Bear & Son - MANUAL - 2.625" - Sheepfoot - 440 Stainless Steel - Rosewood - Nickel-Silver Bolsters - 2281R

So when I saw this knife offered I got really excited. The Barlow is the quintessential working man's knife. It came into being in the 1700s. I wanted a true to form Barlow knife reminiscent of the originals, the same spirit. There are so many cheap Chinese imports which I didn't want. As for Bear and Son I'd heard mixed reviews on their knives, some inconsistent QC and the like. However, they are a US based company and I gave them a shot. I am an avid knife collector, from Victorinox to Reeve and Hinderer customs. I know knives and I was blown away. The knife is very well made with no blade play and good snap on both blades. No gaps or obvious flaws. The rosewood is smooth and fits well. It should be noted that a true Barlow is a working knife so it doesn't have that Case polished collector's feel on it like a stockman with true sharp. That being said, it is pretty in the utilitarian context (as it shouldbe). It feels genuine. Like it wouldn't be out of place in a soldier's pocket at Gettysburg. It's perfect for what I wanted, a quality knife at a great price, made in the USA. Some may have gotten lemons and I can't speak to that, but will say the quality fit and finish are spot on with my knife. And it's NOT from China!! Great job Bear and Son, I'll be back for more.Thanks for readingBest wishes

Perfect! Just beautiful and very well made. Don’t settle for one of the many cheap barlow knives out there. For under $50, you get a classic knife easily worth twice as much. As you can see, the rosewood handle sets the blades off nicely. Great for a gift!

Knife is finished beautifully....the only improvement IMO is if the factory crew would spend just 2 min. more on the belt sander this piece would be perfect.

The knife came super dull. It took a ton of work to put a usable edge on it. plus, as you can see in the pic, it is set so the blade doesn't open enough for me to be comfortable with it. It sits in a drawer, never to be carried. I had heard Bear and Son had quality products, but this one is terrible.

I wanted a well made knife not only was itwell-made, sharp blades and beautiful wooden handle Bear & Son Cutlery do awesome work I'm thinking about buying another type of knife ( piece of art ) from them.

Having owned a couple of other Bear & Son knives I purchased this without any hesitation because the other knives are superbly crafted and sharp as a razor.I don’t know what happened with this one it’s like they didn’t even bother to put the blades on the grinder. The slip joint are gritty and rough. The Rosewood does look beautiful but I will not be carrying this and would not recommend this to anybody else.

I ordered this knife, because I always wanted a Barlow pocket knife for carrying. When the knife arrived, I opened it with great expectation. However, I found that both blades, especially the big blade, had excessive blade play (loose) in the deployed position. The sharpening of both knife blades was really bad; the grind had to be done by a branch kin of Daryle and Daryle: dull and asymmetric. It goes without saying the quality of this knife is poor, and I returned it. Bear & Son implement a quality control program because this knife should have never been shipped given the tremendous amount of blade play and the terrible edge grind!

I order this to replace a cherished Rosewood knife that I lost. While there were some mixed reviews about it, I took the leap and purchased it. It is a well crafted and beautiful knife that has so far been a great replacement for the one I lost. The small custom fit bag that in comes in is a nice touch and protects the Rosewood on the knife from being scratched when in a pocket containing coin or other metal objects.