2018 GEC Rendezvous and Picnic!

[Campbellclanman]

Lol - nice one Will

 

[warrenwrench]

My take from the rendezvous. Had a good time. It was a pleasure meeting a lot of you this year. The conversations were great and very informative. looking forward to next year. Thanks again.

Bill

 

[Old Engineer]

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!

You are very welcome my friend !!! Like I said : Retired Southern Gentlemen , such as you , should have a cane .

Harry

 

[Old Engineer]

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.

Thank you for the very kind words Johnny , but I can assure you that I enjoyed showing them to another Stag Knut .
It was also my pleasure to talk a little with your family .

Harry

 

[JTB_5]

This thread has been such a joy to read. Thanks again for sharing fellas!

 

[Old Engineer]

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 B B.F.U 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 all of the knives that you picked up are great and to prove that I really believe it , I did get 3 of the same ones that you got . But that 77 Barlow and Stag 43 are on 2 different levels IMHO , with the 43 being at the Top Level . The Stag on that one is In Your Face OBNOXIOUS and I will do you a great favor of keeping it in my Safe so that you do not have to see it .
It was great for Nancy and I to get to spend some prime time with you and Pam my friend . I just ordered a Stag French Kate that Nancy wanted .

Harry

 

[Half/Stop]

Ron all of the knives that you picked up are great and to prove that I really believe it , I did get 3 of the same ones that you got . But that 77 Barlow and Stag 43 are on 2 different levels IMHO , with the 43 being at the Top Level . The Stag on that one is In Your Face OBNOXIOUS and I will do you a great favor of keeping it in my Safe so that you do not have to see it .
It was great for Nancy and I to get to spend some prime time with you and Pam my friend . I just ordered a Stag French Kate that Nancy wanted .

Harry

Thanks Harry! You also acquired some very nice knives! Because we ended up with three of the same models just proves that we both have excellent taste! We throughly enjoyed the time with you and Nancy! Hopefully it won’t be so long before our next visit! Now who did you say you ordered a Stag French Kate for???

 

[Old Engineer]

Thanks Harry! You also acquired some very nice knives! Because we ended up with three of the same models just proves that we both have excellent taste! We throughly enjoyed the time with you and Nancy! Hopefully it won’t be so long before our next visit! Now who did you say you ordered a Stag French Kate for???

Nancy asked me to order it . She already has 2 of them , a 38 , and really likes my Red Jigged Bone 33 .

Harry

 

[Half/Stop]

My take from the rendezvous. Had a good time. It was a pleasure meeting a lot of you this year. The conversations were great and very informative. looking forward to next year. Thanks again.

Bill

Great looking knives Bill! I saw those 43's in Green Jig Bone early in the morning on Thursday but they got gone before I had a chance to check them out! Wish I had known you had one I might have got you to let me check it out. I think the NACB are pretty cool and I don't have one in my collection yet!

Nancy asked me to order it . She already has 2 of them , a 38 , and really likes my Red Jigged Bone 33 .

Harry

It seems that your not the only one in your family with good taste in knives Harry!

 

[Travman]

I really should have slowed down and taken more pictures. Here are some of Queen made knives made around 1911 that Charlie Campagna brought to show. These were the inspiration for the saber grind and fancy font on the rustic Northwoods knives designed by Derrick Bohn. I think he would have enjoyed seeing these again.

 

[Jack Black]

Every year when I read through this thread, it makes me beam from ear to ear I have been lucky to meet a few Porch members in person, and it has been a real pleasure I'm not sure if I could cope with meeting a load of you all at once though! I'd end up looking like a gap-toothed Cheshire Cat!

 

[joeradza]

Well Harry (@Old Engineer ), you've done it again. That red jigged bone was burned into my brain and one just popped up on the exchange.

 

[waverave]

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.

Thank you sir I confirmed with GEC yesterday that the new kitchen knives will be available directly from their store.

 

[Half/Stop]

Thank you sir I confirmed with GEC yesterday that the new kitchen knives will be available directly from their store.

Your welcome! This is on the web site today.

 

[mrknife]

i have that paring knife, it looks like a cool little fixed blade, bit thin, but nice small utility knife

 

[waverave]

i have that paring knife, it looks like a cool little fixed blade, bit thin, but nice small utility knife

Nice...I imagine it would be a great little utility knife for the kitchen or otherwise. I like the idea of some 1095 kitchen knives and would like to get a few from this run once they are available.

 

[B.F.U]

Exactly right.

Here is a fixed blade that I bought today from the GEC store.
View attachment 963228 View attachment 963227

Their fixed blades look so great! I just wish they would make some in stainless again. I asked Chris if they had any leftovers and she said no.

There are a few dubious characters who show up at the Rendezvous and just seem to sit around all day.

And there's always someone around to tell you where to go .

But I was able to pick up some pretty nice knives as well as the 26 in Stag that I got yesterday .
A Queen made Robeson Barlow that I have searched for a deal for 4 years was provided by @Augie . Thank you very much John.

An Emerald Green Smooth Bone that I call a Pickle . 1 of only 12 made

A 78 in Turtle Shell Acrylic serial # 70 of 98 made

A #331313 Blood Red Bone was sold to me by Will

The # 26 Stag that I got yesterday .

Had another very nice day talking with various people and buying knives all day and then a nice dinner and conversation at Cross Creek Resort . Very nice day .
The dubious characters pictured above are Old Engineer & Half/Stop .

Harry

Great knives! The emerald was great looking, the 78s were all classic, and that 33 is incredible!

We spoke last year but I don't think we got to this year. Hopefully next year.

Glad to see everyone posting their experiences at the Rendezvous,even with being there for 4 days I'm always surprised at how many experiences and people I miss, always something going on around you and with the addition of the tents this year there was even more to be distracted by.

Donna and I made it home yesterday fairly easily but both of us were exhausted, I will be posting a lot as I download photos. Donna got more photos of the people and I got more of the knives so will take some time to arrange.

Going to start with the Rendezvous knife, when I first saw it on the stand I knew I had to have it but especially when I found out the story on the wood being reclaimed lumber from the Plymouth Cordage Company. Started in 1824 they made rope for the sailing ships including whalers. Bill put a lot of thought into this years knife and I think he was very proud of it and he should be, the historical aspect really makes the knife special.

One funny story having to do with the Whaler, Jessie had to return Kims Saturday morning because the main blade had very rough opening, Bill looked at it and determined it needed to come apart so they offered Jessie one of the remaining knives which he accepted.Bill wanted to make sure he had no issues so he went and got a small bottle of oil to lube the replacement knife.
Of course I had to ask what oil Bill used, Bill responded "way oil" and all of us heard "whale oil" and started laughing, Bill got this perplexed look on his face and I asked again, Bill responded in a firmer tone "way oil" and of course we heard "whale oil" and started laughing again, now I think Bill was getting a little perturbed and about the same time we figured out there is an oil called Way oil and it is used to lubricate metal to metal contact on industrial machinery. Got a good laugh out of it.

Pics of my Rendezvous Whaler and a Plymouth Cordage Schrade made knife in my collection.

View attachment 964912 View attachment 964913 View attachment 964914

I thought Bill seemed particularly proud of this year's knife also.

Mine has pretty rough opening on the main blade also (along with the extremely impractical 9ish pull on the secondary) but I thought that was to be expected. My AMKCA whaler is definitely easier to open and smoother, but I think the one I had in muscle bone was similar. Anyway, I didn't think about asking anyone if it was up to spec. I have 4 knives there for work already.

That Schrade is a cool piece of history.

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.

Sorry I missed you and your wife! Hopefully next year.

The Maher & Grosh knives are incredible. I finally got to meet Ken M. at the M&G booth, which was great, but I was really impressed by the Yankee Whittlers. I almost bought one, but I had bought too much already.

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.

Very interesting. Did you get a chance to ask if the filet knives will be stainless?

I really should have slowed down and taken more pictures. Here are some of Queen made knives made around 1911 that Charlie Campagna brought to show. These were the inspiration for the saber grind and fancy font on the rustic Northwoods knives designed by Derrick Bohn. I think he would have enjoyed seeing these again.

View attachment 966068 View attachment 966069 View attachment 966070

Those are super cool and a great piece of knife history.

 

[Ramrodmb]

Sorry, wrong thread.

 

[Half/Stop]

Very interesting. Did you get a chance to ask if the filet knives will be stainless?

I didn’t ask about the filet knives Logan.

 

[Sabercat]

Their fixed blades look so great! I just wish they would make some in stainless again. I asked Chris if they had any leftovers and she said no.
...
Did you get a chance to ask if the filet knives will be stainless?

Hey Logan, I'm pretty sure William said the filet knives were 420 stainless.