I got my Ebony 97 in yesterday and the weather has finally cleared enough for me to take a couple of pictures and get to know the knife a little better.
First off, like others have mentioned, this is truly a very fine knife. I wasn't sure what to expect with this knife, thinking that it was going to be a little big for my tastes and that I might find the light pull to be a bit off-putting. Originally planning on getting two (one Tidioute and one Northfield), I decided to only go with one and depending on how my relationship with this knife grows, I might consider scooping another up in the near future.
Some initial thoughts after playing with it for a day.
- Fit an Finish: Overall rather remarkable, even for GEC. Everything is seamless and smooth, not a single flaw to be found. Even with GEC's propensity towards sunken pins on smooth covers, the ones on this knife, though still domed, are still pretty close to flush (aside from the one). No crud or dust is going to collect in there. This knife is truly a marvel in the hand, very, very pleasant to handle.
- Walk & Talk/Pull: This is what the biggest complaints have been about, particularly in regards to the pulls. After a cleaning and some working of the pivot, the walk & talk is simply a delight. Smooth as butter, springy, and satisfying snaps at the open, closed, and half stop positions. The pull is indeed rather light, especially for a knife of this size. However, I don't find it irksome for some reason. The recent 46 sported a rather obnoxiously stiff pull and that was one of the biggest deciding factors in me moving it along to someone else. This 97 will not meet that fate, I find it very pleasing.
- Covers: With any black wood, particularly Ebony, there is always the risk of getting brown or black/brown covers. I was prepared to appreciate whatever ended up in my hands but I was still rather pleased to get some nice Black Ebony. Smooth, lustrous, and buttery to the touch, these covers are just a pure pleasure to have in hand and look at.
- Blade: I was initially a bit skeptical of a saber ground blade with double pulls but I figured it was unique enough to try it out and I am rather glad I did. The blade stock is rather robust, feeling even stouter that that of my departed 46, but that could simply be the nature of the grind. It is a knife that is meant to work and work hard and I think it will be more than capable of meeting that challenge. It will not be the efficient slicer that a blade with a full flat grind will be, but it will cut and it will do so just fine.
My overall impressions with this knife are very favorable and I am glad that I took the risk and acquired one. I look forward to seeing how it holds up with use, carry, and my ever evolving knife interests.
Another random thought. Someone mentioned somewhat recently that GEC does not resize their shields. Well, I am pretty certain that my eyes are not playing tricks on me but there is a picture below of my 97 and a 78. Same shield, different sizes... I hope this can bode well for our forum knife.
Augie
The old Ulster in this picture saw lots of use in it's day, the blade is worn and wobbles when open. The pull is light but I suspect it's partly due to how hard it was used. In large coke bottles and hunters I have 6 old ones of different brands. They all have different pulls and range from one nail breaker to the light pull Ulster. I prefer the ones that aren't quite nail breakers but close.
Pàdruig and nice comparison picture of the shields
