Unpopular Knives?

[Thomas Carey]

I don't know how unpopular they are, as I know that they're selling well at several dealers, but one knife that I'm really surprised hasn't gotten any attention here is the Queen Ruple Trapper. It's just the most beautiful knife I own, and it's put together dang near perfectly. It's F&F is better than any other production knife I've ever handled. I'm surprised that more people haven't picked one up.

I have been thinking about picking one of these up for quite awhile now.

 

[texasshipagent]

How about AlMar osprey ?

 

[Dadpool]

When I stumbled this somewhat confusingly named #99 Scout -- confusing because Schatt & Morgan makes at least three knives that ride on this frame: an actual Scout, a single-bladed jack, and this cattle knife -- it was almost impossible to find out anything about it. I can only assume they're not popular.

I love this knife (it's one my favorites), but there are a few oddities about it. It has two backsprings when it seems like one might do, so there's a lot of open space at the "end" of the punch. A third blade could have nicely filled that space.

It also has an extra liner in the center, so there are actually four liner "segments" in total. I assume the extra is to allow enough lateral room to fit the punch, but it's the only knife I own with an extra liner.

If indeed those are oddities, rather than just things that seem odd to me, perhaps that's why it's not more popular?

 

[KBA]

Would be interested on your take on this one Brett. The Maverick was my first GEC and when I was researching it, it had nothing but negative reviews for the most part. The main complaint being the smallish clip. But it's a whitter and so the blades should be smaller and the the coping , clip , pen combo works real well for me. Then there was a single review on youtube...that was also negative. But I had to get one... I put a review in Mike's site ( collectorknives), and I like it.
There just seem to be other more popular three bladed knives out there.

Unpopular...alway thought the 4 coping/sheepfoot blades on a Cuban Congress was too much...two blade one is cool.

Sorry buddy just saw where you posted. I love the stockman, congress, and whittler patterns so I picked this one up. I have only had the Maverick for a few days and really like it. The blade to handle ratio makes believe it would provide great control for fine cuts, such as in whittling. The pull is light on all blades, maybe a 5 imo on each.

When I first pulled the clip out it did seem a bit stumpy, but I like that, better control. While I would prefer the wharncliffe be the primary, the clip is thin, as are the others, and I can't really see why this knife is unpopular except for the OAL at 4" and a tad thick. Overall though this is great pattern imo.

 

[r8shell]

When I stumbled this somewhat confusingly named #99 Scout -- confusing because Schatt & Morgan makes at least three knives that ride on this frame: an actual Scout, a single-bladed jack, and this cattle knife -- it was almost impossible to find out anything about it. I can only assume they're not popular.

I love this knife (it's one my favorites), but there are a few oddities about it. It has two backsprings when it seems like one might do, so there's a lot of open space at the "end" of the punch. A third blade could have nicely filled that space.

It also has an extra liner in the center, so there are actually four liner "segments" in total. I assume the extra is to allow enough lateral room to fit the punch, but it's the only knife I own with an extra liner.

If indeed those are oddities, rather than just things that seem odd to me, perhaps that's why it's not more popular?

That one is popular with me!

There does seem to be more space in the well than is necessary or typical. A friend of mine saw it and said it looked Soviet designed. I don't care, it's one of my favorites, too.

 

[bflying]

Because of some discussion on another knife forum, I started to take a liking to Sunfish and Toenails. Particularly small Sunfish and larger Elephants Toenails. I don't know why really, they just grew on me. As a result, I carried an inexpensive RR Toenail in yellow Delrin for some time. Yes, I kept a yellow toenail in my pocket. .

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Queen Schatt and Morgan Heritage series. I really liked those, with all their faults.

 

[Cory Hess]

I have been thinking about picking one of these up for quite awhile now.

I would definitely recommend it. It really is a great knife.

 

[BigBiscuit]

Queen Schatt and Morgan Heritage series. I really liked those, with all their faults.

I always liked them. I had one without most of the faults that many have. The two issues mine had was a weak pull. Probably a 2-3 at best. Not the end of the world, but it was weak closing too. The other thing I didn't like was the thick grind of the blade. Not a very good slicer. Would have been nicer with a flatter grind. Over all though, not a bad knife.

 

[Daniel Dorn]

I'm intrigued by the Lady Leg knives. I know they sometimes get a bit of heat for being sort of, whatever, but I find them pretty nifty. I know I'm not the only one.

 

[black mamba]

Daniel, I carry one from time to time. It's a great little slicer, and the boot heel really does work as a caplifter.

 

[BrotherJim]

Follow up to last Thursday's post :

Received the Northwoods Presidential and included KSF Pocketslip today and I am pleased !!!

Yes, there is blade rub on the pile side of the main blade where the main blade and the tang of the secondary blade come in contact. I very carefully opened the main blade for the first time so there was no contact and found the knife had left production with a blade rub mark there. The single rub line can not be felt with fingertips but can be felt with a fingernail. It's not much, can't even feel the blade rub when opening or closing a blade, but the rub is obviously there. I can live with the blade rub and may even be able to carefully "dress" the secondary blade tang a bit for less/no rub if I bother to try and do so.

That said, the Northwoods Presidential is in EVERY other way, impeccable.

The only caution I might consider with this knife is to not open both blades to a half-stop position at the same time, as they share a single back spring. While the back spring on the Northwoods is QUITE substantial and I have no reason to believe the back spring would weaken or break (like some old Camillus knifes for example) if both blades were often opened to the half-stop at the same time, it can't be good for it.

I expected the pull to be stronger in a GEC made for Northwoods slip joint and am pleasantly surprised to find the pull of this Presidential to be a 5-6.

This knife is a winner. I could easily live without the blade rub, but it's not a show stopper for me. Thanks KSF and Mr Bohn. What a beauty

 

[afishhunter]

Because of some discussion on another knife forum, I started to take a liking to Sunfish and Toenails. Particularly small Sunfish and larger Elephants Toenails. I don't know why really, they just grew on me. As a result, I carried an inexpensive RR Toenail in yellow Delrin for some time. Yes, I kept a yellow toenail in my pocket. .

I like the large Rough Rider Sunfish/Toe Nail. Mine is shod with the tobacco smooth bone. More of a honey color than the dark brown in the pictures, but quite acceptable. I like the lack of pocket signature they have. That wide handle does not show up as much as a thin handle, like on a stockman.

 

[Buzzbait]

My favorite unpopular knives are made by Camillus. Camillus doesn't get a ton of love around here, mainly because they used mostly stainless steel in their later years. They also adopted the use of mostly Delrin covers during the 1950's. Not the most photogenic or collectible type of knives for sure. They also did mostly contract work, so collections tend to look disjointed with all of the differing brand names.

But Camillus knives are a family favorite, living in Upstate New York, and we are constantly on the hunt for our favorite models. Camillus made some sensationally functional patterns, refined for over 100 years. Add in the detective work required to figure out what was made by Camillus and what wasn't, and you have a recipe for a lot of fun.

Today I'm carrying two Camillus contract knives; a Buck 301 and a Remington R-4. Both are stainless. Both are Delrin. Both are awesome. They represent what may be the most refined examples of the scout and large stockman patterns that I've ever used. Nothing particularly fancy, but they feel great in the hand, and are exceptionally efficient at getting the job done.

 

[SadSappySucker]

My vote goes for the pres. It got me really into traditional knives and inevitabely finds its way into my pocket almost daily.

 

[supratentorial]

The differences of opinion regarding what is popular and unpopular are interesting. Swiss army knife, Buck 301, and Case trapper have both made this list but in my opinion they are extremely popular knives. All three have wide distributions and have been manufactured for years.

There is a difference between what is popular and what is popular to discuss on this forum. Knives made by GEC are some of the most popular knives to discuss on this forum but they have very small production numbers and distribution compared to Buck, Victorinox or Case. In terms of sales numbers, any GEC knife could be considered relatively unpopular. If you ask "non knife people" to name brands, chance are that you'll hear Case or Buck or Victorinox. Most folks probably aren't familiar with GEC.

 

[KBA]

Jake, I was just thinking that. I was at a very large knife shop (not sure if can mention their name) looking around. I asked several employees, even in the traditional/antique section of the store if they had ever heard of Great Eastern/GEC and no one had. Which I found really odd considering this place is on GEC's distributor list. I finally found a manager and he said they had a few in the safe.

Even when I go to gun shows it is the same result. I always hear Great Eastern is not popular enough to invest in and bring to the show.

Makes me wonder if I am ahead of the curve or have just been lucky enough to hear of them.

 

[okbohn]

Brett, you are just lucky enough to hear. They are small enough that they don't even make a splash with the big boys (like Buck) but they are in a league of their own.

 

[supratentorial]

GEC is producing some of the best production knives made today and they have a strong following among traditional knife aficionados but traditional knife aficionados are a small minority. I think they'll grow and become more well known but with their current business model I don't think they coould produce as many knives per year as Buck, Case or Victorinox. Victorinox's production is highly automated, for example. In order for GEC to produce that many knives, they'd have to change their manufacturing process. I like what they're doing now and I wouldn't want that to change.

 

[singin50]

We are certainly among the lucky ones, Brett! Back in 2007, when I would attend a gun and knife show, very few dealers had them and if you asked them about GEC, they would say the same thing to me. The older dealers will be left out in the cold once they realize the quality craftsmanship of these fine American made gems. I will also add that with highly respected collectors like Charlie Campagna who has all of his knives made by GEC, it's quite a testimony to their quality. We are definitely way ahead of the curve!