A little help comparing GEC 21 and Case Tribal Lock

[JTB_5]

Does anyone have both a GEC 21 Bull Buster and a Case Tribal Lock for side by side comparison pictures? I've seen Logan's comparisons of the 21 and 71 on his Knife Thoughts blog, but I couldn't find comparison pictures of the 21 and Tribal Lock.

I'm thinking about getting a 21 and doing some modifications to make it a little bit more like a tribal spear shape, but I'm curious how big the 21 is next to the Tribal lock--both in terms of length and thickness.

If anyone has some pictures they could share, I'd appreciate it!

 

[JTB_5]

Nothing, eh?

 

[tmd_87]

I think it would be cool!

 

[JTB_5]

I think it would be cool!

Thanks Taylor! I’ll be receiving a bull buster from Will @Will Power for a spear mod and contouring, so I’ve been thinking about the look of the handle with that spear. The 71 and 21 have a different curve than the 74 and Esky Zulu though.

 

[tmd_87]

Thanks Taylor! I’ll be receiving a bull buster from Will @Will Power for a spear mod and contouring, so I’ve been thinking about the look of the handle with that spear. The 71 and 21 have a different curve than the 74 and Esky Zulu though.

Very cool! You got me looking at Bull Busters now. I am hankering for a new knife!

 

[Nature Boy]

I got ya. Just need a little time today.

Nothing, eh?

 

[JTB_5]

I got ya. Just need a little time today.

Awesome! No rush. I have time before I get my hands on anything.

 

[Nature Boy]

Here ya go:

Let me know if you need anything else.

 

[JTB_5]

Very cool! You got me looking at Bull Busters now. I am hankering for a new knife!

You do have the bug! I’m going to try an Opinel no. 6 mod today. If it turns out well I may throw it up on the exchange, unless you think it is something you would like and I can just work out something in a Dm.

 

[JTB_5]

Here ya go:
View attachment 1319149 View attachment 1319150 View attachment 1319151 View attachment 1319152
Let me know if you need anything else.

That’s great, thank you! I think I can work with what you’ve put up. This is going to be fun.

 

[tmd_87]

You do have the bug! I’m going to try an Opinel no. 6 mod today. If it turns out well I may throw it up on the exchange, unless you think it is something you would like and I can just work out something in a Dm.

Oh cool can't wait to see. I'm really on the fence looking at 29's right now LOL.

 

[hornetguy]

I didn't take any pics, ( I can, if you wish ) but I compared my modded 71 bull nose to my tribal lock... the bull nose is approximately 1/4" shorter than the TL, and the blade is about the same amount shorter. They are very close in size.....

edit: the 21 appears to be about 1/2" longer than the TL from the pics provided. So, 1/4" shorter, or 1/2" longer....

 

[JTB_5]

I didn't take any pics, ( I can, if you wish ) but I compared my modded 71 bull nose to my tribal lock... the bull nose is approximately 1/4" shorter than the TL, and the blade is about the same amount shorter. They are very close in size.....

edit: the 21 appears to be about 1/2" longer than the TL from the pics provided. So, 1/4" shorter, or 1/2" longer....

Thanks for this information. I have a 71 and though I didn't compare it to the Tribal Lock when I had one of those, I knew it was a bit shorter. One of the things I wanted to see (which you can see above) is the blade depth as you look from the side. On Logan's write up (KnifeThoughts) the 21 has a wider blade depth than the 71 and I wanted to see if the Tribal Lock was closer to the 21.

I think the biggest difference in achieving a "Tribalish" modification to the 21 is going to be the position of the nail nick. The amount of drop on the Tribal lock from the spine would require eliminating the nail nick on the 21. I don't think it would be pinchable unless a) I got the lockback bull buster (Maher and Grosh, I think?) or b) took more off of the based of the handle on the 21 to allow for more blade surface area to protrude from the blade well.

It is all just an idea right now, and, of course, something to tinker with. There's nothing wrong with the way any of these knives are, but it is fun to try and modify them (for me anyway).

Here's the Opinel no. 6

 

[hornetguy]

here's my modded 71... no problem with the nail nick on this one... but mine is more of a drop point. It doesn't curve down quite as much as the TL does...

edit for comparison pic... closed length is about 1/4" shorter