In praise of ebony: Traditional knives in the prince of wood

Many thanks for your words Ron, most kind of you.:thumbup::thumbup:

Actually, I'm quite an enthusiast for the 56 pattern, I have a Tidioute in Amber bone that regularly gets out and has a credible patina, same with a single blade EZ-Open which gets garden use as it has a kind of understated Hawkbill blade. A fine pattern and still very affordable as it's not on the fashion radar - just yet. Unfortunately, don't have a Clip version.

Any more Ebony anyone? Or can't see the woods for the trees...:D

Regards, Will
 
I know I like these covers, and checked the tube. Gabon ebony! One of my favorite pocket knives, the screwdriver is used much more often than the cap lifter.

 
And another favorite Ebony covered #15, caught preparing dinner for the dog:

 
Very kind of you Woodrow.:) I have to say it is a good example, great fit with no issues at all, nice stripes in the dark wood and an impressive crocus polish on the blades. It's one of the few knives I just stow away to look at and maintain once in a while, most of my knives I try to use and the ones that I won't, get earmarked for trade eventually. This is somehow different, maybe somebody in 2115 will find it in pristine state and be astounded? Maybe not knowing our world...:eek::D:rolleyes:

Regards, Will
 
Great looking #56 Will!! One of the few Northfields you'll see with a hotdog shield (it was supposed to be a Northfield cloud :)).

I don't have anything new to add so I'll add this older pic I took that kind of shows a size comparison of a number of GEC ebony's. Some of which I no longer have so I didn't post. Top to bottom is the #12 Powderhorn, #15 Boy's knife, #16 Canoe, #23 Pioneer, #33 Conductor, #53 Cuban Pen, #66 Jack, #68 White Owl, #72 Cody Jack, #85 Bullet End Jack, and #92 Eureka Jack. IIRC, this pic was supposed to be a comparison of GEC knives that were available with 2 blades, with a pen or coping as secondary. Missing was the #56 Dogleg jacks which I no longer had and the #73 which I hadn't gotten yet. The #23 here is single blade but there is/was a jack version available at the time.
 
I posted this one yesterday. I've had it for a while, but never carried it much. GEC did a run of the 77 Yankee Jacks in light Ebony. I wish I had a before pic, but this is after I darkened the wood up a bit. It was very light before.


 
Trand
Great comparison shot. I am going to save that shot for reference material. Good stuff and thank you!
 
BigBiscuit - Wow that looks like a fantastic knife, love the ebony covers! Looks sorta like the Jobillo wood covered knives that GEC made in short runs ( #25 and #79 I think.) How did you darken the ebony covers if you don't mind me asking?
 
Jeff, I just lightly buffed the wood with fine Scotch Brite, then used a wood stain touch up marker. Let it dry for a while, then buffed smooth again with the fine Scoth Brite. I like it the way it is, but keep debating on darkening it up a bit more.
 
It is an interesting and fine knife Bob, I wonder if other examples in the run had this colour? Not what you generally think of as Ebony, a kind of albino form:D still a Prince though:thumbup:
 
Thanks Will. Yes, they made a whole run of light ebony 77's. You can look at multiple distributors and see the light examples as there are still many in stock from last years run. Mine was almost a blonde color.
 
Will, I picked up a 77 in ebony and was unexpectedly wowed by it upon arrival, it quickly moved to near the top of my favorite list. It's posted on page 5, #96 of this thread (in the center of three ebony).
 
Yours is a bit darker than mine was when it came to me new. Yours is close to where I'm at now. I like the variations in the coloring of yours though. :thumbup:
 
Thanks Bob. There is a dark band on both sides (near spine?) I thought was shadow in the sellers pics. Adds some character. I was planing on adding color when I ordered it but quickly changed my mind. I'd like to have a couple extras to try some coloring experiments. Yours turned out great.:)
James
 
Gevonovich said:
Trand
Great comparison shot. I am going to save that shot for reference material. Good stuff and thank you!
Click to expand...
You're very welcome my friend :)

Will Power said:
It is an interesting and fine knife Bob, I wonder if other examples in the run had this colour? Not what you generally think of as Ebony, a kind of albino form:D still a Prince though:thumbup:
Click to expand...

BigBiscuit said:
Thanks Will. Yes, they made a whole run of light ebony 77's. You can look at multiple distributors and see the light examples as there are still many in stock from last years run. Mine was almost a blonde color.
Click to expand...

Very interesting stuff Bob. I don't think they flew off the shelves like other versions of ebony though. I think these were followed by a run of #15s with cap lifters that also had some light ebony. I remember seeing the work in progress pics. Some were very dark, others were blonde like Bob's. I ended up with one that had a mix of light/dark stuff which I ended up letting go to an enthusiastic new home. Here it is when I first got it.

 
Great thread everyone! I will play: Here are a few of my ebony wood friends.
15 Farmboy:
Screenshot_2015-01-23-11-09-29_zpsxwwf4cmc.png

My one-armed 15 and 85:
8f352835-f8a6-479f-8b2b-10794ee2f625_zpsc251ba9b.png

Fresh out of the tube Gabon 15:
Screenshot_2015-03-18-16-17-24_zpsc9oen4hd.png

And lastly, my lovely bullet end Wyeth's Warranted:
2fbbbb84-4bb6-4055-9985-ed3bed246dab_zps6021c4a9.png

Screenshot_2015-07-01-10-00-33_zpsfdnjomd7.png

Thanks,
Brian
 
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