2018 GEC Rendezvous and Picnic!

[Rusty1]

Ron, you are so welcome! Thank you for the well wishes too! I had fun again this year at the rendezvous. Good to see you and Pam again as always.

Russell

 

[mrknife]

I'm finally getting a chance to catch up on this thread! I just didn't take many photos this year at the Rendezvous. I tried to take some photos of my knives but I could never get any that the lighting was acceptable. I also didn't take any of the crowds because it seems that I was always so busy talking with old friends and meeting new ones. This was a great Rendezvous for Pam and I. We really enjoyed the company and the fellowship. We got into town on Tuesday afternoon so we dropped in Great Eastern to say hello and pay for our picnic tickets. While we were there Christine let us into the showroom so I could but a new cap. While we were in there I took a look around in the showcases. They did not have any of the Rendezvous Specials in the display cases. I assumed that everything was just regular stock. I spotted a treasure on the bottom shelf of the cabinet where they keep the "S" knives. These are the ones that have a slight imperfection and are sold without a warranty. This knife I bought was a #43 Oregon Trapper in Sambar Stag and it was the only one in the building! It was so ugly I guess is why they had it on the bottom shelf! One of my friends told me the stag was so ugly it was Obnoxious! So this was my first purchase of the 2018 GEC Rendezvous.

My friend Ron and I got to the porch at 10:45 PM on Wednesday night. The Kifer brothers were already there! So, I was number 3 in line and my friend was number 4. There was a continual flow of people coming in all through out the night including some forum friends such as @L.H.S Logan who was number 5 in line! By 6:30 AM there was quite a crowd assembled. Including several more forum friends. I won't mention the names because I'm positive I would miss someone!

So now I will show the rest of my knives from the Rendezvous. This is with the exception of two that I do not have in my possession yet. I have a NIT #73 Scout 735108 in Ruby Red Jig Bone on the way. I got this in a trade with my good friend Ron. I also have a #44 Buffalo Jack in Cocobolo coming. Pam bough me one as a surprise while we were there but on closer examination it had a defect and since it was a 1st quality Christine graciously agreed to send us out a replacement, of course I did have to send our example to her first.

2018 Rendezvous Knife #46 Whaler Serial #03 along with a #46 Whaler in Ironwood

2018 Rendezvous Special #35 Churchill Smooth Emerald Bone 1 of 12

Kifer Classic Cutlery #78 SFO Single Tortoise Shell Acrylic Serial #72

I hope I don't ruin my reputation by posting these next two! I'm not even sure what to call them but I know they are made by Lionsteel in Italy and they come from CK! I will say that I am a hard core traditionalist when it comes to cutlery. Everyone has their opinion and so do I! That's why they make Fords and Chevys! I personally have no need for Torx screws in my knives. However having been in the Tooling world for 43 years I can appreciate the level of precision that can be obtained with modern CNC equipment and expert Cad design work. I had looked at these from afar but never had one in hand until I was visiting the table setup of our friend Charlie @waynorth on Friday afternoon. We were discussing the construction and our opinions which are pretty much the same. Charlie said that he brought the knife to sell because he figured it might be worth $XX. One of the three onlookers that had gathered around by that time chimed in and said "It's worth three times that much!" I had it in my hand at the time looking it over very closely and I decided to buy it from Charlie. Well out of the blue Charlie says "I just going to give you that knife Ron, you have given me knives before!" I was totally surprised but not really! Charlie is a very gracious person and one of the nicest individuals I have ever meet! Thanks Charlie @waynorth!
I went up to the porch and was looking over my new gift and showing it to Pam when I suddenly remembered that I had saw another of these modern marvels earlier on Thursday. Rusty1 had a NIB example with Rams Horn handles. I decided that I would like to add a little variety in my life so I asked Russell if he still wanted to sell his Lionsteel. He did and agreed to sell it for a very reasonable price! Thank you again Rusty1 and good luck on your upcoming trips!

The Cocobolo is from Charlie and the Rams Horn is from Russell

This next knife is from a trade with my friend mrknife . A week or so back I noticed that Jack had posted a WTB in his sig line. I just happened to have two examples in different handle options of the knife he was looking for. I sent Jack a PM and showed him what I had available and that I would bring them to the Rendezvous. To speed up the story Jack and I were able to work out a trade. I sent my #15 Sheepsfoot Ebony long pull and some cash back home with Jack. I was able to bring this beautiful NF Barlow in Red Saw Cut Bone from the last run of double blades home with me to Tennessee! Thanks again for the trade mrknife Jack!

I have another post to do but I will get it up later today. It will contain some of my most cherished items from our trip to Rendezvous 2018!

good thing it went home with you Ron, who knows I might have had to schedule an appointment with @glennbad to remove that coping! thanks again!

 

[Half/Stop]

Ron, you are so welcome! Thank you for the well wishes too! I had fun again this year at the rendezvous. Good to see you and Pam again as always.

Russell

We had fun also! Hope to see you again next year!

good thing it went home with you Ron, who knows I might have had to schedule an appointment with @glennbad to remove that coping! thanks again!

Oh my Jack! I'm glad it did too! Glenn does wonderful work, but that would have been a shame! See you next year my friend!

 

[Half/Stop]

I almost forgot these! The Bunkhouse Brand! These are part of the new line of kitchen knives that GEC is thinking about doing! I have an example of a Steak and a Paring knife! These are both in 1095 and Burlap Micarta and are very well made. I really like the texture and feel of these handles.

 

[redsparrow]

We had a great time at the G.E.C. Rendezvous on Saturday. It was fun to visit with everyone, the food
was excellent at the picnic, and the weather was perfect. Gwen and I would like to thank everyone who
made this event possible. It was our 5th year that we came to the Rendezvous and is one the highlights
of the year. Bill Howard, His Craftsmen and Craftswomen have a lot to be proud of, they not only make
a great handcrafted knife but they are very nice people also.
With good advice from John (a.k.a. Augie) I purchased a Maher & Grosh Yankee Whittler from the Maher
& Grosh tent that was outside of the G.E.C. factory. The craftsmanship, form and function is exceptional.
One more selling point, it was manufactured for Maher & Grosh by Great Eastern Cutlery.

Tim, I agree! John steered you right, those M&G are spectacular!!! Great photography too sir!

Few more pictures, had a great room for Cross Creek, had a really nice balcony we could enjoy the view and share some drinks, sunrise with mist from the balcony,
View attachment 965432 View attachment 965433
Picture of the Thursday morning line, I'm guessing 6am to 6:30,it was longer when doors opened after 7Am, lot of forum regulars in the pic,
View attachment 965434
One of the forum regulars in the pic is Harry, Harry gifted me a mint Case electricians knife, thanks a lot buddy!
View attachment 965435
Donna has a lot more people and event pictures on her phone that I still need to download.

John, thanks for sharing your rendezvous experience with those of us who couldn't be there. It makes me want to shoot for next year. BTW, cool electrician knife and I'm looking forward to Donna's pics.

I'm finally getting a chance to catch up on this thread! I just didn't take many photos this year at the Rendezvous. I tried to take some photos of my knives but I could never get any that the lighting was acceptable. I also didn't take any of the crowds because it seems that I was always so busy talking with old friends and meeting new ones. This was a great Rendezvous for Pam and I. We really enjoyed the company and the fellowship. We got into town on Tuesday afternoon so we dropped in Great Eastern to say hello and pay for our picnic tickets. While we were there Christine let us into the showroom so I could but a new cap. While we were in there I took a look around in the showcases. They did not have any of the Rendezvous Specials in the display cases. I assumed that everything was just regular stock. I spotted a treasure on the bottom shelf of the cabinet where they keep the "S" knives. These are the ones that have a slight imperfection and are sold without a warranty. This knife I bought was a #43 Oregon Trapper in Sambar Stag and it was the only one in the building! It was so ugly I guess is why they had it on the bottom shelf! One of my friends told me the stag was so ugly it was Obnoxious! So this was my first purchase of the 2018 GEC Rendezvous.

My friend Ron and I got to the porch at 10:45 PM on Wednesday night. The Kifer brothers were already there! So, I was number 3 in line and my friend was number 4. There was a continual flow of people coming in all through out the night including some forum friends such as @L.H.S Logan who was number 5 in line! By 6:30 AM there was quite a crowd assembled. Including several more forum friends. I won't mention the names because I'm positive I would miss someone!

So now I will show the rest of my knives from the Rendezvous. This is with the exception of two that I do not have in my possession yet. I have a NIT #73 Scout 735108 in Ruby Red Jig Bone on the way. I got this in a trade with my good friend Ron. I also have a #44 Buffalo Jack in Cocobolo coming. Pam bough me one as a surprise while we were there but on closer examination it had a defect and since it was a 1st quality Christine graciously agreed to send us out a replacement, of course I did have to send our example to her first.

2018 Rendezvous Knife #46 Whaler Serial #03 along with a #46 Whaler in Ironwood

2018 Rendezvous Special #35 Churchill Smooth Emerald Bone 1 of 12

Kifer Classic Cutlery #78 SFO Single Tortoise Shell Acrylic Serial #72

I hope I don't ruin my reputation by posting these next two! I'm not even sure what to call them but I know they are made by Lionsteel in Italy and they come from CK! I will say that I am a hard core traditionalist when it comes to cutlery. Everyone has their opinion and so do I! That's why they make Fords and Chevys! I personally have no need for Torx screws in my knives. However having been in the Tooling world for 43 years I can appreciate the level of precision that can be obtained with modern CNC equipment and expert Cad design work. I had looked at these from afar but never had one in hand until I was visiting the table setup of our friend Charlie @waynorth on Friday afternoon. We were discussing the construction and our opinions which are pretty much the same. Charlie said that he brought the knife to sell because he figured it might be worth $XX. One of the three onlookers that had gathered around by that time chimed in and said "It's worth three times that much!" I had it in my hand at the time looking it over very closely and I decided to buy it from Charlie. Well out of the blue Charlie says "I just going to give you that knife Ron, you have given me knives before!" I was totally surprised but not really! Charlie is a very gracious person and one of the nicest individuals I have ever meet! Thanks Charlie @waynorth!
I went up to the porch and was looking over my new gift and showing it to Pam when I suddenly remembered that I had saw another of these modern marvels earlier on Thursday. Rusty1 had a NIB example with Rams Horn handles. I decided that I would like to add a little variety in my life so I asked Russell if he still wanted to sell his Lionsteel. He did and agreed to sell it for a very reasonable price! Thank you again Rusty1 and good luck on your upcoming trips!

The Cocobolo is from Charlie and the Rams Horn is from Russell

This next knife is from a trade with my friend mrknife . A week or so back I noticed that Jack had posted a WTB in his sig line. I just happened to have two examples in different handle options of the knife he was looking for. I sent Jack a PM and showed him what I had available and that I would bring them to the Rendezvous. To speed up the story Jack and I were able to work out a trade. I sent my #15 Sheepsfoot Ebony long pull and some cash back home with Jack. I was able to bring this beautiful NF Barlow in Red Saw Cut Bone from the last run of double blades home with me to Tennessee! Thanks again for the trade mrknife Jack!

I have another post to do but I will get it up later today. It will contain some of my most cherished items from our trip to Rendezvous 2018!

Ron, you sure did well this year in bringing such a wonderful group home this year!!! The Rendezvous knife and the green Churchill would have been great by themselves... but when you add the Lion Steel and the red sawcut NF77 it's almost to much, WOW!!! Congrats!!! Glad you had a good time and thanks for posting.

 

[DelOro]

I almost forgot these! The Bunkhouse Brand! These are part of the new line of kitchen knives that GEC is thinking about doing! I have an example of a Steak and a Paring knife! These are both in 1095 and Burlap Micarta and are very well made. I really like the texture and feel of these handles.

Nice! Thanks for posting.

Personally, I would love to see GEC make a 1095 carbon line of kitchen knives.

A petty knife and a 6" and/or 8" chef's knife would be great IMHO.

Old cooks never die, they just become more careful.

- Del

 

[Randomcollector]

Had so much fun and met some new friends. Also pocked up some great knives. Already looking forward to seeing everyone again

 

[Half/Stop]

Ron, you sure did well this year in bringing such a wonderful group home this year!!! The Rendezvous knife and the green Churchill would have been great by themselves... but when you add the Lion Steel and the red sawcut NF77 it's almost to much, WOW!!! Congrats!!! Glad you had a good time and thanks for posting.

Thanks so much for the compliment! I brought home fewer knives than last year but I feel like I got some nice ones! Best of all we had another great year of fellowship at the Rendezvous! We got to meet a lot of new friends and visit a lot of old friends!

Nice! Thanks for posting.

Personally, I would love to see GEC make a 1095 carbon line of kitchen knives.

A petty knife and a 6" and/or 8" chef's knife would be great IMHO.

Old cooks never die, they just become more careful.

- Del

Thanks Del! Don’t be surprised if you see some kitchen knives from GEC in the future! I think the only problem will be the difficulty in working them into their production schedule.

 

[redsparrow]

Quality cutlery + quality folks = good times, every time!

 

[Half/Stop]

On Wednesday afternoon after Harry @Old Engineer and his wife Nancy had arrived and gotten settled in the motel we were all going out to eat dinner! Pam and I went down to greet them in the lobby! We had visited with them earlier in the year as they passed through our home town and we were anxious to see them again! When we got to the lobby and exchanged our greetings Harry surprised me with these two special gifts! One is a old wooden L.S. Starrett micrometer box. This might not mean anything to most people but Harry knew it would be special to me. Being in the Tool and Die field for over 40 years I have used a micrometer more times than I can count and I always liked the Satin Chrome Starrett Micrometers better than any other brand. A fact that Harry knew because I had commented to him before. The second item is one that he really surprised me with! He had posted this beautiful cane he was building on the forum. I had commented about it and he said he was making it for a friend! Well, I think the look on my face was one of utter astonishment when he pulled this cane out from the side and presented it to me in the lobby! Wow! I don't use a cane, at least not yet. If I ever need one I have the best one in the world! It is made of a real brass Hames and a shovel handle from a shovel that Harry bought over 30 years ago! I don't know if Harry wore out the shovel or the shovel wore out Harry to hear him tell the story! Thanks again Harry I will always treasure these gifts and your friendship my friend!

 

[joeradza]

No surprise Ron. Harry said he was making it for a friend and he did. Friends, the reason this place exists.

 

[Half/Stop]

No surprise Ron. Harry said he was making it for a friend and he did. Friends, the reason this place exists.

Exactly my friend!

 

[Jack Black]

On Wednesday afternoon after Harry @Old Engineer and his wife Nancy had arrived and gotten settled in the motel we were all going out to eat dinner! Pam and I went down to greet them in the lobby! We had visited with them earlier in the year as they pasted through our home town and we were anxious to see them again! When we got to the lobby and exchanged our greetings Harry surprised me with these two special gifts! One is a old wooden L.S. Starrett micrometer box. This might not mean anything to most people but Harry knew it would be special to me. Being in the Tool and Die field for over 40 years I have used a micrometer more times than I can count and I always liked the Satin Chrome Starrett Micrometers better than any other brand. A fact that Harry knew because I had commented to him before. The second item is one that he really surprised me with! He had posted this beautiful cane he was building on the forum. I had commented about it and he said he was making it for a friend! Well, I think the look on my face was one of utter astonishment when he pulled this cane out from the side and presented it to me in the lobby! Wow! I don't use a cane, at least not yet. If I ever need one I have the best one in the world! It is made of a real brass Hames and a shovel handle from a shovel that Harry bought over 30 years ago! I don't know if Harry wore out the shovel or the shovel wore out Harry to hear him tell the story! Thanks again Harry I will always treasure these gifts and your friendship my friend!

Great story Ron, I had noticed a photo of the two of you with your canes earlier in the thread

 

[Half/Stop]

Great story Ron, I had noticed a photo of the two of you with your canes earlier in the thread

Yes, that's correct Jack! Harry had dubbed it "Two Old Farts on the Porch"! It's sure to become a classic!

 

[joeradza]

Yes, that's correct Jack! Harry had dubbed it "Two Old Farts on the Porch"! It's sure to become a classic!

Or "two peas in a pod."

 

[Half/Stop]

Or "two peas in a pod."

lol that's a good one Alan!

 

[johnny twoshoes]

I was very late to this years Rendezcous, by the time I got there things were winding down. I was pretty disappointed that I didn’t get the time I needed to fully inspect the knives in the store to make a purchase, but all of that disappointment was taken away by Harry (@Old Engineer ). I had the grand opportunity to see his wonderful stag collection in person. The character and quality of his knives is something to awe. The true wonders of stag can’t be properly conveyed over the internet with just pictures. Popcorn, caverns, ridges, warmth; I could use these words to help describe his knives, but it wouldn’t begin to do them justice.

As awesome as his collection was, it was even better to hear him talk about them in person and share each one’s brief history.
I could spend hours talking with Harry and walk away feeling like I missed out on a golden opportunity to learn more.

I also got to meet Ron, ( Half/Stop ), but didn’t get to spend nearly enough time talking with him. Our conversation, be it brief, was great.

I think that’s how it goes though, everyone there is great, but without having the time to talk one on one it’s hard to truly get to know someone. I’m happy to see that so many guys have gotten that chance to connect outside of the forums.

I also talked briefly with @Augie and in that short time I realized he has forgotten more about knives then I will ever know. I’m sure I missed out on learning a lot by not extending our conversation.

And as always it’s great to see Charlie @waynorth. Charlie has a draw that rivals GEC itself I think.

I did get a knife though, I’ll post about that later.

 

[waverave]

I almost forgot these! The Bunkhouse Brand! These are part of the new line of kitchen knives that GEC is thinking about doing! I have an example of a Steak and a Paring knife! These are both in 1095 and Burlap Micarta and are very well made. I really like the texture and feel of these handles.

I think these are in production right now...wondering where they will be available for purchase?

 

[Will Power]

Excellent stuff all round Ron. Some choice gifts from Harry make it a special event in itself!

I have to say you got hold of some very likeable knives too, thought you might However, to be frank your friends were right about the OBNOXIOUS nature of that Stag eyesore It's so VILE you should bury it in a box and I'll keep it outta sight for you

Regards, Will

 

[Half/Stop]

I also got to meet Ron, ( Half/Stop ), but didn’t get to spend nearly enough time talking with him. Our conversation, be it brief, was great.

I agree Johnny, our visit was too brief! However it was great to meet you and to see your family! Let’s just hope next year will allow us a longer conversation!

I think these are in production right now...wondering where they will be available for purchase?

Just as a note you might check the online store or email to check. I don’t know which if any dealers will actually stock these.

Excellent stuff all round Ron. Some choice gifts from Harry make it a special event in itself!

I have to say you got hold of some very likeable knives too, thought you might However, to be frank your friends were right about the OBNOXIOUS nature of that Stag eyesore It's so VILE you should bury it in a box and I'll keep it outta sight for you

Regards, Will

Thank you Will! I feel that I got some quality knives for sure. Harry really surprised me. He and his wife are just great folks! I would have driven the 656 miles just for that Obnoxious Stag 43 even if it is a “S” knife!