The term "Barlow" has two meanings when it comes to pocket knives.  First, it is a style of pocket knife.  Second, there is a Barlow company in the USA that makes and imports pocket knives, key tags, money clips, and other quality gift products, and puts your logo on them.  If you are looking for either of these two "Barlow" destinations, you have come to the right place.

 

1.  What is a "Barlow" style pocket knife? 

A barlow style knife has one or two blades, a huge metal bolster, and a comfortable tear-drop shaped handle. The blade or blades are attached at the small end of the handle.  Even though the first barlow knife was made in Sheffield England in the 1600's, it was made by several American shops soon after, and has become just as American as "apple pie".  George Washington was known to have a barlow knife.  Mark Twain referred to a "real Barlow" in his Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in 1876.  Barlows have long been gifts, treasured by young American boys.  At least one song was written about the barlow knife.

The history of the barlow knife has been difficult to trace.  At least four American Barlow families have claimed that they invented the barlow knife.  According to Laurence A. Johnson in his article, "The Barlow Knife", that was published in The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc. in June 1959, the Barlow knife was probably first manufactured by Obadiah Barlow at Sheffield, England, around 1670. Obadiah's grandson, John Barlow, joined the business around 1745 and it was he who was chiefly responsible for developing the exportation of the Barlow knives to America. Another source says the barlow knife was also made by Luke Furnace of Stannington, which in the eighteenth century was a small village on the outskirts of Sheffield. Luke Furnace's name occurs in the Sheffield directories from 1774 and 1787, but not in the 1797 directory, so he was presumably dead by then. He probably adopted the mark "1760" because that was the year he obtained the freedom of the Cutler's Company. The original Barlow, after whom the knives are named, was working in Sheffield at the same time as Luke Furnace.

 

The barlow knife was designed to be tough, and to be affordable.  The keep the price low, the blade was high carbon steel, and the handle was bone, and not much time was spent in polishing it.  To make it tough, the bolster was big and thick.  The original  barlows had only one blade.  Now they have two,  and more care is taken in finishing and polishing them. 

John Russell may have been the first American to manufacture Barlow knives. The John Russell Company, now the Russell Harrington Cutlery Company of Southbridge, Massachusetts, first made Barlow knives at their Greenfield Massachusetts, factory in 1785. They were called the Russell Barlow knife and instead of the word BARLOW on the bolster, they were stamped with Russell's mark, an R with an arrow through it. Today these Russell Barlows are valuable antiques. 

Now several companies make barlow knives, and they are sold on this web page: 

www.barlow-knives.com

 

2.  What is the Barlow Company?

The Barlow Company, which makes pocket knives, among other quality gift ideas, has been in business since about 1930 in the United States.  It sells only through promotional products distributors, like Advantage-Advertising, LLC.  Their knives are available on

www.barlow-knives.com  and www.logo-knives.com , both owned by Advantage-Advertising, LLC.  Ironically, Barlow does not currently produce a barlow style knife, but they have in the past, and may resume in the future.  Barlow has many fine business gifts available with your logo imprinted on them.  Included are metal key tags, money clips, knives, multi-tools, tape measures, picture frames, and clocks.  Some of these items are available on www.advantage-advertising.com