Roughneck Update
Howdy Folks, I'd like to pass along a little info that I just got by way of Chris Tucker at GEC. First of all,there will be a VERY limited number of Roughneck Knives,both single and double blades, released in Ancient Kauri Wood. These will be made up as soon as the Kauri Wood gets back from stabilizing. Also coming very soon is run of 23 Pioneer Trappers in Primitive Bone. Two blades,with End Caps. We'll probably see the 23's before the 45 Kauri woods.
Also I just uploaded the first Roughnecks to my store,these are the Kingwood knives. Single and Double blades. Also,on the GEC Website,and shipped from the Factory to Distributors today,are the Roughnecks in Indian Paintbrush Jigged Bone,with Open End Wrench Inlay Shield,and Snakewood with Pipe Wrench Inlay Shield. These Inlay Shields will be used for these runs of knives only,and probably will never be used again. I got that from Bill Howard. Collectors in the future will be looking high and low for the "pipewrench" inlay shield! Just a thought!
That's the latest as I have it, straight from "The Factory".
I almost forgot,the Snakewood Roughnecks with the Pipewrench Inlay Shield are quite limited also.
New Knives and Upcoming Knives
The folks at Great Eastern Cutlery have been very busy in the past two weeks with private orders,and have not made many of their own knives. They are now finished with the private runs and will get back to regular production of Great Eastern Cutlery. We still have the GEC 440C fixed blades in the works. They are waiting on the Sheaths for these. After the current run of 23's,I think the next thing coming is the 45 Roughnecks.The two blade version will have a large Spear and a Clip Blade. Handles in Jigged Bone,King Wood and Snakewood.There will also be a Single Blade version,Large Spear blade with Jigged Bone,King Wood and Snakewood handle materials. Both of these knives will be Northfields. After that we should see the #79 Montana Workhorse Whittler.
#79 Montana Workhorse Whittler – 3 backspring, spear blade, clip blade, sheepfoot blade
Tidioute – Smooth bolster, smooth cap end
Jigged Bone – color to be determined
Ebony Wood
Canvas Micarta
Red Abalone Looking Glass
Smooth Black Buffalo Horn
Northfield – Lined bolster, lined cap end
Smooth Amber Bone
King Wood
Jigged Bone – color to be determined
Burnt Stag
Genuine Stag
Primitive Bone
Ancient Kauri Wood
Another Weekend,Another Show
73's in 440C have been HUGE!
The recent release of the GEC 735212EC with 440C Stainless Steel Blades has been a huge success! I recieved my shipment of these on Saturday afternoon. I got them into my store the same afternoon,and I am almost sold now! I called the Factory this morning to order more, and Chris said THEY are sold out! So folks,what I'm trying to convey is,what is in Distributor stock right now,is all there is of this run.
Once again they must have had some problem at the Factory with the Elk handle material.They were unable to ship the amount originally planned. I recieved only 3 of these, and they are long gone. I'm sorry for my customers who wanted one and couldn't get it. The Pioneer Bone handled knives , I think, are a particularly nice run of handle material. And the American Walnut is going to be one of my "NEW" favorite handles. I like the pleasing,mellow,subtle figure in this wood. In my area of the country,Black Walnut is a valuable staple of the Hardwood Timber Industry. A nice American,renewable resource! And a beautiful wood.
They're Here
Upcoming Knives in 440C
Today I'm expecting to recieve the 73's in 440C. These are two-blade models,735212EC. A drop point/skinner main blade,with a spey secondary. Smooth Bolsters and Nickel Silver End Caps. The handle materials will be Pioneer Bone,American Walnut,and American Elk. I believe the American Walnut is a NEW handle material for GEC and from what I've seen looks like a very interesting handle material. Not to mention it is a renewable,native hardwood. I should be able to get these knives uploaded to the store this afternoon.
Next up on the production list I have,which is by no means absolute,are some 440C fixed blades. They will be making the H73312 Skinner Hunter and the H73412 Upland Hunter in 440C with Pioneer Bone,Frontier Bone,and American Elk handles. I think these Hunting Knives with Stainless Steel blades will be quite popular.
A run of 23's in 1095 is also on the schedule,but we will discuss these as they come a little closer on the schedule.We're also starting to see pix of the new patterns on the GEC website. The 45 Roughneck and the new #79 Workhorse Whittler look interesting and I'm sure they're not too far off. So stayed tuned,it's going to be an interesting summer at Great Eastern Cutlery!
Gun Show in Lubeck WV
Hey Folks,I want to let y'all know about a nice little Gun Show in Lubeck,WV this weekend. It's at the Firehall there. Lubeck is just a couple of miles from Parkersburg,WV. Now I'm not going to be at this show,but my assistant,Ash,will be there. I'd like to ask any or all of my friends and customers,and any knife people,to go meet Ash and say Hey! She will be showing some GEC knives,some very nice paracord lanyards,bracelets and keychains. And probably some other stuff she has. She likes the fleamarkets and auctions so there's no telling what goodies she might have on the table. If you're in the area and have the time,check it out.
New Stuff for Tomorrow
I'll be getting all these into the store in the morning. I didn't get all of the quantity of what I ordered. I'm not sure if the rest will come next week,or if this is all there is. So take a look at the "New Stuff" tomorrow and see what you like.
My thoughts on GEC Ivory Handled Knives.
First off,I think the terms "Common" and "Prime" are somewhat misleading. In my opinion,there is NO knife that is handled with Bark Hippo Ivory that should be considered "common". The production numbers of ANY of the GEC Ivory handled knives are so small,that not any of them should be considered "common".
When GEC started this Grading System,Bill Howard called me and we had a very nice,long talk. He explained his motivations for this system to me. I understand his motivation,and totally agree with him. The basis for the grading is basically,some of the Ivory has natural Checks and Inclusions,and some does not. Same Tusk,same Ivory. His only motivation was to inform the customer,novice or expert,what to expect with the knife they purchase. As most experienced collectors understand the natural handle materials have more or less variation in appearance from knife to knife. Mr. Howard thought it only fair to make sure a customer knows this up front when purchasing a high end Ivory Handled Knife.
I'm also thinking most Grading Systems are subjective and leave lots of room for interpretation.As I said before,a knife handled in Hippo Ivory is by no stretch of the imagination a Common Knife.
I have other thoughts on this subject,but that's enough for now. I welcome your comments and insight on this matter because in the end,it's the Customers perception that is reality for us.
New GEC Production Schedule
First off we have #73 GEC 440C Stainless with Spey/Skinner blades,smooth bolster and end caps.
Pioneer Bone
American Walnut
American Elk
Next we have H73312 GEC 440C Skinner Hunter fixed blade
Pioneer Bone
Frontier Bone
American Elk
H73412 Upland Blade Hunter fixed blade
Pioneer Bone
Frontier Bone
American Elk
Then we have #23EC Tidioute with spey/skinner blades,smooth bolster with end caps.
Pioneer Bone
Frontier Bone
Ebony Wood
and,
#23ec Northfield with spey/skinner blades,lined bolster and end caps.
Jigged Bone
Cocobolo Wood
These have all been added to the schedule and should start arriving soon.
