rockman0
Gold Member
- Joined
- May 5, 2013
- Messages
- 3,102

The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
wish it came with just one pull, the long pull only,
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Charlie convince Bill to take the nail nick off for your run![]()
I gather it's hard to take a nail nick off, Jack!?!
Besides, judging from a good percentage of the old Coke Bottles I have seen, that second nick is very traditional!
Mind you, it was designed to give you leverage to overcome the resistance of strong springs!!
Hmmmmmmmm. . . . . . . . .
Now that would be a Knife To Have !!!!The Ebonies are looking good!!
Bill is making me a small run of African Blackwoods with my favorite shield!!
They will probably be the last off the line!!
View attachment 1106850
I won't know any more until I get back from Oregon!!![]()
The Ebonies are looking good!!
Bill is making me a small run of African Blackwoods with my favorite shield!!
They will probably be the last off the line!!
View attachment 1106850
I won't know any more until I get back from Oregon!!![]()
wish it came with just one pull, the long pull only,
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Charlie convince Bill to take the nail nick off for your run![]()
Got mine today. Beautiful knife, great wood, nice fit and finish. The pull is too light for a big knife. For the price I'm not complaining.
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Lots of reports on the pull strength, but can anyone report on the presence of blade rap?
Being relatively new to traditionals, what is meant by "flushing and lubing" and "soaking" in mineral oil?
Awesome pictures. My ebony 97 is on the way now. Seeing all of these pictures has me chomping at the bit to get it. Can't wait. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.I got my Ebony 97 in yesterday and the weather has finally cleared enough for me to take a couple of pictures and get to know the knife a little better.
First off, like others have mentioned, this is truly a very fine knife. I wasn't sure what to expect with this knife, thinking that it was going to be a little big for my tastes and that I might find the light pull to be a bit off-putting. Originally planning on getting two (one Tidioute and one Northfield), I decided to only go with one and depending on how my relationship with this knife grows, I might consider scooping another up in the near future.
Some initial thoughts after playing with it for a day.
My overall impressions with this knife are very favorable and I am glad that I took the risk and acquired one. I look forward to seeing how it holds up with use, carry, and my ever evolving knife interests.
- Fit an Finish: Overall rather remarkable, even for GEC. Everything is seamless and smooth, not a single flaw to be found. Even with GEC's propensity towards sunken pins on smooth covers, the ones on this knife, though still domed, are still pretty close to flush (aside from the one). No crud or dust is going to collect in there. This knife is truly a marvel in the hand, very, very pleasant to handle.
- Walk & Talk/Pull: This is what the biggest complaints have been about, particularly in regards to the pulls. After a cleaning and some working of the pivot, the walk & talk is simply a delight. Smooth as butter, springy, and satisfying snaps at the open, closed, and half stop positions. The pull is indeed rather light, especially for a knife of this size. However, I don't find it irksome for some reason. The recent 46 sported a rather obnoxiously stiff pull and that was one of the biggest deciding factors in me moving it along to someone else. This 97 will not meet that fate, I find it very pleasing.
- Covers: With any black wood, particularly Ebony, there is always the risk of getting brown or black/brown covers. I was prepared to appreciate whatever ended up in my hands but I was still rather pleased to get some nice Black Ebony. Smooth, lustrous, and buttery to the touch, these covers are just a pure pleasure to have in hand and look at.
- Blade: I was initially a bit skeptical of a saber ground blade with double pulls but I figured it was unique enough to try it out and I am rather glad I did. The blade stock is rather robust, feeling even stouter that that of my departed 46, but that could simply be the nature of the grind. It is a knife that is meant to work and work hard and I think it will be more than capable of meeting that challenge. It will not be the efficient slicer that a blade with a full flat grind will be, but it will cut and it will do so just fine.
Another random thought. Someone mentioned somewhat recently that GEC does not resize their shields. Well, I am pretty certain that my eyes are not playing tricks on me but there is a picture below of my 97 and a 78. Same shield, different sizes... I hope this can bode well for our forum knife.
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beautiful pictures of a beautiful knifePàdruig and nice comparison picture of the shields
The blade on the #97 is the same as on the #98, so I'm not surprised that it feels stout.
Awesome pictures. My ebony 97 is on the way now. Seeing all of these pictures has me chomping at the bit to get it. Can't wait. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.
Got mine today. Beautiful knife, great wood, nice fit and finish. The pull is too light for a big knife. For the price I'm not complaining.
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