GEC dealer stocks: abundance of stag?

[blademan 13]

I love nice stag and would own more but it can be pricey. I also find I like it more on the larger patterns. I also love how it ages with use. The only GEC patterns I have in stag are 23's, 42's, 72's, 81 & a 92. They are all very well matched in both thickness and character/color. Hands down my favorite material on a large folder.

 

[black mamba]

The variance of stag is, in a way, it's own worst enemy. Now that it has become scarcer and so expensive, only knife knuts are really interested in it. And knife knuts can be very, very picky about their stag. So . . . the really great pieces go fast, the really good pieces go eventually, and the not so good pieces are left for everyone to see on the dealer sites and wonder what the hubbub is all about.

You can see the effects of this on the auction sites. Really primo stag pieces go for double what a nice one of the same model goes for.

 

[hoppes no9]

So . . . the really great pieces go fast, the really good pieces go eventually, and the not so good pieces are left for everyone to see on the dealer sites and wonder what the hubbub is all about.

+1.

Most of the stag GECs I see available online now are real turds -- highly mismatched, ugly color/figure, etc.

 

[Planterz]

I'm just jumping into the GEC madness
Scouring all of the dealer inventories it seems that samples in stag far outnumber those of other materials.

Has this always been the case or is stag the material du jour for GEC production?

It appears that way because dealers (by demand of customers) photograph each stag knife individually so people can see each one and choose which one they want, without having to play the "lottery" and buying unseen. Whereas with the same model in Autumn Jigged Bone, each knife will look pretty much the same, so they put up just one listing. So you might get 3 pages of stag knives, but only one with the other handles.

 

[Double Ott]

I do believe that price is a factor, but not the cracking. These are stabilized and won't crack under normal use. I can't speak for everyone else, but when I'm looking to buy a stag knife, I'm making sure that both scales match up right. Often you'll find that one scale is far thicker than the other and many times, these are the ones that are left behind after every other material of a given knife has been sold out.

Your comment that stag is "stabilized" is interesting. I've never heard of natural stag being stabilized. Can you source your information about this? I would be very interested.

Thanks, Tom

 

[knifeswapper]

It appears that way because dealers (by demand of customers) photograph each stag knife individually so people can see each one and choose which one they want, without having to play the "lottery" and buying unseen. Whereas with the same model in Autumn Jigged Bone, each knife will look pretty much the same, so they put up just one listing. So you might get 3 pages of stag knives, but only one with the other handles.

Bingo! If you look a little closer, the quantity for each stag will probably be "1" with the other slabs more. Customers want to see each set of stag because it varies greatly and there are different tastes.

 

[Thomason]

+1.Most of the stag GECs I see available online now are real turds -- highly mismatched, ugly color/figure, etc.

Some of the GEC stag slabs I like more than others but to me none are as you describe. Matter of personal opinion I guess.

 

[TLARbb]

I love/hate stag covers because of the variations in the slabs and fact that sometimes it looks like the stag on the same knife looks like it may have come from different species. These two Case stag rancher knives do not have spectacular covers, but they are pretty consistent front to back and pretty close on the two knives. I like this pair.

I have a limited edition Case sodbuster that has some funny variations in thickness of the covers. Sorry no pictures of it tonight. With Case you have to be look at each knife to make sure it matches well enough to take home. I have not seen as much variation in covers from GEC as Case. As of now, I don't have a Queen with stag so I can't speak to those folks.

It is very hard not to like stag, but it is easy enough to be disappointed in particular specimens. Now, NifeBrite acrylic always matches well...

Ed J

 

[Pokerface]

Your comment that stag is "stabilized" is interesting. I've never heard of natural stag being stabilized. Can you source your information about this? I would be very interested.

Thanks, Tom

Hey Tom…I was looking for the email so that I could fetch the actual lingo used, but I couldn't find it. It was from when I was looking to buy a #66 in Burnt Stag…I had asked Bob from Old Hundred (maybe he'll chime in and clarify) about the appearance of cracks on the scales of a particular knife. He said that the antler scales are stabilized with resin so that the crack will never splinter off or crack further.

 

[black mamba]

I know that GEC's primitive bone shows many cracks that are stabilized, but I had never heard of stag being stabilized. Then again, I've never heard of stag cracking off and losing pieces like bone does.

 

[fatcorgi]

Some of the GEC stag slabs I like more than others but to me none are as you describe. Matter of personal opinion I guess.

when I look at GEC stag online, I think about 50% look beautiful to me, and the rest somehow look too fat or mismatched. GEC's Champlin sfos looked incredibly good.

 

[meako]

The stag slabs in the pics of the new Talon on GEC site look like popcorn:thumbup: