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Well, the blade shape is rather limiting and that bail makes pocket carry awkward. Moreover, I think if you have one of such a knife you are unlikely to be after more. Just my view of course .
 
Will Power said:
Well, the blade shape is rather limiting and that bail makes pocket carry awkward. Moreover, I think if you have one of such a knife you are unlikely to be after more. Just my view of course .
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Totally agree, tho I think the blade is more to blame than the bail. If the recent clip pointed 15s had had bails, I think they still would have flew off shelves.

I have 2 of the Navy knives, and I like them, but that high riding, fat ended blade just isn't as versatile and useful as a clip or sheepfoot. I do like the big, solid bail, tho, and wish the upcoming boy's knives had some sort of bail (either beer scout or Navy knife style).

Since I'm doing some wishing, I hope for many more stainless options from GEC down the road.
 
Pomsbz said:
Doesn't seem to be much love for the #15 Navy knives. Why is that?
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Like others have said, it's mainly the blade. I love my sheepsfoots but that blade just looks awkwardly large to me, and frankly it's ugly. There are other, more attractive options out there that will do the same job or better.
 
I don't have the knife. But the blade looks to be similar in size and shape to a sheepfoot... a little less pointy. I heard that the reason it rides high is to accommodate the bail. Is that true? Is it a through pin? I haven't seen the inside of the well.

The fixed bail is appropriate for the pattern and GEC did a nice job on these knives. But rope knives have not been extremely popular with collectors. Although interest in old knives has waned, a lot of the trends seem to hold true. Very specialized knives and small knives don't seem to be as popular as others. As a side note... GEC knives seem to reinvigorate interest in some of the old specialized patterns. When the GEC rope/navy knives came out, there were folks seeking out old examples of the pattern.

Fixed bails were also not very popular on the Conductor and White Owl a few years ago... at least I remember people complaining about the bails. The bail on the beer scout is removable and it seems like a lot of folks removed them or swapped them for a lanyard.

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I just received a stainless Navy knife in micarta - my very first GEC knife actually - and I do like it a lot, precisely because it is a little different and also a nice homage to an old and time-tested type of knife. I'm not a "Jack Tar" and have no need of a rope knife as such but it is really nice to see a company making one today. Plus the 440C and natural micarta covers are some really nice things to have in a pocket knife.
 
How is the bail attached on your Navy knife? Is it a through pin?

I'm also curious if the sheefoot blades will be the same height on the caplifter boy's knives and the beer scouts. The caplifter boy's knives won't have a bail so the sheepfoot blades could fit much lower in the handle. But I suspect that GEC will make them the same way to streamline production.
 
Pin for the bail goes through, yes. A small gap between it and the backspring, even. Now I guess it might have been possible to "lower" the pin and get the blade seated a little deeper, but perhaps bail placed in the handle centerline is nicer aesthetically? The easy-opening by pinching works really nice with the high sitting blade, though.
 
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No problem!

The Navy knife is perhaps something of an ugly duckling, but it's ugly only in a pretty sort of way if you ask me. :thumbup:


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I don't mind the blade shape at all on the Navy knife. It don't like it as much as a standard sheepsfoot, but it's okay. I'm love the bail. I love the EO knotch. I just don't like how small the knife is. Way to small in the hand for me. It's my first single layer #15. Since the 2 layer 15's are just barely large enough for me, the Navy knife has been relegated to the archives.

On the other hand, my father-in-law's Navy knife is his new EDC. Micarta scales and stainless steel remove all worries. It's light in his pocket, and the EO notch makes it easy for his old hands to open. The bail keeps him from losing it in the couch cushions. It's a total win for him.
 
I'm with buzz on the thinness of the scales. If I go single blade on a 15 I like the chamfered edges on Charlie's 15 TC Ancient vs the rounded off edge because it feels thicker in my hands.

I had the 15 Rope Knife which had awesome jigging but it felt so slim with a large blade.

I have the 15 440C clip with Elk and I like it because of the Elk thickness, feels perfect in hand.

I hope the 14 TC Barlow doesn't feel too thin in hand....I grabbed both because I didn't know how thin it would be.
 
I asked the question of why there's not a lot of love for the Navy knife a few pages back as well. It's interesting to hear all of the responses. Personally, I like the knife quite a bit. I don't see much difference between it and a Sheepfoot blade. I think it's more of an aesthetic thing. I do understand the dislike of the bail and how high the blade sits in the well. The bail pin could be cut to remove the bail but then you'd have a hole in the handle. I agree, single blade 15's are very thin, but for me they are long enough that I can barely get 4 fingers on it while gripping, which is enough. I guarantee the 14 will be a 3 finger knife that is every bit as thin as the 15. It's just a scaled down 15 really.

To each their own! That's the beauty of having variety!
 
It is thin, yes. Another layer and blade could work well there. As I was looking at photos of old sailors' knives, there were can openers and manicure blades to be seen. Those might be nice, or perhaps even a pipe tamper or a snuff spoon, if you really wanted to go all salty and "age of sail". :p
 
Thank you all for your thoughts. A couple of points came to mind with this knife. First of all the nail nick is far forward on the blade which makes for easier opening, especially with the EO notch and so much blade above the liner. Helpful for my hands with limited mobility. At least in theory. The blade shape is incredibly people friendly if you live somewhere with strict knife laws, this jumped out at me immediately. The shape and width of the blade should make this a great replacement and improvement for a box cutter type tool carry. Stainless is a nice addition for a hard use knife.
 
Pomsbz said:
Doesn't seem to be much love for the #15 Navy knives. Why is that?
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Can't speak for others, but I opted not to get one for two reasons: I wasn't wowed by the selection of covers, and I didn't think it was versatile enough to justify the cost. Conversely, the second I found out about the beer barrel handles for the Beer Scouts I doubled my reservation.

Regarding rope/Navy knives in general, I have actually ended up with more in my collection than I ever thought I would. I even have two of the 'official' Camillus knives with wood handles from the WWII era, one of which I will occasionally carry (though it is a pocket filler with that protruding blade shoulder and overall frame size). I simply can't reconcile spending what will end up being most of a Beer Scout's cost on a knife that will not see much pocket time (I don't really buy knives with an eye towards future resale; my investments require slightly less maintenance, regardless of blade steel :cool:).

supratentorial said:
The fixed bail is appropriate for the pattern and GEC did a nice job on these knives. But rope knives have not been extremely popular with collectors. Although interest in old knives has waned, a lot of the trends seem to hold true. Very specialized knives and small knives don't seem to be as popular as others. As a side note... GEC knives seem to reinvigorate interest in some of the old specialized patterns. When the GEC rope/navy knives came out, there were folks seeking out old examples of the pattern.
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If anyone can light a fire under traditionals buyers, it's GEC. I think the rope knives are just necessarily mired in esoterica. Their design alone speaks to a very exclusive and limited set of use-cases. They sure are beautiful, though, and if it's just the bail that serves as a sticking point then the mods posted in this thread alone should demonstrate that they can be removed and the knife can still be made attractive.

draggat said:
To each their own! That's the beauty of having variety!
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The upside to the uniqueness of the pattern, and its apparently lukewarm reception, is that as more people are turned onto it going forward they'll be able to simply hit up their favorite GEC dealer and get one right away. Too bad the same can't be said about the Beer Scouts or TC Barlows. :o
 
I actually prefer the blade shape on the navy knife compared to the 15s sheepfoot blade, which seems to have quite a delicate tip to it. I have found it to be quite useful for quick pruning jobs in the garden, as well as an acceptable carry for most other daily tasks. I can't say that about my Case Pruner. You gotta love all the options!
Thanks,
Brian

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
 
I've been carrying one of the new Navy Knife models for a couple weeks now; after all the comments I had to see for myself how useful or not the blade shape actually is.

I really like the standard sheepfoot blade on the 15 pattern, love the frame size and EO notch, but was on the fence about the bail. The sheepfoot blade seems (to me, anyway) about the best shape for opening packages and breaking down cardboard, but is useless for cleaning your nails (Perhaps that is why the originals had a manicure blade).

Anyway, after using the new Navy, I have to give it a big thumbs-up! It is just as useful as the standard sheepfoot blade, is a snap to open/close, and the bail works as an extension of the handle by putting the tip of your pinkie in it while using. Plus, my bone model is a real beauty, and in 440C to boot! I don't notice the bail in my pocket at all, but I don't wear tight jeans, so those of you who do may notice it more. Did I miss the pointy end? Nope, and I haven't poked myself with it either! :)

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!
 
Baldy McBalders said:
I actually prefer the blade shape on the navy knife compared to the 15s sheepfoot blade, which seems to have quite a delicate tip to it. I have found it to be quite useful for quick pruning jobs in the garden, as well as an acceptable carry for most other daily tasks. I can't say that about my Case Pruner. You gotta love all the options!
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I've always thought the Case 11031SH was the perfect pocketable hybrid garden/general carry knife. Stout, sharp sheepsfoot blade (with long pull!) in a very slim and pocketable handle similar to the proportions of the single-blades in the GEC 15 frame.

 
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