Great Eastern Cutlery: thoughts & discussion

moonwilson said:
My latest just arrived, a Great Eastern (stainless) with the "Goldenrod" paper micarta scales and endcaps. It is spectacular. I like it so much, I went ahead and ordered another, but with Ivory Casein scales. Does anyone have any experience with Casein scales on knives? I know it's a milk-based plastic, but I don't know anything else about it. Does it stain, or shrink, or crack, or have problems if you get it wet?
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First off, make sure you post a pic of the Goldenrod - I'm torn between it and the black micarta. if you go to the fountainpennetwork forums, they have plenty of info on casein. Downside is that it's BAD to get it wet. supposedly a drip here and there ain't bad, as long as it gets wiped off, but if it gets drenched, it can lose form, lose strength, get mushy. Flip side is that you can eat it if you're stuck in a situation where you might starve to death, and it's supposedly real easy to make in the kitchen.
 
wintermute said:
First off, make sure you post a pic of the Goldenrod - I'm torn between it and the black micarta. if you go to the fountainpennetwork forums, they have plenty of info on casein. Downside is that it's BAD to get it wet. supposedly a drip here and there ain't bad, as long as it gets wiped off, but if it gets drenched, it can lose form, lose strength, get mushy. Flip side is that you can eat it if you're stuck in a situation where you might starve to death, and it's supposedly real easy to make in the kitchen.
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Oooh. That's no good. That's kind of a deal breaker for me. I can't have a knife that'll melt down on me if I get it wet. I better call and change my order!
 
Sorry Wintermute, no pics of the goldenrod here. I'm a 'orrible photographer, any of the images you'll see from the online vendors will give you a better idea of what the scales look like than what I can do. (the image on the Cumberland site seems most accurate) If you're still torn between the goldenrod and black micarta, I'd say get the goldenrod first. It is purty. The scales have a great warm feel to them, not slippery at all, and the color is a nice, warm caramel. The scales pretty much look like candy caramel- not too shiny, slightly translucent. I can't see anyone not being happy with them.

That said, I'm going to go ahead and order the black as well, just because. You can't have too many GEC #73s lying around. They're not very expensive. :thumbup:

I was concerned about the ivory casein, and actually tried to change my order. Derrick @ KnivesShipFree had already shipped the knife out when I called, so I'll just wait and see. He said GEC's warranty should cover me if there are any problems, but that he hadn't heard any complaints. He was a nice guy, very pleasant. I'll just wait for the knife. I'm pretty excited about it now- casein is an interesting material, pretty unusual. I did some research on it and found some interesting stuff. Here are a couple of neat articles I found that give some history:

http://www.caseino.internet-today.co.uk/
http://www.caseino.internet-today.co.uk/social2.htm
http://www.caseino.internet-today.co.uk/history.htm

If you do a Google image search for "galalith", there is a ton of of information about the material, particularly in its use in jewelry. Very cool.

I wrote Great Eastern asking about the scales, and Ken Daniels himself got back to me very quickly (great customer service!) He said that he has been using casein for years without any problems, and the his personal edc is a #73 with casein scales, and he has had no problems with it. He did mention that water is the enemy to casein, but as long as you keep the knife maintained, it should be fine. He says that he wipes the scales down once a month with Simichrome, and that takes care of it. Good enough for me! :thumbup:

Oh, and while I was typing this, I had another GEC arrive- my first double-bladed #23- a Tidioute with green river bone, which matches my smaller #73 with the same scales. Oh yeah, it's a big knife. It's the biggest slipjoint I own, and have probably ever seen. Very manly. I like it! Too bad it's illegal for me to carry. They got the springs on this one just right- not too tight. And the deep, wide (and chamfered/radiused :eek:) thumbnicks make it comfortable to open. The blades have a beefy "CHUNK!" instead of a "snap", they make a good noise.
 
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I have seen several of the casien models shrink a little. Have also heard that mess about humidity causing some materials to pull back; but I am not buying it. Maybe the humidity content of the material drying up....

Here is the GoldenRod
GEMLG73GldRod07.JPG


Mike Latham
CollectorKnives.Net
 
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knifeswapper said:
I have seen several of the casien models shrink a little. Have also heard that mess about humidity causing some materials to pull back; but I am not buying it. Maybe the humidity content of the material drying up....

Here is the GoldenRod
GEMLG73GldRod07.JPG


Mike Latham
CollectorKnives.Net
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Yup, that's what the goldenrod looks like, allright. Mmm. Good stuff.

Mike, have you noticed the shrinking on the GEC casein models in particular, or just on casein knives in general?

From my limited reading on the subject of casein, water is retained in the material itself as part of the manufacturing process. It is the water that imparts the material with a certain amount of ductility/ flexibility- ie: makes it durable. If you were to suck all of the water out and then seal it, the casein would be very brittle. So say the knife is manufactured in an environment with 50% humidity. If you bring the knife into a dry environment, some of the water will leach out of the scales, and the scales will shrink. If you bring the knife into a humid environment, the scales will swell. Presumably, if you seal the scales with a non-hygroscopic barrier, such as oil or wax, the moisture content of the scales will not be affected by environmental conditions, and will be stable. So if your scales shrink, take the knife someplace with high humidity, let the scales absorb some moisture until they fit properly, then seal them with Ren wax or the like. Same thing with horn or (to a lesser degree) stag.

It's important to note that the shrinking or swelling is probably very slow- not like with a sponge, so if you keep the scales reasonably maintained, you shouldn't have any trouble. Unstablized wood does the same thing.
 
casein in general. But you need to understand that by the time I get many knives; I have no idea what environment they have been. Hawaii, Florida, or Arizona; these knives have a life of their own. I didn't notice specific problems with the GEC models, but I didn't have them long enough to make a determination. But I don't expect casein is any worse than many other composites; there are celluloids you can sit and watch shrink/curl.

I do know that I have had people in the business tell me that if the moisture content is high in horn (green); it needs to just sit for a couple months in a controlled environment before using.
 
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