I had a very busy, yet fulfilling, weekend, having taken my son out on a camping/crabbing/fishing trip. We've been going on this trip for 9 years, since he was 4 years old. (I can't believe I will have a teenager in the house next month....) Anyway, I came home to a couple of packages waiting for me. I was expecting a couple of fine beauties and I was not disappointed, another Waynorth Lamb Foot (this one in Ebony) and a Ramsfoot in the Oily Creek Bone. Since I've already let my thoughts be known regarding the Lamb Foot and I have a rather substantial bias, I will start with some notes on the Ramsfoot and will move to the Lamb Foot afterwards.
Having numerous Lambsfoot knives in my collection, I have become quite the fan of the swayback frame. I would even go so far as to say that it has become a keen favorite of mine. It fits my hand quite well, it has aesthetic allure, and it smacks of the gracefully traditional. Since a run of the 47s has not occurred since I became aware of GEC, I have not had the pleasure of experiencing their take on the Swayback so I was thrilled to hear of their plans for the 93 release.
I skipped the Ramsfoot in Natural Micarta and both of the SFOs (not including Charlie's) but I acquired an Oily Creek Bone and will be getting both of the Northfield variants as well. When I learned that the Tidioute Bone option was going to be Oily Creek, I was disappointed. I have never been attracted to the Oily Creek but I already had it reserved so I was committed regardless. However, as more pictures surfaced and more folks displayed their new knives, I found myself warming to it.
I got to open up the package yesterday and today I got to examine it more thoroughly and I have to admit, I am rather pleased with it. The Bone covers are on the thicker side and they convey a sense of rugged durability, much the same as Stag tends to do for me. In fact, I would almost compare these to polished Stag.
Some additional thoughts:
- Fit and Finish: With each GEC release, I am always thrilled to see their overall consistency. The fit is just terrific, seams are smooth and perfectly aligned, transitions are tight and without gaps. It really is a fine piece of craftsmanship. GEC doesn't overly polish their pieces so the edges aren't rounded, everything is crisp and well defined. For those of you who care about the fitting at the half stop, it is ALMOST flush, I can still catch a nail on the back spring.
- Action/Walk-n-Talk: Initially, the action was a bit spongy but with a bit of a flush and some handling, the pull and snap are now nice and crisp and it just has a lovely sound to it. It does not have as firm a pull as the Waynorth Lamb Foot knives but I find it to be more than satisfactory, rating it around a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10.
- Covers/Shield: As mentioned above, I've warmed to the covers, almost viewing them to be "Stag-like". The thickness and color are just about perfectly matched on both sides, providing an almost symmetrical look and feel. The added girth and weight of these covers provide a very secure grip and my suspicions that this one will make a terrific user, particularly in my growing garden, are proving to be well founded. I have always liked the Tidioute swell bar shield and I think it makes a good classic fit to this knife.
- Blade: One of the unique offerings of this release is the two new blade shapes being introduced, the Ramsfoot and the Lambsfoot. The Ramsfoot blade is interesting, being that is is the complete opposite of the Lambsfoot blade. Where the Lambsfoot blade tapers towards the tip, the Ramsfoot swells before plunging down to a nice keen point. GEC has a tendency to round or sweep up towards the tip when grinding the edge on their straight edged blades but they did a fine job on this Ramsfoot.
Overall, this is a fine effort by GEC on this remarkable debut of the #93 pattern. I look forward to using this knife and the others in the near and distant future.
Today my wait is over. I do not have a lambsfoot blade on any knife I own, so when Charlie’s SFO was announced I crossed my fingers. I was unable to get one even when I was on a list. But at the last minute one of the fine dealers offered me a “S” model. For those of you who do not know, a “S” model is a factory second with a S stamped on the pile side tang. Of course I jumped on it. From my experience you can not find the flaw, that the factory found. Today my Real Lambfoot with Jigged bone covers arrived. It’s a beauty! And I can not find any flaw at all. 
