The upcoming, anticipated, way-too-excited GEC 85's Thread!

Well I thought I would be able to resist this run of 85's but to no avail, because all of the great pics here I had to track one down. It arrived yesterday and all I can say is WOW!! This is a great knife! Its my first canvas micarta knife, this stuff is interesting. When I grip the the knife it has a "plastic hollow sound" unlike my wooden covered 85. The micarta is very grippy though, and I am really looking forward to this stuff aging, because I have seen some beautiful NF 77's and 79 whittlers with natuarl canvas on them. This is such a nice knife I am having trouble using it, part of me wants to keep it shiny and new.
Well I do own a couple of linen micarta knifes but the canvas micarta is a very different material. The linen feels solid more like plastic, where as the canvas has a "softer" feeling to it.

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Jsega51 said:
Ok, so with my stag "EDC", it came with some fairly thick polished stag for a single blade knife. I wanted to thin it down. So after careful work using my orbital sander and finish sanding by hand, I was able to thin it to my liking without grinding off the pins. The center pins were touched but not to the point that they won't hold the covers down. I also used CA (super) glue to fill all the little voids around the stag and liners/bolsters. I also filled in one crack that had a little surface opening.

It is now finished and I couldn't be happier. I'd even have to say it's the nicest 85 that I now own. It probably won't even become the dedicated "EDC" that I intended it to be!

Before:








After:





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Very fine work indeed, looks like a posh Custom knife!:thumbup:

Is it difficult to hold it evenly and steady whilst using the sander? The pins look better after your 'treatment' as well.

I think the stag will age and darken very pleasingly too.

Regards, Will
 
jlhoffman74 said:
Well I thought I would be able to resist this run of 85's but to no avail, because all of the great pics here I had to track one down. It arrived yesterday and all I can say is WOW!! This is a great knife!
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Yes indeed it is. I really like my two-blade smooth autumn bone version which is taking on a great patina.
 
Will Power said:
Is it difficult to hold it evenly and steady whilst using the sander?

Regards, Will
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Will,

I actually flipped my orbital sander upside down and braced it so that it stayed in place. This allowed me to be able to hold the knife with both hands. I used duct tape on the bolsters and taped the blade up as well (in the open position) so that the sander didn't scratch the metal.

What made using the orbital sander nice is that the edges of the pad are pliable and allows you to maneuver around the scales easier than using a flat belt sander. I started with 150 grit for quickly getting through the stag, then went to 220. The rest was done by hand using 400, 800 and then 1500 grit. After that, I touched up the swirls and stuff on the bolsters from GEC and used my drill mounted buffing wheel with some polish to bring back the shine.

I will add this note for anyone that may attempt this. Go slow with the power tools! It doesn't take much pressure at all. Move the knife around and alternate between sides. You do not want to get the stag hot. It will expand and can crack as its a porous, natural material.
 
nailed it!! I was just checking on the camp knives and saw that and immediatly bought it!! Score!! Honestly Im suprised they lasted 30 minutes! Stil 2 blade bloodwoods and sabre stags left as of now!
 
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I hope those of you who were looking forward to getting one of these beauties were able to.
My two #85 SFO's


Posted this one on another thread but this is a better photo, which isn't saying much. But I don't think too many pics are a bad thing.
 
Looks nice Greg, is your stag polished or natural? The flat grind run looked similar to each other so it's hard for me to tell. I'm guessing yours is natural?
 
That's some great looking stag Greg! Love the character. Got my stag scandi also today. Polished by the way...



 
cbr1000 said:
Looks nice Greg, is your stag polished or natural? The flat grind run looked similar to each other so it's hard for me to tell. I'm guessing yours is natural?
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I'm not sure which it is. Order just says "stag", and "knife A."
cbr1000, I think we can all congratulate ourselves on some great stag (thanks Mike)...and thanks GEC for your craftsmanship and commitment to your product.
Mike, can you chime in if you read this to answer the question. Seeing what Jake and cbr1000 has, I'd say mine would be the natural.

Jsega51 said:
That's some great looking stag Greg! Love the character. Got my stag scandi also today. Polished by the way...
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Yeah Jake, great character in these knives. I was really pleasantly surprised with the sabre grind.
 
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A - natural
B - polished

This was said earlier, but I sure do like the way this stag turned out. Funny, I was expecting something with less character because Mike was using left overs. I know it's not for everybody, but I really like the way all of the 85's I've seen are finished/flush to the bolsters and liners. Sometimes the regular runs of stag have very shallow areas near the bolsters, or one side is significantly larger than the other, or you can see part of the bolster/cover transition because of a deep groove...

On a side note, would sure like to see this stag on the 2016 77 barlow :smug:
 
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