Your First GEC

[wolfeknives]

These are the knives I bought in the first month of re-discovering slipjoints. I am not sure which one was the first, but I loved the blood red Jig bone. They are still my favourite handle material.

 

[Pinemoon]

Nice thread.
I got an 83 little lockback in May of '16.

I was looking at knife videos on YouTube and just stumbled on someone giving an 83 a vinegar patina. I was taken with the blade shape. I love clip-points, and it had a locking blade, a requirement back then as I was in the modern knife camp.

Looking back, the stag must've had some appeal as well. I remember it took a bit to find a dealer with one... When it arrived, I thought it much smaller than I thought, but I remember liking the action and the feel of it. Today it's easily one of my favorites in my collection. Now I own 6 GECs and am more and more getting into them as a brand. I would really like some stainless and hope that's coming down the road.

The 56 is one I'm inclined to get. Glad you give it a favorable report, John

 

[lambertiana]

My first was the SFO 73, I think I bought it in 2008.

 

[TX Traditional]

My first GEC is this 14 I bought on the secondary market because it reminds me of my first knife; a Colonial that my grandfather gave me when I was six. He died shortly after. I got this one as a user and I’m keeping the Colonial to be my son’s first knife. He turns six in September. Should be an emotional hand off.

 

[meako]

It was one of these two I think.
Then I had a 25 ...I had 2x25s -golden saw cut and Elk which I swapped with Policeman Paul (Pmew ..hoping all is well with you Mate)..for a 2017 forum knife....Paul has a massive set of 25s and my two added to his collection.

 

[B.F.U]

My first GEC was a TC Sheepfoot in Smooth Ivory Bone. I was inspired by a post I saw from @eschwebach of his.

I don't have many pictures of when I first got it. Here's one with some other traditionals a couple years after I got it.

Here's another with some other cool TCs. The bottle opener one was a surprise from Bill to Charlie and the acronym was written by @waynorth and meant "Charlie not responsible for cap lifter". I only have it and the Rendezvous one arm still.

After a while and lots of use it got kinda beat up. I read about the tea bath dye that a lot of people like. I tried it and it went ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLY.

So I dyed it black. Here it is a year or so ago. Beware, modern knife in this picture. I posted this in the trad and modern combo thread. It's from a friend's wedding.

The black dye started fading and I decided why not give it some red. I thought it looked really good, like a bone version of GEC's "red river acrylic" which I've always liked the look of but have never owned.

But then I decided to put it back to plain black. Looks really classic in black, plus it might well be the only black bone GEC in existence. There's another modern in this picture, I posted it in the combo thread also.

It still has great action. Its blade is well worn, has been sharpened a lot. Cuts like a laser.

 

[315]

I only have four, the first one being this 66 Calf Roper.

 

[JustinR]

The 85 harness Jack in Ebony...that's one I wish I had back. I remember only paying $70 or so bucks since it was already used. That was right before the first 65 been Hogan run as I remember getting hooked on that run.

 

[JB in LV]

Cool thread JohnDF .

The Madison Barlow was my first GEC made, followed closely by the 61 and 48 at the same time. Still have all three.

I seem to remember wanting a drop point Madison, but clip was all that was left - strange times. Now I would not change if I had the chance. The Madison was carried for the last two weeks.

Congress is one of my favorite patterns and this 61 remains one of my favorites. No idea why I picked the 48. Clear preference for wood handles.

 

[black mamba]

I've been on the GEC bandwagon for a long time, over ten years. My first was this Big Jack bought early in 2009. The burnt bone, the random jigging, and the big oh-so-pointy spear blade had me hooked. I've bought and sold dozens since then, but still own this one!

 

[redsparrow]

Good thread idea John. The stories have been quite interesting even entertaining. Thanks guys!
My First GEC... the red jigged bone 55 in the pic below.
In the first few days of ownership had you seen me you might have thought I held stock in a band-aid manufacturer. Due to my inexperience with what I believed then was a "bear trap" pull, I cut myself let's say... more than once . Calling the dealer to exchange it for a safer model, he sent out my second choice telling me to keep the 55 until the replacement arrived. By the time the replacement came, I had learned how to operate the heavy-ish pull and decided to keep them both (smart dealer ). I'm glad I learned how to keep myself out of the way of sharp objects when closing because the 55 is one of my favorites and I have not been cut... (due to a strong pull) since.

 

[Jiki]

My 1st GEC was a 78 Jack, 2 blade, "plain" Cocobolo, the runt of the litter. Many of the reasons it is still my favorite and most carried knife.

 

[Fodderwing]

My first. 77 Yankee Jack. GEC should be exceptionally proud of this one.

 

[r8shell]

My first GEC was a #57 Geppetto Whittler.

I'd been reading about GECs here on the forum, and they sounded like quality knives, but some accounts of "bear trap" springs had me feeling hesitant. I'd never spent more than $50 on a knife, and I wanted one I could use. I was at a local gun and knife show, and there was a GEC dealer there, so I had the chance to handle some of them first. The Geppetto has very light...possibly too light...pulls on the secondaries. After I got it home I noticed that the tip of the main blade sat just a tiny bit too high for my liking - just enough to catch on my finger if I ran it along the frame of the closed knife. So I very carefully filed down the kick. This helped me get over the "too fancy to use" syndrome and it's now one of my favorites! When I need to sell a knife, and I line up "the volunteers" it's at the end of the line, just in front of knives received as gifts.

My first, which is now long gone, was an 09 Esquire in stag. I was looking for a small pen knife, but the Esquire turned out to be a little too small for my tastes.

It is a wee little knife, and mine probably gets carried the most, most of the time paired with something larger.
#57 and #09:

 

[Old Engineer]

In Jan .or Feb. of 2015 @knifeswapper of CK had an SFO of 77 Barlows . I think that the first one that I bought was a Clip blade but I also bought 2 of the Lambfoot . One for my brother also . I have carried the Clip quite a lot and the Sheepfoot rarely . I ended up getting 6 knives from that SFO . Since that time I have added a few other GEC's to those .



Harry

 

[stevekolt]

Only one so far, an 06 single bladed Pemberton in smooth bone. Waiting on a 97 Yellow Rose. Just getting into traditionals.

 

[Cutfinger]

I got a 14 rust red jig bone spear/pen. I loved everything about the knife except the size.
I gave it away, and it became someone else's first GEC.

I do look forward to my next GEC whenever I get it. It'll probably be a 78 from the last run, again with the spear/pen combo, which is my favourite blade configuration.

Michael

 

[McFeeli]

My first was the SFO 73, I think I bought it in 2008.

My first GEC actually came from this gentleman’s collection. I got second place in a GAW he ran, and @rswanson , the one who took first place, allowed me first choice. I’ve seen GEC’s all over this forum, but never thought a whole lot about them. So I thought it’d be neat to try one firsthand.

This 73 Cocobolo STL kicked off a great appreciation for GEC’s and traditionals in general. It also toughened up my fingernails a bit too, haha.

 

[JohnDF]

Some great stories so far... and beautiful knives.

 

[bbk357]

My first and all time favorite