Sorry I haven't been around much lately, but I've literally had nothing new to say about knives. I'm hopelessly stuck at the moment, caught in a never-ending cycle of dropping these two knives in my pockets every morning, and placing them on my nightstand in the evening. All other knives are in storage right now, waiting out the summer heat and humidity.
Rondeau, the ironwood 77 barlow, helps to keep me grounded with its wonderful natural covers, and it has that tremenoudly useful over-sized coping blade. Precision cuts are made with ease, and the large clip blade is capable of yet larger tasks, without drawing unwanted attention in public. When I'm bored, Rondeau serves as a great treasure to pull out and inspect, and snap the blades open and closed. My thumb thoroughly enjoys to be run over the hardwood covers, feeling all those ripples and imperfections in the wood's surface. My eyes love to see how the grain seemingly transforms itself under minor changes in lighting.
But the majority of cutting tasks are performed with the micarta 43 Oregon Trapper. I'm still not sure, even after months of pocket time, what makes this single blade knife so uncommonly good. It doesn't have Northfield trim or exotic covers. There's no trick locking mechanism or gadgetry. No exotic steel. Yet I can't help but bring this knife to my hand for daily tasks. The blade is perfectly sized, shaped and heat treated for a plethora of everyday chores. The covers and handle shape give me a perfect grip. The pull is stout yet easy enough to open, without having to concentrate on what I'm doing. Everything about using this knife happens naturally, almost organically.
Neither the Oregon nor Rondeau have been sharpened by any means other than hand on stone, drawn through oil to achieve a superb working edge, with a quick strop on leather at the end. Both these knives deserve that level of attention and dedication, muscle memory used to keep my strokes even and true.
And I'll say a little about the steel also. Much as is said about Great Eastern Cutlery and their interesting designs, along with their breathtaking fit and finish, but it's the ability of a knife to cut that truly makes it valuable. GEC has achieved close to perfection with both of these knives in this regard. The grinds are even, thin enough for a great variety of cutting chores, but thick enough so as not to hamper their usefulness. The heat treatment is beyond superb. The level of hardness they are able to achieve with their 1095, creates a surprisingly long-lasting edge for such a simple steel. Far better than most all of the traditional knives I've handled, both of recent and long past manufacture.
I didn't really go into 2018 with many plans for my knife collecting. I had a good crop of knives that I was perfectly happy with, and little need to add to my collection. And while I've only acquired a mere handful so far this year, what I have purchased has completely transformed my knife experience and actually redefined the hobby for me. While I once held strictly to the scout pattern, I've managed to branch out and thrive with two completely different sets of features. The first half of 2018 has certainly been interesting, and extremely rewarding.
peanutsxx , and that main blade is quite unusual for the pattern, isn't it?
I wrongly assumed the thickness...it is about twice as thick as my Case canoe (seems to have extra steel liners in addition to the brass; basically the same thickness as my sowbelly).
. Was it your scratted bone Ancient?)
