GEC 25s - Gots 'em?

Haven't posted my 25 here yet, posted it in another thread and figured I should post it here too.
25%20in%20hand.jpg

That is a Beautifull knife. Would you call it a three finger handle or four? It,s hard to tell in the pic.
 
I know, it just goes to show you how crazy a search can be. I was looking for over a year and nothing. Then found all 3 in about a month. Love the stag.
 
I'll quote my post from the Sunday picture show because it belongs here too.

A study in wood.



In no particular order; snakewood, jobillo, ebony, rosewood, bocote, and African blackwood.

There are many that I'm missing like cocobolo, che chen rosewood and the rare zebrawood and jigged walnut both from '08 but it's the '12 kingwood that I really want for the collection.

Have a good Sunday everyone :thumbup:

Paul
 
I know Paul, my humor usually falls into that category. But I just can't resist, lol.
 
Thanks Travis, that che chen is lovely. One that has yet eluded me :)

Did you mod the ebony yourself?

The ebony with the EO notch came that way. I wasn't sure if it was done at the factory or by one of its owners. Either way, it works well.
 
That's a great picture Maple Tree, good looking stag there too.


A couple of packages arrived for me today with some treats inside;



Thanks again Alan!

That's a fantastic mail call Paul! Congrats on finally scoring a drop-point.
 
That's a fantastic mail call Paul! Congrats on finally scoring a drop-point.

Cheers Ken, AKC hooked me up after I assisted with an international incident :thumbup:

It's great to have one in hand - it's taken me long enough. Now if I could only get those last 4 Northfields from 2012 I would be happy. (Who am I kidding - I'd never be content). Lol :)
 
Good job Paul!:cool::thumbup::thumbup:

They are rare, which is actually incomprehensible as it is probably THE best blade for the frame :confused::D

Regards, Will
 
"It's been a long, a long time coming" as the great Sam Cooke said.

Any regular visitor to the Traditional subform will know that I am an avid collector of the #25 little jack or barlow pattern by Great Eastern Cutlery. I have them in 1095 carbon steel and 440C stainless. I have Northfields, Tidioutes and acorns. I have end capped, bareheaded, easy-open notched versions with stamped, threaded and pinched bolsters sporting branded and plain shields with wooden covers, jigged and smooth bone covers, linen and canvas micarta, acrylic and stag, single bladed and doubles with clip, spear, pen, sheepfoot and wharncliffe blades.

I have some extremely rare pieces but the elusive drop-point blade has always remained out of reach. I have been haunted by images posted by fellow forumites of their splendid examples, some of which were even obtained by accident! I have eagerly read reviews exclaiming the virtues of the profile by people whose opinions I value which I could not respond to. I have even shamelessly begged some very patient and understanding members to sell me their drop-point #25s but without success. Oh how I craved them!

Then a while ago, whilst exchanging messages with a fellow enthusiast who I know has probably the best collection of #25s outside the factory museum itself (I am of course referring to AKC), a favour was asked of me. I agreed without hesitation, as he is a real gentleman, and true to form he offered me in return a knife which was described as an old drop-point user.

It arrived a couple of days ago having spent a number of agonising days waiting in a remailing warehouse in Oregon before crossing the Atlantic.

It is glorious!



The blade disappears into the handle perfectly. In its dormant state this is clearly the sleekest and most pocket friendly version of Bill Howard's classic reinterpretation. The nail nick just peeking above the liner offering enough of itself to allow access without disrupting the beautiful lines of the closed knife. In this regard, the EO notch to me is superfluous to requirements as the spring pull is a firm 7 and there isn't a great deal of blade surface available to get purchase on anyway. ~I'm not an EO man but that's another story~ It's walk and talk is immaculate; an authoritative, definitive and vigorous snippity-snap which is extremely pleasing to the eyes, ears and fingers. When open the spring tension is very firm which provides me with a great deal of trust in this small pocket knife, which is, I suppose, no surprise as I haven't come across a limp #25 yet in any configurations.



Performance wise, this blade profile is excellent. More of a point than the spear sibling but not as much as the clip point, yet able to afford more belly than either without peering above the handle horizon when closed. As any hunter knows, the drop-point design makes for a very dextrous blade which allows the user to manipulate the cutting edge directly by placing a finger along its entire length without bumps, edges or elaborate swedges getting in the way. The 1095 heat treat is, as usual, very good.



Lastly I find it interesting that by sheer coincidence I gave three GEC knives to forum friends recently. All were Northfields in Cocobolo covers with cloud shields. The Gods of sharpness extend Karma.
 
"It's been a long, a long time coming" as the great Sam Cooke said.

Any regular visitor to the Traditional subform will know that I am an avid collector of the #25 little jack or barlow pattern by Great Eastern Cutlery. I have them in 1095 carbon steel and 440C stainless. I have Northfields, Tidioutes and acorns. I have end capped, bareheaded, easy-open notched versions with stamped, threaded and pinched bolsters sporting branded and plain shields with wooden covers, jigged and smooth bone covers, linen and canvas micarta, acrylic and stag, single bladed and doubles with clip, spear, pen, sheepfoot and wharncliffe blades.

I have some extremely rare pieces but the elusive drop-point blade has always remained out of reach. I have been haunted by images posted by fellow forumites of their splendid examples, some of which were even obtained by accident! I have eagerly read reviews exclaiming the virtues of the profile by people whose opinions I value which I could not respond to. I have even shamelessly begged some very patient and understanding members to sell me their drop-point #25s but without success. Oh how I craved them!

Then a while ago, whilst exchanging messages with a fellow enthusiast who I know has probably the best collection of #25s outside the factory museum itself (I am of course referring to AKC), a favour was asked of me. I agreed without hesitation, as he is a real gentleman, and true to form he offered me in return a knife which was described as an old drop-point user.

It arrived a couple of days ago having spent a number of agonising days waiting in a remailing warehouse in Oregon before crossing the Atlantic.

It is glorious!



The blade disappears into the handle perfectly. In its dormant state this is clearly the sleekest and most pocket friendly version of Bill Howard's classic reinterpretation. The nail nick just peeking above the liner offering enough of itself to allow access without disrupting the beautiful lines of the closed knife. In this regard, the EO notch to me is superfluous to requirements as the spring pull is a firm 7 and there isn't a great deal of blade surface available to get purchase on anyway. ~I'm not an EO man but that's another story~ It's walk and talk is immaculate; an authoritative, definitive and vigorous snippity-snap which is extremely pleasing to the eyes, ears and fingers. When open the spring tension is very firm which provides me with a great deal of trust in this small pocket knife, which is, I suppose, no surprise as I haven't come across a limp #25 yet in any configurations.



Performance wise, this blade profile is excellent. More of a point than the spear sibling but not as much as the clip point, yet able to afford more belly than either without peering above the handle horizon when closed. As any hunter knows, the drop-point design makes for a very dextrous blade which allows the user to manipulate the cutting edge directly by placing a finger along its entire length without bumps, edges or elaborate swedges getting in the way. The 1095 heat treat is, as usual, very good.



Lastly I find it interesting that by sheer coincidence I gave three GEC knives to forum friends recently. All were Northfields in Cocobolo covers with cloud shields. The Gods of sharpness extend Karma.
Categorically amazing: tale of desire, story of wishes fulfilled and of course, that awesome knife. Love the 25, thanks for the great read & pics.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
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