New watchpocket knife case peanut, gec #25 (sheepsfoot) or something else?

J

jdcovington1122

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Dec 7, 2012
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Been a while since i posted on here, but a little over a week ago my house caught on fire and i ran out and did not grab anything, including beloved Case peanut in chestnut bone with cv blades.

Being knifeless for over a week just feels wrong, so that has to change very soon.
I want a small knife for watch pocket carry with carbon blades no ss. I prefer bone handles but im open to other materials. So do i got with what i had before a case peanut chesnut bone? What about the gec #25 (sheepsfoot)? i read alot of good things about them but ive never held a gec, how do they compare to the peanut in terms of size and weight? or is there something else that beats the other two?

Thanks everyone, JDC
 
Very sorry to read about your house fire. In 1980 I lost everything I owned to a mobile home fire. Spent 4 days in the hospital receiving treatment for smoke inhalation. Lost everything I owned except the clothes I had on at the time. Wishing you a speedy recovery from your losses.

If you have not tried a GEC #25 you really owe it to yourself to get one. My favorite is the Easy Open version with a Sheepsoot blade but they are all great little knives. In my opinion, the #25's are a much more robust knife than the Peanut even though they share about the same closed length. Not sure about the weight without having both in my hand but I would say that the GEC is a little heavier.

When I handle a Peanut I always feel like it is going to slip out of my hands. I still get that effect from my #25's but it's not as pronounced. They are a little easier to grasp due to the bigger handle.

If you are used to the Peanut the #25 will have a completely different feel than the Peanut. To me, the Peanut feels tiny and the #25 doesn't. The main blade will be quite a change from the Peanut too. Depending on your uses for the knife, you might miss that long, slender Clip blade that the Peanut has.

I recommend giving the #25 a try. Chances are you'll love it.
 
Glad to hear you made it out safe. I second the vote for trying out a 25. I own an antique jigged bone variety with easy open sheepsfoot and its quite nice!
 
Sorry to hear that you had a house fire. I don't have experience with 25 pattern but I thought this size comparison may be helpful since you say that you want to carry the knife in a watch pocket. The Case peanut is much more slender and you may or may not find the 25 too large for a watch pocket.

2Dead said:
Case Tiny Trapper, Case Peanut, GEC #25 and #25 EO
IMG_0388.jpg
Click to expand...
 
I recently bought a Swayback Gent to take the place of the peanut that i have been carrying for some time, it came shaving sharp out of the box, fine untill i used it for some food prep, slicing potatoes and carrots for a stew, bye bye shaving edge, not hard to regain on the Sharpmaker but it sent me back to my GEC #25s, that 1095 steel just wont quit and in my opinion if you want a watchpocket knife to do more than open letters and cut thread with then the weird stubby little GEC #25 Small Jack is the tool for you.
 
AG makes a peanut with a clip and mini wharncliffe in vg-10 and pinched bolsters. Just another option. On the otherhand, it's quite a bit more $.
 
25 and Peanut are not really comparable. As you'll see from the photo Jake put up (that Wharncliffe of Trand's gets me feverish) the Peanut is a much less broad knife, it can have thick scales but essentially it is quite a skimpy Jack so holding on might be tricky. I've never warmed to it frankly. Whereas, the 25 has a broad handle and broad blade with a choice of Clip,Spear,Drop-point, Sheepfoot, Wharncliffe. I prefer the 25 as a single as I find the Jack version too bulky, many will feel otherwise though.

You are in luck, GEC recently did a run of 25s so you should be able to get hold of one still.

Here are Northfield Che Chen wood and Tidioute Red Micarta from the recent issue.

IMG_3701.jpg


Early Northfield EZ-Open with Tiny Puukko mate.

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IMG_2643.jpg
 
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Since getting my single blade sheepsfoot 25 (red linen), I haven't looked back. It's been in my pocket since it came out of the tube. I liked it so much that I bought another sheepsfoot in Bocote and a spear point in burnt orange bone.

It's bigger and heavier than a Case Peanut in a good way...and it rides great in the watch pocket.
 
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snag up a #25 while they are still available and then another peanut later down the road.
 
Is the blade on the #25 the same length as the blade on the peanut? The broader profile seems like it would be nice in the hand on such a small knife, not that I've had issues with my peanut. I'm interested in other knives of a similar closed length but honestly the peanut's blade is the bare minimum length for me.
 
There is another option. You might look into the GEC Pemberton. They're out of production right now but a few dealers might have one on hand.
Here are some pics comparing the peanut to the Pemberton.







 
I bought a #25 Spear in Che Chen at the same time that I bought a CV Peanut in Yellow, and I find myself grabbing the 25 more often to put into my pocket. I know that both knives can handle my daily routine, but something about that broad spear point grabs me more than the smaller, two blade design of the Peanut.

That being said, my go-to watch pocket knife is still the Buck 55. It fits beautifully into the pocket and does everything that is asked of it without complaint.
 
Please allow me to offer you a different point of view :)
In my opinion, there's a huge difference between a <3" knife and a >3,5" knife. The grip and cutting dynamics are very different. So, while I do like a "stronger" grip on a big knife (and prefer a thicker handle), I have found out that on a small knife, a thin profile works better. I used to own both a Case peanut and a GEC 25, and while I liked both, I preferred the peanut for actual use (although I think there's no real reason to have two blades in such a small frame). Other options you might find interesting are the GEC 09 and the Buck 309 (both are pen configurations).

Fausto
:cool:
 
You don't hear about these much anymore, but a good Japan Silver Knight 250A makes a great watch pocket knife:

Dec_knives002_zpsa5467f26.jpg


Al Mar Hawk may even be better.

I carry my mini copperhead when I want a small knife. It's the avatar knife.

Ed J
 
Sorry to hear about the fire, but at least you got out ok:thumbup: While you are thinking about small knives, let me add another option: the GEC 22. It is a Great little knife that fits nicely in a watch pocket.

I don't have a knife comparison pic, but it is about the same length as a peanut but much more stout.
 
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