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Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:57 pm
by kootenay joe
If you could only carry & use one knife for the rest of your life and the knife has to be a GEC, which knife would you pick ?
This thread asks you to consider all GEC knives, those with one blade, 2, 3 or 4 blades. I don't think they have yet made a 5 blade. If you like to hunt you will need a blade suitable to field dress, if you whittle you will need to choose a knife with the blade profiles you use the most, etc. There is no overall right answer but there is a right answer specific to each of us.
I have mine picked out and pictures taken but i will hold off on posting to see if someone else makes the same choice. To me it is obvious. There is one GEC that stands out head & shoulders above the crowd as "OVERALL BEST". I will post it in a few days.
O.K., let's see your one and only forever GEC.
kj

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:52 am
by robbobus
I look forward to seeing your choice KJ, and everyone else's. I must pick a traditional 2 blade jack knife, my favourite pattern. I could happily live with a 15 Barlow forever, likely a 2012 spear or the 2014 red soup. I have a many 56s and would want for nothing. The 92 is a superb knife to use and carry. A 73 it goes without saying would absolutely work, my 734208 in burnt stag would be wonderful. I just noticed it is turning color a bit due to verdigris, might move into a pocket. Nice 5 pulls and outstanding (even for GEC) fit and finish. 78 would work, so would the 48. The 2 blade Diamond Jack of 13 in blood red would make for a happy pocket for life. A 38 farmers jack would be excellent, I long for one in stag with rattail bolsters.

Should anyone have read this rambling post featuring numbers, and understood, you must also be afflicted with GECitis and noticed 2models pointedly missed. My runner up is the 85. Specifically 852211 Real Harness Jack in Antique Walnut Jig Bone. The handles, fit, finish, beauty, elegance and pocketable type are perfect. But my lifetime knife would have to be another CC sfo, the 772214EC Washington Jack. Ideal in any of the 5 handles, I am conflicted between blood red and smooth polished stag. Having them in hand does not make the choice easier. The red is the best red I have ever seen on a knife. The polished stag has colour and figure from stamped endcap to grooved bolster. Out of dozens I am down to 2, if I could have but one I was decided stag but the red is so good. Red 77 Washington Jack for me. Class of its own. A sheepsfoot version I patiently wait for. ::pray::
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Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 8:58 am
by Railsplitter
I've carried some version of the Stockman pattern for most of my life. I prefer rounded bolsters, I'm a real sucker for Equal End frames, and I feel naked if I don't have a Sheepsfoot blade in my pocket. I never had much use for a Spey blade or a Punch blade but a Stockman was the most practical option because it had the Sheepsfoot blade that I needed.

It's a no-brainer for me. The #35 Churchill has everything I need and nothing that I don't need. With the exception of maybe 20 accumulated days, I've had a #35 in my pocket since the day I received my first one almost a year ago. I know better than to make such a claim but it's entirely possible that I will have one in my pocket when I reach my final day. Perfect pattern for me.

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:49 pm
by kootenay joe
Thank you Rob & Rs. What great posts ! Posting your thoughts that lead to your choice gives us a 'reminder' of each pattern that you considered and then set aside. The knives mentioned are ones many of us will likely also consider.
That Schrade-Walden 2OT (oops i mean #77 Washington Jack) with the red bone is definitely a WINNER. If you do not own one and you ever get a chance, grab it right away.
And i LOVE my Churchills, both the Stag version and an Ebony with wicked pointy awl secondary.
And Rob, does the picture show all of your GEC tubes ? Plus i bet you have a pile of Northwoods Baggies.
You guys have made this a good thread already interesting & revealing.
For all of us, the knives chosen tell more about the person than the knife.
kj

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:09 pm
by XX Case XX
Roland:

You really like asking these kinds of questions don't you? Okay, I'll play. Mine would have to be the #77 Yankee Jack.

________
Mike

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:18 pm
by kootenay joe
I just looked at my choice again. There is no doubt. It is THE BEST pattern & knife ever made by GEC and perhaps you could drop "by GEC" and insert "in U.S.A."
I prefer empty pockets with pants so i often have a belt sheath to carry a knife bigger than a 3 1/2" pen knife. I usually wear a multi pocket work vest and load those pockets up with knives.
So, here is a picture of my One Forever GEC in it's belt sheath. :D
kj

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:04 pm
by FarSide
That's easy for me. This Grinling is the perfect size, and has all the types of blades needed. The split back construction exemplifies GEC's craftsmanship at its best. The Blood Red has started to take on a dark red like the old Case Red Bones. The only GEC that could knock this one out of its standing is not made yet. That would be a small serpentine stockman similar to #18 Case.
38 Blood Red Grinling.JPG

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 9:32 pm
by kootenay joe
What is the full pattern # on your Grinling ?
I have a 2 blade 78. What an old time classic, a "Regular Jack". It is an exact replica of how a Regular Jack would have looked when new 100+ years ago. Great Classic USA knife !
kj

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 9:56 pm
by FarSide
kootenay joe wrote:What is the full pattern # on your Grinling ?
I have a 2 blade 78. What an old time classic, a "Regular Jack". It is an exact replica of how a Regular Jack would have looked when new 100+ years ago. Great Classic USA knife !
kj
Pattern No. is 381315.
The 78's look like a nice size. Never picked one up though.

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 11:00 pm
by tongueriver
Well, Roland, if you mean that it would be the only POCKET knife I could carry and use, I would reluctantly pick one, and it would be this big cattle knife. Otherwise, I need my FIXED blades for hunting/fishing/camping and for the kitchen.
GEC004.jpg

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 11:42 pm
by FarSide
tongueriver wrote:Well, Roland, if you mean that it would be the only POCKET knife I could carry and use, I would reluctantly pick one, and it would be this big cattle knife. Otherwise, I need my FIXED blades for hunting/fishing/camping and for the kitchen.
GEC004.jpg
Wow, that's a really nice Tuna Valley made by GEC (Cyclops Steel) I believe. Don't see those very often.

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:41 am
by RalphAlsip
My taste is similar to Rick Railsplitter's in that I like the equal end patterns and have several Churchill examples as well. This picture is a 2 blade #79 Montana Workhorse. The 79 is beefier than the 35. I like the combination of the big spear blade and the small sheepsfoot. It is a sleeve board frame so the bolsters are round but not equal. I believe the #79 frame is used on the Northwoods Fremont Jack. I would like to see Northwoods make batch of Fremonts with this blade configuration. The stag on this particular GEC example is plain to me which is why I would like to see it with Northwoods upscaled covers.

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 4:24 am
by robbobus
The 79 Workhorse is outstanding, particularly in stag. Needs to be made again. And again.

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 2:33 pm
by kootenay joe
This thread is showing some great knives and some are ones that i am not familiar with. I am enjoying this GEC education and trust it will continue.
Calvin your T.V. Cattle knife at 4" gives you 4 blades. You need at least 1 more lifetime to even begin to wear these down; lotta edge there !
The 2 blade #79 sleeveboard is a new one to me and now i need one ! 3 3/4" sweet size but not small. I'm on #79 look-out.
So far the preference is mostly for the larger GEC's but no mention yet of the 4" #81 Moose/Muskrat or the 4 1/8" #82 Stock knife. Someone must like these ? but maybe not enough to be #1 ?
I really like small knives the best. The #9 Esquire is a beauty as is the #33 Conductor, but for the outside part of my life, these wouldn't cut it.
Still no mention of my #1 Forever choice, which is coming soon.
kj

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 2:02 am
by Doug51
With so many I have never seen or had the pleasure to own mine would be a 78 American jack. But a close second would be my 43. I picked the 78 over the 43 for two blades and being slightly smaller but still large enough to handle most cutting jobs.
Looking forward to seeing what you choose Kootenay Joe ::tu::

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 2:49 am
by m0nk
RalphAlsip wrote:My taste is similar to Rick Railsplitter's in that I like the equal end patterns and have several Churchill examples as well. This picture is a 2 blade #79 Montana Workhorse. The 79 is beefier than the 35. I like the combination of the big spear blade and the small sheepsfoot. It is a sleeve board frame so the bolsters are round but not equal. I believe the #79 frame is used on the Northwoods Fremont Jack.
Indeed, the famous Fremont Jack is made on the GEC #79 frame. I also like the looks of the 35 Churchill, but I have a sad tale to tell. I'm relatively new to the GEC knife scene, and the 35 Churchill was my first GEC knife. Unfortunately I couldn't get over the thinness of the sheepsfoot blade; it was the same size, shape, thickness, and flexibility of a cheap Stanley utility blade that I keep in a wooden tool tote on my workbench. I ended up sending the Churchill back to the distributor because in my mind I couldn't justify spending $97 on a knife with a blade that thin. That was probably 9 months ago and sometimes I still find myself looking at 35 Churchills, thinking, "maybe that blade wasn't too thin after all..." The size, equal end frame, maroon micarta handle covers, and perfect clip/sheepsfoot blade configuration would otherwise make this the perfect pocketknife. However, it's just not meant to be for me...

But I do know that the perfect forever GEC is this one, which sadly, I don't own, and this is not even my picture:
77-yankee-jack.PNG
What I like: The plain clip blade, sleeveboard handle shape, the perfectly straight clip blade that doesn't droop downward, the elusively rare sawcut bone handles, the just-right medium size frame if you can only have one knife, and did I mention how perfect the clip blade is?

Lee

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 3:14 am
by m0nk
Railsplitter wrote:I've carried some version of the Stockman pattern for most of my life. I prefer rounded bolsters, I'm a real sucker for Equal End frames, and I feel naked if I don't have a Sheepsfoot blade in my pocket. I never had much use for a Spey blade or a Punch blade but a Stockman was the most practical option because it had the Sheepsfoot blade that I needed.
Railsplitter, I also love a sheepsfoot blade. I carried a Case medium stockman for a while, and I found myself using the sheepsfoot blade most of all. However, the thin blades, two-spring crinking, and blade rub made me give that stockman to my wife. She loves that knife and its jigged amber bone handles, and she still carries it in a leather knife slip in her purse. She doesn't care about the blade crinking and rub. So since then I've gravitated to double spring, single pivot jackknives, which tend to have thicker blades. And to remedy my sheepsfoot withdrawal, I got a single blade I-XL British Army Knife, which I carry in a little nylon belt pouch. It's so thin I don't even know it's there, and I love the simple indestructable feel of it.
Doug51 wrote:With so many I have never seen or had the pleasure to own mine would be a 78 American jack. But a close second would be my 43. I picked the 78 over the 43 for two blades and being slightly smaller but still large enough to handle most cutting jobs.
Looking forward to seeing what you choose Kootenay Joe ::tu::
My Tidioute elderberry 78 would be a second choice to my dream 77 posted above, and I actually own the 78 so that's a more realistic choice for me. Every time I carry that knife I think how much I like it, so much so that I ended up buying the NF golden brown version as well. I know there's not a whole lot of practical difference between the 77 clip and the 78 fat spear blades, but for me it's an aesthetics thing. I also only carry and use my 78's when I know I'm going to stay clean and dry. Yes, those knives are build like tanks and they would most certainly stand up to a lifetime of daily carry and hard use for a one-knife kind of guy. But if I had a Cadillac Escalade, I wouldn't use it for a work truck either, though it could perform just fine in that role.

Lee

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 4:39 am
by kootenay joe
Lee, i think the thin sheepsfoot blade on the Chuchill is correct. The Churchill is a pen knife, and even though it is a big pen knife it is not a Jack knife which would have a thicker sheepsfoot.
The pen knife is mostly for the gent's pocket and a gent did not do the rough work. The thin secondary is for gent's type situations, like a super slicer of ripe tomatoes at a picnic, or a quick tracheostomy, thin sharp blade, like a scalpel.
We need to have different expectations of a pen knife from a jack knife.
kj

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 1:53 pm
by kootenay joe
My choice for one GEC knife to use from now until my expiry date is dictated by something i did 39 years ago: buy a piece of mountainside bush with the idea of making it into a modern day version of a homestead. I am still working on it which means lots of outdoor jobs with gardens, fences, landscaping and out buildings that now need some upkeep. I also hunt (with crossbow) on my property and therefore need a blade that can field dress a whitetail and possibly an elk if very lucky.
I have chosen what i think is THE BEST knife GEC has made to date: the 4 7/8" Texas Camp Knife" made in 2016. Mine is the Charlie Campagna SFO with "Burnt Orange Jigged Bone". Four well designed and perfectly made blades/tools are closely tucked in when closed but nary a blade rub.
Have a look at the dramatic swage on both sides of the 3 3/4" master clip blade, the most impressive clip blade GEC has made.
I like an awl and this one is long and razor sharp. It cuts through leather with ease: just a poke and twist. I have never seen an awl with an edge that is razor sharp. I don't often need to cut holes in leather but i do at times want to poke into or at 'things' and without an awl the temptation to use the very pointy clip tip can be unresistable and the result can be a tipped blade. Lots of tipped blades 'out there'.
There is a 2 1/2" Sheepsfoot blade, razor sharp and reasonably stout. I will keep this as my "surgical blade" for when i need a truly sharp, fresh edge. Tracheostomy comes to mind and i hope i never have to, but at least i have a blade that could.
The 4th blade is a can opener again with a sharp edge that easily cuts through a tin can. I don't eat much tinned food when outside and would have preferred this to be a screwdriver type tool. But i might find other uses for this blade and then be able to appreciate it better.
In addition to all this utilitarian stuff, this knife is extremely attractive and has some of the best jigged bone ever seen on a modern knife.
Alright, enough text, although i could go on with more praise, the pictures will do it for me.
Thank you GEC and Charlie C. for this GREAT knife.
kj

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 2:49 pm
by FarSide
kootenay joe wrote:My choice for one GEC knife to use from now until my expiry date is dictated by something i did 39 years ago: buy a piece of mountainside bush with the idea of making it into a modern day version of a homestead. I am still working on it which means lots of outdoor jobs with gardens, fences, landscaping and out buildings that now need some upkeep. I also hunt (with crossbow) on my property and therefore need a blade that can field dress a whitetail and possibly an elk if very lucky.
I have chosen what i think is THE BEST knife GEC has made to date: the 4 7/8" Texas Camp Knife" made in 2016. Mine is the Charlie Campagna SFO with "Burnt Orange Jigged Bone". Four well designed and perfectly made blades/tools are closely tucked in when closed but nary a blade rub.
Have a look at the dramatic swage on both sides of the 3 3/4" master clip blade, the most impressive clip blade GEC has made.
I like an awl and this one is long and razor sharp. It cuts through leather with ease: just a poke and twist. I have never seen an awl with an edge that is razor sharp. I don't often need to cut holes in leather but i do at times want to poke into or at 'things' and without an awl the temptation to use the very pointy clip tip can be unresistable and the result can be a tipped blade. Lots of tipped blades 'out there'.
There is a 2 1/2" Sheepsfoot blade, razor sharp and reasonably stout. I will keep this as my "surgical blade" for when i need a truly sharp, fresh edge. Tracheostomy comes to mind and i hope i never have to, but at least i have a blade that could.
The 4th blade is a can opener again with a sharp edge that easily cuts through a tin can. I don't eat much tinned food when outside and would have preferred this to be a screwdriver type tool. But i might find other uses for this blade and then be able to appreciate it better.
In addition to all this utilitarian stuff, this knife is extremely attractive and has some of the best jigged bone ever seen on a modern knife.
Alright, enough text, although i could go on with more praise, the pictures will do it for me.
Thank you GEC and Charlie C. for this GREAT knife.
kj
That is a great choice. A truly great knife by GEC. We might not never see those made again. Glad to see it used well as it should, and not tucked away in a safe.

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 4:21 pm
by biglmbass
Gonna be a 79 2-blade, or a 35 Churchill, or a 61 congress, or an 85 2-blade jack. So, really I can't pick just one. ::shrug::

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 7:19 pm
by kootenay joe
Big, you don't mind if blades at one end or both ends, as long as they cut well ? Pens & Jacks, love 'em all.
kj

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 9:12 pm
by Sharpcutsbest
Wow, Roland, I've not seen an awl like that. That clip blade is impressive as well. This knife is a camping knife to me.

Where should I look to find me one of these to play with?

Thanks for this thread!

Steve

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 9:29 pm
by gsmith7158
Sharpcutsbest wrote:Wow, Roland, I've not seen an awl like that. That clip blade is impressive as well. This knife is a camping knife to me.

Where should I look to find me one of these to play with?

Thanks for this thread!

Steve
I saw one listed on Ebay recently for the paltry sum of $795. ::woot::

Re: Any GEC But Only 1, Forever

Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 11:31 pm
by Sharpcutsbest
I like that knife but not quite THAT much. I'll look elsewhere, thanks, Greg.