See the Cat? See the Cradle? (GEC Content)

Rick

Rick

Joined
Nov 27, 1998
Messages
2,602
The first time I set eyes on GEC's "Cat's Cradle" acrylic, I was hooked. Maybe it's because Vonnegut Jr.'s novel of the same title was one of my faves back in high school (who could forget "Ice-9"?). Maybe it's the classy art deco vibe and the rich-but-understated colors. I dunno, but this particular batch of acrylic (along with their gorgeous "Lava Lamp") was the catalyst of my ongoing GEC fixation.

Since I missed out on the original '07 release, it took four years of searching to find one with sufficiently loopy and well-matched scales, but I finally reeled-in a nice NOS example. It may not be one of the rarest (71 made) or most popular handle materials in GEC's catalog, but it sure works for me.

GEC53CatsCradle001.jpg


GEC53CatsCradle002.jpg


Anyone else have one to share?
 
Hmm, I have a Lava Lamp, but thats the first Cat's cradle I've seen in a while.
Thanks for sharing, it may not be my favorite acrylic, but it could grow on me. :thumbup:
 
I just finished reading Cat's Cradle this past winter. Quite an interesting book! Enjoyed it a lot.

I have no acrylic yet. Will have to fix that eventually.
 
That's a standout Rick!! A+!! To my eye, it looks as if the acrylic has it own grain with independent white lines inter-woven throughout. Well thought-out background. Overall, a great knife and a pleasing disply.
 
Rick, that acrylic looks great. I don't remember seeing that one before.
 
Wow-- another that I'd never even heard of.

Congratulations on finding a good one! Out of curiosity, how many (if any) did you locate earlier that had scale designs that weren't as pleasing to you? I really like the way yours has so much "swoop," and that the scales definitely belong together.

Me, I'm still taken by my one wee glimpse, on this forum, of GEC's Starry Night. Oh, my.

~ P.
 
Thanks for the comments, guys! :)

pertinux said:
[...] Out of curiosity, how many (if any) did you locate earlier that had scale designs that weren't as pleasing to you? I really like the way yours has so much "swoop," and that the scales definitely belong together.[...]
Click to expand...

In those four years of regular Google, dealer and auction site searches, I only ran across one additional example that was offered for sale, and it was fairly nondescript (very few loops; not much color variation). I'm still searching for a nice Lava Lamp. The three LLs I've run across in the last few years weren't very lively, so I keep holding out for one with lots of "puzzle-piece" action. Both of these early acrylic #53s seem to be locked-up tight in collections, but patience usually pays off...eventually.
 
pertinux said:
Wow-- another that I'd never even heard of.

Congratulations on finding a good one! Out of curiosity, how many (if any) did you locate earlier that had scale designs that weren't as pleasing to you? I really like the way yours has so much "swoop," and that the scales definitely belong together.

Me, I'm still taken by my one wee glimpse, on this forum, of GEC's Starry Night. Oh, my.

~ P.
Click to expand...
I'm feeling the same on the starry night....I'm hunting.

Rick, Thats a sweet looking one. Can we see the blades too?
 
That's really nice, and yours is the first I can remember seeing. As for GEC acrylic, as soon as I saw "pumpkin patch" it got my interested so I bought a 66 Northfield jack. It is the coolest looking material, and so deep, I love it.

I'd love to see more of their acrylics but I wonder how they sell for them. The only recent ones I can thing of are the Tomato Harness Jack and they made a bunch of turquoise too. The Tomato looks cool, not sure about the turquoise.
 
Rick that is the nicest Acrylic I have everseen, I never really liked acrylic until I saw your post, I will have to reconsider. Thanks for the eye candy.
 
Rick said:
Maybe it's the classy art deco vibe and the rich-but-understated colors. I dunno, but this particular batch of acrylic (along with their gorgeous "Lava Lamp") was the catalyst of my ongoing GEC fixation.

GEC53CatsCradle001.jpg
Click to expand...

Congrats on finding it. I've never been a huge fan of GEC's acrylic scales, but these are pretty sweet for sure. Will you be carrying and using this knife?

-- Mark
 
Thanks again for all the nice comments.

glocktenman said:
[...] Rick, Thats a sweet looking one. Can we see the blades too?
Click to expand...

Soytainly:

GEC53CatsCradle003.jpg


GEC53CatsCradle004.jpg


zippofan said:
[...] I'd love to see more of their acrylics but I wonder how they sell for them. The only recent ones I can thing of are the Tomato Harness Jack and they made a bunch of turquoise too. The Tomato looks cool, not sure about the turquoise.
Click to expand...

GEC seemed a lot more committed to acrylic during their first three years ('06 through '08), wherein they produced a wide variety of interesting short-run colors and patterns. More recently, they seem to be doing less experimenting, relying instead on the same handful of styles repeatedly, which is unfortunate, IMO. I appreciate the usual array of natural scale materials as much as the next guy, but those older acrylics had a unique, whimsical quality that can really spice up a collection.

Mark - I doubt that this one will be user. I have half-a-dozen GEC EDCs already, aside from which the Cubans are large (4-1/8") heavy, bulky knives, and I'm more of gent's knife user these days, though that sharp 'n' pointy sheepsfoot blade (almost a giant coping blade) would make a great utility knife.
 
This is one of the best GEC acrylics I have seen.

Can someone put up a picture of the starry night? Was that what GEC called purple haze?
 
lambertiana said:
This is one of the best GEC acrylics I have seen.

Can someone put up a picture of the starry night? Was that what GEC called purple haze?
Click to expand...

Yes, Purple Haze. I'd forgotten that was the actual name.

attachment.php


The thread through which I became aware of it.

For this, I blame The Government. ;)

~ P.
 
A few extra's........

Lava Lamp...Cat's Craddle....Caramel Apple Dip and Kryptonite


DSC_0879-5_edited-1-1.jpg
 
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