Pros: Blade Sharpness
Cons: Ease of Opening
A nice knife
Pretty nice, but one mark down in every catagory feom my RoseCraft Otter Creek Barlow. If you want a nicer knife for your self, get the Otter Creek, and gift this one.
Reviews and Ratings for Bear & Son 5180 Large Sheepsfoot Barlow 4" Closed, Genuine India Stag Bone Handles
(3 reviews) 3.3 out of 5 stars
5 star
0
4 star
2
3 star
0
2 star
1
1 star
0
Customer Reviews
Anodes
SW USAOct 20, 2025
Derekecc
Rhode IslandDec 22, 2024
Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Weight
Cons: Pocket Clip, Sheath
This is one of my favorite knives (I have over 600)
When I received this knife I fell in love with it. I bought myself 2 more ( smooth and red bone) I love the sheep foot it stays sharp, the "stag" is great, well made. I love my Rosecraft blades too but this finds its way back into my pocket time and time again. All three of my barlows came tight,snappy and centered. I love the price for an excellent American made traditional folder.
Kenneth
Mountainair, NMMay 20, 2024
Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Feel
Cons: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness
Not 1095, ...probably
So...this knife was absolutely beautiful when it first arrived. They did a very good job polishing it. Both the bolsters and the blade were like mirrors. Even the jigging on the genuine India stag (which for those in the know is NOT stag. It's bone jigged and dyed to look like stag) was done nicer than even the picture. The edge on my particular example was sharp, but not shaving sharp. It had a good working edge and the bevel was even, or at least not uneven enough to complain about. Now, for my issues. I guess the first thing I noticed was the gaps between the bolsters and the liners and between the liners and the scales. They were not deal breaking gaps or anything and were comparable to a few other knives in this price range, such as in the Buck 301 Stockman (which is actually more expensive now)...but they are there and they are noticeably absent in my Rosecraft Loosahatchie jack, which is a Chinese made knife. Whatever. The blade centering seemed spot on but then I noticed that the blade can be made to touch either liner with just a slight push of the blade and the blade stays there, which of course has caused some blade rub and is messing with my OCD (non-diagnosed). Plus the blade rub has scuffed the aforementioned mirror finish. Oh well, it's purely cosmetic. What isn't cosmetic is that when the knife closes (with a nice solid snap I might add) the blade makes contact with the spring and has nicked my blade right in the middle. I'm hoping that because my particular knife has a slight belly that with a few sharpenings the edge will no longer make contact with the spring. I'm HOPING. Finally, and I think this one irks me the most, the blade is not 1095... probably. I'm not a metallurgist or anything so I couldn't say for sure, but if it is in fact 1095 it is the most stainless 1095 that was ever made. I've cut fruit and onions and other foodstuffs like steak, chicken, and sausage, and that has never failed to put a patina on my other carbon steel blades. This one didn't even get a hint of a patina. I decided that maybe because of the mirror finish that maybe, just maybe, that was preventing it from getting that patina that carbon knives get. So I did what I almost never do and decided to try a mustard patina. After an hour I wiped the blade clean and dried it. There was the slightest marks here and there. Almost nothing. I did the same mustard patina on D2 steel knife by Knives of Alaska and got much better more visible results. I know D2 is not stainless but it is definitely much more stainless than 1095. Maybe they chrome plated it. I doubt it. So, in summary. The knife has a really good finish, but the fit is lacking. The walk and talk is good and strong without being overly stiff. It has a half stop for people who like half stops. It opens up with no blade play and it seems to be solid enough for most tasks. The fact that it's made from a carbon steel that won't patina is suspicious to me, to say the least. At the price I guess you get what you pay for, but I was hoping for something a little better.