GEC #48 single blade dogleg trapper, initial impressions

thejamppa

thejamppa

Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Messages
2,907
Hello everyone!

I got my first GEC of this year. #48 northfield dogleg trapper with single blade. I found from Greg's selection EDC of ancient walnut, which was EDC because of color mismatched panels. So I bought it. I Find color mismatching in this particular knife great and character maker.

Now I got closest thing for it is Gec toothpick with saber ground and I made few observations:

Toothpick feels way beefier. I never realized how much thicker saberground toothpicks blade was till I compeared it to #48 flatground. Difference is huge. Also, my new #48 is mean slicer.

Shape is good and dang its light. I can barely feel it on my hand when using, but not in pocket. the slimness makes knife disapear even its considerably longer than Case swayback jack, GEC # 61 congress or GEC #25 jack knife I've been carried.

I sharpened my toothpick (took me about 15 mins to get it enough sharp for my like) and it slices paper and everything really nice and cuts hair off your arm but #48, I simply few times used fine ceramic rods and 30 seconds and #48 pops thair off my back without effort. Blade geometry saber vs. fullflat prooves that flat ground makes better slicer but most of us already knew that.

Now what is my initial impression: I am impressed and surprised positively. I am sure #48 gets alot pocket time.

Pictures are due when I have time to resize and post them.

Edit: the pictures as I promised:

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Why this knife was EDC was due mismatching panels, which I think just gives a nice character, at least in my humble opinion:
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jani. I especially appreciate the side-by-side pictures as I have been considering these same two models.

- Christian
 
I agree about the single blade trapper. I have a number of them and like them a lot. I also like the mismatched scales. That would have been no problem for me, either.

I really like the "talk" of these trappers. They really snap open and closed well.

GEC also makes the Scagel branded single trappers (basically the same as these) but they are full flat ground with a convex edge by Bark River. They have even thinner blades and are real slicers.
 
You got a great deal! The trapper looks really nice!

I wonder why GEC calls it a dogleg trapper? It seems confusing especially with the #56 dogleg jack which to me does look like a dogleg pattern and is a nice knife, too.
 
texasflyfisher said:
You got a great deal! The trapper looks really nice!

I wonder why GEC calls it a dogleg trapper? It seems confusing especially with the #56 dogleg jack which to me does look like a dogleg pattern and is a nice knife, too.
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I think they stopped calling it a dogleg trapper early on and started calling a slimline trapper. There may still be photos with the dogleg name out there (or dealer descriptions)
 
Those scales don't look really mismatched-I've seen/had far worse!

Looks like an excellent knife to me I have the Tidioute Green version and found the fit very good. Would prefer this knife without the half-stops though, more smooth opening with a single slim blade.
 
I have the tidioute version in tractor red I've got to say the quality far surpasses any sub 100$ slip joint I've ever held I wish it came in there wonderful 440c though.
 
i have several of both patterns [may post pics later] the tooth is slightly heavier construction & would do tuffer work. the slim trapper is a petite beauty that begs to be in your pocket. although the trap is a demon slicer it requires a little discretion in usage. i would'nt use on anything larger than trout & squirrels in the boonies. [rabbits also] but on cardboard & ENVELOPES THE TRAP HAS NO PEER.
DENNIS
 
Excellent comparison picture of the two blade grinds. It's a more significant difference than I would have thought. The walnut looks good and for the EDC designation their lack of matching is certainly not a problem. Nice to hear that yours came pretty sharp and didn't need much edge work. That model is a real pleasure to carry and use. Take it from me, I'm a doctor. Or something like that. ;)


-- Nate
 
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elk tooth---snake trap---& antique orange saber tooth
the elk is 440c, here are some semi-accurate numbers.about 1/3 in. from handle the thickness was:elk,88/1000--snake'80/1000-- & antique orange ,108/1000. the lenghts on tooth blade ,2 & 15/16. trap was 3 & 1/16. these are shaky old hand measurements but give menbers some dimension differences.
dennis
 
Jani...those two knives are great, I love the single bladed Trappers...very nice knives...and thanks for the imformative comparison :thumbup: :)

Dennis, man, that antique orange saber tooth, the grind on that blade = wow factor..that is one very sweet looking knife!:thumbup:
 
as an aside may i mention that the tooth saber grind is a much stouter blade than the flat grind tooth .however the flat grind will out slice the saber grind any day. i bought the saber grind to look at since it's so striking.
dennis
 
It's odd that they would make the saber ground blade of thicker stock -- a saber ground blade is a meatier blade than a full flat ground blade anyway, no need to add to it.
 
zerogee said:
It's odd that they would make the saber ground blade of thicker stock -- a saber ground blade is a meatier blade than a full flat ground blade anyway, no need to add to it.
Click to expand...

OK, that didn't make sense to me: meatier but not thicker? Would you mind educating a newbie on what you meant?

Thanks,
David
 
Great pics and review Jani. I have 2 #48s and 1 #12 that is full flat grind. They are all excellent slicers. Echoing Dennis, the toothpick is more stout and feels like it can take on tougher jobs.
 
when I have change, I'll get flat ground #12 toothpick, probably Tidioute's frontier bone. I like GEC's toohtpicks but #48 has been lately in my pocket.
 
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