Let's talk Northwoods

GunGraber said:
This is the first Fremont release I've been around for. Had no idea that the 79 never accompanied the Fremont in previous runs.
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I actually think the two previous runs of Fremont were not accompanied by a run of "GEC branded" 79s. It always felt unusual to me, too. But I think GEC #79s seemed to linger on dealer shelves. Conversely, Derrick said once that the Fremont was the fastest selling Northwoods model. (bear in mind, that was back in the day when Northwoods would stay in stock for weeks, even months :)). So this may be why KSF wants to order them while GEC doesn't do an accompanying run of #79s. Just speculating.

Here is where he talked about how they sell out the fastest.
Watch "Northwoods Fremont" on YouTube
 
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If anyone from KSF is reading this, I hope you'll consider a Fremont Jack that's a barehead. It much more apropos with the "rustic" theme and....it would send collectors and users BOTH over the moon.

Come on....bareheads are best! :D
 
MCar said:
I gotta say, I like Northwoods with full flat grinds much more than I like the "rustic" line. The "rustic" ones look really cool, but in actual use, the Madison and the Esky are the top picks for me.
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I agree completely.
 
So I got my Fremont Jack in the mail today and, as soon as I got back to the house, I got ready to sharpen it up to put it to use. Right before I started, I checked to see how flat the edge was on a flat steel plate and noticed that the tip had been over-sharpened but since it had a lot of “meat” by the sharpening choil I wasn’t overly concerned.

For most of my traditionals, I use a benchstone. I’ll pick from a variety of stones depending on type of steel, edge geometry, etc. For this blade I decided to start with my Venev Bonded Diamond 8 X 3 stones. They don’t have too many miles on them and are still as flat as they where when I got them (no light shining through at all if you know what I mean). I kept most of the pressure towards the tip since that was the area tha wasn’t contacting the stone and even had the blade angled so the tip was ahead of the rest of the edge during the sharpening strokes. It took about 30 minutes to finally get it sharp at the tip and in the process I ended up with almost nothing left at the sharpening choil and a blade that is much thicker behind the edge than it should be. Also during inspection of the edge with a loupe, I noticed some discoloration at the tip...it was obviously overheated on the belt at the factory. Not the end of the world but from what I’ve seen lately, this seems to be an issue with a lot of “straight-edged” blades from GEC, this one being the worst that I’ve seen in my recent purchases.

Anyone else have a new one with an over sharpened and/or overheated tip...?

I’ll still enjoy it and I’m thankful that I was able to get my hands on one...just wish that they’d address the sharpening team over there. I’ve never seen one with an edge that’s worth a damn...sometimes they’re ok but they should be able to get the much sharper on a consistent basis.

All the best!
Hovan
 
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I noticed mine isn’t all that sharp. I have a couple GECs that came with good sharp edges on them. But this one doesn't cut through a piece of paper all that well. I’m still totally excited to actually have of these though.
 
My Northwoods knives:
QPNxU15.jpg

Pull and snap on the Fremont Jack is lacking, but I think it may just be an admiring knife for me anyway.
 
Jathes said:
My Northwoods knives:
QPNxU15.jpg

Pull and snap on the Fremont Jack is lacking, but I think it may just be an admiring knife for me anyway.
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Man! I’m digging that stag? The far right one? I was in to much of hurry to look around during the drop
 
Jathes said:
My Northwoods knives:
QPNxU15.jpg

Pull and snap on the Fremont Jack is lacking, but I think it may just be an admiring knife for me anyway.
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Got mine today and agree the spring is weak. Still has a nice snap sound when opening. Grind is a bit uneven, but not bad. Fit and finish otherwise is great.
 
Pat K. said:
Man! I’m digging that stag? The far right one? I was in to much of hurry to look around during the drop
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It is mammoth ivory.

Kiro said:
Got mine today and agree the spring is weak. Still has a nice snap sound when opening. Grind is a bit uneven, but not bad. Fit and finish otherwise is great.
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The weak spring surprised me. I thought it might have been made stronger since there is so much blade surface for pinching open.
 
I’m not so certain it’s a week spring. I think there is a lot of friction on the pivot. Flush it good with oil, get the gunk out. Then work it to smooth out the tang. I think they leave the tang unfinished, like the back of the blade, and it takes a bit to smooth it out.
 
Very true, I know on a few of my Broadway Jacks, the snap improved once I opened and closed a bunch. Also, like Rodeo said, clean with good oil too.
 
LastRodeo said:
I’m not so certain it’s a week spring. I think there is a lot of friction on the pivot. Flush it good with oil, get the gunk out. Then work it to smooth out the tang. I think they leave the tang unfinished, like the back of the blade, and it takes a bit to smooth it out.
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I've flushed and worked mine and the snap improved. I think the pull seems weak because I was pinching it open so far from the pivot.
 
Surprised at the comments so far, but nevertheless still excited to see much more pictures coming through.
 
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