Lets talk GEC!

With this 93 variant and the forum 86 variant, that is going to make for a lot of GEC sheepfoot blades. Hopefully they will take a bit of a break afterwards.

With the #86 lurking on the horizon, it would have made a heck of a lot more sense just to do the whole run with the Lambsfoot. There will be a ton of demand for Charlie’s knife while I suspect the Ramsfoot models may be a relatively slow seller. Maybe even result in some Forum knife sales being cancelled? In for 2 Forum knives, fighting the odds to land a Lambsfoot, passing on the Ramsfoot.
 
That pretty much how I work it out too - survey how many knives of each blade pattern are in my collection and cancel my orders if I have too many already o_O
 
I had a random GEC thought the other day...
There are no "general run" Barlow offerings from GEC. They are pretty much pricey SFOs, which makes it harder for the general public to enjoy a very popular knife pattern from their favorite knife producer. Charlie has the corner on the Tidioute Barlows and Mike has the corner on the Northfield Barlows. I would like to see GEC produce a lower priced Barlow under their Farm and Field brand. I think it would fit the historic nature of the Barlow being an everyday man's knife, built cheaply and tough... and it would fit the hard-working nature of the Farm and Field brand. I mean how many of us would snatch up a plain F&F Barlow with Delrin or Micarta handles? A bunch of us I'm sure.
 
Hmmmmmmm....
zZfEhbL.jpg
 
I had a random GEC thought the other day...
There are no "general run" Barlow offerings from GEC. They are pretty much pricey SFOs, which makes it harder for the general public to enjoy a very popular knife pattern from their favorite knife producer. Charlie has the corner on the Tidioute Barlows and Mike has the corner on the Northfield Barlows. I would like to see GEC produce a lower priced Barlow under their Farm and Field brand. I think it would fit the historic nature of the Barlow being an everyday man's knife, built cheaply and tough... and it would fit the hard-working nature of the Farm and Field brand. I mean how many of us would snatch up a plain F&F Barlow with Delrin or Micarta handles? A bunch of us I'm sure.
Great idea, John.
FYI GEC does run the 25 as a Barlow too.
Edit to add: the sfo's may be hard to get in on but they are only pricey on the secondary market.
 
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Why spend all that money going to Rendezvous , when you can get a great custom blade-smith to make the perfect knife of your dreams ?

I assume this—like many things in life—is all about priorities.

If your goal is to acquire a “grail” knife, going to a social gathering isn’t the most efficient way to do it.

If you wish to socialize with people with a shared interest, ordering a new knife won’t scratch that itch.
 
I had a random GEC thought the other day...
There are no "general run" Barlow offerings from GEC...I would like to see GEC produce a lower priced Barlow under their Farm and Field brand...

While I’m not the biggest fan of Barlows in general (I don’t dislike them, they just don’t draw me in), I think this is a brilliant idea.

If GEC were to try this and find it to be a good business decision, I’d like to see them expand the concept to include a couple of other patterns as well.
 
Are the 47 Hayin’ Helpers only offered in orange on this run?

From what I can see, only orange delrin, only pruner blades. The 47 and new 93 look like *very similar* patterns, so perhaps the short 47 run is simply GEC gearing up for the 93s.

Lee
 
I think the 47 and fish knives may have been using up some old parts stock. The 47 looks to have a 2016 tang stamp. I will confirm when my pruner arrives.
 
I had a random GEC thought the other day...
There are no "general run" Barlow offerings from GEC. They are pretty much pricey SFOs, which makes it harder for the general public to enjoy a very popular knife pattern from their favorite knife producer. Charlie has the corner on the Tidioute Barlows and Mike has the corner on the Northfield Barlows. I would like to see GEC produce a lower priced Barlow under their Farm and Field brand. I think it would fit the historic nature of the Barlow being an everyday man's knife, built cheaply and tough... and it would fit the hard-working nature of the Farm and Field brand. I mean how many of us would snatch up a plain F&F Barlow with Delrin or Micarta handles? A bunch of us I'm sure.

I don't know them to put bolsters on farm and field branded knives, and an extended bolster is what defines the barlow, but hey there's always a first......
 
I had a random GEC thought the other day...
There are no "general run" Barlow offerings from GEC. They are pretty much pricey SFOs, which makes it harder for the general public to enjoy a very popular knife pattern from their favorite knife producer. Charlie has the corner on the Tidioute Barlows and Mike has the corner on the Northfield Barlows. I would like to see GEC produce a lower priced Barlow under their Farm and Field brand. I think it would fit the historic nature of the Barlow being an everyday man's knife, built cheaply and tough... and it would fit the hard-working nature of the Farm and Field brand. I mean how many of us would snatch up a plain F&F Barlow with Delrin or Micarta handles? A bunch of us I'm sure.

A Barlow would be great, but I wonder if the bolster doesn't add enough processes that it would raise it above F&F pricing. Just a normal jack would be great.

A F&F jack on the upcoming #86 pattern!

Hmmmmmmm....
zZfEhbL.jpg

That would be cool, especially on the 74 or 71 frames, but I imagine it's too similar to the Northwoods Madison... Which they've done in Micarta and sold for much more than F&F price levels...

Why spend all that money going to Rendezvous , when you can get a great custom blade-smith to make the perfect knife of your dreams ?

Custom knives are great, especially when you can get something made exactly to your specifications, but...

I spend about $35 on gas, $0 on lodging (I camp or stay at my dad's in nearby Franklin), and however much I spend on knives. The truth is, GEC knives are very close to custom quality if not the same level, at least to the custom knives anywhere close to my budget (or what I spend going to the Rendezvous and buying 2-5 knives). I've had lots of issues with custom knives in my little experience with them. GEC makes superb production knives that you don't have to wait a half a year from the time they start getting built, and if you do have an issue you can either exchange it with the dealer, or send (for me take it in when I'm in the area) for service. All that is not to mention the fact that custom knives don't hold their value as consistently as a well known company like GEC. I don't think people will be collecting and clamoring for even the most currently famous knife makers knives in 50 years like they will for GEC.

All that said, I don't mean to denigrate custom knives. There are lots of incredible custom makers. I have had some really nice custom knives. I just don't think it is the end all be all and don't think it can be directly compared to getting knives at the Rendezvous.

And all that is not to mention, as someone else did, that the real point of the Rendezvous is getting together with other knife enthusiasts and GEC collectors.

I don't know them to put bolsters on farm and field branded knives, and an extended bolster is what defines the barlow, but hey there's always a first......

Even just a normal jack in F&F trim would be great. The Calf Pen is anything but normal (lol) so the fish knife is the closest thing we have. Not that I don't like the fish knife, I do. It's just not a normal jack.
 
That would be cool, especially on the 74 or 71 frames, but I imagine it's too similar to the Northwoods Madison... Which they've done in Micarta and sold for much more than F&F price levels...

71 frame = 3 7/8 inches
Madison Barlow frame = 4 1/4 inches

Not unlike having a TC Barlow and Northfield Barlow in different sizes.

I think they could keep the price closer to F&F, depending on bolster size/steel (or even other material such as contrasting micarta bolster).
 
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