Learning to spot a real Russell Barlow

[jon_slider]

I recently started learning about Russell Barlows and found a knife on Ebay being sold as a Russell that is fake. I believe it is fake because both the Dexter-Russell factory staff told me so, and also because Bernard Levine told me so.

Here is the fake, note the location of the center pin on the scale is not in the center. Russell factory staff told me the handle is a Camillus.








Here is a Camillus catalog photo, note the location of the center pin on the handle matches the position of the pin on the above knife



next here is a knife that belongs to Pertinux, posted on photo bucket. I have copied the photos to my library, but they are her photos. This knife has been certified as a genuine 1933-1941 curved tang stamp knife, by the Russell factory.







here is an earlier Russell Barlow with straight line tang stamp, that Bernard Levine told me was probably genuine









And here is a Russell Commemorative with Delrin scales. It is a modern knife, not an original Russell from 1875 to 1941.













So far I have learned that before 1933 Russell used straight tang stamps, after 1933, until 1941, they used the curved tang stamp. The fakes, German replicas, and commemoratives, all use curved tang stamps.

There are several features of Small Russell Barlows that I am learning to distinguish.
1. The location of the center pin on the handle should be in the middle of the scale, not closer to the bolster. However, commemoratives have centered pins, as do some 1967-1971 German replicas.
2. The pins should be steel, not brass
3. The bolster on an original Small Russell Barlow is Iron, not nickel silver.
4. The ring on the base of the original Small Russell Barlow is close to the handle scale, on commemoratives there is a wider space. Also the Arrow head on an original Russell has more space before the pivot end of the bolster, the commemoratives arrow head on the bolster is closer to the top of the bolster.
5. The blades on an original Small Russell Barlow should look old, pitted, have patina, if the blade is shiny and new looking, it is suspect.
6. The color of the bone on Small Russell Barlows varies from yellow and smooth, to brown and saw cut. The colors were not specific to pre or post 1933, though the pre 1933 are often yellow and smooth, that may be just from wear.
7. Original Russell's have the pivot pin past the tip, and to the side of the Arrow head on the bolster.

disclaimer, I am just learning, and sharing what I think Ive learned. I am not an expert, and any opinion I give is just that. I do try to verify what I think is true with multiple sources, so hopefully the information is useful and accurate for others to consider.

Please feel free to add any photos of Russell Barlows you own or are interested in. And please add any knowledge you have about identifying Russell Barlows.

(edited to add info about German replicas, exclusive use of iron bolsters specific to Small Russell Barlows, and bone colors, provided by Miller Bro's below)

[ken6]

Yep, that's a fake alright, I got one just like it. That center pin tells it all.

[woseyjales]

Thanks for taking time to compile the info & pics to share w/us, Jon.
Not only does it support the ole saying knowledge is power it also
convinced me to either stick with the brands I know something about or
only consider Russells with centered center pin and COA signed by F.D.R.

[ken6]

Here are my 3 Russells - the one on the left is the fake - but an old fake - notice the pins.

[knifeaholic]

Also, authentic Russell barlows will never have long pull.

[mikek]

Now guys, the first red flag is always the red background. Thanks for the lesson. mikek

[Miller Bro's]

Also, authentic Russell barlows will never have long pull.

Yes they do

[Miller Bro's]

There are several features of Russell Barlows that I am learning to distinguish.
1. The location of the center pin on the handle should be in the middle of the scale, not closer to the bolster.
2. The pins should be steel, not brass
3. The bolster on an original Russell is Iron, not nickel silver.
4. The ring on the base of the original Russell is close to the handle scale, on commemoratives there is a wider space. Also the Arrow head on an original Russell has more space before the pivot end of the bolster, the commemoratives arrow head on the bolster is closer to the top of the bolster.
5. The blades on an original Russell should look old, pitted, have patina, if the blade is shiny and new looking, it is suspect.
6. The color of the bone on pre 1933 Russells is almost always a golden yellow, post 1933 they tend to be brown.
7. Original Russell's have the pivot pin past the tip, and to the side of the Arrow head on the bolster.

A few corrections to your list:

#1. The first German reproductions that were made in 1967-71 had the pin in the middle just like the originals, in fact they were duplicated so closely there was hardly any difference from an old original except the quality fell short of the original ones.

#3. Not true, they offered Nickle Silver on the larger hunting and fisherman`s Barlow knife.

#5. Have you ever seen an unused factory original knife in "mint" condition? The first thing an experienced counterfeiter does is "age" the blade to fool novice collectors into thinking the knife is old. You have to examine the entire knife closely.

#6. They offered white bone, smooth bone and brown bone, all had a different color and used at different times. There is no way to put a date on a knife by the color of the handles.

[knifeaholic]

Also, authentic Russell barlows will never have long pull.

Yes they do

Oops! I stand corrected then. All I can say is that I have never seen one.

Thanks

[jon_slider]

> Here are my 3 Russells - the one on the left is the fake - but an old fake - notice the pins.

Thats a good looking old knife, Ken, thanks for posting a photo, amazingly Russell looking in other ways. I would be curious to see the knives with main blades open to the half stop, showing the tank marks. And also curious if you can see any saw marks, which way they go?

> authentic Russell barlows will never have long pull

I think you are correct for the 1933-1941 Small Russell Barlow with curved tang stamp. Dexter-Russel told me that
"The few long nail pulls Russell used on barlows were all pre 1890 and had the plain block letter horizontal "RUSSELL" tang stamp"

> the first red flag is always the red background

Wow! I had not noticed that (Note to self, lose the red background when posting fake knives for sale)

> #1. The first German reproductions that were made in 1967-71 had the pin in the middle just like the originals, in fact they were duplicated so closely there was hardly any difference from an old original except the quality fell short of the original ones.

Thanks for adding that information, I notice also on the commemoratives the pin seems centered, but it seems to be Brass, not Steel. (Rule #2 red flag)

Do you know whether the 1967-71 German reproductions used steel pins or brass, and can you link to a photo maybe?

> #3. Not true, they offered Nickle Silver on the larger hunting and fisherman`s Barlow knife.

Thanks. Only the Small Russell Barlow bolsters were never Nickel Silver.

> #6. They offered white bone, smooth bone and brown bone, all had a different color and used at different times. There is no way to put a date on a knife by the color of the handles.

Thanks! I really appreciate your taking the time to help educate me

Here is a bit more info I was given on Small Russell Barlow colors:
"There is no such thing as 'yellow bone.' This bone was originally saw cut, white.... The yellow comes from soaking in tinted oil."

Does this color look like one of the original Small Russell Barlow colors?:

Note also the direction of the above handles saw cuts, from the top left downward towards the right.

The knife below, has saw cuts that go the other way, from top right down to the left, though barely showing. Do you know if the direction of the saw went either way on original Small Russell Barlows?


The mark side of the above knife seems to be a different color, and smooth, though the saw cut may just be worn away, and the scales color might have been mismatched to begin with, or.. not sure

[Miller Bro's]

Oops! I stand corrected then. All I can say is that I have never seen one.

Thanks

Here is a catalog cut Steve

I have a single blade Iron handle Russell Barlow that has a long match striker pull somewhere

[jon_slider]

> long match striker pull

very cool!

a couple more catalog pics, listing white bone, brown bone, and showing sawcuts in both directions. Descriptions include, Iron Lined Steel Bolster, Steel Lined Heavy Steel Bolster

[knifeaholic]

Dimitri; I guess when I said that I was referring to the more common spear and clip blade versions. The spear blade version posted has a long pull. Were any authentic ones in spear or clip blade made with long pull?

[Jacknifeben]

If you really want the real deal look at the 25 pages of JOHN RUSSELL CUTLERY COMPANY, GREENFIELD MASSACHUSETTS in the MRS. DEWEY FERGUSON book ROMANCE OF COLLECTING. According to this book the RUSSELL barlow was phased out about world war 1 period. They were still selling for about 15 cents.

[jon_slider]

thanks to everyone for your participation, please share more photos of your Small Russell Barlows

here is a size comparison of a 71 gram Boker, a 57 gram Ebony TC spear, an 81 gram Russell, and a 62 gram Bone TC Clip blade



And thickness comparison, left to right, Russell, Boker, Bone TC, Ebony TC



Happy 4th of July!

[Dragunski]

Excellent primer on Russell Barlows.

I would like to point out that in the top picture, the bolsters actually look like they've been painted or coated with something. There are even traces of this paint in the crack and on the edge of the scale.

[Jacknifeben]

15 cent Russell barlow. Hope this is clear enough to read.

[jon_slider]

Here are a couple more Ebay knives.
Pop quiz, are they originals, or reproductions? Extra credit if you say how you can tell

[Dragunski]

Well, they both have the high center pin, if that's the criteria.

The bottom one looks like stainless, and does not appear to have sawcut handles. Seems to be smooth bone.

[jon_slider]

Well, they both have the high center pin, if that's the criteria.

The bottom one looks like stainless, and does not appear to have sawcut handles. Seems to be smooth bone.

Thanks for playing, spot the Russell, good eye

Yes rule 1 is violated in both knives. Rule 5 violation for the blue background knife.

Smooth bone is not a violation, per Miller Bros comment that smooth bone was a Russell factory option.


This thread
http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... 88#p348688

Has a picture of a long pull Russell.



It appears to be a curved tang stamp. That violates the Russell factory comment:
"The few long nail pulls Russell used on barlows were all pre 1890 and had the plain block letter horizontal "RUSSELL" tang stamp"

Here are 2 more long pull Russells with curved tang stamp.. The first one I cant see the center pin, the second one clearly shows the center pin is not in the middle of the handle, hence, not original Russell.

Notice also that the white handle Russell with long pull, has the same blade as the two below. Even though the white handle has the middle pin in center, I don't think the long pull blade is original Russell.





I wonder if the 2 long pull dark handled Russell's pictured above are Camillus contract built? See the Camillus #11 below. ( I can't explain the White one)


Camillus #11:

[just bob]

In the book about the Russell Cutlery Co the author goes into some detail about the Barlow Bearcats. This was a club formed by Russell Barlow owners and stories about the owners ran in the Louisville, KY Sunday paper in the 1950's. Dexter-Russell was ecstatic when they found out about this club and since so many of the old Barlow's were worn they came up with a special promotion for members. For $1.00 they would repair any members Russell Barlow knife to the best of their ability. They no longer made the knives but had some parts and some of the original craftsmen still worked for the company. There is no mention of how many knives were sent in but it is mentioned that the promotion was an overwhelming success. The club had over a thousand members. So here is my question to the purist. How do you really tell an original Russell Barlow? No doubt much of the production process had been improved and automated. I suspect many long pull blades were put into these knives with broken blades. Brass pins may have been used instead of steel. A few of the original Russell's are out there. My guess is as many as 75% of the Russell's you see on eBay are not original knives. Many of the altered knives you do see may have been repaired by the company. It's such a shame that many of the others are of poor quality workmanship. These knives for the most part bring $50 - $75. A sad state of affairs and many unwary collectors end up buying these.

[jon_slider]

> I suspect many long pull blades were put into these knives with broken blades.

Thanks for posting. What makes you think Russell had ANY long pull blades?

> Brass pins may have been used instead of steel.

Thanks. What basis do you have for this?

Pictures invited.

[just bob]

Because Russell stopped making the Barlow's in the 1930's and these knives were sent in for repair in the 1950's. In the 1930's many Russell Barlow knives had long pulls and also other D-R pocket knives had long pull blades in them that may have fit the Barlow with minor modification.My thoughts were that these were the left over parts referred to and not parts from the early 1900's. Many of the Russell's with the straight line tang stamp and broken blades were probably repaired with the newer, 1930's tang stamp, newer blade.
Also brass pins were used in the 1930's and so these were probably also used to repair the knives.We may never know the extent of these repairs. I have always thought a real tip off was quality of workmanship. Some of these knives that you see on eBay have very shoddy repairs.

[knives-are-quiet]

How old are these Barlows you are talking about?

I was told this Russell easy opener was made pre WWI.
It has long pulls. Although "match strike pulls"
Why wouldn't some Barlows have them also.

JW~

[just bob]

It seems as if the question is - what is an original Russell Barlow knife? I'm afraid we'll never be able to answer that question. In the book on the Russell Cutlery it says the first pocket jack knives were shown in Philadelphia in 1875 and from the original 50 styles soon increased to over 400 styles within a year. By 1877 50,000 dozen jack knives were sold. With variation of handles, rivets, blades, etc. many style could be produced. It also mentions there was sporadic production of pocket jack knives prior to 1875. Then in the same book they have a pictorial of the 1884 sales catalog. Here you can see the Barlow's pictured, but these are not the first to be made. The Barlow and the jack knife are close cousins. The major difference is the bolster on the Barlow. There are long pulls pictured in the jack knives but not in the Barlow's. Many people want to assume these 1884 knives are the original knives and that is just not the case at all. Mass production of these knives made it possible to put droves of these on the market.

If I am asked I would say I'm unsure what an original Russell Barlow looks like. I think for certain they would have the straight line Russell tang stamp and steel pins that have not been spun. I also think the originals may be slightly smaller. These were mass produced and sold for very little. Prior to WWI it is stated they sold for 15¢. Quality Control wasn't what it is now. Knives were crude tools to be used, not to be put in a box and polished once a year. The quality of the stell was the chief selling point. There are many, many regular Russell knives on Ebay with long pull blades in them. I would think the information is correct that Barlow's only had the long pull prior to 1890, but what about these older knives that were sent to Dexter-Russell in the 1950's for repair? We know they used parts they had on hand. It seems very likely to me that some parts from the folding knives that could be adapted to the Barlow may have been used. Who is to say specifically what? It pretty easy to fashion a replacement back spring from an existing one. It's also easy to fit a blade from another knife, especially if you work in a cutlery factory.

I think we're arguing over questions that don't have answers.