Never Fear, The Northwoods Zulu Spear is Here!

Very nice knives. I like this blade/style very much. I was not home when the giraffe bone was posted but seeing them now I wish I'd changed my plans. I was lucky to get the micarta and look forward to the mail this week.
 
Forgive my ignorance, but what's the story with the coloration of the giraffe bone? Green and orange are dyed? The white/tan/brown are natural?

Also, sorry if this has been discussed. I did poke arounda bit for the answer, but saw none.

cbr1000 said:
Not mine, just surfing pictures... it was such a mad dash to grab these I didn't really get much time to enjoy what was available..

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MCar said:
Forgive my ignorance, but what's the story with the coloration of the giraffe bone? Green and orange are dyed? The white/tan/brown are natural?

Also, sorry if this has been discussed. I did poke arounda bit for the answer, but saw none.

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I think the white/tan/brown is mammoth
 
I believe giraffe bone is naturally white and dyed like bovine to get the different colors. The one thing I have noticed with giraffe, and maybe it's just my experience, the color brightness appears more vivid and it also has more character lines/cracks compared to bovine. Not always the case, just my rough generalization.

On a side note, camel and giraffe seem to have similar color brightness, but seems like giraffe is preferred and I'm not exactly sure why? Is it less prone to drying out/more durable? Also seems like I see more giraffe in orange... not sure why that is either.

giraffe arno

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I have to give props to Northwoods for producing this zulu rendition, but I'll have to pass on this one. I might be able to justify the pricing if the blade was of a better steel and properly swedged, like Mr. Bose does his Zulu's. The mammoth is far too preciously priced, the giraffe and camel bone models have already been picked through and what is left is decidedly bland, to my tastes. Still, all in all, milestone for GEC and Northwoods! :thumbup::thumbup:
Can't wait to see whether or not GEC will produce one stamped with their own brand. :p
 
MCar said:
Forgive my ignorance, but what's the story with the coloration of the giraffe bone? Green and orange are dyed? The white/tan/brown are natural?

Also, sorry if this has been discussed. I did poke arounda bit for the answer, but saw none.

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Did you get the blue one? I never saw that one and I was on as soon as they dropped
 
jprime84 said:
I would agree that overall construction does not strike me as any better than typical GEC offerings. I do think that KSF tends to bring more unique or premium cover materials to their orders, and of course there is a degree exclusivity to be considered. I wish that they did not include the slips and could cut $10-$20 off the prices, as once you have a couple of the slips having more is not really helpful.
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Totally agree with all your points Jeff. It would be great if there was a button where you could decline the pocket slip and save the 10-20 bucks.

Nevertheless, I'm still stoked to have a denim micarta coming!
 
I came so close to pulling the trigger on a giraffe bone. Beautiful colors. I waited because there were around 50 plus and a bit pricey. If they were all steel I'd have done it. I just think brass clashes. Went back last night and was shocked at how few left. This am nearly all were gone by my break. I hope there's a bunch of popcorn stags at a fair price coming soon. If there were 500 and there nearly all gone, that's impressive!
 
I saw three of these for sale on eBay already. Two black micarta and one denim. Do you suppose these guys jump too fast before the giraffe bone and ivory came out.
 
Wow these sold quickly... I had my eye on a denim one before I went to work. I told myself if they were still in stock after I was done I would grab one but they were gone.
 
jprime84 said:
I would agree that overall construction does not strike me as any better than typical GEC offerings. I do think that KSF tends to bring more unique or premium cover materials to their orders, and of course there is a degree exclusivity to be considered. I wish that they did not include the slips and could cut $10-$20 off the prices, as once you have a couple of the slips having more is not really helpful.
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Agreed Jeff the leather quality has declined on these pocket slips as well and they're a bit too bulky for my pocket anyways. I bought a slip about a year + ago separately when I started into traditional knives and the leather was pliable and even more supple after some leather honey or obenaufs. As of late from the 3 Northwoods that have passed through it's more cheap brittle leather.
I find that you should simply let the knives speak for themselves.

All in all though, great effort from GEC and Derrick at KnivesShipFree to bring an affordable offering of the Bose Zulu spear to the production market at a price point below Case/Bose. If I didn't have enough zulus in my stable already from different makers this one would be a heavy contender to pick up and try out.
 
Ryouchijtx said:
Agreed Jeff the leather quality has declined on these pocket slips as well and they're a bit too bulky for my pocket anyways. I bought a slip about a year + ago separately when I started into traditional knives and the leather was pliable and even more supple after some leather honey or obenaufs. As of late from the 3 Northwoods that have passed through it's more cheap brittle leather.
I find that you should simply let the knives speak for themselves.
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I agree that it would be best to make the sheaths/slips a separate purchase.

Ryouchijtx said:
All in all though, great effort from GEC and Derrick at KnivesShipFree to bring an affordable offering of the Bose Zulu spear to the production market at a price point below Case/Bose. If I didn't have enough zulus in my stable already from different makers this one would be a heavy contender to pick up and try out.
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I give kudos to Tony for his original idea and to Case for honoring the custom knife maker and paying for the use of his name and patterns. Although Tony and Case had no involvement in the Northwoods Zulu, the knife would not exist without Tony and probably not without Case either. I would not call $150+ "affordable" but the Northwoods knives have undercut the cost of the competition from Case. Costs can be made lower by using stamped parts instead of EDM cut parts and eliminating features like pivot bushings and mill relieved liners. Case also compensates Tony. GEC does produce very high quality knives and these Northwoods knives look beautiful. I do hope that GEC and Northwoods follow a more traditional approach in the future and develop relationships with custom knife makers like Case has made with Tony and Queen has made with Dan Burke and Bill Ruple.
 
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Have been interested in a giraffe bone knife since seeing Todd's amazing Michigan Jack on Instagram. Snagged a beauty just in time last night. :)
 
Kiteman72 said:
Totally agree with all your points Jeff. It would be great if there was a button where you could decline the pocket slip and save the 10-20 bucks.

Nevertheless, I'm still stoked to have a denim micarta coming!
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In most videos Derrek explains the pocket sheath is a bonus instead of using a box so I don't think it is designed to be a high dollar fancy pocket sheath, but leather isn't cheap and every expense cut could bring the price down, although I'm not sure by how much. It seems KSF promotes the fact that the pocket sheath is a bonus "to replace the box" and the knife would be priced here anyway. I wonder how much they actually has to pay for the pocket sheath. Probably minimal.
 
From a sales perspective, pairing the sheaths with the knives makes sense. The knives sell in seconds. They benefit with the additional sale of a sheath with each knife. Accessories is a good money maker....the accessories for phones and computers are a good example... or the undercoating etc of a brand new car... etc. From a consumer perspective, I'd rather not pay for something that I do no want. I'd rather have a choice. They could just package the knives in packing materials. Long term storage of a knife in a leather sheath is a no no.

bernard_levine said:
Leather is corrosive - tanned with acids.

That is why one should always store knives outside their sheaths.

BRL...
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I want to answer the questions/criticisms I have seen on the thread.

On leather.... We didn't cheapen the leather. Apparently different cows are different and so the last batch I bought were from stiff cows. (I pay the same, use the same supplier, etc) I just ordered a new batch we will see if some limp cows came through. I am carrying a stiff cow sheath now and have for quite some time. It functions exactly like the limper cow.

On packaging... I appreciate that some people would prefer we not include the sheath. Others love that we do. We have to make a choice, so at this time and for the foreseeable future, we do.

Further on packaging... We are working on a surprise knife that will likely have different packaging. That packaging is almost as expensive as the sheaths.

On giraffe bone... it is very expensive and imported from Africa. It is dyed and stabilized and because of its density (the most dense bone I am aware of), it takes the dye in interesting ways. I think it is beautiful.

On pricing... We work to both make a profit and to keep the price reasonable. I am proud of the latter and don't apologize for the former. :) Profit is what allows us (and GEC and every other company out there) to continue to produce and bring products to market. I must be doing reasonably well on the pricing since they sell for multiples on Ebay and the secondary market.

On liking the product... Thanks. I love Northwoods and I love doing them. It is great when your passion and your career merge. I produce the knives that excite me. It thrills me that people are just as passionate about them as I am.
 
Derrick,
Very cool knife!
Have they all been listed/sold or will there be another round ?
Thanks
Mark
 
okbohn said:
On leather.... We didn't cheapen the leather. Apparently different cows are different and so the last batch I bought were from stiff cows. (I pay the same, use the same supplier, etc) I just ordered a new batch we will see if some limp cows came through. I am carrying a stiff cow sheath now and have for quite some time. It functions exactly like the limper cow.
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No goldy locks cows out there for those of us who prefer leather in between limp and stiff? :D
 
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