...And a large Coke. GEC 97 Thread!

Anyone know the price point on these? Not a huge fan of big knives but I’m certainly intrigued by the jigged cherry
 
Something I've noticed. The threads for the past few pilot runs of a pattern have thrived on here, with many hundreds, if not thousands of posts. But this thread for the #97 is, sparse, by comparison. Here we are, with the first batch getting ready to hit retailers in a few days, and we haven't even touched 125 posts. I'm beginning to think this pattern isn't going to be insanely popular. Anyone else feeling the same way?
 
I was starting to think that as well. I believe there are a few things causing that:
- The size
- The double pulls on the Northfields
- The chaos around the forum knife voting right now.

I’ve got a Tidioute jigged bone on reserve and I’m really excited to get it. I think it’s a great pattern. Not the most useful knife ever for my needs but undeniably cool.
 
Apparently the retailers made big orders expecting this to be a big hit. We will just have to wait and see...
 
It is hard for me to fathom why dealers would think this knife to be a big hit unless they are just wanting to keep some GEC inventory on the shelves for a little while. I would think the size alone hits outside of what a good many folks will comfortably carry.

It is an undeniably attractive knife though and if it was in the 3 1/2" - 3 3/4" range, I think it would prove to be quite popular. It is a classic pattern however, and a couple of our members here have some terrific old examples of it.

I plan on getting a Tidioute and Northfield. I am not too certain about the double pull and saber ground blade but I will reserve judgement for now.
 
Everyone keeps saying it's a big knife, but it's on the small side for a Folding Hunter. If they last long enough to have some left after pre-orders/reserves, I'll probably look into getting one or two.
 
I've got 4 of them on reserve, all natural handle materials, looking forward for the first one. These are actually small for this pattern, originals are 5 3/8", without having one in hand I think GEC did a great job of downsizing these while still maintaining the original character of the knife.
 
Wow, that micarta on GEC page looks good. I have a couple of the Northfields on reserve hoping to get the double pull, can't wait. I assume that this blade will be similar to the sabre ground 65 from years ago, anybody know if this is the case?
 
yablanowitz said:
Everyone keeps saying it's a big knife, but it's on the small side for a Folding Hunter. If they last long enough to have some left after pre-orders/reserves, I'll probably look into getting one or two.
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I wouldnt be surprised if there are some in stock a year from now, as many as they are making.
 
Pàdruig said:
It is hard for me to fathom why dealers would think this knife to be a big hit unless they are just wanting to keep some GEC inventory on the shelves for a little while. I would think the size alone hits outside of what a good many folks will comfortably carry.

It is an undeniably attractive knife though and if it was in the 3 1/2" - 3 3/4" range, I think it would prove to be quite popular. It is a classic pattern however, and a couple of our members here have some terrific old examples of it.

I plan on getting a Tidioute and Northfield. I am not too certain about the double pull and saber ground blade but I will reserve judgement for now.
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I don't think the thought of carry-ability matters on 80% - 90% of GEC knives sold...…. Most of them get bought to be polished and are safe queens...….. Take a beater knife brand like Cold Steel & probably 10% get polished & reside in a safe...…. The other 90% get jammed in someone's toolbox...… The exact opposite of GEC...…. The last Northwoods drop people were in a frenzy snagging knives out of other's carts & I bet 95% of those Northwoods haven't cut so much as a shoelace thus far....
 
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….haven't cut so much as a shoelace thus far.... LOL - now THAT's funny this morning!
 
HEMI 49 said:
I don't think the thought of carry-ability matters on 80% - 90% of GEC knives sold...…. Most of them get bought to be polished and are safe queens...….. Take a beater knife brand like Cold Steel & probably 10% get polished & reside in a safe...…. The other 90% get jammed in someone's toolbox...… The exact opposite of GEC...…. The last Northwoods drop people were in a frenzy snagging knives out of other's carts & I bet 95% of those Northwoods haven't cut so much as a shoelace thus far....
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I get what you are saying. There are a lot of collectors out there and a lot of folks who want pretty knives to take pretty pictures of to post online(I am no exception to this).

That said, I carry all the knives I own (with very few exceptions), though some knives get far more use than others. Size can certainly be a factor for me in the sense that I don't like having a large lump awkwardly sitting in the bottom of my pocket(s). The watch pocket on my jeans generally facilitates most of the slip joints I carry, even some of the larger ones. Will the #97 prove to be too large for that? I am not sure but I can fit my #43 in there ok which is a 1/2" shorter.

Thinking on this topic a bit and I've come to the realization that the #1 reason why I will not carry a knife as regularly as others is blade rap rather than its size. The #43 I have is a great example of this. It is a great knife that is slim and light for its size but the fact that a good portion of the edge hits the backspring when closing dampens my enthusiasm for the knife. It is why I never sought to obtain others. The recent 85s are the same way. I understand that there are ways to avoid or even fix this malady, I just haven't wanted to retrain myself on how I use my knives and I haven't gotten around to implementing some of the other fixes that some members here have suggested.

Ultimately, there are plenty of folks here who carry and use their GECs, some will like the large size of the 97, many will not. Since I am of a mind to try anything GEC releases at this time, I will give this pattern a go, maybe I take to it splendidly, maybe it will repulse me. We shall see.
 
I wonder if the beaver shield will prove as popular as on the 85. The spear blade on the 85 gave it the 'beavertail' look all around. IMHO that was a VERY cool concept. To my eye this one's just a beaver shield tacked onto yet another clip blade knife shipped in a tube that will probably have a neat beaver pic...

I'll have one autumn gold jigged bone and a small Coke to go, please... ;-)
 
Elsilrac1 said:
How does one get a beaver tail on preorder?
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A few of the dealers on the GEC dealer list offer preorders. Honestly, I’d just watch for the drop. This is a big run, so I don’t think it’ll create the frenzy that some runs do.

I’m expecting at surprise from this run, but we shall see.
 
Way too big of a folder for me but the beaver shield always catches my eye so I may yet end up with one. I also thought the #43 was too big but grabbed a beaver and it's now one of my favorites as the handle really fits the hand well. Still not sold on the Coke bottle format in this size.
 
This thing's WAY too big for me, but it might be a nice woods knife, carried in a belt pouch.
 
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