Category: Knife Information

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Why All Traditional Knife Enthusiasts Should Attend the Great Eastern Cutlery Rendezvous

Every year Great Eastern Cutlery holds their Rendezvous at their factory in historic Titusville Pennsylvania. It is a 3 day gathering for fans of GEC to come together and show and tell their traditional knives (it’s not restricted to GEC, other brands’/companies’ knives are very welcome). There’s also a picnic on Saturday where GEC collectors and employees get together to eat and enjoy the company of fellow knife enthusiasts. You can find more information by following this link to Great Eastern Cutlery’s page for this year’s (2019) Rendezvous!

A fine example of a GEC, a #53 Cuban Stockman, in its native territory of Western Pennsylvania

You get to see behind the curtain!

One of the best things about the Rendezvous is getting to see how all the knives are made. Throughout the weekend tours are given by none other than GEC President Bill Howard and his son Will. First off, the fact that the owner himself gives tours is a great look into the culture and workings of GEC. Bill Howard is a man who knows and cares about his products, machinery, and his employees. Second, it’s an incredible opportunity to see every step of the process (except bone dyeing and jigging, which is proprietary and not shown to the public) that goes into making a GEC knife. Let me tell you, it’s impressive to see just how much hand work goes into these knives. Third, it’s a chance to ask any of the questions you have about their production process. I know I’ve had many questions, and they seem happy to answer them. If you want a sneak preview of the tour you can check out a video tour below. It’s a great resource, but it’s not quite as good as in person!

Part 1, you’ll have to go to YouTube for parts 2 and 3

The people are great!

Meeting and conversing with the GEC employees and other Rendezvous attendees is definitely the highlight of the experience. Being that GEC is the most highly respected and sought after production knife maker in America today, the Rendezvous brings together a large and varied group of knife enthusiasts. Over the years that I’ve attended it has grown significantly. There is still the core group of hardcore knife collectors. These are the people who are basically walking encyclopedias of traditional knives, and it’s a treasure to get to discuss the history and nuances of all their knives. There are also now tables set up for people to display their collections and / or knives for sale. For example, last year the owners of the Maher & Grosh set up an extremely interesting display of vintage knives of that brand and also sold some GEC made M&G brand knives. As mentioned earlier, it’s also enlightening to get to know the people who make up GEC. Of course the knives are what makes us so enamored with GEC, but it’s certainly nice to get to meet the people behind the knives and see that they are (in many cases) as excited about what they’re doing as we are.

The #78 American Jack in Glitter Gold in the center is a 1 of 8 parts knife from the 2018 Rendezvous

Titusville has more to do than you think!

I often see people wondering what, if anything, else there is to do in Titusville. After all, it’s not your usual vacation location. I think the tendency is for people to assume there’s nothing to do, but that’s very much not the case! There is the annual Titusville Oil Festival. It is a celebration of the anniversary of the first oil well in the U.S. which was drilled in Titusville, and you can find more information at this link. There is also a craft brewery called the Blue Canoe that has classic food and good drinks, made right there on site. Speaking of the history of oil in Titusville, the site of the first oil well has a very interesting museum. It is called the Drake Well, and you can find more information about the museum at this link. I was always told by my dad, an avid fan of local history and himself in the natural resources industry, that the Drake Well was the first well drilled for oil in the world (and certainly some history books confirm this), but I’ve also read that oil wells were drilled earlier in China. Either way, it’s worth a visit if you’re interested in history. Another place well worth visiting, right next to the Drake Well, is Oil Creek State Park. Oil Creek State Park is a nice little park with some interpretive trails, hiking/biking, and some nice scenery. You can find a list of some good things to do at the park at this link. If you wanted to make a serious knife and history trip out of it, you could go to nearby Tidioute (where natural gas was found, and helped create the history of cutlery in the region) or relatively close by Bradford, where you can visit Case’s factory. Finally, there’s going to be a knife show the same weekend held as a replacement for the Queen show (that was always held on the same weekend as the Rendezvous). I know about this show because it’s being organized by a member of the Allegheny Mountain Knife Collectors Association, but I can’t find a website for it so I can’t provide much more information, though I’m sure once you’re at the Rendezvous it’ll be easy to find more info.

Retouched photograph of the Drake Well, from WikiPedia Media Commons

There’s some SUPER cool knives to be had!

Last, but not least, GEC makes some really unique and interesting knives for the Rendezvous. To start, they make a very limited run of “Rendezvous Special” knives. These are the knives made to commemorate that year’s Rendezvous. They make a fixed number, 50 the last couple years, and sell a fixed portion of that each day. You have to get there early to get one, but Friday and especially Saturday seem to be less busy than Thursday. They also make parts knives, knives put together with parts left over from previous runs. These parts knives often have unique handle materials that differ from those used in the normal run. They also often are made in even lower numbers than the Rendezvous Specials, so they’re quite desirable to collectors. Last year GEC only allowed each person to purchase 1 parts knife, and I have heard that they plans to restrict each household to 1 Rendezvous Special and 1 parts knife this year, but that hasn’t been confirmed. Either way, they do a good job of keeping it fun and fair. I’ve been happy to collect the Rendezvous Specials from all the years I’ve attended.

The Rendezvous Specials from the last 5 years

So, will you be there?

I have attended the last 5 Rendezvous, since 2014, and I’m more excited for this one than any other! I hope to see lots of new faces and get to know lots of new people. I have created a facebook group for those planning to attend. You can find the group and request to join by following this link, just make sure to answer the questions. Hope to see you in Titusville!

This year’s Rendezvous is August 8th, 9th, and 10th. It’s at the Great Eastern Cutlery factory at:

Great Eastern Cutlery Factory

Caldwell Street

Titusville, PA 16354

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The 3 Keys to Freehand Sharpening

First off, I want to start by saying that I don’t consider myself to be an expert in sharpening. I am on the same journey of sharpening skill progression as anyone reading this, and certainly haven’t reached anything resembling a peak. However, I do have a lot of experience sharpening knives. I have sharpened using powered belt systems, fixed angle systems, pull through (gasp!), and stones. Although I think they all have relative merits, except pull through systems (just kidding, they’re simple and convenient and work for some people), I have found freehand sharpening to be the most rewarding. In this article I will tell you what I think are the 3 most integral keys to successful freehand sharpening.

Angle

The angle at which you sharpen the blade has a huge impact on how it sharpens. This might seem self explanatory; the edge is really just the intersection of two planes at an angle and that angle is what allows the blade to separate material. However, I think it is very easy to overlook this aspect of sharpening and make the angle too obtuse or too acute.

Now, I’m not here to tell you what the correct angle is to sharpen your knife. I usually shoot for something between 15 and 25 degrees per side, or 30 and 50 degrees inclusive. That is when and after I have reprofiled an edge, which means to put a whole new angle on. I don’t think most people want to do that as frequently as I do, so it’s more relevant to talk about sharpening from the factory edge.

When resharpening the factory edge, you should try to match the angle from the maker (unless it is terribly thick). A good way to make sure that you’re succeeding in matching the angle is to paint the edge with a permanent marker before you sharpen. After your first swipe on the stone, check to see that the marker was removed across the entire width of the edge. That will indicate that you have matched the preset angle. This technique is simple but invaluable.

Whether you reapex the edge or match the preset angle, it’s important to find the right angle to sharpen. If you sharpen an edge at too low an angle it either won’t actually create a new edge/apex or it will be too fragile, and if you sharpen an edge at too high an angle it will be too thick to cut effectively. Make sure to always start your freehand sharpening by mindfully setting your intended angle.

Pressure

The level of pressure applied is the next of the most important aspects of freehand sharpening. There are two main reasons why it’s easy to put too much pressure into the stone with the blade when sharpening. First, the more pressure you apply the quicker the stone removes metal. This creates the illusion that you will complete the sharpening quicker, when in reality it will create a stubborn burr and extend the overall time cost of the sharpening. It’s a manifestation of our ubiquitous desire for quick fixes, if you want to get all psychological about it. Second, the more pressure you apply the more stable and controlled the blade can feel. When you apply more pressure it seems to hold the blade more securely at the angle, and considering how important that is as discussed above, it can make us focus on the angle at the expense of the pressure.

So why is too much pressure bad? When you apply too much pressure it does two main undesirable things to the edge. First, it leaves deeper scratches that are more difficult to remove/smooth for a good edge. Pushing down hard drives the abrasives on the stone into the metal of the edge resulting in overly aggressive scratch patterns. These tend to be difficult to completely remove and result in a ragged edge. Second, it creates an overly elastic burr. A burr is the thin line of steel created at the apex of the edge that is removed with final honing and stropping to leave behind a crisp apex. When you apply too much pressure it will create a large burr that maintains some of the elasticity of the steel, causing it to flip back and forth from one side of the edge to the other incessantly. This is, for me, the most frustrating thing to deal with when freehand sharpening, but it’s my own fault for getting hasty and applying the excess pressure.

So, how much is the right amount? I have a general rule that I use; if the knuckle of the finger that is on the blade, keeping it stable, is white from applying pressure then it’s definitely too much. Now, that’s certainly not an exact measure and can vary person to person, but it’s an easy way to remind yourself that you might be applying too much pressure. In even more general terms, you should probably go as light as your patience and confidence allow.

Grit

The last key to successful freehand sharpening is a logical progression through grits. This is one that some people might disagree with me on, but I’ve found it to be important for me in my sharpening. The grit of a stone is the size (and sometimes distribution) of the abrasive particles. These can be stone, diamond, or ceramics as well as polishing compounds. Whatever kind of sharpening material you use, it’s important that you start with a lower grit and move progressively up to the highest grit.

The reason it is important to move gradually in progressive steps of grit, rather than just going from a very low grit to a very high one, is because it facilitates a more even scratch pattern and a more smooth edge apex. Without an even scratch pattern and smooth apex, an edge will have too much drag when moving through the material during cutting. This can cause more of a tearing or sawing action than a cut like is achieved with a good edge. All that said, some people prefer a toothy edge. I like a toothy edge sometimes, but I still think a good toothy (and not just jagged) edge requires progression through grits in reasonable steps.

So, what are good grits to use? Well, again, this is somewhat of a wide question. Some people use very low grits like 80 and even 60 on knives, especially if the edge is damaged, but I would save those grits for axes and gardening tools. The lowest I go is 120 grit, but I normally start at 325 grit even for reapexing. I then move up to 600 then a ceramic stone. Ceramics can be difficult to give a grit rating, but it’s probably around 1200. From there I go to a strop with diamond polishing compound, then sometimes I strop lightly on a jeweler’s cloth. As you can see, this shows a pretty much even progression with the grits doubling in each stone change. My system is similar in grit progression to most of the fixed angle systems. For example, the KME system comes with 140, 300, 600, and 1500 grit stones.

All that said, you can still get a more than usable edge with one stone. I’d probably suggest going right down the center with a 600 grit stone, if you’re only going to buy one. The big thing for getting a good edge using only one stone is that you have to focus even more on the first two keys: correct angle and low pressure.

Conclusion

Freehand sharpening can be a very rewarding skill. It allows you to keep your knives sharp with very few tools that can be taken almost anywhere. It also can be a very relaxing practice, almost in a meditative or zen manner. On the other hand, if you fail to follow these keys to successful sharpening it can also be a huge headache! So make sure you practice as much as you can and keep these 3 keys in mind when you do. You’ll be a freehand sharpening champ in no time!

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A Note on Honesty, Negativity, and Enthusiasm in Knife Thoughts

I was just showing off the Spyderco Native Chief that I’m testing as part of a passaround facilitated by Rivers Edge Cutlery and a point came up that I wanted to address.

I realize that my articles often seem to shed an unrealistically positive light on the knives in question. I know that I rarely totally denounce a knife as a failure, and even often give counter arguments when I point out a negative characteristic of a knife.

There are a couple reasons for this tendency:

First, I generally know that I’ll like a knife before I buy it. What I mean by that is not that I’ve never been disappointed by the build quality of a knife or liked a feature less than I expected, but that I spend a lot of time (probably too much) researching and deliberating on what knives I want. This naturally weeds out most knives that would be likely to garner a truly negative review, because I know if there have been reports of quality issues and the like well before purchasing a knife.

Second, I am usually thoroughly excited to get a new knife and that can put a rosy tint on my perception of it. Being that I am a knife enthusiast through and through, getting almost any knife amounts to an overall good experience. Of course there are exceptions, but I generally find something to be happy with on a knife simply because I enjoy knives.

However, I try first and foremost not to allow my view of a knife and especially my published thoughts on a knife to be influenced by the manufacturer’s, dealer’s, owner’s, or general population’s expectations. I mean to give fully honest reviews based solely on my genuine feelings and experiences of the knife.

Authenticity is one of the core values of Knife Thoughts and I intend to ensure it remains a pillar of my writing and posting.

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Father’s Day Knife Thoughts

Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the lessons handed down from our dads, grandfathers, and whomever we’ve been privileged to have as father figures. One of the things my father passed on to me is an appreciation for knives.

My dad is an avid outdoorsman. He was an Eagle Scout, fishes regularly, has gone on many extraordinary hunting expeditions that border on survivalist outings. His interest in knives stems mostly from the fact that they’re essential in those kinds of outdoors activities, as well their usefulness in everyday tasks. He isn’t a collector, though through the years he has accumulated a good number of knives. As a non-collector, he doesn’t often keep his knives in great shape and tends to get a replacement when his current carry breaks down. He originally used traditional knives and I remember him using them when I was younger, but he switched to assisted opening modern knives sometime in the 2000s. Due to his tendency not to hang onto knives like a collector, I haven’t been able to check out many of his older knives, especially from before he switched to modern knives.

My dad’s knife displayed in a geode

However, while visiting him this weekend I stumbled upon an old gem; his old fishing knife. The knife is a Case #48 Slimline Trapper. I knew right away from looking at it that it was Case’s classic Slimline pattern, and Case’s pattern number list confirms (linked here). It’s a knife that Case has made for decades and continues to produce today. It’s a great utility pattern; easy to carry because of the thin handle, good amount of belly for skinning and such, useful tip, and a long edge for the overall size. I am sure that the handles are jigged synthetic, but Case’s handle designation number system (linked here) only confirms that it’s either jigged synthetic, laminate, or bone. My dad said he bought it about 50 years ago and used it all the time as his fishing knife. I took a look at Case’s tang stamp dating system chart (linked here) and he wasn’t too far off; it’s a 1974 6 dot normal “s” model.

  • Case XX U.S.A. (normal “s”) 6 dot stamp
  • 61048 pattern designation

It’s pretty dang cool to not only be able to look over a knife used by my dad for years, but also to confirm its identity and age. For a well used 45 year old knife, it’s in admirable shape. Sure, it has some blade play and lots of patina. Even some gaps around the scales and spring. But it has great action with snappy walk and talk, and a nice even grind and sharp edge. This Slimline Trapper is a real testament to the fact that a well made slipjoint knife can be used hard and last for decades. The knife below (bottom knife) is a Queen #11 Utility Trapper. It’s not called a Slimline Trapper because that term belongs to Case, but it’s the same pattern. It was a gift from my dad. I’ve used it many times while hunting and fishing, including on some trips with my dad. It already was a knife I’ll keep forever, but I appreciate it even more now knowing that my dad carried an extremely similar knife. Like lessons, our fathers can also pass down physical items like knives that are imbued with meaning.

Queen #11 Utility Trapper on the bottom

As an interesting post script note, upon looking closely I realized that the shield is not pinned even on this 1974 Case! So the glued shields must not be a new development for Case. This is very interesting to me, and I plan to do more research into when Case stopped pinning their shields.

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Alert; HUGE Knife Law News!

May 30 2019 is a day to celebrate for the whole knife community! A landmark battle has been won in New York. Today Governor Andrew Cuomo repealed the gravity knife ban.

Even small and totally innocuous knives like these could bring charges of “Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree” under the Gravity Knife Ban

The gravity knife ban, in effect since the 1950s, made it illegal to posses any knife that could be opened by “gravity or centrifugal force” and locked into place. The intentional vagueness allowed this definition to be applied to nearly ANY folding knife. Thousands of people were arrested per year without having committed any act of violence or destruction, but rather only for owning/carrying/using humanity’s most basic and universal tool. Beyond that, statistics indicate that the law was applied unequally with bias against minorites. This sad fact makes the law not only unjust, but also immoral.

Under the Gravity Knife Ban this fixed blade could technically be legal to carry…

Whereas this miniscule knife could land you in jail with hefty fines… (I’m not at all suggesting either should be restricted)

For a full news piece on this development you can visit this article reposted by Knife Rights from the Queens Daily Eagle on the subject. Knife Rights is an organization founded by Doug Ritter to advocate for knife legislation, along with several other functions. Knife Rights has been working toward overturning the New York Gravity Knife ban for almost a decade, and their success in this specific case is only one of many positive changes they have influenced in knife legislation. Still, this is an important victory! Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it will usher in more positive changes in the legal landscape surrounding knives.