The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Yep, the old ones as well, such great knives, old and new
Yippee!!
This "Calico Bone" looks to me like it will resemble the "Antique Weave Bone" from the 2010 run of 56s.
Wow. I'm blown away. My elderberry arrived last night, and I'm floored. It's an absurdly beautiful knife. The red dye job is nice and deep, with no white or bright pink spots. The two-stage jigging is very nice, and works really well with the reverse Orleans shield. The shield choice and orientation are absolute MAGIC on this frame. I didn't actually have any plans for buying the elderberry, but when I first saw pictures of the Orleans, I had to find a way to get one. And that wrap-around spring!!! GEC really pulled out the stops on this run.
The blade choice is pretty interesting. The main blade is quite bulbous. It's obviously a spear, but something about the shape of the tip sort of reminds me of a spey. I'm not a huge fan of speys, but this blade somehow manages to work successfully on the Eureka.
I won't be attempting much fine tip work with the fat spear blade, but that's where the two-blade design comes into play. The coping blade secondary has a sensational tip for detail cuts. The coping has some wicked sharp angles to it, which is just fine by me. It's almost like having an Exacto knife secondary. Overall, the blade shape combination is really, really good. Not at all what I'm used to, but possibly something that causes me to examine my personal biases.
GEC did very well in putting this all together. If I grasp the end of the blade and wiggle, and can detect the tiniest hair of horizontal blade play, which I'm perfectly okay with. I'm of the opinion that GEC has been assembling their knives a hair too tight the last couple years, causing some loss of action when opening and closing. My Eureka opens and closes very smoothly, with a pull of 6 on the main and a 5 on the secondary. Right where I like them to be.
Blades are centered in the wells. Pins are nicely domed. Opening and closing the blades repeatedly has thankfully produced no flat spots on the edges. Transitions from bone to bolster are very good. The jigging actually extends all the way to the bolsters, and patterns the bolsters ever so slightly, which I don't see too often anymore. Some people like that. Some don't. I see it as a sign of quality.
I should also mention that the Eureka is terrific in the hand. It's just crazy comfortable to grip. The frame shape is exquisite. When the main is being used, the dead spot between the main blade's tang and the coping blade leaves a perfect sized resting place for the meat of your index finger. The cant of the main blade is dead on perfect. The angle lets the belly of the blade naturally dig right into what you're cutting. Gripping the coping blade isn't as comfortable. But hey, it's a secondary. You have to make your compromises someplace. And while using the coping may not be exceptionally comfortable, its comfy enough, and far more secure than most coping blades, due to the hook in the tang.
If I had to nitpick....... I guess I've gotten used to Victorinox and Case's ability to sharpen a knife. It's easy for me to fix, but this knife wasn't sharpened well at all. Almost a butter knife, and an uneven grind on the coping blade.
All in all, this is a really great knife. One of GEC's best efforts in quite a while. I've wanted a Eureka for years, and GEC definitely did not disappoint. This a reasonably large traditional knife that somehow manages to be as elegant as it is useful. Hefty enough to feel good in the hand, but without feeling bulky or heavy. Pocketable on its own, but probably better in a slip.
