GEC #33 Conductor Whittler

[pertinux]

Despite the immediate appeal of Blue, the intrigue of a pattern (whittler) and frame (#33) I hadn't yet tried, and the attractiveness of others' pictures and reports, I was able to hold out until I saw this:

Why?

... The sparkly depth of the blue (who knew?!) immediately prompted a wave of nostalgia (complete with memories of utmost fondness) for my first bicycle. The colors are almost exact.

Boom, baby.

Fit, Finish, & Form:

Finish is good, although there are light buffing marks on the main blade that I don't usually see on a shiny Northfield. I don't mind, especially since I prefer satin-finished blades anyway, but having noticed I thought I'd mention it. All the blades came reasonably, better-take-care sharp.

Fit is very good. The main blade swings open freely without a half-stop and no blade rub, and the handle is comfortable in use despite the two little bladelets tucked therein.

Each of the secondary blades rubs on the main blade when opening. This is preventable by always opening the main blade first, but the slight rubbing doesn't bother me enough to take this extra step. Once again, the handle is comfortable in use with each of the smaller blades in turn. (Scuff marks from blade rub visible in a couple of these.)

While I've always admired the Conductor pattern, the added thickness of this model appealed to me in a way the first iteration didn't. I especially like the blade-to-handle ratio when using the smaller blades. I look forward to doing more with the knife.

And then, those covers. While my pictures can't rival Rick's (above), I've tried to capture how different this knife can look under varying lighting conditions. It's like a "mood ring" of knives! It's greener in bright light, steel blue otherwise, sometimes appearing almost "flat," and then showing forth green, blue and silver sparkles in both the darker and frostier areas of the covers (pictures really don't do the sparkles justice).

Some of the different appearances, juxtaposed:

Faded Blue Denim on faded blue denim:

Between this knife's blade selection (including that the clip opens on a smooth camber tang, while both smaller blades have half-stops) and its ever-changing appearance, I anticipate it keeping me entertained for hours. Heh.

Thanks, everyone, especially Rick. I'm glad I picked this one up.

~ P.

 

[Humppa]

Sarah, that´s a beauty! I really like these swellcenter knives. They have their own appeal.

On your knife the acrylic handle material is really great matched. I´m sure, you´ll like (even love) that knife.

I think my standart #33 Conductor needs much more pocket time...

 

[hunterjrg]

Nice knife and a cool ring Sarah

 

[BigBill5953]

Great pics! :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[mr_badexample]

Sarah the knife is beautiful and so are the pics. Please stop!

 

[paulhilborn]

Beautiful pictures Sarah----I LOVE THE BIKE PICTURE!!!. I had a Schwinn sparkly green Stingray, banana seat, sissy bar, white wall's---wow great memories :thumbup:

Love the covers on the Whittler

Paul

 

[Planterz]

My #33 whittler in ebony came today (speedy delivery as always, from collectorknives.net). What a great little knife. I have a #33 2 blade Tidioute in buffalo horn, but I haven't carried it much, mainly because I don't know how well the buffalo horn with hold up to every day carry and use. I have no such issues with ebony. The wood on mine is dark, with some streaks of not-as-dark brown. I like it. It's my first knife with ebony wood, and I like the warm feel of it. The #33 (either version) has an impressive (main) blade-to-handle ratio. It's the same length as those on my Case wharncliffe mini trapper, and actually a hair longer than that of my Queen whittler, despite the Queen being longer in the handle. The secondary blades were a bit shorter than expected, given the length of the coping blade on my 2 blade #33, but that's not a problem. Half-stops on the small blades were a pleasant surprise. If it had been mentioned that they have half-stops, I must have missed it, but then my #62 congress whittler has half stops on the secondary blades as well. The #33 whittler is shorter, and narrower than the Queen whittler, which makes it more pocketable (not that the Queen is a brick or anything). Looking at the blades closed from the top at my GEC makes me marvel in amazement. I had to send back my first Queen whittler because the main blade was bent or ground unevenly and hit the tang of one of the secondary blades. My replacement is fine, but comparing the 2, the GEC is obviously far more refined and precise in tolerances.

The #33 whittler is a great knife for those looking for something small in the pocket, yet substantial in the blade(s), but want something less common than a stockman.

 

[Rick]

Ah, "euphoric recall" - that potent sense of nostalgia for a child's lost treasure (remember Charles Foster Kane's last word?). You're so lucky to have this photo! Thanks for sharing it.

Speaking of photos, this one is gorgeous (very nice review, too):

 

[FLymon]

When I saw this knife on the production schedule I was hoping for a red jigged bone in the Northfield trim.
I jumped on the first one I could find.

The fit of this knife is absolutely the best yet from GEC.
The blades line up perfectly.
The springs are flush opened and closed, with both the secondaries leaving the springs flush at the half stops.
The pulls are just right. About a firm 6 on the main blade, with the secondary blades both rating a snappy 5.
They even got all three blades sharp!

If I had to nit pick,
I like the jigging pattern, and the color but they do leave some sharp edges on the bone. I hope they wear down before they snag something.
They still are leaving a little bit of machining marks in the dimples of the bolsters.

All in all I'm very happy with the product at the price.

Just snapped a couple of pictures this afternoon when the sun was out:

 

[pertinux]

Sarah, that´s a beauty! I really like these swellcenter knives. They have their own appeal.

On your knife the acrylic handle material is really great matched. I´m sure, you´ll like (even love) that knife.

I think my standart #33 Conductor needs much more pocket time...

This knife certainly is different from anything else I have. In addition to the crazy covers, the pattern itself has an elegant look about it-- "dress clothes."

Nice knife and a cool ring Sarah

Aw, thanks! I turned the ring so you can see "winter" as well, though the snowflake's detailing has worn away with real life (just like real life ):

Beautiful pictures Sarah----I LOVE THE BIKE PICTURE!!!. I had a Schwinn sparkly green Stingray, banana seat, sissy bar, white wall's---wow great memories :thumbup:l

Thanks, Paul. I can "see" your bike right away, in your description!

Ah, "euphoric recall" - that potent sense of nostalgia for a child's lost treasure (remember Charles Foster Kane's last word?). You're so lucky to have this photo! Thanks for sharing it.

Speaking of photos, this one is gorgeous (very nice review, too):

Thanks, Rick! I figure that most modern manufacturers of traditional knives count on an element of nostalgia to prompt at least some of their sales, but probably not the way it just happened. I am grateful to still have the picture.

If I had to nit pick,
I like the jigging pattern, and the color but they do leave some sharp edges on the bone. I hope they wear down before they snag something.

Man, that's beautiful. Congrats.

My autumn gold Pemberton also had some sharp edges in the jigging; I carefully sanded down the most prominent jags (with fine sandpaper, I think?), going by touch. I'm glad GEC seems to be trying to recapture the deeper, more random jigging featured on some of their earlier (pre-in-house-covered) knives, but the snags can be problematic-- not only because of what they might catch and wreck, but because it's easier for the bone to chip if/when it gets caught on something.

~ P.

 

[DrPenguin]

Hat tip for all of the excellent photos on this thread. Some REALLY wonderful colors and materials on these knives.

Will

 

[oldrifleman]

Ok now you all done it, I had to go and order one from Collector knives. GEC is starting to cost me real money! Steven

 

[jd_elam]

Great pictures! I would not have thought I would have liked a blue knife, but this one looks great!

 

[FLymon]

Man, that's beautiful. Congrats.

My autumn gold Pemberton also had some sharp edges in the jigging; I carefully sanded down the most prominent jags (with fine sandpaper, I think?), going by touch. I'm glad GEC seems to be trying to recapture the deeper, more random jigging featured on some of their earlier (pre-in-house-covered) knives, but the snags can be problematic-- not only because of what they might catch and wreck, but because it's easier for the bone to chip if/when it gets caught on something.

~ P.

Thanks P.
I doubt it will be my last.

I would try to sand mine down (it seems to be 2-3 jags per side) but I am worried about removing color. Did you have any issue with that?

 

[rma100]

A couple of weeks of Pocket Wear will do the job nicely.

 

[pertinux]

Thanks P.
I doubt it will be my last.

I would try to sand mine down (it seems to be 2-3 jags per side) but I am worried about removing color. Did you have any issue with that?

Here's the knife in question, complete with pocket fuzzy caught in one of the worst, pre-sanding jags:

I had no trouble (or concern, really) with removing color, because-- with the jags on the higher levels/ridges of the jigging-- I could clearly see that the color went all the way through. I would venture that the same would be true with your knife, given that all the sides of the canyons would similarly seem to show that the dye is all the way through the bone.

Still, without your knife in front of me, I hesitate to say outright, "Not going to happen."

A couple of weeks of Pocket Wear will do the job nicely.

I'm sure it would in many cases, but given the nature of some of the jags in mine I would have been taking the chance that the bone would snare a thread or material and chip out more of a ridge than I was willing to part with.

Judicious sanding, done almost entirely by feel, took care of the offending, angular jags.

Back on track, Conductor Content:

~ P.

 

[FLymon]

A couple of weeks of Pocket Wear will do the job nicely.

That's the plan, and thanks for the immediate shipping!!

 

[FW JSB]

I do like the three-bladed knives and was pretty content with the Gepetto Whittler as my first, one and only GEC but I kept looking at the pictures, reading and seeing how great the ebony looked on these knives, and then the Conductor Whittler appears. It is just a bit smaller and more pocketable but still over three inches, making it still quite useful and versatile. This pattern and the split backspring keep it as slim and compact as possible and that ebony just looks stoic. I couldn't resist. Looks like this one is going to bump the 57 out of my pocket for now.

I'm shopping for my first whittler. Are you happy with the #57 for that task? I kind of have it narrowed down to the #33, the #62 and the #57. Thanks for any info.

 

[FW JSB]

When I saw this knife on the production schedule I was hoping for a red jigged bone in the Northfield trim.
I jumped on the first one I could find.

The fit of this knife is absolutely the best yet from GEC.
The blades line up perfectly.
The springs are flush opened and closed, with both the secondaries leaving the springs flush at the half stops.
The pulls are just right. About a firm 6 on the main blade, with the secondary blades both rating a snappy 5.
They even got all three blades sharp!

If I had to nit pick,
I like the jigging pattern, and the color but they do leave some sharp edges on the bone. I hope they wear down before they snag something.
They still are leaving a little bit of machining marks in the dimples of the bolsters.

All in all I'm very happy with the product at the price.

Just snapped a couple of pictures this afternoon when the sun was out:

Wow, that looks spectacular. Nice pics.

 

[KP]

I'm shopping for my first whittler. Are you happy with the #57 for that task? I kind of have it narrowed down to the #33, the #62 and the #57. Thanks for any info.

I can't say I have much experience when it comes to carving and whittling but the 57 was my first GEC and just about the perfect compromise for handling some simple and basic wood whittling/carving/shaving around the yard and fire and also serving as an EDC and carrying it during the week to the office in slacks. I have large hands and tend to shy away from knives this size but I was very happy with it. Just the right size and shape for the handle and blade.

What justified the second GEC was that I don't whittle very often and most of the time just want a nice traditional to carry into the office so I was eyeing something slightly smaller that will carry a little better in slacks and the 33 fits that bill. It is very similar to my Buck 303 Cadet but much slimmer and the ebony, 1095 and overall fit and finish really set it apart. I'm thinking about sanding of an 1/8" inch or so on the clip poin on 303 and make it my TSA-compliant knife.