This Is the Proper Way to Combine a Traditional EDC Knife with Modern Tech

This blade’s silhouette predates most other folding knife styles, but the materials and mechanisms are thoroughly contemporary.

Closeup of Jack Wolf Knives Primo Jack knife

By Sean Tirman

Published February 20, 2025

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Although it’s hard to pinpoint precisely when it was first invented, the Barlow knife pattern is one of the most enduring silhouettes in knifemaking history. It predates most other folding knife styles by several hundred years.

Despite its age, the style is still very much alive today. While most examples you’ll find are more traditional in their materials and mechanisms, Jack Wolf Knives has taken a different approach.

The Jack Wolf Knives Primo Jack takes that classic Barlow style and vaults it into modernity.

Jack Wolf Knives Primo Jack knife on greenish background next to stickers, towel and aluminum tube — The Primo Jack is a magnificent triumph, combining old and new seamlessly.

the (Bar)low-down

The Primo Jack maintains some of the signature hallmarks of the original Barlow style. This includes its teardrop-shaped handle and its clip-point blade.

Depending on the configuration, some of the Primo Jack’s handle materials are also more traditional-leaning, including rosewood and bone scales.

Most of the other materials are decidedly more contemporary. For instance, the other three handle options include Micarta, carbon fiber and Kirinite (a type of layered acrylic).

Furthermore, the knife’s blade steel is CPM S90V across all six available configurations. This is one of the top high-end steels of today, offering superb edge retention, corrosion resistance, durability and more.

Jack Wolf Knives Primo Jack knife closed on greenish background next to stickers and aluminum tin — The rosewood handle is perhaps the most traditional of all six options, though the bone handles are a close second.

Elevating an icon

This elevated take on a classic Barlow also features some other major quality-of-life improvements. The overall design itself is more refined, boasting sleeker lines than older examples.

Various titanium parts aid its structural integrity. This includes the frame lock, bolster, liners, Torx hardware, back spacer and removable pocket clip.

Even though the blade design includes a fuller for manual deployment, it also has a subtle front flipper for quicker, one-handed deployment. That speed is aided, of course, by its buttery-smooth ceramic ball-bearing pivot.

The knife measures 7.64 inches overall, with 3.26 inches made up by the blade. It also weighs a mere 2.90 ounces, helping keep it manageable for EDC. Altogether, it’s a masterful combination of traditional style and contemporary tech.

Closeup of Jack Wolf Knives Primo Jack knife handle — Every detail of this knife was meticulously pored over, which is apparent in the final product.

Pricing and availability

On Jack Wolf Knives’ site, the Primo Jack is available in six different configurations, all priced at $350 apiece. You can also find four of the six options on Blade HQ for the same price (the two bone versions aren’t available).