Lets talk GEC!

GusSharp68 said:
Does anyone know what this little dot mark means? I’m thinking maybe a reject? This is on a whaler #462218 I just picked up. Nothing seems wrong with it but it’s just weird to have a mark like that. I know some other makers mark a reject like that, spyderco does I think.

View attachment 2092322
Click to expand...

I asked about that when those were released. Mike at CK said the following:

knifeswapper said:
You are exactly right. It is my understanding that every Whaler got rockwell tested after heat treat.
Click to expand...
 
Jerbhola89 said:
Well, this wasn’t my first or second choice but I was happy (for now) to get one. The Osage feels cheap and flimsy… not sure… I love the 25 pattern so I may keep it solely because of that. FF is above average but not the best, and maybe it’s just me but the easy open notch doesn’t go deep enough for you to get a good grip on the blade (when it’s less oily maybe it’ll be better?).

I also feel like a little sheepsfoot or wharncliff would’ve served this much better - you don’t need much blade for some nice draw cutting. The spear just seems not as useful. But who am I kidding, I didn’t get this because I was thinking it was all that useful or practical.

I must contemplate this purchase over some rye whiskey. Yes, whiskey makes everything better.
View attachment 2091352
View attachment 2091353
View attachment 2091354
Click to expand...

I would say osage is on the bottom of the list of my favorite woods that GEC uses, not entirely sure why, just not my thing. That being said I haven't owned any of it long enough to really see how it ages.
 
I really like African Blackwood and ebony, but Osage ages quite nicely. It gets a good bit darker in my experience but keeps some of its chatoyancy. Osage is the same as hedge, as in hedge posts that can hold a fence for 100 years. Its a very hard wood, I wouldn’t worry about it being flimsy ;)B7BB2B52-B57A-4154-A08C-4F37F251AC75.jpeg
 
Last edited:
KnifeandEasy said:
I really like African Blackwood and ebony, but Osage ages quite nicely. It gets a good bit darker in my experience but keeps some of its chatoyancy. Osage is the same as hedge, as in hedge posts that can hold a fence for 100 years. Its a very hard wood, I wouldn’t worry about it being flimsy ;)View attachment 2092740
Click to expand...
That knife looks so classic! Looks just like it could have come from the Golden Age of American pocket cutlery!
 
bbfish said:
I would say osage is on the bottom of the list of my favorite woods that GEC uses, not entirely sure why, just not my thing. That being said I haven't owned any of it long enough to really see how it ages.
Click to expand...
KnifeandEasy said:
I really like African Blackwood and ebony, but Osage ages quite nicely. It gets a good bit darker in my experience but keeps some of its chatoyancy. Osage is the same as hedge, as in hedge posts that can hold a fence for 100 years. Its a very hard wood, I wouldn’t worry about it being flimsy ;)View attachment 2092740
Click to expand...
Osage grows here in Missouri and, as KnifeandEasy KnifeandEasy posts, it's desirable for fence posts. Highly resistant to rot and insects. Good wood.
OO 65 7.JPG
 
KnifeandEasy said:
I really like African Blackwood and ebony, but Osage ages quite nicely. It gets a good bit darker in my experience but keeps some of its chatoyancy. Osage is the same as hedge, as in hedge posts that can hold a fence for 100 years. Its a very hard wood, I wouldn’t worry about it being flimsy ;)View attachment 2092740
Click to expand...
I was willing to begrudgingly go along with "cheap" due to the abundance available, but "flimsy" was a new one to describe the mighty tool-duller Bois d'Arc!
 
KnifeandEasy said:
I really like African Blackwood and ebony, but Osage ages quite nicely. It gets a good bit darker in my experience but keeps some of its chatoyancy. Osage is the same as hedge, as in hedge posts that can hold a fence for 100 years. Its a very hard wood, I wouldn’t worry about it being flimsy ;)View attachment 2092740
Click to expand...
Er, that looks really fine, mean flimsy! I reckon the pile side has insect bore holes already :eek: i think it should be sent to me and put into a strict quarantine:cool:

Osage is really yellow when new but takes on a kind of droppings colour after a while, if it has good striping in it this will still show through, it's a nice wood to have in the collection and it is very durable for work-life.
 
Jerbhola89 said:
Well, this wasn’t my first or second choice but I was happy (for now) to get one. The Osage feels cheap and flimsy… not sure… I love the 25 pattern so I may keep it solely because of that. FF is above average but not the best, and maybe it’s just me but the easy open notch doesn’t go deep enough for you to get a good grip on the blade (when it’s less oily maybe it’ll be better?).

I also feel like a little sheepsfoot or wharncliff would’ve served this much better - you don’t need much blade for some nice draw cutting. The spear just seems not as useful. But who am I kidding, I didn’t get this because I was thinking it was all that useful or practical.

I must contemplate this purchase over some rye whiskey. Yes, whiskey makes everything better.
View attachment 2091352
View attachment 2091353
View attachment 2091354
Click to expand...

Osage Orange is a wood I’ve always had a soft spot for, growing up in a part of the country where it was long ago adopted for fence posts, hedge rows, and was found growing in a solitary fashion in many a cow pasture, where one could trip over the “hedge apples,” or throw them at one’s cousin, or say “didja know these are poisonous???” while giving them a good smell (but definitely not a lick!) We have a chair in the family that lore says is Osage orange, clearly handmade, given by a long-forgotten wedding guest to my grandparents at their marriage in 1937.

It’s an exceedingly tough wood… hard, dense, resistant to rot and insects, destructive of woodworking tools, great for wooden archery bows… but in my opinion does not tend to win beauty awards. It’s not ugly, but when freshly sawn it’s a distinctive yellow color, which ages to a nondescript brown.

I know why you think it’s flimsy feeling, though. No wooden covers have the same weight or heft as bone, which makes a “bareheaded” pocketknife that is hafted with wood but has no endcap feel distinctly light, a feeling we associate today with cheap, modern, plasticky, material-saving construction.

Rest assured your Osage covers are tough and durable, though it’s not impossible they might develop a small crack or two as they dry or age. Mine did, on a #73 I bought some years ago. A drop of superglue took care of the problem.
 
GaiusJulius said:
Osage Orange is a wood I’ve always had a soft spot for, growing up in a part of the country where it was long ago adopted for fence posts, hedge rows, and was found growing in a solitary fashion in many a cow pasture, where one could trip over the “hedge apples,” or throw them at one’s cousin, or say “didja know these are poisonous???” while giving them a good smell (but definitely not a lick!) We have a chair in the family that lore says is Osage orange, clearly handmade, given by a long-forgotten wedding guest to my grandparents at their marriage in 1937.

It’s an exceedingly tough wood… hard, dense, resistant to rot and insects, destructive of woodworking tools, great for wooden archery bows… but in my opinion does not tend to win beauty awards. It’s not ugly, but when freshly sawn it’s a distinctive yellow color, which ages to a nondescript brown.

I know why you think it’s flimsy feeling, though. No wooden covers have the same weight or heft as bone, which makes a “bareheaded” pocketknife that is hafted with wood but has no endcap feel distinctly light, a feeling we associate today with cheap, modern, plasticky, material-saving construction.

Rest assured your Osage covers are tough and durable, though it’s not impossible they might develop a small crack or two as they dry or age. Mine did, on a #73 I bought some years ago. A drop of superglue took care of the problem.
Click to expand...

After handling it a bit more, I don’t think it’s flimsy; I think it’s the size of the knife (25 is quite small) that makes it feel… less. Time will tell if I grows on me! I don’t think it’s going anywhere regardless.

Thanks for the info and your personal musing!
 
Jerbhola89 said:
After handling it a bit more, I don’t think it’s flimsy; I think it’s the size of the knife (25 is quite small) that makes it feel… less. Time will tell if I grows on me! I don’t think it’s going anywhere regardless.

Thanks for the info and your personal musing!
Click to expand...

I personally really like the feel of the Osage covers on my 29 stockyard whittler. Like you said it could be the size of the 25 but also, to each thier own. Everyone has their own preferences that feels best to them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top