Case XX Case Brothers Dark Molasses Bone Barlow

I purchased one of these knives as a gift for a friend who I knew liked the pattern and upon recieving it was impressed enough with it to write this review. I have not been particularly attracted to the Barlow pattern myself, but this knife has changed my opinion of the pattern in general and this particular knife has indeared itself to me enough for me to want to purchase one myself.

So, I want to tell you some more about this particular Case product. It seems to be aimed more toward collectors than folks wanting a knife to carry every day. It comes in an attractive tin with a cardboard sleeve and comes complete with a pocket pouch to protect it against the ravages of metallic stuff in your pocket. That being said, the price of the knife is well within the acceptable range for a good EDC knife.

The scales which are dark molasses bone are very attractive and the jigging gives just the right amount of grip without feeling "edgy" in your hand. The rest of the knife is very well finished with the backsprings being flush in open and closed position. This is a well finished knife, with blades properly centered and highly polished (as is typical with Case pocket knives).

The knife is 3-3/8" long closed which makes it more of a medium sized knife. Blade lengths are about 2-3/8" or a bit more on the main spear blade and about 1-5/8" on the seconday pen blade. Blades are properly proportioned for this size knife. I particularly like the spear main blade over the more common wide clip, but that is just personal preference speaking. The blade material is Tru-sharp stainless steel and is perfectly adequate and requires a bit less fuss to maintain than the CV steel. It sharpens well, but doesn't hold an edge quite as well as the CV. I wouldn't let that prevent me from buying this fine knife.

All in all, I give this knife "two thumbs up". If you like barlows or are merely curious about the pattern, you can't go wrong with this knife. If you are a collector you had better buy two so you can carry one, because once you have it in your possession you will definitely want to carry it.

I gave it a 5 star rating and felt strongly enough about that to do this review. - EJ