I got my gator in today to complete the quartet and can now flesh out my thoughts on the pattern a bit more.
For me, despite its quirks, the 88 has been a much anticipated release for me. With my present and keen interest in wharncliffe trappers and my fondness for both the Lambsfoot blade and the Sowbelly frame, it would have been silly for me to scoff at this latest offering from GEC. For all its stated strangeness, I've seen far more outlandish configurations in traditional patterns that date clear back to the 1800s so I won't be convinced that this is anything too out of the ordinary and I applaud Bill and his crew for executing this concept so brilliantly.
(As an aside, I have very much enjoyed the musical evocations that these knives have brought - Iron Maiden's "
Aces High" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "
Born on the Bayou".)
I was immediately struck by how this knife met and even exceeded my hopes and expectations. Having a well established preference for two-bladed knives, this one pairs a brilliantly and elegantly designed clip blade with the most utilitarian of all straight edged blades and packed them into one of the more ergonomically superior frames in existence. How can I not love this knife? Plus, with a very fine effort from GEC on the build quality, I am rather hard pressed to find anything to nitpick. As I mentioned before, I haven't pocketed another knife since I received my Ace.
Should GEC opt to run a single blade clip version of this knife, I think folks would be very, very pleased. If folks have blade deletes in their forecast, despite my fondness for the Lambsfoot, the clip is the one that you should retain. It is sinuous, graceful, and wickedly elegant - it flows with the frame perfectly.
For fans of the Sowbelly, you will find that this 88 runs on the larger side. Comparing it to the Queen-made Winchester, you can see the obvious similarities - it is just oversized.
One of my regular users that I find most comparable in size and utility is my 82 Dixie Stockman. I think the 88 to be more robust overall but I'd say pocketability and efficiency run in the 82's favor.
This gives you some idea of how the blade might be oriented in hand when using either option.
My example of Ironwood is quite pleasing and it thrills me to death that GEC opted to take the extra care to polish it out versus their typical and uninteresting satin finish from past runs.
Some additional thoughts:
I thought this run encompassed a lot of thought and care on GEC's part. A nice and concise selection of handle materials (only thing missing really was a Stag interpretation), excellent shield choices (seriously, I love that Ace shield and I don't hate the Gator), and an innovative and utilitarian design concept that was executed brilliantly. If GEC continues this trend with future runs, I think we are in for some exciting releases.
If it hasn't been apparent yet, I am very pleased with this run - well done, GEC.
