GEC Rendezvous 2022

mrknife · Jun 12, 2022

So by some grace of god I have returned home despite some car problems that developed during my return trip. This year was certainly an interesting rendezvous. It all starts here for me

apparently if i drove directly into town and put my chair down, id have been number 1!

But instead I was number 11 due to my attempt to sleep in. It was off to an inauspicious start as it was rainy and windy and I rushed back to the Creek to get my gear and more clothing after setting down my chair.

Was wondering how folks were gonna pass the night this time as it was colder and damper than last year. Luckily

Jack Wolf Knives brought out his ipad and had some movies downloaded.

Heres the folks at dinner that Friday evening where we usually do it big!

Those are facebook groups and some classic bladeforums members, along with Apostle P

Part of the effort

Travman was describing to get us all oiled up for Karaoke

From the second day, the man himself

So there was actually a reporter on site Friday and GEC made front page news!!!!

and blown up for easier perusal

We got to spend a lot of time with Bill on Thursday and were able to have many conversations with him, ironically he didnt want to be in the papers when I mentioned it casually that Randy was hamming it up!

And what we've all been waiting for, the loot!

This year the knives were strange. I didn't expect this but I did get to kid with Bill about the cocobolo. The rendezvous knife doesnt generally hit for me so I skipped it. But I did walk away with some sfas, the Good as Gold soup bone and and the Micarta 83. Ironically, I was able to actually score some pieces that finishes the older run offerings and some back ups. O yeah, shame about that 14 being ebony an S as it wouldve been a perfect replacement for the one i let go, however it was asking about that that got a few of us 77 barlows in the shop.

Unfortunately, this year's rendezvous was marred by several things. Several bladeforum members were unable to attend due to some health issues. Also there may be some who just dont plan on attending any longer. As each of these pass, some of the original slipjoint fans I've gotten to know also have moved on from the hobby, one unfortunately due to health reasons (arthritis), some, life itself. A wise man once said you attend for the people, not the knives. They are just things after all but things that bring us together. It was certainly good to see the original faces that remain and meet some of the new ones. Until our next meeting...

tmd_87 · Jun 12, 2022

Awesome stuff guys! Congrats!

Sacto · Jun 12, 2022

Thanks for all of the updates, everyone. It looks like a fun weekend. I’d love to make it out there one year, but it’s a long trip form California.

waynorth · Jun 12, 2022

Travman said:
One of the GEC employees showed us his collection. Most of his knives were stamped with a ”2” on the back side of the tang stamp. These knives are called “seconds”. Second knives are kind of like “S” stamped store knives, but these are only sold to employees for a reduced price.

Nice to see a few of my SFOs in this collection!! Especially by an employee!

waynorth · Jun 13, 2022

mrknife said:
So by some grace of god I have returned home despite some car problems that developed during my return trip.

Oh No!!Glad you made it home, Jack!!

waynorth · Jun 13, 2022

mrknife said:
It was certainly good to see the original faces that remain and meet some of the new ones. Until our next meeting...

I predict there will be more of the original faces next year!! Thanks for the reporting, and pictures from this year, Jack!!

I'm going through severe nostalgia here!!

mrknife · Jun 13, 2022

waynorth said:
Oh No!!Glad you made it home, Jack!!

waynorth said:
I predict there will be more of the original faces next year!! Thanks for the reporting, and pictures from this year, Jack!! I'm going through severe nostalgia here!!

Thanks Charlie!!,

from your lips to God's ears!!!!

Augie · Jun 13, 2022

Travman said:
There were several tables set up on the front lawn and people were selling knives. This one is a Camillus tear drop in the hands of Bill Howard. I think he was checking it out to make sure his 85’s measure up. Thank you John ( Augie ) for offering such a solid older knife for me to take care of.

You are welcome Travis, glad you got that one and glad it went to a friend. Bill sure spent some time studying it and commenting on the construction, you got a great picture of him doing that.

Augie · Jun 13, 2022

mrknife said:
So by some grace of god I have returned home despite some car problems that developed during my return trip. This year was certainly an interesting rendezvous. It all starts here for me

apparently if i drove directly into town and put my chair down, id have been number 1!

But instead I was number 11 due to my attempt to sleep in. It was off to an inauspicious start as it was rainy and windy and I rushed back to the Creek to get my gear and more clothing after setting down my chair.

Was wondering how folks were gonna pass the night this time as it was colder and damper than last year. Luckily Jack Wolf Knives brought out his ipad and had some movies downloaded.

Heres the folks at dinner that Friday evening where we usually do it big!

Those are facebook groups and some classic bladeforums members, along with Apostle P

Part of the effort Travman was describing to get us all oiled up for Karaoke

From the second day, the man himself

So there was actually a reporter on site Friday and GEC made front page news!!!!

and blown up for easier perusal

We got to spend a lot of time with Bill on Thursday and were able to have many conversations with him, ironically he didnt want to be in the papers when I mentioned it casually that Randy was hamming it up!

And what we've all been waiting for, the loot!

This year the knives were strange. I didn't expect this but I did get to kid with Bill about the cocobolo. The rendezvous knife doesnt generally hit for me so I skipped it. But I did walk away with some sfas, the Good as Gold soup bone and and the Micarta 83. Ironically, I was able to actually score some pieces that finishes the older run offerings and some back ups. O yeah, shame about that 14 being ebony an S as it wouldve been a perfect replacement for the one i let go, however it was asking about that that got a few of us 77 barlows in the shop.

Unfortunately, this year's rendezvous was marred by several things. Several bladeforum members were unable to attend due to some health issues. Also there may be some who just dont plan on attending any longer. As each of these pass, some of the original slipjoint fans I've gotten to know also have moved on from the hobby, unfortunately due to health reasons (arthritis). A wise man once said you attend for the people, not the knives. They are just things after all but things that bring us together. It was certainly good to see the original faces that remain and meet some of the new ones. Until our next meeting...

Great pictures and stories Jack, Donna and I sure enjoyed spending time with you again. Sorry about the car issues on the way home but glad you got home safely.

joeradza · Jun 13, 2022

Thanks for all the updates. It made me feel like I was there. Maybe another time.

mrknife · Jun 13, 2022

Augie said:
Great pictures and stories Jack, Donna and I sure enjoyed spending time with you again. Sorry about the car issues on the way home but glad you got home safely.

thanks and likewise! always good to see you two at these, you guys are 5/5 for all the ones ive attended. Hope you guys had a safe trip as well

Augie · Jun 13, 2022

Another great Rendezvous in the books, great to catch up with old friends, make new ones and hope that our missing old friends can make it next year as you were missed.

I'm going to have to do several posts to try to capture this years experience, I'm going to start with the knives as I will have to wait for Donna to get me the Rendezvous people pictures.

I'm going to start with a very pleasant surprise that also helps explain the great stag drop of the 2017 Rendezvous when several boxes of 4 year old stag knives appeared for sale as store knives. This year a box of 4 year old stag 44's and a few Elk 99's showed up, looking at them they all looked like first quality knives to us so it was a mystery as to why there were so many as the stags that sold out quickly at the drops in 2018.

Talking to Bill Saturday and just remarking to him what a great time we were having and that I was so pleased to see the 44's and 99's available but that we did not understand what they were store knives as they all looked first rate and many had much better than average stag and Elk. He asked if we would like to know the story and of course we said yes, he stated that they go to great lengths to match up the stag they have when the make a knife, one of the last steps in the production process is an oil bath that removes production dirt, compound, etc. Stag and Elk being a natural porous material absorbs the oil and some of the knives come out of the oil bath with the coloring now mismatched to the point that if they shipped them to dealers they thought they might be returned. Bill has found that if they sit for awhile that the colors return to pretty close to how they were originally matched up.

Duncan, Paul, myself and others always wondered why so many great stag knives appeared at the 2017 Rendezvous and know we know why, I was lucky enough to be at both Rendezvous. 2022 stag and Elk that I acquired, Donna also picked up 2 44's that are just as nice.

pmek5 · Jun 13, 2022

mrknife said:
So by some grace of god I have returned home despite some car problems that developed during my return trip. This year was certainly an interesting rendezvous. It all starts here for me

apparently if i drove directly into town and put my chair down, id have been number 1!

But instead I was number 11 due to my attempt to sleep in. It was off to an inauspicious start as it was rainy and windy and I rushed back to the Creek to get my gear and more clothing after setting down my chair.

Was wondering how folks were gonna pass the night this time as it was colder and damper than last year. Luckily Jack Wolf Knives brought out his ipad and had some movies downloaded.

Heres the folks at dinner that Friday evening where we usually do it big!

Those are facebook groups and some classic bladeforums members, along with Apostle P

Part of the effort Travman was describing to get us all oiled up for Karaoke

From the second day, the man himself

So there was actually a reporter on site Friday and GEC made front page news!!!!

and blown up for easier perusal

We got to spend a lot of time with Bill on Thursday and were able to have many conversations with him, ironically he didnt want to be in the papers when I mentioned it casually that Randy was hamming it up!

And what we've all been waiting for, the loot!

This year the knives were strange. I didn't expect this but I did get to kid with Bill about the cocobolo. The rendezvous knife doesnt generally hit for me so I skipped it. But I did walk away with some sfas, the Good as Gold soup bone and and the Micarta 83. Ironically, I was able to actually score some pieces that finishes the older run offerings and some back ups. O yeah, shame about that 14 being ebony an S as it wouldve been a perfect replacement for the one i let go, however it was asking about that that got a few of us 77 barlows in the shop.

Unfortunately, this year's rendezvous was marred by several things. Several bladeforum members were unable to attend due to some health issues. Also there may be some who just dont plan on attending any longer. As each of these pass, some of the original slipjoint fans I've gotten to know also have moved on from the hobby, unfortunately due to health reasons (arthritis). A wise man once said you attend for the people, not the knives. They are just things after all but things that bring us together. It was certainly good to see the original faces that remain and meet some of the new ones. Until our next meeting...

Thank you for all the wonderful pics & newspaper article. Greatly appreciated.

mrknife · Jun 13, 2022

Augie said:
Another great Rendezvous in the books, great to catch up with old friends, make new ones and hope that our missing old friends can make it next year as you were missed.

I'm going to have to do several posts to try to capture this years experience, I'm going to start with the knives as I will have to wait for Donna to get me the Rendezvous people pictures.

I'm going to start with a very pleasant surprise that also helps explain the great stag drop of the 2017 Rendezvous when several boxes of 4 year old stag knives appeared for sale as store knives. This year a box of 4 year old stag 44's and a few Elk 99's showed up, looking at them they all looked like first quality knives to us so it was a mystery as to why there were so many as the stags that sold out quickly at the drops in 2018.

Talking to Bill Saturday and just remarking to him what a great time we were having and that I was so pleased to see the 44's and 99's available but that we did not understand what they were store knives as they all looked first rate and many had much better than average stag and Elk. He asked if we would like to know the story and of course we said yes, he stated that they go to great lengths to match up the stag they have when the make a knife, one of the last steps in the production process is an oil bath that removes production dirt, compound, etc. Stag and Elk being a natural porous material absorbs the oil and some of the knives come out of the oil bath with the coloring now mismatched to the point that if they shipped them to dealers they thought they might be returned. Bill has found that if they sit for awhile that the colors return to pretty close to how they were originally matched up.

Duncan, Paul, myself and others always wondered why so many great stag knives appeared at the 2017 Rendezvous and know we know why, I was lucky enough to be at both Rendezvous. 2022 stag and Elk that I acquired, Donna also picked up 2 44's that are just as nice.

View attachment 1843452 View attachment 1843453 View attachment 1843454 View attachment 1843455

ah yes the year of the great stag 85s pile, I was tempted to buy one for deleting

Snodgrass · Jun 13, 2022

I love seeing all the pictures and hearing all the stories from the event. I'm glad everyone had such a great time, I really hope to make it one of these years.
The SFAs were pretty great this year and the diamond 88 is a friggin' beaut!

Rockcutter · Jun 13, 2022

I really appreciate the pictures and stories from those who did make it to the 2022 GEC Rendezvous, it's not like being there but it helps. Make me fired up to want to make it next year!

stagmeister · Jun 13, 2022

Augie said:
Another great Rendezvous in the books, great to catch up with old friends, make new ones and hope that our missing old friends can make it next year as you were missed.

I'm going to have to do several posts to try to capture this years experience, I'm going to start with the knives as I will have to wait for Donna to get me the Rendezvous people pictures.

I'm going to start with a very pleasant surprise that also helps explain the great stag drop of the 2017 Rendezvous when several boxes of 4 year old stag knives appeared for sale as store knives. This year a box of 4 year old stag 44's and a few Elk 99's showed up, looking at them they all looked like first quality knives to us so it was a mystery as to why there were so many as the stags that sold out quickly at the drops in 2018.

Talking to Bill Saturday and just remarking to him what a great time we were having and that I was so pleased to see the 44's and 99's available but that we did not understand what they were store knives as they all looked first rate and many had much better than average stag and Elk. He asked if we would like to know the story and of course we said yes, he stated that they go to great lengths to match up the stag they have when the make a knife, one of the last steps in the production process is an oil bath that removes production dirt, compound, etc. Stag and Elk being a natural porous material absorbs the oil and some of the knives come out of the oil bath with the coloring now mismatched to the point that if they shipped them to dealers they thought they might be returned. Bill has found that if they sit for awhile that the colors return to pretty close to how they were originally matched up.

Duncan, Paul, myself and others always wondered why so many great stag knives appeared at the 2017 Rendezvous and know we know why, I was lucky enough to be at both Rendezvous. 2022 stag and Elk that I acquired, Donna also picked up 2 44's that are just as nice.

View attachment 1843452 View attachment 1843453 View attachment 1843454 View attachment 1843455

Those are some great stag models from the past. Congrats to the ones who were lucky enough to score them! I have 3 44's with outrageous popcorn stag that I bought at release and hand picked. Was there anything said about future stag? I don't think we will see any (Nice) stag in the foreseeable future.

mrknife · Jun 13, 2022

stagmeister said:
Those are some great stag models from the past. Congrats to the ones who were lucky enough to score them! I have 3 44's with outrageous popcorn stag that I bought at release and hand picked. Was there anything said about future stag? I don't think we will see any (Nice) stag in the foreseeable future.

One of Bill's several discussion was regarding the issues of locating fine stag. Unfortunately good stag has become very difficult to source and potentially adds to the end cost. Even the currently available stag out there is fairly limited and cost prohibitive.

Augie · Jun 13, 2022

stagmeister said:
Those are some great stag models from the past. Congrats to the ones who were lucky enough to score them! I have 3 44's with outrageous popcorn stag that I bought at release and hand picked. Was there anything said about future stag? I don't think we will see any (Nice) stag in the foreseeable future.

Bill did say that good stag has become very difficult to source.

stagmeister · Jun 13, 2022

Yes, there is no scarcity of Sambar deer, but there are some thing going on in India as well as tourist's snagging it as souvenir's before the local hunters can collect it. I think we will start to see demand for really nice stuff rivaling mammoth ivory in the near future.