Attention 2019 Forum Knife : Poll - Smooth Wood

Smooth Wood

  • African Blackwood

    Votes: 152 41.1%

  • Bocote

    Votes: 6 1.6%

  • Bloodwood

    Votes: 30 8.1%

  • Ebony

    Votes: 6 1.6%

  • Kingwood

    Votes: 2 0.5%

  • Jobillo

    Votes: 5 1.4%

  • Desert Ironwood

    Votes: 149 40.3%

  • Osage Orange

    Votes: 17 4.6%

  • Cocobolo

    Votes: 2 0.5%

  • Che Chen

    Votes: 1 0.3%
  • Total voters
    370
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
knifeswapper knifeswapper
Mike, I hope this hasn't been answered already, but why only brushed bolsters and shields on the Ironwood when they've done polished with Ironwood in the past?

Also since these polls started earlier, then why not end them earlier so we can get on with the last poll (if needed) and getting the knives made?
 
Last edited:
mykel m said:
@knifewsapper
Mike, I hope this hasn't been answered already, but why only brushed bolsters and shields on the Ironwood when they've done polished with Ironwood in the past?

Also since these polls started earlier, then why not end them earlier so we can get on with the last poll (if needed) and getting the knives made?
Click to expand...
Ever notice how some of the ironwood examples have sort of a “ripple effect” in the wood? I think this is a result of the buffing and polishing process, so GEC has decided not to polish ironwood anymore - so they also don’t polish the bolsters or shields. Natural canvas micarta has suffered the same fate of not polishing up well (taking on too much compound), hence no more NCM in the Northfield line; unpolished bolsters and shields.
 
Last edited:
With a knife as large as we are getting, the likelihood of having unmatched or "character-full" ironwood goes up. I don't mind the variance, but if you take a look at the Guardians of the Lambsfoot thread, while there is not a knife in the bunch that doesn't have stunning lights and darks and amazing grain, you see a lot of variation in the tone of the grain and the direction. For instance, I have a dark and light slanted grain on the show side and straight well-varied grain on the pile side. This bothers me not at all, but for those of you that want equivalent looking covers, your best bet is going to be african blackwood.
 
Already have a sheepsfoot Jack in black, and it has a caplifter bonus.
X75Drmz.jpg

Here is some "plain" ironwood and it's beautiful.
guZ2Xl5.jpg
 
Nature Boy said:
Ever notice how some of the ironwood examples have sort of a “ripple effect” in the wood? I think this is a result of the buffing and polishing process, so GEC has decided not to polish ironwood anymore - so they also don’t polish the bolsters or shields. Natural canvas micarta has suffered the same fate of not polishing up well (taking on too much compound), hence no more NCM in the Northfield line; unpolished bolsters and shields.
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike:thumbsup:
I haven't owned any GEC Ironwood clad knives though, nor noticed the ripples in others pics.
 
mykel m said:
knifeswapper knifeswapper
Mike, I hope this hasn't been answered already, but why only brushed bolsters and shields on the Ironwood when they've done polished with Ironwood in the past?

Also since these polls started earlier, then why not end them earlier so we can get on with the last poll (if needed) and getting the knives made?
Click to expand...

First question: I didn't ask details on all the guidelines; but think Nature Boy is on to this one. I have never had them explain a new guideline to me that they didn't have a completely understandable answer - so I quit asking. I take solace in the fact that they have stopped polishing it BECAUSE they have done so in the past.

Second question: The poll was scheduled to start today and end on the 14th. Since I could start it early I did; but I figured if I ended it before the originally scheduled end date someone would show up and throw a fit because they missed it but checked it during its scheduled run. So in order to avoid all chastisement - I let it run to its original end time.
 
We all have 4 days left before the end of this poll. I wish everyone would stop thinking strategically and just vote their top option. You can change in the last couple days, but I for one would love to see what people would vote for if they weren't voting against other options. This isn't a two party system, and you can always change your vote. Vote your conscience/desire now, and you can always get strategic on Wednesday.
 
abbydaddy said:
We all have 4 days left before the end of this poll. I wish everyone would stop thinking strategically and just vote their top option. You can change in the last couple days, but I for one would love to see what people would vote for if they weren't voting against other options. This isn't a two party system, and you can always change your vote. Vote your conscience/desire now, and you can always get strategic on Wednesday.
Click to expand...

I concur! :D

Like any vote/election/poll, less than 10% usually decide the outcome.

That simply means you'll *GET* the knife you deserve. :eek:

I'm extremely pleased GEC is making this years knife, so for me, I'll enjoy buying/using one irregardless. :)

- Del
 
abbydaddy said:
We all have 4 days left before the end of this poll. I wish everyone would stop thinking strategically and just vote their top option. You can change in the last couple days, but I for one would love to see what people would vote for if they weren't voting against other options. This isn't a two party system, and you can always change your vote. Vote your conscience/desire now, and you can always get strategic on Wednesday.
Click to expand...

This is a fine thought but discussion helps bring out details that have been overlooked or skipped over folks who haven’t followed from the beginning (like brushed bolsters and shield on some woods.)

I’m not advocating for strategic posting (though that is part of the fun for a lot of folks) but I do think discussing the options makes sense, especially for folks on the fence.
 
JTB_5 said:
With a knife as large as we are getting, the likelihood of having unmatched or "character-full" ironwood goes up. I don't mind the variance, but if you take a look at the Guardians of the Lambsfoot thread, while there is not a knife in the bunch that doesn't have stunning lights and darks and amazing grain, you see a lot of variation in the tone of the grain and the direction. For instance, I have a dark and light slanted grain on the show side and straight well-varied grain on the pile side. This bothers me not at all, but for those of you that want equivalent looking covers, your best bet is going to be african blackwood.
Click to expand...
GEC is unmatched in it's ability to match scales side to side. I do hear ya though on the variance. I am confident they will be as well matched side to side as humanly possible. :) It's something that A. Wright doesn't worry too much about, though I'm not complaining.:thumbsup:
 
Ramrodmb said:
GEC is unmatched in it's ability to match scales side to side. I do hear ya though on the variance. I am confident they will be as well matched side to side as humanly possible. :) It's something that A. Wright doesn't worry too much about, though I'm not complaining.:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

That may be true, but I also have a 14 Cripple Creek from the last run that has a very light side and a darker side. They are both swirly grained, so that is matched, but with Ironwood it is just hard to get consistency over the course of a large run of large handled knives, I would imagine. Maybe I'm wrong about that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top