All About Pocket Knives

Just arrived, not quite what I was hoping for but still very nice.

......I really like that bone!!!.......... ....................

Rotten wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:25 pm Just arrived, not quite what I was hoping for but still very nice.

I think you did well, Trace...that's very nice stag on the one you got. I would've been extremely happy to get a stag version, but, alas, they were all sold out by the time I saw the notice from C. Risner, so I had to settle for the Unicorn Ivory Acrylic. I am happy with it. The irregular grain striations on the pile side look pretty close to genuine ivory, IMO; it is some of the best "imitation ivory" I have ever seen.

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 7:21 pm

Rotten wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:25 pm Just arrived, not quite what I was hoping for but still very nice.

I think you did well, Trace...that's very nice stag on the one you got. I would've been extremely happy to get a stag version, but, alas, they were all sold out by the time I saw the notice from C. Risner, so I had to settle for the Unicorn Ivory Acrylic. I am happy with it. The irregular grain striations on the pile side look pretty close to genuine ivory, IMO; it is some of the best "imitation ivory" I have ever seen.


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That is a nice one. Looks better than the others I've seen with the weave/herringbone whatever pattern in the handles.

Trace, how is the stag 62 'not quite what you were hoping for' ? It looks like good stag in your pictures. What were you hoping for ?
I read a post saying that the 'Unicorn ivory' came with 2 different finishes, one giving some texture to the surface ? Can someone explain or name the 2 types of Unicorn ivory ?
I really like the 'ivory' one posted above. I would trade an inbound stag for it !
kj

kootenay joe wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:58 am I read a post saying that the 'Unicorn ivory' came with 2 different finishes, one giving some texture to the surface ? Can someone explain or name the 2 types of Unicorn ivory ?
I really like the 'ivory' one posted above. I would trade an inbound stag for it !
kj

There are still Unicorn Ivory Acrylic #62's available at C. Risner:

https://www.traditionalpocketknives.com ... rylic.html

I also saw that post about the two different "finishes" on the UIA handle and the one shown in the photo at the linked site above shows the "basketweave" or zig-zag pattern finish so, naturally, I assumed that's what I was getting when I ordered it. I must admit that unlike Trace, I was overjoyed with what I received...far exceeded my expectations. So, I don't know if it's just a random luck of the draw or if you can request one finish in particular. I feel very fortunate to have gotten the one I got. This is a pretty sweet knife for under $100...I don't understand why it hasn't sold out like most GEC's do pretty quickly and like most of the other #62 Easy Pocket Congress trims have.

I should note that there are other dealers who still show UIA #62's available...some for under $90 (but Risner ships for free with no min purchase requirement).



I should further note that I do not work for C. Risner, nor am I affiliated with the company in any way other than as a repeat satisfied customer.

I checked this morning it’s 7:17 Eastern time and C.Risener shows the unicorn ivory w/ the weave pattern in stock, none of the others. But The Knife Connection, TKC has the one w/ out the weave pattern showing now and only that one.
Seems like GEC created a good bit of confusion by calling two different handles the same thing and dealers selling them either w/out checking or knowing there is a difference between these acrylic handles.
As far why these are not selling out fast, it all has to do w/ the handle material. Acrylic is man made and the natural materials sell out much faster. For many years I wouldn’t consider a knife with man made materials with a few exceptions.

kootenay joe wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:58 am Trace, how is the stag 62 'not quite what you were hoping for' ? It looks like good stag in your pictures. What were you hoping for ?
I read a post saying that the 'Unicorn ivory' came with 2 different finishes, one giving some texture to the surface ? Can someone explain or name the 2 types of Unicorn ivory ?
I really like the 'ivory' one posted above. I would trade an inbound stag for it !
kj

Actually my 62 stag fits well with my 66 and 29 stags with the long longitudinal figuring, it is still beautiful. Was hoping for it to be at least a little gnarly/popcorn as I don't really have any stag like that yet. My 82 Dixie stag has subdued popcorn figuring that I really like.

It looks good to me Rotten! Here are the two 62's I got in camel bone and stag . I really like the set up of this knife and one or the other is going to see some pocket time.

This 62 is a good looking knife no matter what handles you select or receive. I just checked for "Unicorn Ivory" 62's. Risner has some for $91. Enlarging the pics shows a 'basketweave' like surface. TKC has them for $114 and the surface looks smooth, no basketweave' showing. Neither site mentions anything about the 2 types of Unicorn Ivory or which theirs' are. The pictures might be stock photos, not of the actual knives they have ?
kj
Edit to add: Althought the TKC website shows $117 as the price for unicorn 62, it seems the actual price is $87.

kootenay joe wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 5:29 pm This 62 is a good looking knife no matter what handles you select or receive. I just checked for "Unicorn Ivory" 62's. Risner has some for $91. Enlarging the pics shows a 'basketweave' like surface. TKC has them for $114 and the surface looks smooth, no basketweave' showing. Neither site mentions anything about the 2 types of Unicorn Ivory or which theirs' are. The pictures might be stock photos, not of the actual knives they have ?
kj

I ordered one from TKC this morning and I will see when it get’s here. I like the basket weave on the one that I have. I think with or without it’s a good looking knife.
I might add that my stag one is very nice also, haven’t had a chance to post a picture of it yet but I was very pleased with it, especially since it was my 4th choice.
I am wondering if the dealers know there is a difference in these acrylics since so many are not distinguishing between them?

And i wonder why there are 2 types of Unicorn Ivory. Did GEC have 2 separate batches of this arcylic ? Or did they finish the surface differently ?
I have not seen GEC specify that there are 2 'types' of Unicorn Ivory and only 1 dealer mentioned this.
Anyone have a GEC 'connection' to find out what the story is ?
kj

kootenay joe wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 7:16 pm And i wonder why there are 2 types of Unicorn Ivory. Did GEC have 2 separate batches of this arcylic ? Or did they finish the surface differently ?
I have not seen GEC specify that there are 2 'types' of Unicorn Ivory and only 1 dealer mentioned this.
Anyone have a GEC 'connection' to find out what the story is ?
kj

I ordered that second one from TKC and it arrived today. The picture did not show the basket weave but this one came w/ the basket weave design. I do like the looks of it, but what’s going on here? Are there two different types of Unicorn Ivory Acrylic or not? Who knows?

Sharpnshinyknives wrote: ↑Mon Mar 09, 2020 7:08 pm

kootenay joe wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 7:16 pm And i wonder why there are 2 types of Unicorn Ivory. Did GEC have 2 separate batches of this arcylic ? Or did they finish the surface differently ?
I have not seen GEC specify that there are 2 'types' of Unicorn Ivory and only 1 dealer mentioned this.
Anyone have a GEC 'connection' to find out what the story is ?
kj

I ordered that second one from TKC and it arrived today. The picture did not show the basket weave but this one came w/ the basket weave design. I do like the looks of it, but what’s going on here? Are there two different types of Unicorn Ivory Acrylic or not? Who knows?

I too would like to know why there are 2 types of this Unicorn ivory acrylic, and why the dealers are not specifying which they have.
Mark will you be contacting TKC to say that your knife is not what their website picture shows ?
kj

kootenay joe wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:04 am

Sharpnshinyknives wrote: ↑Mon Mar 09, 2020 7:08 pm

kootenay joe wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 7:16 pm And i wonder why there are 2 types of Unicorn Ivory. Did GEC have 2 separate batches of this arcylic ? Or did they finish the surface differently ?
I have not seen GEC specify that there are 2 'types' of Unicorn Ivory and only 1 dealer mentioned this.
Anyone have a GEC 'connection' to find out what the story is ?
kj

I ordered that second one from TKC and it arrived today. The picture did not show the basket weave but this one came w/ the basket weave design. I do like the looks of it, but what’s going on here? Are there two different types of Unicorn Ivory Acrylic or not? Who knows?

I too would like to know why there are 2 types of this Unicorn ivory acrylic, and why the dealers are not specifying which they have.
Mark will you be contacting TKC to say that your knife is not what their website picture shows ?
kj

That’s a good idea. Then maybe we can get to the bottom of this.

Here is the reply from Ethan at TKC: We can confirm that there are not two different "versions" of the handle material. They are all labeled the same coming from GEC. We take a picture of one of the first batch we get in (at random) which is used for our product picture. We weren't aware that there was any variation in the handles until a customer asked us about it. Unfortunately we don't have any more of the ones without any basket weave pattern.

So apparently there aren’t two different varieties of the Unicorn Ivory? Or at least GEC hasn’t told anyone there is. Was this an oversight or for marketing? Maybe those w/out the weave will be more collectible due to the scarcity? Or are they all the same and the weave just isn’t prominent on some? Either way officially there aren’t two but one and the labels are all the same.

Sharpnshinyknives wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2020 11:12 am Here is the reply from Ethan at TKC: We can confirm that there are not two different "versions" of the handle material. They are all labeled the same coming from GEC. We take a picture of one of the first batch we get in (at random) which is used for our product picture. We weren't aware that there was any variation in the handles until a customer asked us about it. Unfortunately we don't have any more of the ones without any basket weave pattern.

So apparently there aren’t two different varieties of the Unicorn Ivory? Or at least GEC hasn’t told anyone there is. Was this an oversight or for marketing? Maybe those w/out the weave will be more collectible due to the scarcity? Or are they all the same and the weave just isn’t prominent on some? Either way officially there aren’t two but one and the labels are all the same.

That's interesting...at least now we know that the dealers don't know any more than we do.

Has anyone thought to contact GEC directly and ask them why there are two clearly distinct versions of this material?

Here's my 'conspiracy' theory (to be taken with a grain--or a truckload--of salt according to taste):
If I didn't know better (and I guess I don't), I could totally believe that the #62 I got is actually genuine elephant ivory; I honestly can't tell the difference between it and my other (verified) elephant ivory knives. Visually it looks exactly like genuine ivory, and tactually is virtually indistinguishable as well. What if GEC had a stockpile of E. ivory that they couldn't legally sell; so, in order to get rid of it without taking a total loss, they used it on some new #62s which were randomly slipped into the run of Unicorn Ivory Acrylic?

After closer inspection of the photos at several dealers' sites, I can see that there is more variation in the Unicorn Ivory Acrylic than previously thought. I have no idea how the acrylic is made, but it's clear that the resulting surface pattern (or lack thereof) is not uniform. I can see at least three different patterns: basketweave, zig-zag and striations (like on the one I got). My guess is that there may be similar-looking patterns in the acrylic, but it's actually random.

I just picked up a Unicorn ivory 62. It does look much like elephant ivory but if held at a certain angle a faint basket weave can be seen in some areas.
AAPK'er Mark suggested in a private message that the direction of cut of the acrylic might explain the variation in appearance. However likely this acrylic came as a sheet not a block like with real ivory, so all cuts will be in the same plane.
I wonder if it has to do with the final buffing and how much of the surface was removed ?
Does anyone have a connection in GEC they could ask ?
kj

Here is my Cocobola and the white smooth bone. This Cocobola is rich and has great grain, just outstanding. I hadn’t taken any picture of the stag 62 so that one is there. I also included a few pictures of all the 62’s I have. Included a Kingwood Maverick that I also have. I am disappointed w/ all the Camel bones, they are just so washed out, especially when you see them in a group like this.

SSk: King of the #62 !
You really do like this pattern Mark. It is a most pleasing pen knife to look at and hold.
The 620213 has stainless blades. I have one with "Antique Amber Jig Bone" that is very attractive. You could grow your 62 collection even further with those made in previous years.
kj

The red/black micarta F&F pocket carvers have been released. Pickle & Peanut approved !

Franks Classic Cutlery is a "AAPK" supporter. Earlier today , I was surfing the GEC dealers. Franks Classic Cutlery had a NOS Camel ripe banana bone Easy Pocket Congress knife for sale at the release date price. I saved $10.50 with a coupon too. Today was a great day. This is my knife !

Onearmbladejunkie wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 6:29 am

Sharpnshinyknives wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2020 8:41 pm

There are two different #62 unicorn ivory acrylic Easy Pocket Congress knives. You have the grainy version. There is a solid slick white ivory version too. JSR Sports & More offers both versions. The other dealers need to be contacted before purchase , if it matters to you. I have one arm , so I like the grainy version best.

Interesting ... didn't know GEC made 2 versions of the unicorn ivory. I traded an upstanding member for one & I think this is the subdued version with the nice basketweave pattern. Really like the knife - makes a great compliment to my #61 congress.