Lets talk GEC!

The 43 is a good-looking knife, but a bit large for me... 4.25” is a lot of folder. Maybe as some have noted, in stainless with a belt sheath.
 
The 43s aren’t doing much for me, but they have resparked my interest in the 42s! Those are some beautiful large pocket knives. I think the little “palm swell”(?) does a lot for the profile.
On a separate note, will GEC please re run the drop point 73s?!?! I have lusted after those ever since seeing Ron’s, Harry’s, Brett’s, and I know I’m forgetting a couple more. I even remember browsing through the left overs in micarta and stag(back when there was such a thing as left over gec stock) and still kick myself for not grabbing a stag with that nice un-x-ld shield.
 
SadSappySucker said:
The 43s aren’t doing much for me, but they have resparked my interest in the 42s! Those are some beautiful large pocket knives. I think the little “palm swell”(?) does a lot for the profile.
On a separate note, will GEC please re run the drop point 73s?!?! I have lusted after those ever since seeing Ron’s, Harry’s, Brett’s, and I know I’m forgetting a couple more. I even remember browsing through the left overs in micarta and stag(back when there was such a thing as left over gec stock) and still kick myself for not grabbing a stag with that nice un-x-ld shield.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I kick myself on somewhat of a daily basis for not picking up a stag double pull 73 drop/spey when they were in stock.
 
SadSappySucker said:
The 43s aren’t doing much for me, but they have resparked my interest in the 42s! Those are some beautiful large pocket knives. I think the little “palm swell”(?) does a lot for the profile.
On a separate note, will GEC please re run the drop point 73s?!?! I have lusted after those ever since seeing Ron’s, Harry’s, Brett’s, and I know I’m forgetting a couple more. I even remember browsing through the left overs in micarta and stag(back when there was such a thing as left over gec stock) and still kick myself for not grabbing a stag with that nice un-x-ld shield.
Click to expand...
You mean like this?
image.jpg
 
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Yeah, that's it!

e545f674-dcd5-4b52-9e26-563563dd69cd_zps3burpm6z.jpg~original
 
The new 43 pattern inspired me to make a few models and post about traditional knife ergonomics.

The 43 is a BEAUTIFUL knife, to my eye. Heartbreakingly so, because with my particular hands, and with how I use my pocket knives, it will be very hard for me to use, one of the hardest patterns yet from GEC. To illustrate this, I've created these photos. The models, which are correct in contour, scale, and thickness, are of the upcoming 81 Bull Moose and 43 Oregon pattern knives. The real knives are my Schrade 881 stockman, my GEC 72, and my GEC 74.

This first photo is of my hand, my arm always in the same position on the arm of the chair, grasping each knife with a straight wrist. You can see how handle shape and blade angle dramatically change the angle of the blade sticking up out of my hand. The 72 and the 74 may seem similar, but you can see from that angle, and the shape of my hand, that the extra hump in the handle changes things a lot ergonomically. While the 43 and the 74 seem to almost tilt up to vertical, the 81, my stockman, and the 72 all settle into a forward position:

9E5SxZS.jpg

This makes a huge difference if, like I do, you work with the tip a lot, rather than the belly or the straight edge. You can see in this next photo the difference in my wrist deflection needed to get the point of the knife to where I can work with it straight ahead of my arm. The 81, the stockman, and the 72 all do a good job presenting the tip without me having to deflect my wrist very far, whereas my 74 does require me to tweak my wrist over uncomfortably (one of several nitpicky reasons I plan to replace it with the 81), while the 43, as much as I love it, practically forces me to break my tendons clean out of the carpal tunnel to reach over enough.

mDRq7ag.jpg

I'm sure it could be very different in different people's hands, but my fiancee had the same results.

It goes to show how small variations, even just a bump on the handle, can drastically change how a knife handles.

I do VERY much look forward to the next run of 42 knives, and I hope they have this precise blade on them, because I just adore it. And, of course, I look forward to my 81, which I have on reserve.
 
The banana shield seems very odd to me - not sure what to think. Is it fun that GEC decided to put a banana shield on this knife, or have they gone bananas by ruining the sawcut yellow bone...

Either way, I'm glad the 35's are almost done because I'm looking forward to the 81's - as long as they do not add any fruit shields :eek:

IMG_1653.jpg
 
I have been thinking lately about the 78 two blade American Jack. I'm not anxious, just havin' happy thoughts about it comin' some time in the near future.
Once I've got that and maybe good split back whittler, I could abandon collecting knives....for a spell. ;)

Michael
 
cbr1000 said:
The banana shield seems very odd to me - not sure what to think. Is it fun that GEC decided to put a banana shield on this knife, or have they gone bananas by ruining the sawcut yellow bone...

Either way, I'm glad the 35's are almost done because I'm looking forward to the 81's - as long as they do not add any fruit shields :eek:
Click to expand...

As much as I like the 35s I am really looking forward to the Bull Moose also.
 
SadSappySucker said:
The 43s aren’t doing much for me, but they have resparked my interest in the 42s! Those are some beautiful large pocket knives. I think the little “palm swell”(?) does a lot for the profile.
On a separate note, will GEC please re run the drop point 73s?!?! I have lusted after those ever since seeing Ron’s, Harry’s, Brett’s, and I know I’m forgetting a couple more. I even remember browsing through the left overs in micarta and stag(back when there was such a thing as left over gec stock) and still kick myself for not grabbing a stag with that nice un-x-ld shield.
Click to expand...

Are these the 42's your looking for?


https://flic.kr/p/Z7PVhA
Z7PVhA
 
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