The 2024 F**** K****?

The hour is nigh....whatever that means😆..but the ship is still at anchor.If we are to catch the tide this year we definitely need to act. Sounds easy...but there are a number of very stout hauling jobs to be laid on . First find someone willing to make 500 or more... Or less. Work out the cost because they want the cash up front...running into the 1000s....I don't have that lying around.
So heres something to think on ...A knife is proposed ,cost establisbed, anyone who wants it pays up front into a club account that can only be used for the intended purpose....that way we know what we get we cant jump ship and we wait.
I'm not denying the complications and work involved...but can anyone see a better way for'ard?
Cheers.
My fingers are firmly crossed for this great tradition to take to high seas again.
 
meako said:
The hour is nigh....whatever that means😆..but the ship is still at anchor.If we are to catch the tide this year we definitely need to act. Sounds easy...but there are a number of very stout hauling jobs to be laid on . First find someone willing to make 500 or more... Or less. Work out the cost because they want the cash up front...running into the 1000s....I don't have that lying around.
So heres something to think on ...A knife is proposed ,cost establisbed, anyone who wants it pays up front into a club account that can only be used for the intended purpose....that way we know what we get we cant jump ship and we wait.
I'm not denying the complications and work involved...but can anyone see a better way for'ard?
Cheers.
My fingers are firmly crossed for this great tradition to take to high seas again.
Click to expand...
In this example, "the great tradition" is the HMS Marrow-bone Lambfoot and the "high seas" are lots of voting and waiting, right?
 
Voting? VOHHTIINNG ! There be no voting aboard the MarrowboneLambsfoot Mr Birdsbeaks ...mutiny Sir...Mutiny!...the crew will make do on a spartan ration of rotten saltjunk and hardtack with weevils...and a gallon of rum per day. Or my name isn't Midshipman Mainsail Meako..scourge of The Oceans....well,the Pacific to be precise...or South Pacific...The Tasman Sea to be exact...more specifically the far south coastal region of Australia...or in reality the Sapphire Coast with its rich pickings..I say coast but if I'm honest its the the entrance to Mummaga Lake and maybe a bit up Brou beach ...and the tidal zone of Whittakers Creek.....at low tide.SO Be Warned ye sea going scorpions ..Mainsail Meako be a taking no prisoners.....basically no room on the paddle board.🤨☠️✌️
 
We seem to be drifting.....rudderless...Well let's get shipwrecked on the shores of Phantasy Island and dream unfettered dreams about what is wanted for the Forum Knife," damn the realties full steam ahead!" :D

There has not been a SPEAR single blade yet so let's have a 77 Barehead in Osage Orange!

Alternatively, there's a 92 Spear Barehead, Ivory Bone, Banner shield just waiting for us, all steel too. :cool:

Then reality sinks its teeth in.....if there is an FK it's already been decided on regardless of our gibbering & slobbering- either a fine surprise or a damp squib according to taste :thumbsup: But, who always wants to live in reality or virtually for that matter ?;)
 
Will Power said:
SPEAR single blade ... 77 Barehead in Osage Orange
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That's not a bad idea at all! Never seem to like the look of the osage before, but seen that pic of coming 81s and thought "wow, definitely a nice osage orange!"... yeah, right, that was a richlite. 😂 I suspect, GEC will eventually draw me into richlite as they did with their beautiful polished micarta.
 
Well if we are lost at sea, may I suggest an appropriate pattern...

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(That would be a Whaler for all ye lubbers who know naught of my obsession)
 
meako said:
Voting? VOHHTIINNG ! There be no voting aboard the MarrowboneLambsfoot Mr Birdsbeaks ...mutiny Sir...Mutiny!...the crew will make do on a spartan ration of rotten saltjunk and hardtack with weevils...and a gallon of rum per day. Or my name isn't Midshipman Mainsail Meako..scourge of The Oceans....well,the Pacific to be precise...or South Pacific...The Tasman Sea to be exact...more specifically the far south coastal region of Australia...or in reality the Sapphire Coast with its rich pickings..I say coast but if I'm honest its the the entrance to Mummaga Lake and maybe a bit up Brou beach ...and the tidal zone of Whittakers Creek.....at low tide.SO Be Warned ye sea going scorpions ..Mainsail Meako be a taking no prisoners.....basically no room on the paddle board.🤨☠️✌️
Click to expand...

So, not so much a scourge as a minor inconvenience?
 
I hope you're right Will Power Will Power Will. Now I'm reminiscing about my childhood Christmases....lurking around the tree, sniffing and hefting the wrapped gifts...probing and poking.Then being told to get away from them or I won't get any.
 
T. Moore said:
Again unpopular opinion; but traditionally if a company was unable to grow and scale appropriately, modernize when needed, and MOST importantly produce enough knives to meet demand,

That company would go out of business. GEC makes nice knives. But make no mistake about it, they absolutely could produce enough for everyone to have one if they wanted to. They manufacture demand by keeping the market scarce. This is easy to do and is 100% the reason behind why they dont make more knives. The equipment they have is fine for making the small numbers they need to keep people fighting over their product
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I think that is an unpopular opinion for a good reason. I don't think it's correct.
I think that GEC is the size that it is because it's hit a point of equilibrium... the correct number of craftsmen/women for the equipment setup that Bill Howard has. "A place for everything, and everything in its place" kind of vibe.

Certainly he could expand his shop footprint, and double his equipment, but finding/training craftsmen that would match the skill/ability of the folks he has now would take quite some time, I imagine... that is, to achieve the same level of assembly quality, repeatedly, that they achieve now.

GEC is, for lack of a better term, a boutique knife making company. And, as has been stated, they consistently make probably the best knives ever produced in the US... at least in my lifetime.

I don't want them to turn into another "Case" company.
 
birdsbeaks said:
It's all about the desired tolerances for a given set of parts. The people who contract Rough Ryder knives from the factory that produce them allow for greater tolerances in the received knives, especially when it comes to fitment, than Bill Howard does for knives leaving his factory.

The Law of Diminishing Returns insists that after a certain point, further input (effort exerted in maintaining rigorous tolerances, in this case) is rewarded with less and less output (perceived overall level of finish, in our example). I imagine one of the many balancing acts the folks at GEC perform regularly is between the time and effort required for each knife to achieve an expected finish level.

Even so, Swiss watchmakers probably aren't overly impressed with the tolerances present in even the most finely crafted slipjoint knives, but would also recognize that extremely precise tolerances aren't needed for the application.

GEC makes mistakes. Everyone does. If you get a knife that seems like it was put together by magic, it wasn't. I'd encourage you to continue honing your skills and be on the lookout for that sweet spot where the effort exerted matches the desired level of finish for you.

Now that that's out of the way - can the forum knife just have marrow bone covers already? I'm fairly certain that's the only way I'm ever getting my hands on one. 😂😭
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Great answer, thanks, but I was hoping for something more technical, like how can I size a piece of stabilized wood or some kind of acrylic so it fits flush with double bolsters.

I can kinda get something reasonable with just one bolster and the butt remaining scale material. Fortunately, the pieces I (try to) use come with a nice flat cut on the end. I can press that flush with some epoxy to hold it and HOPEFULLY nothing drifts out of place after clamping.

Then I drill the holes in the scale for all the pins, reduce with the belt sander to a point, carve out a tiny space for the pins to form that sunken mushroom so as to better hold the scales, put in the pins, peen, and pray.

But I have no idea how on earth to get something to fit just right when there is a bolster on each side. It never comes out quite right. Sometimes I put in a tiny shim, less than 1 mm thick. Grrrr.......
 
Will Power said:
We seem to be drifting.....rudderless...Well let's get shipwrecked on the shores of Phantasy Island and dream unfettered dreams about what is wanted for the Forum Knife," damn the realties full steam ahead!" :D

There has not been a SPEAR single blade yet so let's have a 77 Barehead in Osage Orange!

Alternatively, there's a 92 Spear Barehead, Ivory Bone, Banner shield just waiting for us, all steel too. :cool:

Then reality sinks its teeth in.....if there is an FK it's already been decided on regardless of our gibbering & slobbering- either a fine surprise or a damp squib according to taste :thumbsup: But, who always wants to live in reality or virtually for that matter ?;)
Click to expand...

Hey if we're just dreaming up fun combos, then i'd love to see a clip 92! Or bring back the 79 whittlers! 😶‍🌫️
 
ErikMB said:
Great answer, thanks, but I was hoping for something more technical, like how can I size a piece of stabilized wood or some kind of acrylic so it fits flush with double bolsters.

I can kinda get something reasonable with just one bolster and the butt remaining scale material. Fortunately, the pieces I (try to) use come with a nice flat cut on the end. I can press that flush with some epoxy to hold it and HOPEFULLY nothing drifts out of place after clamping.

Then I drill the holes in the scale for all the pins, reduce with the belt sander to a point, carve out a tiny space for the pins to form that sunken mushroom so as to better hold the scales, put in the pins, peen, and pray.

But I have no idea how on earth to get something to fit just right when there is a bolster on each side. It never comes out quite right. Sometimes I put in a tiny shim, less than 1 mm thick. Grrrr.......
Click to expand...
I think you might have more success finding the advice you're looking for on the Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment Forum.

That said, I watched a guy on YouTube (looked all of 15, though in a very well-outfitted shop for a 15-year-old - I didn't have a digital heat-treating furnace when I was 15 and still don't! Maybe one day!) and he put things together in a different order than you describe. In the video, I noticed he paid a great deal of attention to fitting and polishing the planes where the covers and bolster intersect. His design didn't include an end cap, but I imagine the care and attention-to-detail would be the same - just twice as much of it.

Good luck!
 
ErikMB said:
Great answer, thanks, but I was hoping for something more technical, like how can I size a piece of stabilized wood or some kind of acrylic so it fits flush with double bolsters.

I can kinda get something reasonable with just one bolster and the butt remaining scale material. Fortunately, the pieces I (try to) use come with a nice flat cut on the end. I can press that flush with some epoxy to hold it and HOPEFULLY nothing drifts out of place after clamping.

Then I drill the holes in the scale for all the pins, reduce with the belt sander to a point, carve out a tiny space for the pins to form that sunken mushroom so as to better hold the scales, put in the pins, peen, and pray.

But I have no idea how on earth to get something to fit just right when there is a bolster on each side. It never comes out quite right. Sometimes I put in a tiny shim, less than 1 mm thick. Grrrr.......
Click to expand...
Do you mean, getting the scale to fit tightly against each bolster? The belt sander is your friend. Cut the scale slightly long, and lightly touch the end against the sander, test the fit, repeat until the scale is a snug push down into place. Simply trial and error.
Assuming you have left the scale proud of the edges of the knife, just pin the scale in place, then sand the edges to fit the frame.
 
ErikMB said:
Great answer, thanks, but I was hoping for something more technical, like how can I size a piece of stabilized wood or some kind of acrylic so it fits flush with double bolsters.

I can kinda get something reasonable with just one bolster and the butt remaining scale material. Fortunately, the pieces I (try to) use come with a nice flat cut on the end. I can press that flush with some epoxy to hold it and HOPEFULLY nothing drifts out of place after clamping.

Then I drill the holes in the scale for all the pins, reduce with the belt sander to a point, carve out a tiny space for the pins to form that sunken mushroom so as to better hold the scales, put in the pins, peen, and pray.

But I have no idea how on earth to get something to fit just right when there is a bolster on each side. It never comes out quite right. Sometimes I put in a tiny shim, less than 1 mm thick. Grrrr.......
Click to expand...

I’m not a knifemaker though I have definitely toyed with the idea of trying my hand at it. I am pretty sure in the vertical plane the soft (but harder than the covers) nickel silver bolsters and the soft (but harder than your pocket lint) covers (bone, wood, whatever) are assembled such that the covers are a little oversized, and then the whole assembly is sanded flush and then buffed to give it a shine and remove sanding scratches. Care would need to be taken to ensure that the covers don’t get reduced below the bolsters.

In terms of horizontal fitment I can only think the bolster tolerances and the cover length are precisely controlled so that they fit nice and flush and square on both ends, so you don’t end up with gaps. A touch can be trimmed with a sander if necessary.
 
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