2020 GEC #62 Easy Pocket Congress and Pocket Carver Thread

Camel Bone is an interesting beast - one that I'm getting close to avoiding altogether. Being one who prefers rich hues, the majority of camel bone examples tend to not speak to me. That said, the recent Aqua bone on the #12s had some excellent rich coloring and the recent Goldenrod 92s had some terrific coloring and depth as well (pity that yellow is not really my color).

I, rather wisely (in my opinion), stayed away from the blue camel bone this go around - I've seen too many washed out examples.

On the topic of dealers selecting something that suits a consumer's preferences - A dealer here no longer posts individual pictures of Stag (being that he is a one man operation, I don't blame him). Instead, he suggested that customers write in their preferences when placing their orders.

Since he started doing that, I've yet to be disappointed. Develop a good relationship with a dealer and I'm sure that you will get taken care of (within reason, of course).
 
Blue?? camel bone DLT 62. Wife likes it but I am extremely disappointed. The grey squares are a Color Checker, a certified reference to ensure accurate color. To add insult to injury, in my comments to DLT on the order I requested dark blue, looks I got the lightest one they had
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IMO this should never have made it out the door at GEC without being marked a 2nd. Send it back? Trade it? Nothing wrong except the color and that's subjective but certainly not what I expected.

GEC62bluecamelbone-1.jpg


GEC62bluecamelbone-2.jpg
Hard to see any blue in here, but a spectacular and beautiful dyeing for sure!
 
I never figured dealers payed much attention to requests.
I doubt they search their entire inventory of a particular knife to find just the right one.
I once sent an email to a retailer asking if he could pick me out a knife with a centered blade and minimal gaps.
His response was basically, They're all the same and you get what you get.
A little over a year ago I ordered a #81 in Appaloosa bone from DLT. I noticed they had about a dozen in stock so I asked them to pull out six and send me pics and then did. Got the one I wanted. Don’t know if this is standard practice but I thought showed that customer service is important to them.
 
Blue?? camel bone DLT 62. Wife likes it but I am extremely disappointed. The grey squares are a Color Checker, a certified reference to ensure accurate color. To add insult to injury, in my comments to DLT on the order I requested dark blue, looks I got the lightest one they had
1f641.png
IMO this should never have made it out the door at GEC without being marked a 2nd. Send it back? Trade it? Nothing wrong except the color and that's subjective but certainly not what I expected.

GEC62bluecamelbone-1.jpg


GEC62bluecamelbone-2.jpg
I really like it !!
 
My 62 EPCongress collection is done... I think.
I do have 2 of the F&F whittlers reserved... and I really hope I can snag one of the white bone Tidioute versions. I love the look of that shield.
So, all of you folks that reserved two of those, please keep me in mind when you want to move one of them along... :)
 
I’ve been refreshing pages on 10 different sites hoping to catch one of these. I’m jealous!

As far as I can tell, they only started shipping from PA yesterday. So, if you want to catch them coming into stock, try first part of the week.
 
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As far as I can tell, they only started shipping from PA yesterday. So, if you want to catch them coming into stock, try first part of the week.

Yeah, I figure Monday/Tuesday I’ll either have one on the way or I’ll know I’m not getting it. Wish I’d wanted it when you guys were doing preorders, though!
 
Camel Bone is an interesting beast - one that I'm getting close to avoiding altogether. Being one who prefers rich hues, the majority of camel bone examples tend to not speak to me. That said, the recent Aqua bone on the #12s had some excellent rich coloring and the recent Goldenrod 92s had some terrific coloring and depth as well (pity that yellow is not really my color).

I, rather wisely (in my opinion), stayed away from the blue camel bone this go around - I've seen too many washed out examples.

On the topic of dealers selecting something that suits a consumer's preferences - A dealer here no longer posts individual pictures of Stag (being that he is a one man operation, I don't blame him). Instead, he suggested that customers write in their preferences when placing their orders.

Since he started doing that, I've yet to be disappointed. Develop a good relationship with a dealer and I'm sure that you will get taken care of (within reason, of course).

I also generally avoid reserving camel bone. I lucked out on a Goldenrod 92, but saw lots of them that I wouldn't have cared for. The Aqua bone #12s were the same deal - some appealed to me, many did not. Now the blue 62s are following the same pattern. I have also found that I don't really care for the feel of the camel bone in hand, so my 92 is basically a safe queen. To each their own I guess.

Fortunately I scratched my itch for the 62s with a Jigged Red Bone and a Unicorn Ivory. I came close on the natural canvas SFO and may still succumb to a moment of weakness on that one, but I kind of shifted gears for a bit on my collection so I doubt it.

ZZFRGTr.jpg
 
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Being new to traditional knives, I’m still stumbling through that awkward first year when I’m trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can and hopefully without blowing too much money while racing off in wrong directions. That said, I’ve grabbed three 62’s so far--a Unicorn Ivory, a Snakewood and a Blue Camel Bone. The UI gets a 100% grade for meeting expectations. The Snakewood has a big fat dark stripe running right up the middle of one cover. It looks as much like the “in process” covers (i.e: superior examples) shown in the GEC website and the pictures in the vendors website as Mike Tyson looks like Taylor Swift. Calling it a disappointment would be the understatement of the year. I decided to see what kind of Blue Camel they sent me before calling the vendor to see what my “returning unacceptable merchandise” rights are. Fortunately, I got a reasonably blue one and not some pukey-looking off-yellow thing with only a minimal hint of blue. Mine doesn’t look like those beautiful, seemingly luminescent blue covers in the GEC website pictures, but mine is a fair enough example and I’ll live with it.

Well--lesson learned! From now on, I’ll be sticking with stag covers and possibly plain, smooth white bone covers. If I’m ever again in a daring mood, I might order something else that’s unpredictable (woods that can vary widely like Snakewood or Desert Ironwood, dyed bone that may or may not be the color it’s referred to as being, etc) but NEVER again unless I’m in a real gambling mood. I’m writing the cost of my SemiSnakewood off as tuition to The College Of Traditional Knife Knowledge and the title of the old rock song “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who is bouncing around in my mind.

All that having been said, I’ll still be getting a Stag 62 and a Smooth Bone 62 Carver.
 
Stumpy72 Stumpy72 keep in mind that stag is normally the most
likely material to have wild variations that do not meet expectations.

One of the fun things about handmade knives like GeC is the variation, lottery aspect and randomness of what your knife will look like.

It is not reasonable to expect every knife to look like the GEC centerfold, and often a knife that seems to be not true to the ideal form can become a favorite.

GEC does not sell identical knives, each one is unique, all have flaws if you know what to look for, and they are still wonderfully made and a joy to own.

If you get a knife you dont like, sell it, someone out there will love it.
 
Being new to traditional knives, I’m still stumbling through that awkward first year when I’m trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can and hopefully without blowing too much money while racing off in wrong directions. That said, I’ve grabbed three 62’s so far--a Unicorn Ivory, a Snakewood and a Blue Camel Bone. The UI gets a 100% grade for meeting expectations. The Snakewood has a big fat dark stripe running right up the middle of one cover. It looks as much like the “in process” covers (i.e: superior examples) shown in the GEC website and the pictures in the vendors website as Mike Tyson looks like Taylor Swift. Calling it a disappointment would be the understatement of the year. I decided to see what kind of Blue Camel they sent me before calling the vendor to see what my “returning unacceptable merchandise” rights are. Fortunately, I got a reasonably blue one and not some pukey-looking off-yellow thing with only a minimal hint of blue. Mine doesn’t look like those beautiful, seemingly luminescent blue covers in the GEC website pictures, but mine is a fair enough example and I’ll live with it.

Well--lesson learned! From now on, I’ll be sticking with stag covers and possibly plain, smooth white bone covers. If I’m ever again in a daring mood, I might order something else that’s unpredictable (woods that can vary widely like Snakewood or Desert Ironwood, dyed bone that may or may not be the color it’s referred to as being, etc) but NEVER again unless I’m in a real gambling mood. I’m writing the cost of my SemiSnakewood off as tuition to The College Of Traditional Knife Knowledge and the title of the old rock song “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who is bouncing around in my mind.

All that having been said, I’ll still be getting a Stag 62 and a Smooth Bone 62 Carver.
I’ve been burned too on a few wood variations and bad dye jobs...I ended up with a 29 Snakewood that looked like walnut and a 92 Goldenrod Camel that looked like a fried egg. Now I tend to stick with more consistently dyed jigged bone, micartas, and stag (as long as I can see it first)

I find that there is always someone on here that likes whatever knife I don’t, especially if the price is right.
 
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Being new to traditional knives, I’m still stumbling through that awkward first year when I’m trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can and hopefully without blowing too much money while racing off in wrong directions. That said, I’ve grabbed three 62’s so far--a Unicorn Ivory, a Snakewood and a Blue Camel Bone. The UI gets a 100% grade for meeting expectations. The Snakewood has a big fat dark stripe running right up the middle of one cover. It looks as much like the “in process” covers (i.e: superior examples) shown in the GEC website and the pictures in the vendors website as Mike Tyson looks like Taylor Swift. Calling it a disappointment would be the understatement of the year. I decided to see what kind of Blue Camel they sent me before calling the vendor to see what my “returning unacceptable merchandise” rights are. Fortunately, I got a reasonably blue one and not some pukey-looking off-yellow thing with only a minimal hint of blue. Mine doesn’t look like those beautiful, seemingly luminescent blue covers in the GEC website pictures, but mine is a fair enough example and I’ll live with it.

Well--lesson learned! From now on, I’ll be sticking with stag covers and possibly plain, smooth white bone covers. If I’m ever again in a daring mood, I might order something else that’s unpredictable (woods that can vary widely like Snakewood or Desert Ironwood, dyed bone that may or may not be the color it’s referred to as being, etc) but NEVER again unless I’m in a real gambling mood. I’m writing the cost of my SemiSnakewood off as tuition to The College Of Traditional Knife Knowledge and the title of the old rock song “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who is bouncing around in my mind.

All that having been said, I’ll still be getting a Stag 62 and a Smooth Bone 62 Carver.

If you don't like it, sell it. Don't be too burned, there are lots of nice knives out there. Lots that dealers still have in stock. Try an Elderberry Dixie Possum Skinner and smile all day. 38 Special in Indian Paint or Mexican Bocote wood, order a 62 in red jigged bone, ask them to check the color for you. Or get one of the natural micartas and see if you like it.
 
Stumpy72 Stumpy72 keep in mind that stag is normally the most
likely material to have wild variations that do not meet expectations. One of the fun things about handmade knives like GeC is the variation, lottery aspect and randomness of what your knife will look like. It is not reasonable to expect every knife to look like the GEC centerfold, and often a knife that seems to be not true to the ideal form can become a favorite. GEC does not sell identical knives, each one is unique, all have flaws if you know what to look for, and they are still wonderfully made and a joy to own. If you get a knife you dont like, sell it, someone out there will love it.
I understood about variations and I went into my purchases with my eyes open--admittedly not as a seasoned hand, but with understanding and eyes open. I’ve done enough woodworking and carving with Asian, African and South American hardwoods to be well-informed. I’ve already bought three Stag GECs--which I chose from the individual pictures on the vendor website. The variations are considerable, but I chose each individually and I’m happy with them. The individual photos are clearly the key.

I accept variations, but calling something “blue” when it’s a pukey off-yellow with a trace of a blue-ish tint isn’t fair play or “truth in advertising" to my way of thinking. Nonetheless, I’ve accepted and made my peace with my SemiSnakewood and I’m happily moving on--to my planned upcoming Stag and smooth plain bone GEC purchases. As a PS, I’m honestly very happy that the tuition I paid was at the GEC level and not at the Shiro level. I can afford community college bills but not Columbia University bills.

Boxer .45 Boxer .45 and bax229 bax229 --- Thanks for the thoughts. I guess I should love my SemiSnakewood. It is what it is but at least it doesn’t look like Walnut! I know micarta is the safe bet for consistently, but I have trouble warming up to micarta on traditional knives. I see it as a modern/non-traditional thing and therefore incongruous with the whole traditional orientation. The only reason I bought that acrylic Unicorn Ivory 62 variation was so I can give it to a granddaughter who’s a charter member of every “Save The _______s Federation” that ever was. I’m looking forward to next Xmas when I give her that knife.
 
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