GEC 25s - Gots 'em?

[lutejones]

I'm guessing you Pick those yourself, what three beautiful handles.

 

[Railsplitter]

Wow Nick! Those are all stunning but that sawcut bone is drop dead gorgeous.

Great pics too!

 

[kai76]

Thanks guys, yea I really like the caramel color of that tan sawcut bone.

 

[Jug Johnson]

 

[Peregrin]

Now that's my kind of survival kit, Jug! Nice!

 

[Jug Johnson]

Thanks, Gary.

I gave this one to a close friend. It has pitch black ebony!

I gave away this one to my shootin' buddy. He carries it all the time; it kicked his CV yellow peanut right out of his pocket.

 

[pertinux]

Hey guys, haven't been around here in a while. Too much of a good thing can be bad, especially for my wallet. Anyhow, here are my 25's.....

Oh, my.

I brought this picture over from t'other thread, because of yet another great view your 25s:

The brown beauty at the top of the first two pictures, second from the right on the last: is that "horsecut antique"?

Stunning.

~ P.

 

[kai76]

Thanks, Gary.

I gave this one to a close friend. It has pitch black ebony!

I gave away this one to my shootin' buddy. He carries it all the time; it kicked his CV yellow peanut right out of his pocket.

Jug Johnson, you must be a great friend to have, those are beauties!

Thanks Pertinux, yes that's a horesecut antique.

 

[pertinux]

Jug Johnson, you must be a great friend to have, those are beauties!

Thanks Pertinux, yes that's a horesecut antique.

Thanks for the reply!

I'm thinking it might date from the early days of the wide-spring secondary blades (2008)...? Can ye open the thing?

Great pictures of great knives. :thumbup:

~ P.

 

[kai76]

Thanks for the reply!

I'm thinking it might date from the early days of the wide-spring secondary blades (2008)...? Can ye open the thing?

Great pictures of great knives. :thumbup:

~ P.

P, You're right, its from 2008 with the wide springs. Its surprisingly easy to open both blades, about a 4 to 5 on the pull. The small blade on the stag one also from 2008, was a nailbreaker when it was new but is about a 7 now.

 

[pertinux]

P, You're right, its from 2008 with the wide springs. Its surprisingly easy to open both blades, about a 4 to 5 on the pull. The small blade on the stag one also from 2008, was a nailbreaker when it was new but is about a 7 now.

Thanks for the response.

That's good news, because-- fresh from your hiatus due to wallet impact-- you showed up and just impacted mine!



I guess that's only fair....

And here I was being all patient-like, waiting to see what GEC meant when they hinted at more 25s in August.

(Railsplitter still started it. )

~ P.

 

[pertinux]

Okay, so late last week I stumbled upon the following listing:

I bookmarked it with interest, because I hadn't seen that particular set of covers (I'm trying to move from using "scales" after reading this post, but will likely revert to now-conventional usage before too long).

A short time later that very day, I saw Kai76's pictures in a couple different posts, realized what I had found, and pounced. This, after going back and forth for a long time (and still!) between various bookmarked Haycorn/Squirrel stainless steel one-bladers that I have been coveting. It's all in the timing, I guess?

My horsecut 25 arrived yesterday, and it's a stunner.

Some firsts for me: my first GEC with a serial number, mirror-polished blades (my other Northfield, a White Owl, has satin-finished blades), and a back-side blade etch. In which I confirm that none of these are important to me, and in fact I prefer satin-finished blades with no etch whatsoever. None of these features is a deal-breaker by any means, but neither will I seek them out (let alone pay more to get them). I look forward to taking some of the shine (and etch) off the blades with use, though I might attend to the backside etch with Flitz sooner than later.

Somehow, and despite the above pictures, I missed that this knife has a secondary clip blade instead of pen. Sweet! I love the swingy little clip blades on the GEC 25s.

Other than sharing the large bolster and bare head with my ebony barlow (which renders them both barlows), this knife is far more similar in pattern construction to my Appaloosa Jack. Both feature the main blade behind a secondary clip blade on the mark side (the ebony barlow's pen blade is behind the clip main, with its nick on the opposite side), have brass liners, and sport the little cutout in front of the little clip blade's nail nick.

However, the Horsecut Antique dates from 2008 thus has the wider spring for its clip blade-- which itself is likewise thicker than the 2009 Appaloosa's.

This is my first spear main blade in a 25 pattern, and it is proportionally broader and "leafier" than that of my White Owl. However, the clip main on GEC's barlows is so flat, I'm not sure there is going to be much difference in feel between my ebony barlow's clip and this newer one's spear-- they look surprisingly similar in cutting surface/geometry, as if the clip blade is almost just the lower half of the spear.

As with any family gathering, it can be awkward when distantly-related kin crashes the party unannounced.

(It surprises me still; yes, the 26 really is that bright, and that blue.... No accounting for taste!)

Back to the horsecut jigging: the variegation in the bone is fascinating (and also more "harsh" in many pictures than to the naked eye, to which it mostly just renders depth), but I believe it's the jigging itself that truly sets this knife apart:

In some ways, this knife is more of an "appaloosa" than the white-ish Jack so-named. And interestingly, the three examples I've seen of it -- mine, Kai76's, and another glimpsed in a small picture online (below) all seem to share a similar white "beauty mark" near the front bolster, if of varying intensity:

What a beautiful knife.

Thanks again, Kai76-- I wouldn't have known to pull the trigger had I not seen your pictures.

~ P.

 

[Railsplitter]

That's a mighty fine looking knife there, P! I agree that it is the jigging that sets the knife apart. Really good looking stuff.

Nice review too. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

I never knew that "scales" are actually liners. That one threw me for a loop!

 

[zippofan]

I've been looking forward to your pics since you first mentioned your incoming Barlow ~P, and thank you for the comparison photos showing the spring width differences.

I carried my green #25 Barlow yesterday, and it disappears in my work Dockers just as nicely as in my jeans watch pocket. Thanks to this thread and Barlow month I'm glad I finally tried one out as I hesitated for awhile after hearing about the overly stiff springs. Probably because mine is a newer version the pull is fairly light but still has plenty of walk n talk.

Now I'll be waiting to see what GEC has upcoming for the #25, after an Outlaw Jack of course

 

[MT Damascus]

I like this one. Cleaned it out with Ballistol, it has centered blades, springs are a little shallow in both half stops, flush in open and closed. Great stag. A real winner in my eyes. Feels good in the hand.

 

[Will Power]

Very nice indeed! Some quality pix too thanks.

But then, we told you didn't we...:thumbup:

 

[coyote711]

Here's a couple of my 25's. On the black one I took a little belly off the clip blade (shown next to the stag clip blade for comparison), and made the pen blade into a little sheepsfoot blade. Both nail nicks on the mark side on both knives, just how I like 'em.

 

[pertinux]

I like this one. Cleaned it out with Ballistol, it has centered blades, springs are a little shallow in both half stops, flush in open and closed. Great stag. A real winner in my eyes. Feels good in the hand.

I'm really glad! Thanks for taking and posting (more great) pictures right away. I felt like I was waiting for today's mail right along with you. I like the combination of "leafy" spear blade with the little swoopy clip, and hope you do as well.

Here's a couple of my 25's. On the black one I took a little belly off the clip blade (shown next to the stag clip blade for comparison), and made the pen blade into a little sheepsfoot blade. Both nail nicks on the mark side on both knives, just how I like 'em.

I like the looks of nicks of on the mark side, but during use find myself fiddling for (and preferring) a nick on the opposing (back) side, a la my ebony barlow; I find the secondary blade easier to open.

Perhaps if I stuck with marks-only for a good long time, I'd get used to it?

Yours is the first picture of "HME Granite" I've seen in the wild. The material intrigues me. Is it heavier than bone? How do you like it? It sure looks good!

~ P.

 

[coyote711]

Hi ~ P. Thanks for you reply. Yeah, the "both nicks on the mark side" is purely personal preference. I think we all get used to different configurations the longer we carry them. But, I also like GEC Conductors which have the nicks on opposite sides and the blade pivot on opposite ends. Go figure.

Good eye on recognizing the HME Granite from the small pics I posted - not a common handle material. IIRC the "HME" stands for Hand Mixed Epoxy, but I could be wrong. At any rate, it doesn't feel any heavier than my bone or stag 25's, and it seems to be a pretty durable material.

Gratuitous pic of my Sawcut Goldenrod Bone 25 :

 

[OddFuture]

Oh, my.

I brought this picture over from t'other thread, because of yet another great view your 25s:

The brown beauty at the top of the first two pictures, second from the right on the last: is that "horsecut antique"?

Stunning.

~ P.

Hey P, what's that second pattern from the left? Also is that a spear point? Thanks.