GEC 23...unpopular knife size?

rschuch

rschuch

Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
709
When I started collecting knives, I began with traditionals, mostly large toothpicks and linerlocks. I just like large single blade knives. I eventually got into moderns and sold off some of my traditionals to help fund the transition, but I kept a bunch of my favorite larger GECs. The one I miss most is my 23 natural bone beavertail. I would have preferred a drop point so part of my trading it was to eventually replace it with one, but none seem to be coming up in the "for sale" or "trade" sections. I remember I had a hard time trading it because no one wanted such a large knife in their pocket.
So I guess the question is why is the 23 such a rare knife to find? Only certain people like that size and those that do tend to keep them? I wish I would have kept that one I had because I got it for cheap and anything I see now is almost double the price I paid!
 
The only GEC #23 I've ever owned was a two blade. I bought it because I couldn't resist the Ox Horn covers.

I sold it mainly because the blade pulls were a 10 but also because the knife was too big for me.
 
I do not have any personal experience with the 23s (I actually had to look up the pattern), but I would venture a guess and say that it is a pretty big knife for most folks to want to carry every day. I think the 3 1/2" - 4" size range is pretty perfect for me when it comes to everyday pocket carry. Which just goes to show how much my tastes have evolved since joining these forums as I used to carry a veritable brick of a modern folder.

Pertaining to your question, I would say that many folks here are of a similar mind, it is just too big to comfortably carry regularly and it is a lot of knife for the everyday cutting tasks one might be faced with.
 
I think the folks that have the 23 love them, but don't necessarily carry it often. I love my 23....got it used and only due to the bull lock, which makes it essentially a fixed blade. And that is why it may not be all that popular...if ya gonna carry something this size, then it might as well be a fixed blade, which I tend to prefer.
Certainly in many places it would be illegal to carry...except here in colorado where , "I'm camping and just down for supplies" will get you a by.
I'm glad I found mine used cause they are pretty expensive on the secondary. As a collector piece they are certainly few and far between and so easy enough to hold on to.
 
I had a bull lock for a while as well and just didn't like the feel of it. The pull on the beavertail wasn't a 10, maybe a 7 or so, a bit stiff, but the longer blade made it easy to grab and open, so I didn't mind. I DO like my 42 lockback which is a breeze to open!
 
Hopefully GEC runs the 23 again sometime soon. I'd guess they rarely show up on the exchange because the people that have them don't want to part with them.
 
This is the same frame as the Northwoods Madison Barlow, right? I've always wondered about it in person. I have modern knives in that size class, but I can't recall seeing traditional (not fixed) knives that large before.
 
Anyone who has a Bull Lock that is too big for their taste is more than welcome to PM me :D
I have some cool stuff to trade.
 
I line mine. I have three 23's. One single blade, and two with two......good size for bigger chores.
 
I like the primitive bone! But not a fan of the linerlock on that. I had a smaller knife, a 72 or 73, with a linerlock with a REALLY stiff pull and I kept thinking it was just a matter of time before I took off my thumb, so I traded it. Shame because it was an osage orange which I'd wanted forever! One reason for my liking larger blades is I like large apples and with a small blade it sometimes takes a few cuts to get through.
 
I have 3x 23s
Green jigged bone
Yellow smmooth bone
Cocobolo .
This post made me wonder why GEC are leaning mainly more toward smaller patterns these days.
Although the mudbugs and f&f knives are quite large compared to most of what they are prodoocing.
 
I've had a few of the 23 single blades. The first GEC Tidioute I ever purchased was a 23L with the burnt grizzly. It's a boss knife and the burnt grizzly jigging is awesome. I still have it. I also have a brimstone 23 and one other 23L but I forget the handle name....with the yellow/brown bone jigged, maybe goldenrod? I really like the black jigged bone and would like to get a hold of one of them with a single blade.
DSCN1089.JPG twobigs.jpg
 
I have a burnt stag linerlock #23 that I use outdoors.

23stagLL_zps3a7a5ecc.jpg~original


And here it is with a #74 Stallion for comparison. I love the drop point blade shape on the #23s.

f18414bc-7c1a-499c-8043-a36bcb3c6101_zpsajqgkc0q.jpg~original
 
I like the size of the 23. I just don't like that size with GEC's 1095. The knife is large enough to handle serious tasks, but the steel isn't up to the job. I carried this one every day for over a year before I had had enough and moved on. I now have a Queen/Ruple trapper that's just a touch smaller, but the D2 blades handle anything I can throw at them.

SkQeNfUl.jpg


I've had thoughts about selling the 23, but it was my first GEC and one of only two I have left. It sure is a nice knife, though.
 
meako said:
I have 3x 23s
Green jigged bone
Yellow smmooth bone
Cocobolo .
This post made me wonder why GEC are leaning mainly more toward smaller patterns these days.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Let me phrase it this way...Traditional knives seem to be headed in a different direction than modern folders, which are getting bigger. I like 4" blades and there's a lot more to choose from in the 3.75" to 4" range these days than 5 years ago. But most of the new GEC models are smaller (coyotes, beagles, mustangs, etc.), and multi-bladed. Do people who tend to buy GEC and Queen knives use them for different tasks than people who carry ZTs and Benchmades? I'd guess whittling lends itself both optically and functionally towards a smaller traditional blade. It'd be an interesting choice to whittle with a Benchmade Bedlam! But other than that, I'd think both would use their knives for the same thing on a daily basis (fruit, boxes, etc.) and if you're going out in the woods, a larger traditional will work just as well as any tactical. Is it the pocketclip that just makes a tactical easier to grab, one handed opening and more easily accessible than a 23 sitting at the bottom of your pocket tangled in your keys? I honestly like the traditional "look" better with stag and wood handle materials, but small multi-bladed knives don't appeal to me. Guess I just find it interesting knife aficionados have different tastes in size depending on what style they lean towards.
 
I am moving toward bigger and more functional knives. I have accumulated a lot of the smaller GEC patterns but none of them really hold the same appeal as they aren't knives I would want to have in my pocket when I need a knife. They cost about the same as the larger partterns too. I have two GEC 42s and they are awesome. The 72, 73 and 42 are all great knives. Medium/large is perfect.
 
Not saying its a bad thing just interesting seeing how the rich tapestry of modern traditionals is unfolding.:thumbsup::)
 
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