All About Pocket Knives

gsmith7158 wrote:I joined the Northwoods group on Facebook so that I would have all base covered when it came to detecting an imminent Northwoods drop. From my observation so far it appears tha a large portion of that group is French or German. Is anybody here at AAPK a member of that group?

I also follow that group Greg.

imhuntn wrote:

gsmith7158 wrote:I joined the Northwoods group on Facebook so that I would have all base covered when it came to detecting an imminent Northwoods drop. From my observation so far it appears tha a large portion of that group is French or German. Is anybody here at AAPK a member of that group?

I also follow that group Greg.

Hey Imhuntin, I 've never made a post there but it does give you a heads up when something might be in the pipeline. Have you ever bought or traded with any of the people on there. I don't think some of those guys require as much money as the ebay flippers.

Yes, I have dealt with a few of those guys. Like eBay, it's a mixed bag. Some are looking to make a minimal profit and others are looking to make bank. At the end of the day, the more sources we tap into, the better the odds of finding what we're looking for imo.

The #77 Yankee Jack & #78 American Jack are both made on the same 3 3/4" sleeveboard frame with blade at the narrow end.
Am i correct that the Fremont is made with this same frame but with blade at wider end ?
Two ebay auctions/sales just closed: a Stag Fremont $495, and a Stag #78 $142. The quality of these knives is the same. The Stag is comparable, very nice on both. The blades differ and i prefer the spearpoint on the 78 over the Wharncliffe-like on the Fremont.
My point is that the name "Northwoods" brought in an extra $350. Or you could say the Northwoods branding enabled the knife to sell for more than 3x it's actual value.
kj

All I can say about this is .....CRAZY!!

kootenay joe wrote:The #77 Yankee Jack & #78 American Jack are both made on the same 3 3/4" sleeveboard frame with blade at the narrow end.
Am i correct that the Fremont is made with this same frame but with blade at wider end ?
Two ebay auctions/sales just closed: a Stag Fremont $495, and a Stag #78 $142. The quality of these knives is the same. The Stag is comparable, very nice on both. The blades differ and i prefer the spearpoint on the 78 over the Wharncliffe-like on the Fremont.
My point is that the name "Northwoods" brought in an extra $350. Or you could say the Northwoods branding enabled the knife to sell for more than 3x it's actual value.
kj

KJ, although they are all the same nominal length, all three of those frames are distinct. The #77 frame has little corners on the narrow end. The #78 is rounded on the little end. The Fremont Jack is made on the #79 frame, my examples show that the 79 is maybe 1/16" longer than the 78, and of course the 79 is hinged on the big end. And to my eye the 79 little end is just a tiny bit narrower than the 78 little end. To your point, the NW knife certainly does appear to fetch a higher price. Although the FJ blade is made with 1/8" stock compared to the #78 blade at 3/32" stock, the difference is visible, and the FJ style is unlike anything else. I will admit that the fit and finish on my new FJ is not as good as my Tidioute and Northfield #78 American Jacks. I'm actually wondering if my FJ shouldn't have been a factory second. There's a blemish on one side of the swedge, the little end has an unground "corner", and the blade is off center when closed. Despite all this I'm glad I have the FJ, I love the knife, and I still think it's worth every penny. I suppose you could say I'm a full-fledged Fremont Jack fan-boy, completely brainwashed and googlely-eyed!

Lee

boykinlp wrote: Fantastic looking knife! I was wondering something. Since the Northwood knives come in a leather slip instead of a box, do you store your knife in the slip like you would a box, or is that a no-no? When shipped, does it come in a waxed paper like the GEC's do? If they don't, could you actually use wax paper to protect the knife and then store it in the slip? I know that I have asked a lot of questions, but that is the only way I can learn. Thanks.

Larry, I'll tell you what I do and I'd like to hear others chime in with their opinions. I don't store any knives in a leather slip because leather retains moisture and causes rust on blades and will tarnish nickel silver bolsters very quickly. On a daily carry basis a leather pocket slip is fine because I'm taking the knife in and out, and I take it out and put it away at the end of the day. But leather is a definite no-no for long term storage; this goes for fixed blades in leather sheaths for sure. My Fremont Jack did not ship in waxed paper, it was just in the slip. It might be my imagination but I thought the bolsters had a hint of tarnish when I first got it out of the slip, but it wiped off just on my shirt. I make little nylon web slips that I store my knives in when I'm not using them, but even they leave little nylon web pattern prints on the nickel silver bolsters because I wipe my knives down with mineral oil every now and then. I might need to rethink my storage method! They sell little soft slips like socks for knife storage, and I might need to look into those. Not sure what they're called. If you really wanted to wrap a knife in waxed paper before storing it in a leather slip I suppose it would help, but I'm not sure why you'd want to do that. I consider a leather pocket slip to be a daily carry aid and not a storage solution.

On a slightly different note, my Fremont Jack arrived in a dark brown Northwoods slip and not in the nice "moccasin" that previous runs have shipped in. I'm no leather expert, but I believe that the slip might not be real leather; it appears to be a composite pressed leather product. Can anyone else comment on this? I've basically thrown it into a drawer with no plans to use it because I already have a verifiable leather KSF slip, and also a freebie KSF buffalo leather slip. I sewed a Nano Key|Smart clip at the top of the buffalo leather slip; I hook it on my pocket to keep the knife upright and out of the bottom of my pocket. Works like a charm.

Lee

m0nk, i think the differences you describe for the 77, 78 & Fremont are due to the different bolsters and caps placed onto the same frame.
The only significant difference between the Fremont and the Yankee Jack(77) & American Jack(78) is the blade which is unique to Northwoods. If you want that blade you have to buy a Northwoods. If you like a spearpoint or clip blade just as well then the regular run GEC is a better deal cash wise, by a factor of ~ 3.
My point is that Northwoods has become just another GEC. Think back to the Norfolk Whittler or 2 blade Presidential Jack, beautiful knives and quite different from regular run GEC's. I want Northwoods to get back to being a truly special upscale brand.
kj

kootenay joe wrote:m0nk, i think the differences you describe for the 77, 78 & Fremont are due to the different bolsters and caps placed onto the same frame.
The only significant difference between the Fremont and the Yankee Jack(77) & American Jack(78) is the blade which is unique to Northwoods. If you want that blade you have to buy a Northwoods. If you like a spearpoint or clip blade just as well then the regular run GEC is a better deal cash wise, by a factor of ~ 3.
My point is that Northwoods has become just another GEC. Think back to the Norfolk Whittler or 2 blade Presidential Jack, beautiful knives and quite different from regular run GEC's. I want Northwoods to get back to being a truly special upscale brand.
kj

KJ, I'd be interested to know if that's how they actually make them. All I know is that they have different GEC frame numbers with distinguishable features. I can also compare my #78 SMKW SFO single with the Fremont Jack. The SMKW 78 single cost $100 (SMKW charged for shipping!) and the FJ cost $130. The FJ comes with a "leather" slip and a copper coin, each of which might be worth $10. If you look at it that way, it brings the price of the FJ itself down to $110. Now the FJ has micarta covers while the 78 single is gorgeous jigged bone, and the FJ has steel liners while the 78 has brass liners, so we're not really comparing apples to apples. And don't forget the blade thickness is a real consideration. But from a purely price perspective the difference is not all that dramatic when considering original vendor retail prices. Of course, secondary prices are totally absurd due to the scalper/buyer phenomenon. I hear you that the overall difference in NW models vs. GEC house brands is not dramatic, but it was enough for me since I'll admit that I'm totally enamored with the Fremont Jack.

Lee

I forgot that the Northwoods have steel liners which along with the blade are the 2 differences between NW & regular run GEC. (not just the blade as i posted above). The original retail price of the NW's is very reasonable. It is the secondary market where people are willing to pay up to 3 times the original price that i think is unsustainable. I have been wrong before with my predictions so maybe the NW will increase even more over time.
Quote: "they have different GEC frame numbers ", these are pattern numbers and numerous patterns can use the same frame.
Think sleeveboard, blade at wide end or blade at narrow end, same frame but different patterns so different pattern numbers.
kj

Here is a mammoth Fremont that just sold for $550:

Sometimes GEC will assign different pattern numbers to the same frame based on whether or not the knife has half stops. The #53 and #54 frames are one example. Identical equal end frames but the #53 doesn't have half stops and the #54 does.

To add even more confusion, they made the #35 frames both ways but didn't assign a different pattern number. The Calf Pen Jacks and the Northwoods Delta Jacks have half stops but the Churchills dont.

Here is my first Northwoods knife. I think it is really beautiful. Apparently GEC has quite a stag pile.

Very nice Larry! Congrats on that beauty.

Nice one Larry.

Man, i'll say, That is a BEAUTY ! It is knives like this beauty that create the Northwoods Frenzy. I am a tad jealous.
kj

Thanks, guys. I really lucked out.

nothing here but the top flight commentary I've grown to expect from the AAPK Forum crew. here's my new Fremont and you'll get no complaints on this one from me.

If anyone is wanting to sell their stag Fremont let me know!!