GEC vs Northwoods

sogflash said:
No offense, but I think the blade on both the fremont and the forest jack could have been thinner.
(The day I can afford to have GEC make me a SFO I'll have my perfect knife.)

With that said I must admit that the saber grind is more appealing to the eye than FFG.

MerryMadMonk you must have been lucky. None of my knives from GEC has been that sharp, most haven't been sharp at all.
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No offense taken! And I've tried several things with the sfo but haven't made the perfect knife yet. Oh well, I'll keep trying.
 
sogflash said:
MerryMadMonk you must have been lucky. None of my knives from GEC has been that sharp, most haven't been sharp at all.
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I guess so. I've never received a GEC knife that was not sharp and I'm well past 3 dozen. There are varying degrees of sharp, to be sure. But I would never take a new GEC knife and try to...let's say... slice my palm.

Now, do I tinker with the edge bevel on some depending on what I will use them for? Yes. But for most of the cutting I do, what needs to be cut can be cut with a GEC knife straight out of the tube. I use my knives a lot.... on the farm, in the woods and on the lake. In other words, I'm usually not slicing sales receipts or phonebook paper.
 
okbohn said:
No offense taken! And I've tried several things with the sfo but haven't made the perfect knife yet. Oh well, I'll keep trying.
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Keep working on it Derrick;)

I'm sure with all the beautiful materials you've sourced both you and GEC must be having fun designing, making and selling your knives. Long may it continue:)

Just took a quick snap of one of your earlier incarnations and my first slip joint from the US. Rest assured, if all else failed this one would be the last knife out of the door!



Sam
 
The one thing I notice about Northwoods versus regular GEC production is the Northwoods tend to have rounded edges where as the GEC's often have some rather sharp edges (and I don't mean the blade). The rounded edges are what have attracted me to Northwoods.
 
MerryMadMonk said:
The Fremont's blade profile (which Derrick describes as "modified sheepsfoot") makes it easier to open... in fact, you can easily pinch it open.

The Fremont and the Viper side-by-side for comparison:

fremontviper001_zps631d6b18.jpg


fremontviper002_zps7462e309.jpg


fremontviper003_zps1a518a36.jpg


As others have noted, they are both high quality knives made by GEC and it really comes down to personal preference. I prefer both! :D

Hope this helps.
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Forgot to say how much this pic is actually helping...........Thanks for taking the time! Is the handle ivory on the viper?
 
mr_badexample said:
Have both and like the Fremont better for edc. It's a flatter and smaller knife that packs a decent sized blade. As others have noted it's pretty easy to pinch open.
The Viper is larger overall and the blade is longer and thinner. The crescent nail nick on the Northfield Vipers (like the ivory one above) can be tough to manipulate. The swedge make the blade thinner where the nick is set. I have to pinch the blade against my index finger on the backside of the blade to open it. It's my only gripe with the pattern. The Tidioute Vipers are a bit easier to open because they don't have the swedge.
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Thanks for your explanation. I do prefer the thinner blade, but I guess that might be a problem when trying to open it (due to the nick being shallow as you have explained).

Decisions decisions
 
22-rimfire said:
The one thing I notice about Northwoods versus regular GEC production is the Northwoods tend to have rounded edges where as the GEC's often have some rather sharp edges
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Excellent observation! I agree the GEC Tidioute line tends to have sharp corners and are less polished. Also Tidioute will tend to use all steel bolsters, while Northfield and Northwoods will be Nickel.

The Northfield and Northwoods offer more premium scales. I think the mammoth is outstanding.

Pricepoints, level of finish, and quality of materials, increase as you move from Tidioute to Northfield, to Northwoods (all are GEC)
 
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okbohn said:
All will be the same.

100 Mammoth Ivory
50 Yellow camel bone
50 Blue Camel Bone
100 Green Linen Micarta
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Decision made, I am waiting for a green micarta Fremont Jack. That should just about be a perfect EDC.

Now is the wait closer to 2 months or 22 months?
 
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