Lets talk GEC!

Finedges said:
Yet, in for the GAW for a GEC. Class indeed.
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And this means exactly what? Certainly I posted in a GAW thread about ONE GEC knife that I like, not all of them. And I've given away 4 or 5 GECs to other Forum members just to put your class observation into perspective, thank you.

We are here to discuss knives that GEC issue not each other. Obviously I don't like this pattern, find it ugly and absurd but I have never said people whose taste is different from mine are somehow ugly or absurd, got that? :rolleyes:

videorecipes Thank you, appreciate that! It's a sad day if we can't poke fun at a knife or knife pattern we find outlandish, think French Kate..:D:eek:

Thanks, Will
 
I actually like the looks of this knife, but it doesn't appear to me to be a very good knife. The drawing indicates there may be some serious design flaws. Whether it will prove to be a good knife or not, who can say?

I love my GECs but I am not a 100% a fan. My issues include:

-They make too many knives for Derrick Bohn, and I think this detracts from their identity and individual brand.
-I have received too many GECs that should have been classed as seconds, but weren't (talking med-level imperfections here)
-I didn't think much of the way Rob Brixby's SFO turned out, I think he is personally responsible for so many of their sales that he deserved better treatment.
-Not all of their patterns are successful (but I don't want them to stop trying new things)

Having said that, I like

-GEC and what it represents as an American knife making tradition
-many of the knives are simply works of art and are a testament to good workmanship
-the culture set up around the brand is so deep for such a young company,
-the idiosyncrasy and refusal to conform, which reminds me of a bunch of independent musicians refusing to do what their record label demands.

I sincerely hope that we are able to engage in free and open discussion on these forums and respect others point of view, and not demand positivity even in an environment that encourages manners and respect. I want to be able to be critical and be positive without fear of reprisal for doing either.
 
Very well put Camillus, I agree with most of your points. I've been extremely pleased with most of my GEC's and I do appreciate their independent approach to patterns. The Dixie Stockman is one I admire but its unconventiality has drawn the fire of some Stockman enthusiasts who dislike its approach. I'm critical of GEC's approach to pins on many knives, others don't feel that way and some have tried to explain it away as a production technique or nicety, but it all depends on the individual pattern and indeed, the individual knife. Others have strongly agreed with me, exchange of views, all views, are what a flourishing Forum is about.
 
It's a sad day if we can't poke fun at a knife or knife pattern we find outlandish, think French Kate..:D:eek:
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I think the issue was your comment went beyond poking fun of the knife and poked fun of those that liked the knife.
 
Wow. That Calf Pen Jack is hideous in the extreme. I sincerely hope it's a joke. It looks like a knife assembled from the "unloved parts bin". Send that one to the Island of Misfit Toys, next to the Charlie-In-A-Box.

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We ask for a scout based on the 35 pattern, and we get this monstrosity instead? LOL. Back to the drawing board.
 
From a work knife standpoint, it has a lot of nice features, heck, you could almost call it a Calf Pen Scout!
Locking blade for "heavy" tasks, a blade a guy can access while the other hand is occupied, and a screwdriver you can get to without having to open it.
Plus the lanyard hole for a bail or fob so you can pull it out of your pocket easily. Also, easy to spot, generally, handle scales to find it if ya set it down.
Can't wait to put this design thru its paces!
 
Definitely it has a work knife potential. But they need to make it in cocobolo, shadow pattern. Awesome.

I think this could be shrunk by an inch, and made into a perfect little edc knife. Like a SAK classic.
 
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Everyone has their own taste in knives and this place is free range to express those preferences; unless you consistently like GEC offerings - then you are just a fanboy and guilty of "uncritical worship and compulsory positivism". :D

It is curios how those that you can anticipate will cast a positive spin are grumbled about as being less than sincere by those that you can anticipate will cast a negative spin. :p

I will stock any knife GEC makes available to me; but as for my take on the "Calf Pen" - SHE SOUNDS HIDEOUS ;) OK, OK, I only say that so I don't get condemned as a worshiper of positivism (or something like that).

There needs to be a place where our craftsmen can come on their lunch break to read supportive comments. And there needs to be a place for constructive criticism to be expressed. Just not sure it works being the exact same place.:)

Just kidding - It is the mix that makes this place worth perusing daily....
 
The Calf Pen would sure make a great platform for some micarta SFOs...

Plus, I would be down for any number of scouts and cattle knives on this frame, the bull and donkey shields would both be prime on those patterns.
 
Hi Mike, not here to continue our debate from another forum but to say you are between a rock and a hard place and I do support you. After a while I'm sure you feel a bit like a "whack-a-mole."
 
Camillus said:
Definitely it has a work knife potential. But they need to make it in cocobolo, shadow pattern. Awesome.

I think this could be shrunk by an inch, and made into a perfect little edc knife. Like a SAC classic.
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I don't have the specs in front of me, but isn't the 35 fairly small? I know it's relative, small to one person isn't the same as the other, but I think it's a 3.5 -3.75 inch knife. It seems small for a work knife as is. I'm guessing it will be hard to use the lock wearing gloves. If it shrunk an inch it would be a 2.5 - 2.75 inch or so work knife with a tiny tiny blade (for outdoor work purposes). You would have to use your pinky finger to hit the lock release!

In my opinion, they should have a punch instead of the one hand opener. There's not a knife in the FF line with a punch, yet there's punches on too many of their regular line for my liking. Seems like if any line of knives needed one with a punch it's the Farm and Field line.
 
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Yeah, I was thinking it looks like it would work well as a key ring size knife, like the classic - but this will never happen. At the moment, I can see a use as a workbench knife as others have suggested. The razor blade kept real sharp and the warncliffe used as a general duty blade and a scribe.
 
joeradza said:
Hi Mike, not here to continue our debate from another forum but to say you are between a rock and a hard place and I do support you. After a while I'm sure you feel a bit like a "whack-a-mole."
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Conversations wouldn't need to occur if everyone had the same thought pattern. I realize we all think a bit different, but I have to remind myself of that all the time. Some people have agenda's; but the vast majority simply have an opinion - and no opinion sounds any more sound than your own.
 
knifeswapper said:
Conversations wouldn't need to occur if everyone had the same thought pattern. I realize we all think a bit different, but I have to remind myself of that all the time. Some people have agenda's; but the vast majority simply have an opinion - and no opinion sounds any more sound than your own.
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Well said, thanks.
 
if you said to me, "design a slip joint with all the traditional elements you like least" i'm pretty sure i'd come close to how bad i think this 35 design is. Throw a bail in that lanyard tube as icing on the cake. Who would ever think to put a liner lock wharncliffe with an integrated flathead screwdriver next to a one-arm razor? Early april fools. Gotta be!
 
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