.

In Memoriam Comment by Robert Burris on August 25, 2013 at 12:57

The first knife I ever saw my Grand Father with was a small Barlow. I think it had two blades but my memory fades a little. Later on he would carry a Stockman. {That ought to make Steve happy}. He would carry a pocket knife and a fixed blade, {the same way I do now} when he went into the woods, to hunt or fish.  I have a couple of his fixed blades but those folders are gone.

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