New Run of No. 15s (Beer Scout and Otherwise)

famousspear said:
dang it!

So much lust got built up I just ordered a draft beer acrylic. I have a hard time justifying purchases for items 1/5 of the price this is, and now I rushed the purchase not even thinking twice about how much it cost lol!
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Been there. Done that.
Welcome to the club!
 
I've got a micarta and I like it so much I'm thinking about getting that oak or maybe the ebony crownlifter. I've read oak can splinter and the source of this particular oak is pretty ancient. Do you guys think the gabon ebony will be signifgantly more durable than the oak?
 
famousspear said:
dang it!

So much lust got built up I just ordered a draft beer acrylic. I have a hard time justifying purchases for items 1/5 of the price this is, and now I rushed the purchase not even thinking twice about how much it cost lol!
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It's a sickness. I recall a couple years ago being hesitant to spend $30 on a swiss army knife, let alone any knife. Now I pull the trigger on these GECs without a second thought. Is there such a thing as knife rehab?
 
BlockPsycho said:
I've got a micarta and I like it so much I'm thinking about getting that oak or maybe the ebony crownlifter. I've read oak can splinter and the source of this particular oak is pretty ancient. Do you guys think the gabon ebony will be signifgantly more durable than the oak?
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Almost certainly is, Ebony is tough and this is new wood. I'm really rather sceptical about these reclaimed woods, it sounds nice and atmospheric but I rather think these types of wood are more display effect than durable user. Think of their Chestnut on the 15, I might well be wrong.
 
Will Power said:
Almost certainly is, Ebony is tough and this is new wood. I'm really rather sceptical about these reclaimed woods, it sounds nice and atmospheric but I rather think these types of wood are more display effect than durable user. Think of their Chestnut on the 15, I might well be wrong.
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Yes I think you're right Will.

I thought the same thing when I got my Barn Chestnut 15.

It may not be the case that Oak or American Chestnut is necessarily unfit to use for knife handles, but they certainly don't hold a candle to Ebony, African Blackwood, Lignum Vitae et al.

If I remember aright, woodturners must work African Blackwood with the same tooling that would be used for metals.

BlockPsycho, here's a link to some relative Janka scale hardness figures for timbers.

http://www.bellforestproducts.com/info/janka-hardness/

I've certainly handled old knives that had been used hard, where the ebony scales were much less battered in appearance than the brass bolsters or even the steel blade.
 
Cambertree said:
Yes I think you're right Will.

I thought the same thing when I got my Barn Chestnut 15.

It may not be the case that Oak or American Chestnut is necessarily unfit to use for knife handles, but they certainly don't hold a candle to Ebony, African Blackwood, Lignum Vitae et al.

If I remember aright, woodturners must work African Blackwood with the same tooling that would be used for metals.

BlockPsycho, here's a link to some relative Janka scale hardness figures for timbers.

http://www.bellforestproducts.com/info/janka-hardness/

I've certainly handled old knives that had been used hard, where the ebony scales were much less battered in appearance than the brass bolsters or even the steel blade.
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Thanks for sharing the Janka hardness scale. It might influence some of my future knife buying decisions. I was surprised to see American Chestnut so far down on the scale.

The reclaimed old barn chestnut used on the recent stainless steel 15's was so soft that I could dig a fingernail right into the wood and leave an impression with very little pressure.
 
Interested in the Oak barrel version of beer scout as I like the story of reclaimed beer barrels. Anyone else have concern about durability? Like someone above, between the oak beer scout and ebony caplifter
 
JerryIsAlive said:
Interested in the Oak barrel version of beer scout as I like the story of reclaimed beer barrels. Anyone else have concern about durability? Like someone above, between the oak beer scout and ebony caplifter
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The oaks listed on the Janka scale are over twice as hard as the American chestnut. Also, the reclaimed old barn chestnut had been weathered outdoors for at least fifty years which may have lowered the hardness. From the pictures on GEC's website, the oak from the beer barrel looked very solid. The wood looked preserved and not weathered at all. We shall see soon. I have one on order.
 
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My buddy just received a super sweet Draft Beer acrylic version. Some of the pictures people posted made the glitter look glaring. In person these are very captivating.
 
The bone is very nice too. Waiting in the mail when I got back from Thanksgiving travel.

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Does anyone know the story with the oak barrels? Were they whiskey barrels re-used for beer? Beer barrels from the start? Were they used at all or leftover stock?
 
GEC posted a few pictures of the barrel a while back. It had 1792 stamped on it, and the interior was clearly charred. I'm guessing that it was used for 1792 bourbon, but I haven't heard anything about a brewery using the barrel to age a beer.
 
Sorry, I should have clarified. I haven't heard GEC say anything about what brewery/if a brewery used it. I'm fully aware that small breweries use wine/whisk(e)y/tequila barrels to age/flavor beers.
 
The barrel in the photo is marked "Barton 1792 Distillery" so I think bourbon is more likely than beer. GEC may just be having fun with the name. I think it's nice that GEC is re purposing old woods.

Barton 1792 Distillery was established in 1879 and continues today as the oldest fully-operating Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. Situated in heart of bourbon country on 196 acres, the Distillery boasts 29 barrel aging warehouses, 22 other buildings including an impressive still house, and the legendary Tom Moore Spring. Named in honor of the year Kentucky joined the United States, Barton 1792 offers three tours of the Distillery: the Barton Tradition Tour, the Bushel to Bottle Tour and the 1792 Estate Tour.
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btb01 said:
Got my Golden Ale Jigged Bone in the mail today, just waiting on that Beer Barrel Oak to ship now. So far my favorite is the Maroon Micarta, but we'll see if I feel the same when the oak arrives. :D

I know someone mentioned this a while back (can't remember if it was in this thread or another), but it does seem that someone got a bit sloppy in the sharpening department over at GEC on this run. Both my Antique Yellow Crown Lifter and my Golden Ale Beer Scout came with wavy, uneven bevels. One spot on the pile side of the blade on my Golden Ale looks like someone tried to give it a convex edge (but only on about 1/3 of the blade). It just looks like someone wasn't paying attention or was doing the job in a rush. :(

It's not the end of the world, nothing a couple minutes on a sharpening stone can't remedy, but it is a bit disappointing as GEC normally does a better job than this.
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My Marron macarta BC arrived with a perfect bevel . Walk and talk was outstanding also and
So was the Button 😊

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
 
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