#77 Washington Street!!

This Washington Jack pattern is an instantly appealing design. Add top quality handle materials and it becomes one of the very best of American Traditional style folders.
As far as i can tell this Washington Jack is close to an exact copy of a Schrade Cut. Co. knife that was made in the 1930's and possibly before that. Schrade-Walden made the same knife, now called a "2OT" in 1958/59 i think. What i find odd is that neither the Schrade Cut Co or Schrade-Walden versions were big sellers. I think only about 1,000(?) of the 2OT were made and the SCC version is rarely seen on ebay.
The tradition of producing in limited numbers lives on ! I received email notification from my friendly dealer that the 77's would be up for sale in 5 minutes. I saw this email 40 minutes after it was sent. I went straight to the dealer site: all gone !
Well, i do have two 2OT's and two SCC: 2202 & 2203 3/4.
But it is unsportsman-like to snag multiple knives for the purpose of flipping for a profit. Perhaps i am a dreamer still, but i believe in buying for yourself and leaving the rest for other 'knifers'.
kj
 
My persistence paid off, and I was just able to score one of these spear points in Cocobolo :)

Thanks, Derek. Really looking forward to this one!!
 
I thought I was out of luck on these. But I actually scored two, cocobolo and ebony. Not the handles I desire, but perhaps I can trad them.
 
Show us and discuss the knives guys! The stories about how and where you snagged em, or didn't snag em, who's selling, who's out, who's flipping etc, are not discussions allowed on this forum. Thanks.
 
kootenay joe said:
This Washington Jack pattern is an instantly appealing design. Add top quality handle materials and it becomes one of the very best of American Traditional style folders.
As far as i can tell this Washington Jack is close to an exact copy of a Schrade Cut. Co. knife that was made in the 1930's and possibly before that. Schrade-Walden made the same knife, now called a "2OT" in 1958/59 i think. What i find odd is that neither the Schrade Cut Co or Schrade-Walden versions were big sellers. I think only about 1,000(?) of the 2OT were made and the SCC version is rarely seen on ebay.
The tradition of producing in limited numbers lives on ! I received email notification from my friendly dealer that the 77's would be up for sale in 5 minutes. I saw this email 40 minutes after it was sent. I went straight to the dealer site: all gone !
Well, i do have two 2OT's and two SCC: 2202 & 2203 3/4.
But it is unsportsman-like to snag multiple knives for the purpose of flipping for a profit. Perhaps i am a dreamer still, but i believe in buying for yourself and leaving the rest for other 'knifers'.
kj
Click to expand...

This behavior would be a minority, in my opinion. Most are in it for the variety, and sell the ones that they don't like. The price is always set by the market, and it is no surprise limited quantities fetch more. It is no different than the pursuit of any other desirable art form. As an example, I recently purchased all six offered covers on the CK #77 SFO, since it was the only way I could fondle them all and determine which I'd love to keep. I actually see this as fun - the anticipation of what Charlie will put out next, the chatter on various threads, and the knowledge shared (which also helps you reserve your favorite as soon as it is announced). As fair as it can get.
 
I can't wait to see the pictures of all these including the 77 version of the harness (punch) jack. That should be a treat!
 
choombak said:
This behavior would be a minority, in my opinion. Most are in it for the variety, and sell the ones that they don't like. The price is always set by the market, and it is no surprise limited quantities fetch more. It is no different than the pursuit of any other desirable art form. As an example, I recently purchased all six offered covers on the CK #77 SFO, since it was the only way I could fondle them all and determine which I'd love to keep. I actually see this as fun - the anticipation of what Charlie will put out next, the chatter on various threads, and the knowledge shared (which also helps you reserve your favorite as soon as it is announced). As fair as it can get.
Click to expand...

Hey, in case you didn't see the post right above you:

Peregrin said:
Show us and discuss the knives guys! The stories about how and where you snagged em, or didn't snag em, who's selling, who's out, who's flipping etc, are not discussions allowed on this forum. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
RDaneel said:
I can't wait to see the pictures of all these including the 77 version of the harness (punch) jack. That should be a treat!
Click to expand...

Wow, I'm glad I have this exact version coming to me! I love the WJ, but the HJ is something special!
GEC-ILLUSTRATED.png
 
Thanks for grabbing the pic!!

I like what I am seeing. Bill did a good job on the punch - Can't wait to try one out!!
 
Got the Autumn Gold today. Not as dark as the 77 2b Northfield Barlow's, but still has nice depth of color in the bone. Pull is at 9 for me on both blades. The tip is sharper compared to the 77's I just got and has a bit better shape to it. The brass liners and pins bring out the color of the Autumn Gold bone nicely. Fairly sharp out of the box. Has some fine swirls on the blade. I assume this is from the etching process which I wish they would just skip... blade stamp YES, blade etching NO for my likes. The crimping on the bolster came out good.. I know there was some issues with that last go around. Overall happy except it's dang hard to open.



 
cbr thanks for the quick review. I wonder how many of these Washington Jacks will be a "9" to open ? Hopefully not many.
I don't understand why GEC cannot consistently get the spring 'power' right. It is not an issue with any other knife manufacturer. A spring is present to prevent the blade from opening on it's own and to provide some resistance to coming off the fully open position. It does not have to be a bear trap to do this.
But, you do have a very good looking knife with my favorite of the handle materials.
kj
 
kootenay joe said:
cbr thanks for the quick review. I wonder how many of these Washington Jacks will be a "9" to open ? Hopefully not many.
I don't understand why GEC cannot consistently get the spring 'power' right. It is not an issue with any other knife manufacturer. A spring is present to prevent the blade from opening on it's own and to provide some resistance to coming off the fully open position. It does not have to be a bear trap to do this.
But, you do have a very good looking knife with my favorite of the handle materials.
kj
Click to expand...

I have an Ivory Bone coming from a different dealer. Since it's different handle material I'm hoping there's a chance it's not going to have the same problem because it maybe went through the assembly process at a different time?... I'm not sure how that works....or maybe the Superman that assembled my knife had some other task that day.

It stinks because I bought this knife to use and I can hardly get it open. FWIW I play sports and do not have problems with the use of my hands. Anyway, hopefully it's just the one I got...
 
I don't understand the heavy pull vs. the 77 Medium Barlow. Wouldn't they just use the same springs?
 
BigBiscuit said:
I don't understand the heavy pull vs. the 77 Medium Barlow. Wouldn't they just use the same springs?
Click to expand...

One would think, Bob.

Perhaps the different pulls being reported are as much the variances between personal "pull levels" as they are attributable to spring variance? Missed the boat on these so I can't compare them directly with my #77 barlows. Maybe someone who has multiples of each will weigh in?
 
rma100 said:
clean and oil the joints
Click to expand...
Agreed with this 100%.

I got a new 15 Boys Knife from a GEC dealer a while back that was so hard to open I thought I was going to have to send it back. I have another 15 that is perfect, so I knew it wasn't the pattern per se.

So instead I taped up the blades with blue masking tape (so I wouldn't cut myself), submerged the knife in very hot water with Dawn dishwashing liquid, and worked the blades open and closed, swishing the knife around in the water, really clearing out any gunk. Then dried it off, used some canned air followed by WD-40 and kept working it to make sure all of the water was out. Felt a little something give way and all of a sudden it was smooth as silk. Felt like maybe some grain of grit left over from grinding came loose or crumbled away.

So now that 15 which was so bad I wanted to send it back, now has some of the best walk/talk of any of my GECs.

So I would certainly try a good rinse, flush, and lube before assuming there's something wrong with it.
 
Straight out of the tubes. Not the best lighting.

One word: Fantastic.

More than one word: Excellent Fit & Finish. Pull on both main blades is about a 7. Pull on both pen blades is about a 6.5. If that doesn't help, pull is about the same as the most recent Northfield 77 Barlows. Just right, IMO. Blades are centered and sharp. Excellent walk & talk with half-stops on both main and pen blades. Brass pins and liners really add to the beauty of these knives. I like blade etches on some knives. The Washington Jack blade etch is pure class and a perfect fit, to my eyes.

WashingtonJacks003_zps755jkzxq.jpg



Charlie, we really appreciate all that you do here on the forums and in your collaboration with Great Eastern Cutlery. Together, y'all bring us some of the finest pocket knives on the planet... knives that will be used, displayed, admired, chicken-eyed, coon-fingered and talked about for years. Thank you!
 
Simple question. Probably has been answered before.
How does one go about purchasing one of Charlie's SFOs?
Thanks,
Randy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top