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 .
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Well, its getting to the time when you have to make the ‘this time I really mean it’ vote. There is still 50 odd bloodwood voters yet to make the switch. I think I know which way I am going and its influenced by the rather ornate shield and the need for balance.

But for now, I am just gonna keep plugging away because beautiful knives make me happy

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@jwsnyder Thanks for the correction, I should've noticed that :thumbsup:

I altered my post accordingly. It is very odd that Osage must be brushed finish as well, all the Osage knives I've had have been polishedo_O And they look excellent. Likewise with Jobillo...;) So, not many options for polished then....I think Black Wood should get that matte(d) look too:D Makes a level playing field...

Lot of people have said that perhaps showing voting numbers should not be shown to stop bandwaggoning or multiple vote changing. Something to be said for this, I mean in elections they don't open up ballot boxes to give a current state of voting 'trend' ;)

Ask yourself this: if you were going into a shop or online to buy a knife, the price was the same and you had 5 options to chose from which would you opt for? Answer, the one you like most, that's how it should be here, not my vote has no chance:cool:
 
Will Power said:
@jwsnyder Thanks for the correction, I should've noticed that :thumbsup:

I altered my post accordingly. It is very odd that Osage must be brushed finish as well, all the Osage knives I've had have been polishedo_O And they look excellent. Likewise with Jobillo...;) So, not many options for polished then....I think Black Wood should get that matte(d) look too:D Makes a level playing field...

Lot of people have said that perhaps showing voting numbers should not be shown to stop bandwaggoning or multiple vote changing. Something to be said for this, I mean in elections they don't open up ballot boxes to give a current state of voting 'trend' ;)

Ask yourself this: if you were going into a shop or online to buy a knife, the price was the same and you had 5 options to chose from which would you opt for? Answer, the one you like most, that's how it should be here, not my vote has no chance:cool:
Click to expand...
Good point, Will. But since the results are shown, it does affect the voting. We can't change the rules in the middle of an election, but maybe for next year's knife--if there is one--it could be done that way. I would vote for that!
 
Pàdruig said:
I am bit curious why Ironwood has to come paired with brushed bolsters and shield. All of the GEC Ironwood knives I have are polished.

Regardless, the brushed finish is not one that I have any interest in. It suits Micarta very well, in my opinion, but it does most woods (if not all) a large disservice.

I understand that it is reasonably easy to polish them up. However, there are those who like to tinker with their knives and those who do not (aside from sharpening, of course). I am of the latter mindset.
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See post #1 where Mike indicates several of the options that must be brush finished (including ironwood).
 
JTB_5 said:
See post #1 where Mike indicates several of the options that must be brush finished (including ironwood).
Click to expand...

Oh, I am certainly aware. I want to know why though.

(ETA: I seem to recall Mike saying something about the polishing process impacting the veins/grain of Ironwood and that might allude to why they don't polish the bolsters. Perhaps it leads to far too many "seconds" or defective knives.)
 
Pàdruig said:
Oh, I am certainly aware. I want to know why though.

(ETA: I seem to recall Mike saying something about the polishing process impacting the veins/grain of Ironwood and that might allude to why they don't polish the bolsters. Perhaps it leads to far too many "seconds" or defective knives.)
Click to expand...

Here's the only explanations given, one is a guess, and the other is Mike's response:

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.
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knifeswapper said:
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.
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JTB_5 said:
Here's the only explanations given, one is a guess, and the other is Mike's response:
Click to expand...

Thanks for digging those up.

Sadly, this is one of those instances where I feel inclined to criticize GEC. (Add it to the list with lackluster jigging and poor dye jobs...)
Ironwood has been polished before. By them as well as other cutlers and knifemakers. Though I know that GEC has their factory procedures and such and it likely isn't cost effective to change things up for a single cover variety, I still am of a mind that if they have such trouble with certain covers based on how they do things, it might be prudent to reevaluate practices and adjust accordingly. But then again, perhaps it isn't cost effective.

(Also, I don't run a cutlery factory so what do I know? (shrug))

Reminds me a bit on why they only do small, rather rare runs of stainless. It costs money and time to reset all the tooling and such.

A considerable disappointment and makes Ironwood even less appealing.
 
Some flitz or any other metal compound and those bolsters and that shield will be shining! Disclaimer: I have used flitz on another iron wood kinfe and have seen no ill effects to the wood or the grain. Hey some people like the brushed versions too! this is gonna come down to the wire.
 
Will Power said:
@jwsnyder Thanks for the correction, I should've noticed that :thumbsup:

I altered my post accordingly. It is very odd that Osage must be brushed finish as well, all the Osage knives I've had have been polishedo_O And they look excellent. Likewise with Jobillo...;) So, not many options for polished then....I think Black Wood should get that matte(d) look too:D Makes a level playing field...

Lot of people have said that perhaps showing voting numbers should not be shown to stop bandwaggoning or multiple vote changing. Something to be said for this, I mean in elections they don't open up ballot boxes to give a current state of voting 'trend' ;)

Ask yourself this: if you were going into a shop or online to buy a knife, the price was the same and you had 5 options to chose from which would you opt for? Answer, the one you like most, that's how it should be here, not my vote has no chance:cool:
Click to expand...

I can only begin to imagine the witch hunt that would ensue.
 
The folks not currently voting for the top two would appear to have the most potential for sway at this point. To those I would say don’t make the “safe bet” on black. Vote ironwood.
And vote (reverse) Orleans while your at it!
 
Ironwood is only recommended by one out of two Taylors on the Porch.

I mean, if Trident was only recommended by one out of two dentists, you wouldn't chew it. Just sayin. ;)
 
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