I purchased two ebony Churchills with the intention of keeping one in the safe and having a user. Both came jet black, and I ultimately decided to make the one with the more porous, grainier finish my EDC because it just looks like "old ebony" to me. The safe queen is visibly ebony as well but it is much "smoother", almost like a couple slabs of onyx were used.Railsplitter wrote:Those look good, Greg. I'm fighting the urge to get another Churchill before they're all gone. I'm leaning toward Ebony but I've had bad luck in the past getting brown instead of black. Yours looks jet black on both sides. Nice!
I also bought a yellow rose and a couple AAPK forum knives, plus I had my eye on a green banana bone before they sold out. Since the AAPK thread is full of questions about snap and QC, I'll post my experiences here:
Ebony EDC: Good closing snap on clip ~4-5 from about 35 degrees closed. Snaps open ~5, sheepsfoot snaps and W&T both ways. Grainy all-black ebony, hafted perfectly.
Ebony safe queen: Decent closing snap on clip ~3-4 from about 35 degrees closed. Snaps open ~4-5, sheepsfoot snaps/W&T both ways. Nearly polished-looking all-black ebony, hafted perfectly.
Smooth yellow rose: Softer but acceptable closing snap on clip ~2-3 from about 30 degrees closed. Snaps open ~5, sheepsfoot lighter snap both ways (3-4) than the others but still walks and talks. Beautiful bone on both sides as expected from the yellow rose knives.
AAPK EDC: Acceptable clip closing snap ~3 from about 35 degrees closed. Snaps open ~5, sheepsfoot snaps/W&T both ways. Slight grit in the master pivot but I think like others have said a flush and lube will eliminate that. Darker red dye, hafted mostly perfectly (jigging extends beyond end of bone into bolsters in a few small places -- this is why I chose this one for EDC).
AAPK safe queen: Decent-to-good closing snap ~3-4 @ 35 deg closed, snaps open ~4, sheepsfoot snaps/W&T both ways. Darker red dye, hafted perfectly, excellent jigging.
F&F is up to snuff on all of them. I was frankly surprised to hear that people had issues with the sheepsfoot blade -- most of mine are perfectly fine. I figured the more acute closing snap angle on the master was in response to people who might have complained about some of the nailbuster single-springs GEC (and others) have produced in the past. The knives are all perfectly, usably safe and I think some of the backlash over closing snap comes from a purely collector "OCD" standpoint. I have no problem with EDC use of either my AAPK knife or the ebony version, and I would not hesitate to carry the smooth rose or any other variant.
I have noted GEC's more variable quality control in the past which could be a reason some folks are getting super-gritty knives with weak snap but I think overall there's no real design problem with this pattern.
And since it's technically my newest GEC, here's what everybody wants -- the picture: