GEC #73 Osage Orange Begins It's Journey

[Modoc ED]

I received this #73 Osage Orange Scout 28 May. It is the second one I've bought and it's the one I plan to carry regularly.

This is the knife as it came from the tube.

Well, today (30 May) I took it out to my shop and immersed it in 91% Isopropyl alcohol for an houror so. I then took it out of the alcohol and thoroughly scoured and dried the covers with a terry cloth towel. Two things stood out right away.

Firstly, the dark coloring in the grain around the shield on the mark side cover was pretty much cleaned away.

Secondly, a crack in the pile side cover at the butt end became quite evident with the cover wax/oil cleaned away. The crack is circled in red.

The crack is of no importance or concern. I've oiled the joints and plan on carrying this knife and using it as I have others that I have posted about here in Traditionals before - hmmmmm, a certain Radio Knife comes to mind. The crack is certainly not a justifiable reason to send the knife back.

Anyway, I'll add to this thread as things go along and as things happen.

 

[Modoc ED]

Well, it's been about a week or so and I've been carrying this GEC #73 735115 every day. I was out at the stockyard using the knife and a slight blade patina has started. The covers have turned a tad bit darker but I don't expect them to ever turn dark or brownish as some have speculated. So, this is about how the knife should look well into the future. OH, the crack in the pile side cover hasn't changed much and it looks like it will be stable at least for awhile.

 

[Modoc ED]

Hmmmmmmmm. I wonder how it'd look if I stained the pile side cover black with Min-Wax Ebony stain and how it would wear over time? Looks like a project on the horizon.

 

[Modoc ED]

Well, I've been carrying the knife everyday since 6 June 2015 and it doesn't look as if it'll darken up appreciably. I've only been using it for mundane tasks - no JB Weld, tar, etc..

I still might dye the covers black with "Ebony" min-wax but if I don't, that's it for this knife.

 

[Modoc ED]

The corner of the pile side cover where a crack in the cover was pointed out in picture #3 (circled in red) in the OP above finally separated/pulled away from the rest of the cover yesterday. I have been carrying the knife pretty much daily and have used it for most chores encountered as I go through my days. Once again the crack is circled in red in this picture. I used Super Glue to rejoin it with the cover. I have not sanded it. I will let the keys and coins in my pocket do that. Now we'll see how/if it fares.

I've noticed that (at least in my experience with the ones I have) the covers made of Osage Orange seem to be a bit more delicate than say Ebony or Cocobolo. It was mentioned in a thread about the #71 (I think) that there was some cracking and splitting experienced while installing thong hole tubes in the Osage Orange covers.

If anything else happens to this knife, I'll update it.