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A BARLOW KNIFE was a pocket knife manufactured in Sheffield specially for export to the United States from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries. One of the earliest makers of the knife was a man named Barlow, whose name became attached to the product.

The tune Barlow Knife is an Old Time fiddle tune, and has a beautiful simplicity which, I'm hoping, will be easy to pick up. On some notes you can play second notes which are to be played at the same time. Substitute the bars marked with the alternatives below. This is called double stopping, which can be tricky to start with. A bit of practice and they'll become second nature.

You'll notice that each of the three sections have an ABAC structure; i.e. the first and third bars are identical. Actually, many traditional tunes have the same structure, but it's easier to see in a simple tune like Barlow Knife.