The #98 at first glance looks ideal. After thinking about it for a while though, I imagine it's very heavy in the pocket.
I'm torn when it comes to Opinel. I love the simple form and function, and I have to admit their sizing (9 and 10 especially) is great. But I keep thinking to myself "It's not elegant enough. It won't be a blade I'll want to pass down.".
It's a paradox I'm dealing with. I want something decently sized for my massive self, but I don't want it's weight to rival a cinder block like I'm sure the #98 does.
Couple of things....
First, with respect to passing something down, here is my most treasured knife....
Grandpas Knife by
Pinnah, on Flickr
This was my Grandfather's hunting knife. From a collector/value point of view, it's worthless. It's a no-name knife probably made in post-war Japan in the 50s and sold cheaply at Army surplus stores. The thing that makes is valuable to me is not that my Grandfather invested in a good knife to hand down to me, but that he invested in
me. He took me hunting and fishing and boating and gave me advice and encouragement through hard times.
My recommendation... Don't worry about passing a knife along to anybody. Get a knife you love for whatever reason you love it and use it and concurrently, invest in people. The way I figure it, if I do my job right, my kids will keep my Opinels and other cheap knives because they remind them of me, not because they are nice knives.
Regarding GEC and their competitors... I'm 6'3" and wear XL sized gloves. I'd recommend you give serious consideration to how you want to carry a big folder. Primary options are: front pocket carry, rear pocket carry (run a seam up your pocket along the side to hold the knife up), or belt carry in a sheath. They all have pros and cons and I can't help you choose any more than I pick out shoes for you. Rear pocket carry is best for me but whatever. If you are constrained to front pocket carry, then you may want to steer towards thinner and lighter options.
Opinels go from OK to great with some TLC including sanding and refinishing. Not everybody's cup of tea but I find them plenty elegant once redone. The #9 can be easily front pocket carried if the handle is thinned like this one's has been. The #10 is a very big knife and I find it best to be pack pocket carried.
Untitled by
Pinnah, on Flickr
The Buck 110 is a compelling knife and everybody should have at least one just because. You can find them cheap and they will shock you about how nice they are for the price. It's a brutally heavy knife and either you man-up and accept that or you need to find a lighter knife. It's an incredibly fun knife to have and work with.
Buck 110 by
Pinnah, on Flickr
Buck also has a custom shop with upgrade steels, scales and as of recently, drop point blades. I'm asking Santa for a drop point 110 with oak scales.
If you want to front pocket carry a big knife, I find the large Sodbusters like the Case to be very easy to carry.
Untitled by
Pinnah, on Flickr
One thing to bear in mind though is that the light weight of the Sodbuster is due, in part, to how thin the handle is from spine to blade well and this makes the knife a bit harder to control when doing hard cuts. It's like the handle disappears in a bad way. The 110 and Opinels are better in hand for me.
As for GEC, the saying goes, "Good, fast, cheap: pick two."
Good means that which makes you happy. If the GEC look is the only thing that will make you happy, then I would be prepared to wait to find what you're looking for.
