GEC #46 Whaler

The ironwood is really beautiful. Bolsters look good.

These are not Northfield, so finish is rougher as expected.

I can see why these are in demand, I can see why GEC makes so few, and I think it is cool they have the ability to do crazy (to me) projects like the whaler.
 
Got my Ironwood Whaler today and have a few thoughts.

Things I like:

The wood is fantastic and the large size really shows off the grain.


The shield looks great.


The fit and finish on my example is top notch, at least as good as any GEC I have.


Pretty comfortable in hand.


Really like the arched Tidioute Cutlery tang stamp.


Things I don’t like:

The bulk of the handle is between the cutting edge of the secondary and the surface to be cut. I have quite a few multi-tools with this issue and it really makes a blade a lot less useful. Probably unavoidable with this pattern but I still don’t like it.


The wood and the shield aside, this knife is ugly, particularly when closed. The pictures that I saw in this thread before I got mine didn’t prepare me for the ugliness of this knife. In hand, it’s really ugly. This knife makes Spydercos look lovely. Sorry, Whaler fans.


This is a knife that is begging for half-stops.


Things I’m neutral on:

This is a really heavy knife. Not an issue for me, I sheath-carry a Leatherman Surge with both bit cards and an extension every day. But others who want this knife may not realize just how heavy it is.


Both main and secondary are pretty stiff on opening.


Don’t really like the satin bolsters but that’s an easy fix.


All in all, this will be my first GEC shelf queen (and I have 45).
 
rje58 said:
This is the kind of thing that starts to kill my interest in continuing to collect GEC knives.

I understand their marketing approach, but at some point it's going to backfire when the actual end user/collector says "Enough. Screw this". Obviously, we're not at the tipping point yet where a large percentage of people are fed up. On the other hand, I think we've all seen quite a few folks who would otherwise be interested and spending money on GEC's decide the whole 'raise demand and price with scarce supply' strategy just isn't worth it - especially when they see the profiteering taking place on the secondary market.

This situation is made worse by the fact that some people are buying 3 or 4 or more of certain patterns, selling all but one of each on the secondary market, and thereby depriving other end users/collectors of the opportunity to purchase at normal retail.

I've got one of each of the Whalers on reserve, but if my order doesn't come through, or if these trends continue out of control, I will likely be done with them myself. It's sad the way it's playing out, and who is profiting - and I'm not talking about ethical dealers, either. They must have a reasonable profit in order to make a living and stay in business - we all understand that.

If this is the wrong forum for this post, please tell me where to start a new thread. And please don't suggest W&C!
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I started
rje58 said:
This is the kind of thing that starts to kill my interest in continuing to collect GEC knives.

I understand their marketing approach, but at some point it's going to backfire when the actual end user/collector says "Enough. Screw this". Obviously, we're not at the tipping point yet where a large percentage of people are fed up. On the other hand, I think we've all seen quite a few folks who would otherwise be interested and spending money on GEC's decide the whole 'raise demand and price with scarce supply' strategy just isn't worth it - especially when they see the profiteering taking place on the secondary market.

This situation is made worse by the fact that some people are buying 3 or 4 or more of certain patterns, selling all but one of each on the secondary market, and thereby depriving other end users/collectors of the opportunity to purchase at normal retail.

I've got one of each of the Whalers on reserve, but if my order doesn't come through, or if these trends continue out of control, I will likely be done with them myself. It's sad the way it's playing out, and who is profiting - and I'm not talking about ethical dealers, either. They must have a reasonable profit in order to make a living and stay in business - we all understand that.

If this is the wrong forum for this post, please tell me where to start a new thread. And please don't suggest W&C!
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I agree with that. It also kinda makes it difficult to enjoy the knives as well. I got lucky on a 43 stag, and being a gec newbie I bought the knife because I wanted to carry it...two days later one sells for 400 you know where! Now it sits in my drawer because I'm thinking I've got something worth nearly four times what I paid. Don't want to look at it wrong let alone put a scratch on the bolster..
 
Mine showed up yesterday, all in all very happy with it, probably the only real concern is the sharpening is uneven, blade is fairly sharp but as it goes around the big curve to the tip it gets pretty dull. I think I've been spoiled lately as all the knives I've received from GEC in the last year or so have been very sharp out of the tube.

Really love how GEC sized the shield to the knife on this run, the original run had smaller shields and it definitely looks better to my eyes with the large shield.

These knives may not be practical but they are over the top in giggle factor and sometimes that is all that is needed, glad to see some of you are going to use them, it will be interesting to hear your impressions of this knife in daily use.

I've only been collecting for 4 years, I remember when I bought my first GEC looking through the dealers websites I saw several Whalers that were still in stock from the first run, apparently not a big seller but my oh my how times change, secondary market through the roof and this run sold out before even reaching the dealers. Really appreciate the job GEC does bringing us these old patterns.


IMG_8635.jpg IMG_8633.jpg IMG_8636.jpg
 
Rookie82 said:
I can't believe they're going for $350+ on the secondary market. :(
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Why? They are awesome! I think the fact they get scooped up in minutes during presale and release and the prices they fetch on the secondary speaks for itself. Its a wonderful piece to add to any colletion. Its not like they are #15's that get run every year. Their pretty unique and limited.
 
Signalprick said:
Why? They are awesome! I think the fact they get scooped up in minutes during presale and release and the prices they fetch on the secondary speaks for itself. Its a wonderful piece to add to any colletion. Its not like they are #15's that get run every year. Their pretty unique and limited.
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Cause I can't afford to buy one! haha I agree they are worth it. Pretty cool looking knife, and the wood handles look amazing. I want to see one in person at a knife show if possible, and maybe buy one.
 
Rookie82 said:
Cause I can't afford to buy one! haha
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Now that I completely understand! A gentleman in the sale section has one available for a very fair price. Can't believe it's still there to be honest. That's a can't loose deal there imo.
 
Back to the knives, please. Nix the sales chatter.
 
Rookie82 said:
I can't believe they're going for $350+ on the secondary market. :(
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I buy some hand made Japanese chef knives on the auction site and I frequently check some popular GECs while browsing. The one Whaler I saw lately appears to have stalled at the $350 level. Seems like a lot to me but I also think they would sell for more once all the others are gone. I dunno really, just pondering. I bought mine to keep. It arrived today and I like it more than I expected. In hand, it actually seems less silly.
 
Mine came last night, the Ironwood is exquisite. I’m glad to have one and have no intention of getting rid of it. I did however notice scuffing on the satin bolsters as described by some of the other new owners above. I noticed that the knife seemed to slide and bounce around in the tube. My theory is that the scuffing seen on the bolsters is occurring while the knife is in the tube and in transit.
 
So now that I have my Whaler in hand for a few days, I am struck by how much I really actually want to carry it. I don't think I will, because I really don't like patina, and I feel like I really shouldn't use it in case I decide to sell it at some point (not terribly likely, but maybe). If the Whaler was stainless I would absolutely use the heck out of it. I kind of expected to just feel like it was a silly bit of cool knifery that would be fun to have in the safe, but now that it is in hand, I want to use it.

Oh well. Maybe someday GEC will make a stainless whaler and I can sell the carbon one.
 
Is it really that difficult to keep significant discoloration off of the carbon blades? Seems like wiping the blade with mineral oil would go a long way toward keeping most of the patina off it, depending on what you use it for. If your primary use is slicing food, then it might be more of an issue. But just to carry? and use for routine daily tasks like opening letters and packages, cardboard, blister packs, etc.

The only carbon blades I have that show significant patina are the ones I bought used, and already had it. I have a knife rag with mineral oil, and before I go to bed I just wipe the blade with it. Takes less than a minute - a lot less.

abbydaddy said:
So now that I have my Whaler in hand for a few days, I am struck by how much I really actually want to carry it. I don't think I will, because I really don't like patina, and I feel like I really shouldn't use it in case I decide to sell it at some point (not terribly likely, but maybe). If the Whaler was stainless I would absolutely use the heck out of it. I kind of expected to just feel like it was a silly bit of cool knifery that would be fun to have in the safe, but now that it is in hand, I want to use it.

Oh well. Maybe someday GEC will make a stainless whaler and I can sell the carbon one.
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