Modern GEC Hybrid Line

I would like to see it, but the added cost is going to be a production issue. Some of the Northwoods knives from KSF are made by GEC and have s35 steel so maybe check them out!
 
Ernie1980 said:
I would like to see it, but the added cost is going to be a production issue. Some of the Northwoods knives from KSF are made by GEC and have s35 steel so maybe check them out!
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The Indian River Jacks are made by Queen Cutlery, not GEC

To OP: It seems like everyone is offering good advice and the general consensus is that

A. You should consult a modifier or custom maker
B. Not many in the traditional forum, traditional being the key word don't want or don't see the need for a 'modern line' from GEC.
C. See point A.
I myself wanted a knife with a higher end steel than 1095 that wouldn't rust so just recently I purchased a knife by Bret Dowell in ATS-34. Cost me 200-300$ range and I imagine that would be where the 'new line' you speak of would fall into.

Just look at the Tony Bose Case Collaborations. They run at 350-400$ in 154cm with traditional Bose patterns. While they are hard to find and scarce (which proves that there is a small market, not everyone here is willing to spend the 300$+ constantly on a high end production. Especially within the traditional forums.
 
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onespdfrk said:
Sounds like this is what Cold Steel is trying to break in to.

http://www.coldsteel.com/Product/54VSM/Ranch_Boss.aspx

Not exactly something I'm going to rush out & buy, but it seems like the direction you are looking for.
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That's an interesting knife! I found it for significantly less at a well-known internet knife dealer who included this in the copy: "What’s more, it is beautifully hand crafted by a well respected small batch east coast knife maker." Anyone care to speculate? Maybe the OP can contact them with his ideas.

I like bone and I like stag, but I'm not a hug fan of bone stag (there are exceptions, of course). Otherwise, I'd give some thought to this "Ranch Boss" knife.

To stay on topic for this thread, I think the OP would prefer some kind of synthetic scales on a knife like this though.
 
I've read through all of the threads on the matter, and seriously considered what was being proposed. I don't think I'd be a fan. I think that the materials used on traditionals are beautiful. Unfortunately, they're not as strong/stable as modern engineered materials. When you start building massive pocket folders that people are going to beat through a log with another log you want the strongest possible materials so that your knife will hold up. I believe that that's why modern folders are built in a more utilitarian fashion. They are judged based on how much abuse they can take without failing. Slipjoints aren't built to withstand that kind of use, even with the use of modern materials. The pivot area of a single blade trapper, like you want, wouldn't hold up to batoning even if it was made with the best possible modern materials. Therefore, making slipjoints with modern materials would be a sacrifice in aesthetics in order to make a knife that still doesn't perform the tasks that the new materials would normally allow. I understand that you've become a fan of the modern materials, and find beauty in them the same way that I find beauty in traditional materials. That being the case, I can see why you'd be interested in a line of hybrids.

After saying all of that, I have to say that I like that you're thinking outside of the box. You have the vision of a Kennedy. "Ask not what new knife Bill Howard will bring us, ask what new knife we can bring Bill Howard." "Some people see a trapper with G10 covers and ask why, I envision a trapper with an AXIS lock and ask why not." As ALLHSS said, don't be discouraged because your idea isn't immediately embraced. You asked a question. Don't take it personally that the answer you received isn't the one you hoped for. I'm not saying that you are taking it personally, I'm just trying to say that I support the fact that you have your own opinions and don't just follow the crowd.
 
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Would the Gayle Bradley Air be an example of the kind of knife you are looking for? It does not have a pocket clip.

C159GF_L.jpg
 
Twisted, I also would like to see a production "modernized" slipjoint traditional market start up, and I do believe something like this:
file-62.jpg

Could be made for around $200 from a production company if there was high demand. Unfortunately, that demand does not look like it exists currently. If you really are thinking about starting up a business, and your quality and patterns are well executed, I would be happy to be a customer of yours. It is just that I do not think the demand is big enough currently to warrent such a move.
 
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I kind of agree with the OP.

Working on Micarta, G10, and other synthetics aren't that different from working ebony and cocobolo - and the inputs are more predictable. Micarta is already a century old. But GEC uses it already, so it's mostly the very new stuff that's left out.

Why does 440C get the OK as a 'traditional' blade steel? It's merely the first stainless that was any good. It's old enough to be the bottom of the stainless barrel, but not so old that there's a good excuse for nostalgia. At least with 1095 you get a very fine edge with some carbides. Why are we stuck with 440C? That really bugs me, actually. CPM154 is just as easy to work annealed, and the heat-treat recipe is basically the same. Buying in quantity would keep the marginal increase quite low. (Maybe they grind post-heat-treat? that would make a difference.)

I'd love to see good ol' 1095 to keep the hardened traditionalists happy, and CPM154 for the stainless. Then I could likely find a micarta/CPM154 in a pattern that would make me happy.

For exotic handle material combinations and unusual blade variations you would typically have to go custom anyway. There's only so much variation a batch shop can manage. And let's keep the J. Oesers of the world in business. :-)



I do sympathize with the OP's desire to browse a line-up and be able to order from stock instead of committing to a relationship with a maker and paying a premium - and I say that as a maker myself.
 
Rostislav said:
Twisted, I also would like to see a production "modernized" slipjoint traditional market start up, and I do believe something like this:
file-62.jpg

Could be made for around $200 from a production company if there was high demand. Unfortunately, that demand does not look like it exists currently. If you really are thinking about starting up a business, and your quality and patterns are well executed, I would be happy to be a customer of yours. It is just that I do not think the demand is big enough currently to warrent such a move.
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I think the market's there, I just hit the wrong demographic with this thread. No biggie. That's a beautiful knife btw.
 
AmosPaul said:
Would the Gayle Bradley Air be an example of the kind of knife you are looking for? It does not have a pocket clip.

http://www.spyderco.[[/QUOTE]

There is nothing at all traditional with this example. Thumb hole, liner lock, pocket clip, All three are no-no's in the traditional forum.
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AmosPaul said:
Would the Gayle Bradley Air be an example of the kind of knife you are looking for? It does not have a pocket clip.

C159GF_L.jpg
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I really like that knife, but no, that's not what I'm talking about. Take a look at the post above from Rostislov for an example.
 
ATwistedStaple, after reading your later posts and thinking a bit, I think it would be very cool to see a company offer some products along the lines you have defined. I think there is a smattering here and there, but not any solid lineups that I have seen. Benchmade utilizes some aspects of traditional materials in concert with modern, but tends to include non traditional aspects as well. William Henry is another that comes to mind with similar hybrid offerings, but from my recollection, the line between traditional and modern usually leans more to the modern end of things utilizing traditional materials vs traditional construction and patterns with modern materials. Perhaps if a manufacturer looked at things the other way around, it could make for some very interesting offerings.
 
For years Canal Street has been making knives in 14-4 CrMo (similar to 154cm) and D2. They have used many shades of micarta, kirinite, and layered carbon fiber/G10 on many of their patterns.

All for less than $130.

Their recent creation is a lockback knife with white micarta scales and black micarta bolsters and a nice rosette holding it all together.
 
Nostalgia carries forward the past, and in cleansing it of the dross, leaves only what is good. Traditional knives carry forth this past and presents us with one humanities pinnacles of design. However I do not live in yesterday, and must dwell on present things. Unlike the OP I do not want a traditional knife plastered with the facade of modern materials, no more than I would want a carbon fiber sheath for a flintknapped knife. I believe that craftsman like GEC or Case should use their craftsmanship to create a knife for modern use that carries forward the simplicity and elegance that survives in todays traditional folders.
 
AmosPaul said:
Would the Gayle Bradley Air be an example of the kind of knife you are looking for? It does not have a pocket clip.
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Exactly what part of that is a traditional pattern?
Do not post one-hand openers in the Traditional Forum.
 
ATwistedStaple said:
Oh calm down will you? He was just looking for clarification.
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He's a Moderator.. the rules are pretty clear in the stickies above that we stick to traditional patterns and knives in this forum and the threads. Try to curb your tone a bit and partaking in the threads will go much easier
 
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ATwistedStaple said:
Oh calm down will you? He was just looking for clarification.
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This is that tone I was talking about that got me in trouble, which I then realized was a silly way for me to go about things.


You should just check out Jared Oeser or one of the several custom makers who use modern materials, order an SFO run, or start your own production company.
 
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