waynorth
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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Lets talk GEC!
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Will Power
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They can't! It wouldn't fit out the door!!
Really??
I heard a rumour, what with all this naval lark recently...
that GEC had got hold of GIANT machinery from a mothballed ship-yard just to tackle this Behemoth/Texas project Dry docks, cranes etc 
But shhhhh! Keep it quiet
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I don't think they'll stop pinning shields. Bill Howard seemed very proud that they didn't use any glue in their process, not even to adhere the scales to the liners. Having read Bill's very thoughtful statement on the GEC website about the move to shieldless stag, it seems that cost cutting was only a minor part of the decision. I do believe there was a precedent for it in the tradition of stag knives. I also personally agree that in most cases stag looks better without a shield.
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What makes you think that? My impression of Bill's post on the matter is that they're doing away with the shields on stag because he thinks they look ugly, not because he's trying to cut corners.
Cory Hess
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My impression is that his thoughts on them looking ugly came after he saw how difficult and expensive they are to place. Are we to believe he's been selling knives that he thinks are ugly for the last nine years?
It's a cost saving move wrapped in a brilliant marketing campaign. He's turning a potential negative into as much of a positive as he can.
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I heard they're adding another spring and a folding snow shovel.
The folding shovel also works as a luggage carrier when you pop the training wheels out.
I don't think so. I think that is coming as an overreaction extension of the stag shield decision because you didn't like that decision and see it as the beginning of a downward slope of cost over quality decisions by GEC. As someone else said, Mr. Howard has expressed his pride in not using adhesives on GEC knives. I understand why one might dislike the Stag shield decision and see it as a cost saving move, but from speaking with him and the other ways GEC goes above and beyond to ensure quality, I don't think that this is the beginning of any slippery slope.
Well, he said the same to me long before this discussion arose or any word of dropping shields from stag handles came out. He explained how he likes stag for its natural unique features, and how the shield is often just a disruption of that, taking away from the look. He even seemed to think not having a shield would make them more valuable to collectors who collect for the Stag itself.
Do you really think that every knife company owner likes every knife they make? Of course not, they make knives both that they like and that they don't like but think their customers will like. It's silly to suggest that a knife company owner, even in the case of a small company like Mr. Howard's, would only produce knives they find aesthetically pleasing. That's not how a business works.
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Well said! I've been sitting here trying to articulate a thoughtful response but you nailed it. Just because Bill passed the shielded stag knives through QC doesn't necessarily mean he personally liked them. He very well could have been selling knives he personally thought were ugly for the past 9 years, and that's not a bad thing, that's just how business works sometimes.
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I checked it out and polished stag is listed under the 85s on GEC's websight but not on Mike's?
Is this an error or will Mike be adding another option? Or have I overlooked something that is right in front of my face?
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I was just about to post the same thing.
Cory Hess
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ALLHSS
It certainly is possible, especially in the case of SFOs. Of course, he has some control and can push things towards his preferences, but he undoubtedly has to make some compromises for what the market is demanding as well. This could be why they used to make some stag knives with shields and others where the shield came separate in the tube. This could be explained by Bill compromising between what he thought his customers wanted and what he would want for himself. It's nearly impossible to get a 100% accurate answer, even if we have direct answers from the man himself. I know that there are quite a few things that I do that it would be hard to explain. Sometimes it's a "that's just how you do it" and sometimes it's an "I honestly don't know why I do this or why I do it this way". I love that we have a place where we can come and debate the minutia.
Either way, I really appreciate that he shares as much of his thought process as possible with us. It's very interesting to me to be able to read his words and get into his head a little bit. Even if I question the order of events that lead to the decision, I appreciate that there is an extensive thought process that goes into it and it's not just an arbitrary decision made by people sitting in a board room.
It certainly is possible, especially in the case of SFOs. Of course, he has some control and can push things towards his preferences, but he undoubtedly has to make some compromises for what the market is demanding as well. This could be why they used to make some stag knives with shields and others where the shield came separate in the tube. This could be explained by Bill compromising between what he thought his customers wanted and what he would want for himself. It's nearly impossible to get a 100% accurate answer, even if we have direct answers from the man himself. I know that there are quite a few things that I do that it would be hard to explain. Sometimes it's a "that's just how you do it" and sometimes it's an "I honestly don't know why I do this or why I do it this way". I love that we have a place where we can come and debate the minutia.
Either way, I really appreciate that he shares as much of his thought process as possible with us. It's very interesting to me to be able to read his words and get into his head a little bit. Even if I question the order of events that lead to the decision, I appreciate that there is an extensive thought process that goes into it and it's not just an arbitrary decision made by people sitting in a board room.
Cory Hess
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The early runs of Genuine Stag. The knives came without shields attached and the shields were shipped loose in the tubes.
Was the shield cut out already milled? Where the shields pinned, or made with a pin at least?
Cory Hess
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There was no cutting done to the stag. They were the shieldless stag just like you'll be seeing going forward. I think they threw the shield in the tube as a token, like they do with the buttons. Kind of a "Hey, we didn't put the shield on because we didn't want to ruin the stag, so here it is."
As to whether or not the shields had pins attached to them, I don't believe they did but don't quote me on that. I don't have any in my possession to check. Maybe somebody that has a better memory can chime in.
Hmmm... how were they shields if they didn't have a pin and there was no milling to glue or pin them in? This is confusing to me. Were they shaped like traditional shields?
Will Power
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I recall they were Un-X-LD shields just added as a kind of lapel badge with the untouched Stag. Rather pointless I felt.
wlfryjr
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Bill Howard is driven for excellence,glued shields are not on that road. My take was that the depth of the cuts are what puts him off. If it's real deep,I might also be put off.
Me ,I like shields,but the quality of the stag now does not afford the cutler today the options in bygone years.
Did I say I like shields,yes, but ones simple and conforming to the artistry of the frame and handles. A soft literate bull though....? Must be something only attuned to bovine,"seems they can read between the horns"? I grin.
Me ,I like shields,but the quality of the stag now does not afford the cutler today the options in bygone years.
Did I say I like shields,yes, but ones simple and conforming to the artistry of the frame and handles. A soft literate bull though....? Must be something only attuned to bovine,"seems they can read between the horns"? I grin.