Help me out understanding GEC

SVTFreak

SVTFreak

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Mar 8, 2011
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What do the different sub brands mean? Tidioute versus northfield versus GEC?

I've always had a spot for traditionals, but stayed with buck, case and some customs, but I am liking some patterns I see from GEC, northwoods and queen.
 
GEC is there stainless line of knives. Tidioute is the more EDC line in my opinion, they come with satin blade finishes and usually not as exotic handle materials. Northfield is the opposite of tidioute. They come with mirror polished blades and more exotic materials.
 
Same high quality, just different levels of finish, blade etch, handle materials, etc.

77 Tidioute,
IMG_4396_zpsp2xltnvm.jpg



77 Northfileld,
IMG_4392_zps9dsgda7g.jpg
 
The rules aren't hard, but in general.....

GEC-Stainless, usually similar to the Northfield, but uses the Acorn Shield
Tidioute-More plain, 1095 Carbon Steel
Northfield-Fancy, 1095 Carbon Steel, pinched bolsters, stag handles, polished blades, long pulls... etc
Farm and Field - Sodbuster style knives with O1 Tool Steel

All are generally the same quality.
 
Thanks all. I like the slabs and long pulls on the northfield but lack of blade stamping on the tidioute.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
The rules aren't hard, but in general.....

GEC-Stainless, usually similar to the Northfield, but uses the Acorn Shield
Tidioute-More plain, 1095 Carbon Steel
Northfield-Fancy, 1095 Carbon Steel, pinched bolsters, stag handles, polished blades, long pulls... etc
Farm and Field - Sodbuster style knives with O1 Tool Steel

All are generally the same quality.
Click to expand...

To add to this,

GEC tends to get US sourced handle materials: Elk, cattle bone, hardwoods
Northfield gets the stag, mammoth, snakewood, fancy jigged bone, some acrylics
Tidioute gets hardwoods, bone, and acrylics.

Not hard and fast rules, but tendencies.
 
Biggie_Robs said:
To add to this,

GEC tends to get US sourced handle materials: Elk, cattle bone, hardwoods
Northfield gets the stag, mammoth, snakewood, fancy jigged bone, some acrylics
Tidioute gets hardwoods, bone, and acrylics.

Not hard and fast rules, but tendencies.
Click to expand...

Yet more:
Tidioute tends to have flatly-ground blades with little more to the blade design but a nail nick, Northfield tends to have something closer to a saber grind with distinct flats (and often swedge grinds) and the aforementioned long pulls.

The Farm and Fields are all 1095 as of the most recent runs.
 
Comeuppance said:
Yet more:
Tidioute tends to have flatly-ground blades with little more to the blade design but a nail nick, Northfield tends to have something closer to a saber grind with distinct flats (and often swedge grinds) and the aforementioned long pulls.

The Farm and Fields are all 1095 as of the most recent runs.
Click to expand...

Northfields generally all have full flat grinds. Very rarely do we see Saber Grinds these days other than on Northwoods GEC produced rustic line. Off the top of my head I remember the #48 Diamond Jack CC sfo and a #12 Toothpick that had saber grinds on them.

The long pulls are almost always cut into the full flat grind itself leaving no shoulder or transition in the primary grind. They cut the swedges into the full flat as was done in the old days.
 
SVTFreak said:
Thanks all. I like the slabs and long pulls on the northfield but lack of blade stamping on the tidioute.
Click to expand...

Don't let the blade etches bother. If you intend to use the knife, they disappear quickly. Unless they are a true stamp, which only a very few are. Those are my favorite with the UN-X-LD stamp.
 
here is another example for you to view,

finishing is much nicer on the northfields.
 
Pretty sure I have all three represented in the collection. I don't try to remember all of the general 'rules' separating the three brands though; I just buy whichever has the features and materials that are most appealing on a particular model. Availability and price are a big part of the buying decision as well; most (all?) of the SFO releases are one-brand only.
 
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