- Joined
- Jan 11, 2011
- Messages
- 310
Finally decided on picking up a knife by Great Eastern Cutlery. I decide to go with the #33 Conductor pattern, after flipping through the GEC website and sifting through the Traditional Sub-Forum. I'm really fond of pen knives, and the Conductor's swell in the middle of the pattern snuck it's way into my heart.
After deciding on the pattern that really seemed to dig at me looked around to see if any of these little guys were still waiting on being bought. I've gleaned from reading that these guys were born in 2011.
I found a few sources and was a bought to simply pull the trigger until I noticed something about all of the sites I visited. Some of the websites had Conductors labeled as Great Eastern Cutlery and others as Northfield. I further researched the different brands and learned that GEC's Northfield and Tidioute are always (usually) offered in 1095 carbon steel. The former brand being higher-end and the latter being a no-frills option (e.g. northfield has pinched bolsters sometimes, the tidioute partner has normal bolsters). Moreover, any knives branded Great Eastern Cutlery sport a 440C stainless blade.
Being an enthusiast of production knives, I initially thought on taking the stainless route. I took another naughty look at the Northfield version of the Conductor and found the "stripes" on the bolster, UN-X-LD shield, long-looking nail nick, and bail ridiculously attractive but it had a 1095 carbon blade. I sat on the thought of both knives for a while. Do I go the stainless route and be a little less careful with the blade, or do I go carbon steel and start the journey into patinas and [more often] maintaining my new knife?
Here are stock some pictures of my next potential slipjoint.
I felt like bonding with my newest slipjoint, so I took the Northfield train. The patina that will eventually appear on the 1095 will tell a stories about the journeys and adventures that this knife will soon embark on.
Here are some pictures of her
Next to my Case Peanut in Red Jigged Bone
Clip blades being brandished!
Immediately after opening the brown cardboard box, I was greeted by a small cylindrical cardboard tube. It was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be!.. but the #33 is a small knife. Makes sense.
The cardboard tube is really cool. The sticker GEC puts on the tube really brings you back into the past. The plastic cover on the tube is swell, too. Written by hand on it is the pattern number, what the scale is, and the serial number. Inside, the knife is wrapped in wax paper and a little business card size piece of paper lists some information about the knife, as well as someone's signature.
The fit and finish on the knife is what I would say pretty good. There are no gaps on the backspring, liners, and scales. The scales themselves have a pretty nice pattern on them (I lucked out!). I definitely like the shield scale better than the opposite side. The opposite side feels a little bit more "burnt," like a woody texture, than glossy like the shield side. From what I've absorbed from reading, the scale side is usually more attractive. What's also cool, too, is that the non-shield scale is a little bit thicker, fitting in your palm better. The tangs on either blade are fairly sharp. They feel less acute now (a few days after fondling the knife) but they surprised me on my first feel. On the main blade, where the nail nick ends, and the swedge begins, it feels a little pointy. Taking a very closeup look at the spot being mentioned, it's probably just like that due to the design. Now about, the bail, this is my first knife with one! The bail was one of the deciding factors on this knife, between the time I ordered and received the knife, I wondered whether or not I'd like the bail. The bail sort-of gets in the way of the pen blade if I want to open it, but that's just a matter of moving the bail around so it's touching the backspring. Also, I rarely ever use the pen knife, so this isn't really much of an issue. The bail is a little stuff, and looks like it's scratching the bolster a little. I'm not too concerned about this, since I plan on using this little guy and admiring the "pocket worn" look later down in life. The pull on this knife is pretty decent. Right after unboxing, it felt a little too stiff for taste. As of writing this post, the pull feels really good; guess she needed time to break in. The "lock-up" (sorry, I can't remember the slipjoint term for this) is a good magnitude, too. The blade doesn't leap into position like a mad man, but it does with a fair amount of haste. Definitely not enough for little slippie to jump out of my hands.
All-in-all, I'm very thoroughly satisfied with my newest acquistion, the Great Eastern Cutlery "Northfield" #33 Conductor. I enjoy the feeling of having a beautiful stag slipjoint in my pocket. I'm sure non-knife folk would be appreciate the workmanship GEC put into this piece. The size is great. A little bit bigger than my Case Peanut, and has that beautiful swell in the middle of the knife. It's sort of like the opposite of a figure-eight figure on a fine woman.. but man, those curves [on the knife!!] The 1095 blades are ridiculously shiny and I love it. The grooves on the bolsters look amazing, but I'll be honest I forget that they are there sometimes. Now, the pinched bolsters on the other hand. Lookin good!
I hope those who have not bought their first GEC traditional will read this article and further understand what the different brands of GEC mean. I'm glad that I made the decision to purchase one of their offerings and enjoyed researching different patterns and personal experience. My next purchase will probably be a #68 White Owl or a #48 Trapper.
After deciding on the pattern that really seemed to dig at me looked around to see if any of these little guys were still waiting on being bought. I've gleaned from reading that these guys were born in 2011.
I found a few sources and was a bought to simply pull the trigger until I noticed something about all of the sites I visited. Some of the websites had Conductors labeled as Great Eastern Cutlery and others as Northfield. I further researched the different brands and learned that GEC's Northfield and Tidioute are always (usually) offered in 1095 carbon steel. The former brand being higher-end and the latter being a no-frills option (e.g. northfield has pinched bolsters sometimes, the tidioute partner has normal bolsters). Moreover, any knives branded Great Eastern Cutlery sport a 440C stainless blade.
Being an enthusiast of production knives, I initially thought on taking the stainless route. I took another naughty look at the Northfield version of the Conductor and found the "stripes" on the bolster, UN-X-LD shield, long-looking nail nick, and bail ridiculously attractive but it had a 1095 carbon blade. I sat on the thought of both knives for a while. Do I go the stainless route and be a little less careful with the blade, or do I go carbon steel and start the journey into patinas and [more often] maintaining my new knife?
Here are stock some pictures of my next potential slipjoint.
I felt like bonding with my newest slipjoint, so I took the Northfield train. The patina that will eventually appear on the 1095 will tell a stories about the journeys and adventures that this knife will soon embark on.
Here are some pictures of her
Next to my Case Peanut in Red Jigged Bone
Clip blades being brandished!
Immediately after opening the brown cardboard box, I was greeted by a small cylindrical cardboard tube. It was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be!.. but the #33 is a small knife. Makes sense.
The cardboard tube is really cool. The sticker GEC puts on the tube really brings you back into the past. The plastic cover on the tube is swell, too. Written by hand on it is the pattern number, what the scale is, and the serial number. Inside, the knife is wrapped in wax paper and a little business card size piece of paper lists some information about the knife, as well as someone's signature.
The fit and finish on the knife is what I would say pretty good. There are no gaps on the backspring, liners, and scales. The scales themselves have a pretty nice pattern on them (I lucked out!). I definitely like the shield scale better than the opposite side. The opposite side feels a little bit more "burnt," like a woody texture, than glossy like the shield side. From what I've absorbed from reading, the scale side is usually more attractive. What's also cool, too, is that the non-shield scale is a little bit thicker, fitting in your palm better. The tangs on either blade are fairly sharp. They feel less acute now (a few days after fondling the knife) but they surprised me on my first feel. On the main blade, where the nail nick ends, and the swedge begins, it feels a little pointy. Taking a very closeup look at the spot being mentioned, it's probably just like that due to the design. Now about, the bail, this is my first knife with one! The bail was one of the deciding factors on this knife, between the time I ordered and received the knife, I wondered whether or not I'd like the bail. The bail sort-of gets in the way of the pen blade if I want to open it, but that's just a matter of moving the bail around so it's touching the backspring. Also, I rarely ever use the pen knife, so this isn't really much of an issue. The bail is a little stuff, and looks like it's scratching the bolster a little. I'm not too concerned about this, since I plan on using this little guy and admiring the "pocket worn" look later down in life. The pull on this knife is pretty decent. Right after unboxing, it felt a little too stiff for taste. As of writing this post, the pull feels really good; guess she needed time to break in. The "lock-up" (sorry, I can't remember the slipjoint term for this) is a good magnitude, too. The blade doesn't leap into position like a mad man, but it does with a fair amount of haste. Definitely not enough for little slippie to jump out of my hands.
All-in-all, I'm very thoroughly satisfied with my newest acquistion, the Great Eastern Cutlery "Northfield" #33 Conductor. I enjoy the feeling of having a beautiful stag slipjoint in my pocket. I'm sure non-knife folk would be appreciate the workmanship GEC put into this piece. The size is great. A little bit bigger than my Case Peanut, and has that beautiful swell in the middle of the knife. It's sort of like the opposite of a figure-eight figure on a fine woman.. but man, those curves [on the knife!!] The 1095 blades are ridiculously shiny and I love it. The grooves on the bolsters look amazing, but I'll be honest I forget that they are there sometimes. Now, the pinched bolsters on the other hand. Lookin good!
I hope those who have not bought their first GEC traditional will read this article and further understand what the different brands of GEC mean. I'm glad that I made the decision to purchase one of their offerings and enjoyed researching different patterns and personal experience. My next purchase will probably be a #68 White Owl or a #48 Trapper.
