2022 GEC Bayou Trapper #88 Thread

euroken said:
Do you know what it says? Or is it just "Yeti" 😄
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Yeti.
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Bill Howard knows how to sell knives. He went from making lots of variations of handle materials to making fewer variations with different etches and names. You get the feeling of anticipation and variety, even with less overall options.
 
Some random shots of the 88 GEC...... Included are the 2 Waynorth Lambfoot and an A. Wright Lambfoot ...... Also blade terminations buried in a Copperhead bolster..... Great knife from GEC..... I'm anxious to see future iterations of this pattern..... The CAD dept at GEC will be busy cooking up new versions to whet our appetite...... Thanks to waynorth waynorth and Jack Black Jack Black for bringing the Lambfoot to Titusville Pennsylvania.....
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Great set of pictures.:thumbsup:

My only complaint/criticism about this GEC 88 Bayou Trapper is that Howard did not bury the joints a common feature of the Sowbelly pattern/frame. I have a couple Sowbelly Trappers that have sunken joints so, it was possible for Howard to have included them.
 
Modoc ED said:
Great set of pictures.:thumbsup:

My only complaint/criticism about this GEC 88 Bayou Trapper is that Howard did not bury the joints a common feature of the Sowbelly pattern/frame. I have a couple Sowbelly Trappers that have sunken joints so, it was possible for Howard to have included them.
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So when the joints are sunken, what else does that affect? Other than the fact that the joints are lower. If you change something it has to affect something else, blade length, blade width, or the geometry? What else changes?
 
Modoc ED said:
Great set of pictures.:thumbsup:

My only complaint/criticism about this GEC 88 Bayou Trapper is that Howard did not bury the joints a common feature of the Sowbelly pattern/frame. I have a couple Sowbelly Trappers that have sunken joints so, it was possible for Howard to have included them.
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With the configuration of the handle and the blades he used, might that have caused blade rap? Just a thought.
 
Jiki said:
So when the joints are sunken, what else does that affect? Other than the fact that the joints are lower. If you change something it has to affect something else, blade length, blade width, or the geometry? What else changes?
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stagmeister said:
With the configuration of the handle and the blades he used, might that have caused blade rap? Just a thought.
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I'm not a cutler so don't have matter of fact facts but I'd imagine it could be accomplished changing the angle of the back of the blades and angle of the front edges of the springs and I don't think it would cause blade rap. Like I said; "I'm not a cutler" but I do know that the other Sowbelly Trappers I have have sunken joints so I wouldn't imagine it would have been a problem for Howard to have done it. Anyway, it's not a big deal - just something I would have liked to have seen. Others here have mentioned it too so, it's not just me.

Jiki Jiki - When are your two coming in? I've decided that this knife is too nice to have modified so I'm just going to leave mine as is. Are you still thinking of having your two modified - one left with the Muskrat blade and one left with the Lambsfoot blade? I think that would be kinda cool but then again they're great like they are.
 
Modoc ED said:
I'm not a cutler so don't have matter of fact facts but I'd imagine it could be accomplished changing the angle of the back of the blades and angle of the front edges of the springs and I don't think it would cause blade rap. Like I said; "I'm not a cutler" but I do know that the other Sowbelly Trappers I have have sunken joints so I wouldn't imagine it would have been a problem for Howard to have done it. Anyway, it's not a big deal - just something I would have liked to have seen. Others here have mentioned it too so, it's not just me.

Jiki Jiki - When are your two coming in? I've decided that this knife is too nice to have modified so I'm just going to leave mine as is. Are you still thinking of having your two modified - one left with the Muskrat blade and one left with the Lambsfoot blade? I think that would be kinda cool but then again they're great like they are.
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I'm not saying sunk joints would be a bad thing, as a matter of fact I would probably like it. I'm just trying to figure out why it's not done not just on this knife but more knives. We know Mr Howard put a priority on blade length and width if his past designs are anything to go on. So he may just not want to sacrifice somewhere else to get sunk joints.

Right now I have had no luck on the micarta, but we are staying positive. Then I am also waiting for the jigged bone to be produced, I'm more optimistic about that one. We will see.
 
Modoc ED said:
I'm not a cutler so don't have matter of fact facts but I'd imagine it could be accomplished changing the angle of the back of the blades and angle of the front edges of the springs and I don't think it would cause blade rap. Like I said; "I'm not a cutler" but I do know that the other Sowbelly Trappers I have have sunken joints so I wouldn't imagine it would have been a problem for Howard to have done it. Anyway, it's not a big deal - just something I would have liked to have seen. Others here have mentioned it too so, it's not just me.

Jiki Jiki - When are your two coming in? I've decided that this knife is too nice to have modified so I'm just going to leave mine as is. Are you still thinking of having your two modified - one left with the Muskrat blade and one left with the Lambsfoot blade? I think that would be kinda cool but then again they're great like they are.
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I agree with you on preferring sunken joints, but here again, you are making changes to the blade designs to make that happen.
 
Modoc ED said:
Great set of pictures.:thumbsup:

My only complaint/criticism about this GEC 88 Bayou Trapper is that Howard did not bury the joints a common feature of the Sowbelly pattern/frame. I have a couple Sowbelly Trappers that have sunken joints so, it was possible for Howard to have included them.
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The exposed blade terminus doesn't bother me at all..... But, they can be shielded as shown on the Brand X knife in the attached photo..... It's a matter of building up the top area of the main bolster and liners to form a shroud over the squared ends of the blade spine...... Think of putting a set of fender skirts on your '58 Chevy...... Nothing on the car changes, but the wheel well is shrouded....
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I have three Queen-made Sowbelly knives - a Winchester, a Moore Maker, and a Ruple.

None of them have sunk joints. The frame is more slender than the Case Sowbelly frame, particularly at the top bolster. Case has a taller bolster here, which I suspect accounts for the less exposed joints.

Since I expect that Bill is more acquainted with the Queen frames, it stands to reason that he might follow that design path rather than Case's.


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HEMI 49 said:
The exposed blade terminus doesn't bother me at all..... But, they can be shielded as shown on the Brand X knife in the attached photo..... It's a matter of building up the top area of the main bolster and liners to form a shroud over the squared ends of the blade spine...... Think of putting a set of fender skirts on your '58 Chevy...... Nothing on the car changes, but the wheel well is shrouded....
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I would not want a copperhead on this pattern to solve this issue personally. It would change the lines of the knife which I think are very beautiful as is.
 
HEMI 49 said:
The exposed blade terminus doesn't bother me at all..... But, they can be shielded as shown on the Brand X knife in the attached photo..... It's a matter of building up the top area of the main bolster and liners to form a shroud over the squared ends of the blade spine...... Think of putting a set of fender skirts on your '58 Chevy...... Nothing on the car changes, but the wheel well is shrouded....
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On the knife you chose for comparison (a Copperhead) you are correct. The bolster is purposely upswept to cover the sharp edge of the tang. Apparently, Howard chose to evenly grind the bolster which of course is just fine. It does however, leave a more exposed tang.

Here is an example of sunken tangs of a Case Sowbelly compared to the GEC Sowbelly meant entirely as a comparison not a brand comparison.

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Just to be clear, I only wish that the joints on the 88 had been sunken more than they are. It's not meant to be critical in a negative way - only an expression of disappointment in one very specific area/feature. Overall the 88 is a great knife and design and I have found no faults with mine at all. Well build and thought out.

Everyone should get one.
 
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