Lets talk GEC!

Leslie Tomville said:
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If anyone has contact with GEC, please urge them to use Red Stag again. Given the fact that good Stag is apparently hard to find now, a nice red dye job would make sub par Stag look much better. And please reconsider a shield!
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Red dye can cover up blah coloring or imperfections, but it can't create nice bark, like grooves, ridges or popcorn textures. Your stag in the pictures has nice bark to begin with.
 
Another option is Red Deer stag! According to Culpepper, it is similar in durability to Sambar and is easier/cheaper to source. And it can look awesome...

I pored over the available Red Deer on their site and had this pair sent to Charlie, which resulted in one of my favorite, and most carried, knives.

stag_lamp2 small.jpeg
 
aji1 said:
Another option is Red Deer stag! According to Culpepper, it is similar in durability to Sambar and is easier/cheaper to source. And it can look awesome...

I pored over the available Red Deer on their site and had this pair sent to Charlie, which resulted in one of my favorite, and most carried, knives.

View attachment 1761477
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The only caveat is the best red deer stag comes from Europe. They may be a bit occupied with other things right now.:( I'm not sure that the cost of harvesting and shipping it would make it any cheaper now. There are red deer in North America, but the stag tends to be a bit more porous and pithy that its European counterpart. I have a couple European knives that have it, and it is quite nice indeed.
 
stagmeister said:
The only caveat is the best red deer stag comes from Europe. They may be a bit occupied with other things right now.:( I'm not sure that the cost of harvesting and shipping it would make it any cheaper now. There are red deer in North America, but the stag tends to be a bit more porous and pithy that its European counterpart. I have a couple European knives that have it, and it is quite nice indeed.
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Yes, I should have mentioned it, the stag on that knife is from Europe. The species is pretty plentiful.

Although I am an American citizen, I live in Europe (the Netherlands). At this point, I doubt that the situation complicates getting the stag to the US (or, at least, no more difficult than from Asia). I have moved some funds around and gathered the important documents in case there is a serious deterioration necessitating an immediate "get on a plane", but most of my friends think I am kind of crazy.

In any event, as I understand it, there are export restrictions on Indian and Indonesian Sambar. As far as I am aware, this is not the case for European Red Deer. They are even farmed for venison. It might not have the same cache as Sambar, but it is nice, largely free of pith, and available.
 
aji1 said:
Yes, I should have mentioned it, the stag on that knife is from Europe. The species is pretty plentiful.

Although I am an American citizen, I live in Europe (the Netherlands). At this point, I doubt that the situation complicates getting the stag to the US (or, at least, no more difficult than from Asia). I have moved some funds around and gathered the important documents in case there is a serious deterioration necessitating an immediate "get on a plane", but most of my friends think I am kind of crazy.

In any event, as I understand it, there are export restrictions on Indian and Indonesian Sambar. As far as I am aware, this is not the case for European Red Deer. They are even farmed for venison. It might not have the same cache as Sambar, but it is nice, largely free of pith, and available.
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That's funny, I'm in America but of Dutch descent. Export restrictions and bans have been on and off for the past couple decades. I'm not sure how restrictive they are currently. I have heard that tourists are going there and collecting it as souvenir's and the people who gather it to sell can't find it. I don't know how much truth there is in that, but much of the good stuff has dried up. I would gladly accept some red deer stag, but currently you just don't see it on knives made here. We tend to substitute Sambar with Elk as it's easy to harvest right here.
 
Not too long after I joined these forums and a good bit before I could make sense of GEC and their distribution model - they produced a run of #48s (which hasn't been run since, if I am not mistaken). I recall a number of these knives being available long after the fact and I procrastinated - which definitely ended up stinging me pretty good when they eventually all got scooped up.

I always thought it to be an exceptionally attractive pattern and with the wharncliffe blade, more than just a little useful. They don't seem to come available too often but I've been able to find a couple and they are as fine a knife as they look. The one in Blackwood fights with my Case/Bose WT for a place in my pocket and though the WT tends to come out on top in such battles with its superior steel and ruggedness, it can't compare to the long, slim elegance of this Improved Trapper in luxurious Blackwood. The action is as smooth as it gets and the pulls are just about perfect. It's hard to think of what could make for a better knife and it's safe to say that I am rather smitten with it. I hope to find others to include in my modest collection.

If one were to replace the wharncliffe with a lambsfoot, I think it would make for the perfect knife - which makes the upcoming 88 Bayou Trapper a rather compelling prospect.

Regardless, I do hope to see a fresh run of 48s in the not too distant future.

Qtq8Z7X.jpg
 
Pàdruig said:
Not too long after I joined these forums and a good bit before I could make sense of GEC and their distribution model - they produced a run of #48s (which hasn't been run since, if I am not mistaken). I recall a number of these knives being available long after the fact and I procrastinated - which definitely ended up stinging me pretty good when they eventually all got scooped up.

I always thought it to be an exceptionally attractive pattern and with the wharncliffe blade, more than just a little useful. They don't seem to come available too often but I've been able to find a couple and they are as fine a knife as they look. The one in Blackwood fights with my Case/Bose WT for a place in my pocket and though the WT tends to come out on top in such battles with its superior steel and ruggedness, it can't compare to the long, slim elegance of this Improved Trapper in luxurious Blackwood. The action is as smooth as it gets and the pulls are just about perfect. It's hard to think of what could make for a better knife and it's safe to say that I am rather smitten with it. I hope to find others to include in my modest collection.

If one were to replace the wharncliffe with a lambsfoot, I think it would make for the perfect knife - which makes the upcoming 88 Bayou Trapper a rather compelling prospect.

Regardless, I do hope to see a fresh run of 48s in the not too distant future.

Qtq8Z7X.jpg
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Great pic! I’ll have to pick up a 48 improved trapper. I have a 48 Diamond jack and agree with you thats it’s a very attractive pattern.
 
I believe that they intend to eventually make a stockman type pattern on the 88 frame someday. That being said, Bill and Randy are fairly good at looking ahead, so I think the 88 will have cam tangs so that they won't have to redesign the clip blade when that happens. We will see.
 
Jiki said:
So you're taking the under?
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Yeah, its such a new pattern, i dont think any one will delete for awhile at least not until they figure out what pattern that lambfoot might fit in. There are maybe a handful of modders with enough parts to trial and error it out, but since its new and unique, there may be no deletes also its cam tang right? certainly not as sexy modded.
 
mrknife said:
Yeah, its such a new pattern, i dont think any one will delete for awhile at least not until they figure out what pattern that lambfoot might fit in. There are maybe a handful of modders with enough parts to trial and error it out, but since its new and unique, there may be no deletes also its cam tang right? certainly not as sexy modded.
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Can tang is a guess.

I think a lot of folks will be dropping the clip to get a single lambsfoot. Also just a guess.
 
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