Dumb Question, then post a pic

onojoe

onojoe

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Aug 4, 2013
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Teachers told me there were no dumb questions, I told my kids there were know dumb questions. But in the back of my mind I think there are some dumb questions. Anyways here's mine, and I hope its not dumb. I am too old to care anyways.

What is an SFO. I see the term used pretty frequently. To keep this thread interesting, post a picture of your SFO. Since I don't know what a SFO is, I probably don't have one, so I cant start.
 
Here is an example of an SFO. It was made by Great Eastern cutlery for Mike At Collector Knives





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Here is another one made by Great Eastern Cutlery

63b31db22a2d90e1ddb23b67149f2889.jpg
 
This SFO (actually a Factory Test Run) started off the whole thing for the GEC #71 Bull Nose knives which spawned the GEC #21s. I think only 29 of these SFOs were made

oPy05TC.jpg


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People who tell you that questions are dumb are usually what I call stupid. Of course, one can get tired of hearing the same questions repeatedly, but this does not mean that they are dumb. I too once wondered what SFO meant..... Now that you know, here are some pictures of them. One thing that some don't realize is that SFO's aren't necessarily the rarest or most desirable. I have plenty of non SFO knives that I consider to be gems and much more difficult to come by. Only time and experience can help you decide which ones do it for you.

*Edit - What I consider stupid is not asking a question and then blindly following what is thought to be right, regardless if it is or not. As G.I. Joe once told us, now you know and knowing is half the battle! :thumbup::D

























 
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The following picture could be an example of regular production knives being more sought after than SFO versions. The top two are SFO's. The snake wood knife shown here is probably the rarest of the bunch because there were problems with the wood cracking during manufacturing and the number of knives made with this handle material was greatly reduced because of this. Of course, a knife is only worth what someone is willing to pay, but I've seen this particular model in Snakewood sell for over double the initial price.

Regardless, all 4 of these knives are probably equally sought after, SFO or not.


 
#71 in Green Canvas Micarta with O1 tool steel to Mike Latham of Collectorknives.net




#77 in dark chestnut bone to Mike Latham as well.

 
onojoe said:
Teachers told me there were no dumb questions, I told my kids there were know dumb questions. But in the back of my mind I think there are some dumb questions. Anyways here's mine, and I hope its not dumb. I am too old to care anyways.

What is an SFO. I see the term used pretty frequently. To keep this thread interesting, post a picture of your SFO. Since I don't know what a SFO is, I probably don't have one, so I cant start.
Click to expand...

As others have stated, SFO stands for Special Factory Order. Meaning, a run of knives produced by GEC that has been commissioned by an outside source, with that source funding the run and having the rights/responsibilities to sell the knives. Some who commission SFOs sell them directly, some make them available to/through some of GEC's distributors, some may offer them through other channels.

Because GEC almost always maximizes tooling and production time/costs by producing its own run(s) of knives sharing the pattern (but with different aesthetic choices), an SFO may not stand out as such until one looks deeper (and/or tries to buy a newly released one ;)).

There are many, many examples of SFOs, but no one picture or set thereof that would be foolproof in enabling you to identify the next one.

Hope this helps!

~ P.
 
Hot Dog Colonel. If you find one of those for sale, you're going to pay a pretty penny. Beauties eh?


There was a time when all of us knew nothing.
Now only a few know everything.
 
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Old Hunter said:
Ole Jack by Krack-A-Jack (GEC SFO for Dorton & Roark).

Krack-A-Jack_Cotton_1_.jpg
Click to expand...

Since this is a question thread... I believe the blade in the image above is a cotton sampler (or something like that)? I've always wondered if historically this blade style was actually used for cotton? Also wondering what is the purpose of the unsharpened area of the blade?
 
You bet Jerry - luckily I traded an Auto-opener for the jackknife from one of our buddies at AAPK - never cared for Auto-openers, so I felt like I got the best end of that deal. The jack is one of my most regular carry knives and I would call it a top five favorite.

CBR, that exact blade is shown on page 176 in Blades Guide to Knives and Values as an original Remington design - it was designed and marketed as a cotton sampler for buyers/inspectors in that industry. I have never used it for such work, so I cannot answer the balance of the question, but I understand the blade was pushed into a bale and rotated, allowing a sample of the cotton to be pulled out for inspection. OH
 
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