Great Eastern Cutlery Restarts Production
Great Eastern Cutlery has been closed down since March 19, but are now restarting production! GEC was required to stop all business operations due to regulations put in place by the Pennsylvania state government to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Now the governor has moved several counties into the “yellow phase” wherein manufacturing businesses can restart production. One of those counties is Crawford, in which Titusville sits, so GEC is “back in business”!
Production update photos indicate they are in the finishing steps of the Farm & Field Pocket Carvers, and have started initial steps on the upcoming #23 run. If you’re a fan of whittling, the Pocket Carver looks like a great tool for that hobby. Even if you’re not a whittler yet, it could be a good pursuit to occupy your time during quarantine! I am personally looking forward to the #23 run, GEC’s first pattern, because there are lots of cool versions being made like the Allegheny Mountain Knife Collectors Association 2020 club knife.
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Queen Reborn: SMKW Unveils New Line of Queen Knives with the Pilot Test Run Mini Trapper
Out of nowhere, Smoky Mountain Knife Works has reintroduced Queen Cutlery. Queen went out of business in 2018, and the future of the brand has been unclear since then. Recently SMKW posted a “Queen Pilot Test Run Mini Trapper” for sale on their site, and this article will showcase that knife and what it means for the Queen brand.
This knife came as a surprise to pretty much everyone. There were no rumors of it on the forums and Smoky Mountain Knife Works did no advertising before its release. Even upon release, there was very little fanfare; at first it wasn’t even featured on the SMKW homepage.
Once the knife was available for purchase on SMKW, there was still little solid information available. The product page said it was a test run Queen knife made in the U.S.A. for Smoky Mountain Knife works with black composite covers and 440 steel.
With so little official information available, the online knife community was abuzz with interest and speculation on the knife’s specifics.
The main question in discussion was; who made the knife? In this area, a consensus seems to have been reached that it must have been made by Bear & Son Cutlery. Here we can apply the old saying “read the knife, not the tang”. This means the best way to know the origin of a knife is to look at its characteristics and how it’s made, rather than what the tang is stamped or etched. In this case, due to the pattern’s similarity to Bear & Son’s Mini Trapper and other manufacturing hallmarks, it looks most likely to have been made in a Bear & Son factory. That said, SMKW has not identified the manufacturer, even when directly asked during a live video.
Another much discussed question was; why is SMKW coming out with a Queen knife? After the Titusville Queen factory closed and its assets were sold off, most believed that Bluegrass Cutlery had bought the machines and trademarks with intention to restart the brands. However, in a video SMKW said that they purchased the Queen and Queen City trademarks and plan to do a full line of knives under each brand. In the same video they explained that this knife was rushed to market because they had to use the trademark to keep it active. They said they have to do the same with a Queen City branded knife. Unfortunately, when asked if the future Queen and Queen City lines will remain made in the U.S.A., the SMKW representative said they didn’t know yet.
Queen collectors might ask what about Schatt & Morgan, Queen’s other well known and respected in house brand? A reputable source told me that Gilbert Cooper purchased the trademark and Queen’s machinery, and has promising plans for the brand. Cooper himself has posted on All About Pocket Knives forum about reintroducing the Schatt & Morgan brand with the goal of restoring its former place at the top quality tier of American pocket knives.
As for this Queen Pilot Test Run Mini Trapper, it’s certainly well enough made for being rushed to market. This knife is not made with the same quality level as a GEC made knife; I would put it in the same realm as Case knives. The blades are pretty well centered. The action is nice with about a 5.5 pull on both blades. The action was a little gritty at first, but after a little oil they’ve broken in to be relatively smooth. Neither blade has any wobble. Neither blade seems to have any rap or proud tips. There are some slight gaps between the springs and liners, and a gap between the pile side liner and cover. So the fit is pretty good. The finish leaves a little more to be desired. The transitions between the covers and bolsters, as well as the edges of the covers, are a little rough. The blades have something between an “as ground” type finish and a satin finish, while the bolsters are between a satin and polished finish. Unfortunately, the etch is not a particularly tasteful font and seems imperfectly placed and is very raised (enough so that it’s easy to catch your fingernail on it). The tang is not stamped, which I would prefer but adds an extra step and cost, but rather etched very plainly. The front tang is etched “Queen” and the back tang is etched “QN1 / U.S.A.”. I am glad they went with no shield instead of an unpinned (glued only) shield, like Case and others use. Overall, it’s a decently made knife for the price that would make a good user knife.
Although this SMKW Queen QN1 would be a great using knife, I anticipate it will become collectible. In the video I have referenced above, SMKW said that only 300 of these were made. Although that’s not a tiny number of knives, it’s a pretty small run compared to recent GEC general runs, let alone compared to Case runs. If SMKW handles the reintroduction of Queen and Queen City well (which I’m rooting for), this will have been what started it all and therefore sought after. If they don’t handle it well, or if they move production overseas, this might be the last American made Queen knife, and therefore sought after. Either way, it has sold out on Smoky Mountain Knife Works’ site so its value will soon begin to be established through the secondary market. That said, SMKW did say they have to bring a knife to market under the Queen City brand to retain the trademark and that it’s coming soon. So keep an eye out for that if you’d like to get one! In conclusion, I’m happy to see the Queen brand living on while being produced by Smoky Mountain Knife Works, and I hope to see great things in the future!
I sincerely thank you for your time, support, and interest! Don’t forget to tell your friends about KnifeThoughts.com, subscribe via email, and share this article on social media. You can find Knife Thoughts on YouTube where I have hundreds of knife videos, as well as on Instagram and Facebook! You can find all my latest links at LinkTr.ee/KnifeThoughts
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The GEC One Arm / Razor Blade TC Barlow; A Knife with Historical Inspiration and Contemporary Updates
How to Sharpen Your New GEC, Case, Rough Ryder (or really any) Knife; An Informal Walk Through
ANNOUNCEMENT! Great Eastern Cutlery will be doing the #62 Easy Pocket Congress pattern in 2020!
Great Eastern Cutlery just posted on their website ( GreatEasternCutlery.NET not .com is the one to follow, FYI) that they’ll be doing the #62 Easy Pocket Congress pattern in 2020!
They’re doing some cool versions! It looks like they’ll be doing one with a banana shield, which is fitting considering the pattern shape. The big surprise to me is that they’re using Unicorn Ivory Acrylic again, considering how much trouble they had with it on the #25s. Of course, there’ll be Jigged Bone and Sambar Stag versions also.
If you’re a fan of the Congress pattern, email your favorite dealer (link to a list of GEC dealers here) and get in on this long awaited run (for some) of the #62 Easy Pocket Congress!
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What is the Great Eastern Cutlery #86 Oil Field Jack, and Why is it a Slipjoint Pocket Knife Worthy of Your EDC?
Recently Great Eastern Cutlery began producing its first run of the new #86 pattern. The #86 is a jumbo jack pattern, which basically means it’s an enlarged version of the classic swell end jack shape like that found on a #15 or #77. GEC has named this pattern the Oil Field Jack, and it’s a fitting name. This hefty pocket knife would be right at home in the oil fields.
The jumbo jack is a pattern that has been around for a long time, but isn’t as well known as others. It’s an enlarged swell end jack, usually over 3.75″ closed. The GEC version is 3.875″ closed. They tend to have thicker handles. This is in part due to the more rounded covers, and in part to the fact that they are most often two bladed. The blades can even be ground from thicker stock than a typical jack. For example, according to Charlie Campagna, the #86 tangs are about .1″ wide, whereas a GEC #15’s tangs are about .09″. Interestingly, vintage jumbo jacks tend to have spear point main blades with pen secondaries, but the #86 has a clip point main and slender sheepfoot secondary. All of it comes together in the #86 to make an unusually hefty jack knife that is inspired by, but not a direct copy, of vintage jumbo jacks.
Great Eastern Cutlery is making the #86 in several iterations. They’re making them under both their Tidioute and Northfield in-house brands, as well as some Special Factory Orders. The Tidioute versions all feature a quite unique, and appropriate to the name, wrench shield. They are being made with Oil Sucker Rod Wood, Natural Canvas Micarta, and Oily Creek Bone. The Northfield version will come in Autumn Gold Jigged Bone, Tortoise Shell Acrylic, and Sambar Stag. There will also be an SFO for Gunstock Jack’s Knives in Bloodwood with Bowtie shield, and for JSR Sports & More in Burnt Chocolate Peach Seed Jigged Bone with Propeller shield. Finally, there will be two more unique (and difficult to get) versions of the #86. First, the traditional knives subforum of BladeForums has ordered their yearly club knife on the #86 frame with a single saber ground sheepfoot blade, African Blackwood handles, and Bomb shield. At this point the only way to purchase that version is through the secondary market, as all have been pre-ordered months in advance. Second, Charlie Campagna is having a Waynorth Cutlery Black Jack produced. It will have a clip point main with more emphasized swedges and a pen secondary, Gabon Ebony Wood handles, and a Banner shield. You still might be able to get one of these by emailing the dealers through whom Charlie sells his SFOs, a list of which you can find at this link. The Waynorth Black Jack will probably be the most sought after of the #86s. With so many exciting versions of the #86 pattern coming soon, everybody should be able to find one they want!
The first released Oil Field Jacks seem to be selling quickly, but you should be able to get one in your preferred handle material. This will be a relatively large run in regard to production numbers. However, GEC has been shipping knives to dealers in batches. This practice is both good and bad; good because it allows for more chances to get the knife you want, bad because it causes more scramble and makes the knives seem more scarce. As of this writing, all of the Tidioute versions have been released but if you act quick you should still be able to get at least an Oily Creek Bone model. There are some Natural Canvas Micarta versions still arriving at dealers, and maybe a couple Oil Sucker Rod Wood stragglers. None of the Northfield versions have been released yet, and they can be purchased from any of the GEC dealers (which you can find a list of at this link), so there’s definitely still time to get one. I think both the Sambar Stag and Tortoise Shell Acrylic will look awesome on this jumbo jack pattern; the stag because the big wide handles will give plenty of room to show off the unique character of each piece, and the tortoise because I just like the somewhat bold and garish look of that acrylic style. I’m sure the Autumn Gold Jigged Bone will be nice also, I just don’t get as excited about that particular dye color and jigging as some. I am probably most excited about the Waynorth Cutlery Black Jack (aside from / along with the one I already have). Not only will it be the most similar to vintage jumbo jacks with its long pulls, swedges, and Gabon Ebony Wood handles, it will also have that particular styling that Charlie brings to his SFOs that have made them so popular amongst collectors.
I got the Oil Sucker Rod Wood #86 Oil Field Jack. This is a knife I knew I had to check out as soon as it was announced. I already really have and enjoy a few other knives with the Oil Sucker Rod Wood covers. The Oil Sucker Rod Wood is reclaimed from the area around Great Eastern Cutlery. An oil sucker rod is part of the oil drilling process and the piece of equipment that pulls the oil up out of the well (you can find a video on the process at this link). Steel rods are used now and have been for a while, but in the early days of the oil industry wooden rods were implemented. One interesting quirk of this handle material is that, because it is reclaimed wood and there’s no record of what wood species was used for the wells from which the wood was reclaimed, one can’t be sure what wood these handles actually are made of. Some, including my dad who’s been in the industry for over 40 years, say that it’s likely Ash. Either way, it has a green hue from the crude oil that soaked into it during its previous life as a working sucker rod. The crude oil in the Titusville region is a particularly bold green color. I remember my dad having a little bottle of crude oil from the Drake Well, the first commercial oil well in the world (by most accounts) that is right outside of Titusville and only a couple miles from GEC, and it was just the same color as the handles on my Oil Field Jack. Finally, the wrench shield hearkens to the hard manual work put in on those early oil wells (not to say that hard manual work isn’t also put in on the modern wells!). All of it seems to reach back and connect the Oil Field Jack to local Pennsylvania history, making it much more than just an extremely well made knife.
Speaking of its build quality, my Oil Field Jack in Oil Sucker Rod Wood is impeccably made. It has smooth transitions between the covers and bolsters. The shield is fitted tightly, which is a feat on such a complicated shape as a double ended wrench. The blades are tight with no blade play. The action is great with nice snap and walk and talk, and about a 6 out of 10 pull (a little stronger than a swiss army knife) on both blades. Both blades are also well centered. In a huge relief to me, as these are the two most irksome and common issues to be found on GEC knives, neither blades came with proud tips or blade rap.
I actually accidentally ordered two of these, and I have to admit that one was sent back. Sometimes you read or hear of someone “accidentally” ordering a knife, and you think “how can you possibly order a knife on accident?”. Well, I emailed two of my favorite dealers about this knife and, I thought, only heard back from one. So when I got a PayPal invoice for this knife, I just paid it. Later, when I got another, I realized that both dealers had emailed back confirming my reservation of this knife and one of their emails had gone to my spam folder! Anyway, the second one I received came with what I considered to be a poorly fit shield. There were noticeable gaps between the shield and wood that had been filled in with glue, which I find to be ugly. It also came with some rust / pitting on the main blade backspring, which was actually a first for me from GEC. Maybe chalk it up to the wet and cold weather. Anyway, as always, Ken at Blue Creek Cutlery provided incredible service and rectified the issue quickly and completely; he even refunded my return shipping, which went above and beyond my expectations!
The example I’m keeping is from Jamie at JSR Sports & More, from whom I’ve also received quality service. Despite one of my examples having some unusual issues, the Oil Field Jack I’m keeping is another great testament to Great Eastern Cutlery’s ability to make an heirloom quality pocket knives that are also ready to be put to real use.
I really like GEC’s Oil Field Jack on the #86 Jumbo Jack frame. It feels really ergonomic in the hand with the thick, rounded handle. The classic clip point blade shape offers a usable tip for penetrating tasks, but also provides a very practical amount of both straight edge and belly for push and pull cuts. The slender sheepfoot secondary will work great for smaller cutting tasks like opening mail, cutting strings, etc. The Oil Field Jack’s heft makes it feel like a knife that would be a great every day carry user, but that would also be more than capable as a work knife. I also really enjoy the extra touch of the wrench shield. I think all of these Oil Field Jacks are going to look great, but the history and local authenticity of the Oil Sucker Rod Wood made me choose it over the others… So far! If you need a Jumbo Jack in your life, I definitely suggest trying one of GEC’s new #86 Oil Field Jacks!
I sincerely thank you for your time, support, and interest! Don’t forget to tell your friends about KnifeThoughts.com, subscribe via email, and share this article on social media. You can find Knife Thoughts on YouTube where I have hundreds of knife videos, as well as on Instagram and Facebook! You can find all my latest links at LinkTr.ee/KnifeThoughts
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The Great Eastern Cutlery #89 Melon Tester Whittler is SPOOKTACULAR in Pumpkin Patch Acrylic
The Great Eastern Cutlery #89 is one of the few patterns of theirs that I haven’t tried in my time as a GEC user and collector. One reason for this is that this pattern hasn’t been produced in years, even since before I became aware of GEC, and they weren’t made in huge numbers relative to today’s run sizes. So I decided to check out this one in the very season fitting Pumpkin Patch Acrylic.
The #89 is a long slender 4″ sleeveboard pattern. My specific example is splitback whittler. That means there are two backsprings, one for each secondary blade, that has a wedge between it so that it comes together as one backspring for the main blade. These long slender sleeveboard patterns are often called Melon Testers, especially when it has one blade, because their long slender blades are perfect for slicing out a taste of fruit. GEC calls this knife the “3 Blade Melon Tester Whittler”, so they basically threw all the descriptors they could into the name except “splitback”.
My version has Pumpkin Patch Acrylic handles. They’re a mix of pearlescent orange with swirls of black, but mine doesn’t have much black at all. Sometimes people see synthetic handle materials as uniform and without the character of natural handle materials, but GEC’s acrylics are always unique and you never know what you’ll get (unless the dealer/seller has individual pictures of each knife). I personally like the handles, although I do wish they had more black swirls, and they’re a perfect fit for this Halloween and harvest season.
This knife is well made, and honestly I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like it. I expected the tip of the main blade to be noticeably proud, due to the slender handle, but it is not proud and I can’t catch a finger on it. There doesn’t seem to be any blade rub, and the main blade sits pretty well centered between the two secondaries. This fitting of the blades is certainly a commendable feat, and a great example of how well GEC can make even these complicated patterns. I also expected the main blade to have blade rap, where the edge hits the backspring, due to the slenderness of the handle (especially if it didn’t have a proud tip). However, it shows no blade rap at all even when allowed to close on its own. Part of the reason for this could be that the pulls on all three blades are relatively light, maybe a 3 or so. However, I like the pulls at this strength as it makes it easy to open and eliminates blade rap while still providing nice walk and talk and snap both open and closed. I bought this knife thinking I’d like getting the chance to look it over but not have any desire to keep it, but with how nicely it is built I wish I could put it in my pocket as a user!
Great Eastern Cutlery made several versions of the #89 pattern including the “3 Blade Melon Tester Whittler” (my version), the “Riverboat Gambler” (cool name, in my opinion) a pen knife version, the “Executive Whittler” with a wharncliffe main, and even some in stainless. However, they can be difficult to find. Mine was made in 2009, and the last time they were made was 2012, so it’s been almost 8 years since they made the #89 pattern. Hopefully they make some more soon, and if so I suggest getting yourself one!
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The Kifer Cutlery Classics GEC #97 Allegheny Proves Traditional Slipjoints are up to ANY cutting task!
This article will provide a short overview of the Great Eastern Cutlery #97 Kifer Cutlery Classics Special Factory Order Northfield Allegheny. I received this knife from Gary Kifer of CutleryClassics.com at the 2019 Rendezvous to have, test, and review. I was happy to get a user #97, as I thought it would make a great larger slipjoint carry.
I had some experience with the #97 Allegheny pattern through the Allegheny Mountain Knife Collectors Association 2019 club knife (you can find my article about that knife at this link). I really liked the knife from an aesthetic perspective, but because it is a club knife I reserved it as a collection piece. So I was excited, and looking forward to putting it through its paces, when Gary gave me this one.
To give you the run down on what the knife is; it’s a 4.75″ closed slipjoint with a saber ground clip point blade and coke bottle frame. You can learn more about the coke bottle pattern in my article on the #06 Pemberton at this link. The blade has a double pull, meaning it has both a long pull and a nail nick. The handles are Amber Jigged Bone. It has Cutlery Classics’ trademark shield. The bolster is engraved “23” out of a run of 99. All of these characteristics brought together make it a great reproduction of a vintage large coke bottle hunter.
GEC made several versions of the Allegheny pattern in this first run, with a bunch of handle materials and two different blade grinds, and I think this is one of the best of them.
Not everyone likes a saber grind or the double pull, but I really like its look and the fact that it hearkens back to vintage coke bottle hunters. Although the saber grind can sometimes slice less smoothly through dense materials than a full flat grind or high hollow grind, it has performed well on all kinds of tasks (from breaking down cardboard to gutting fish). I also like the practicality of having both the nail nick and long pull. The nail nick being at the end of the blade provides more leverage, while the long pull will remain above the frame (allowing the blade to be opened) long after the nail nick drops below the frame from sharpening and filing the kick. Of course, most people won’t sharpen the knife enough times for this to be relevant, but as these are heirloom quality knives it’s good to know it could be passed on and continued to be used for years to come.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how much I like the bone color and jigging pattern. The color is a nice malty wheat color, and I think it will continue to mellow and improve with age. I also really like the jigging, as it’s not as uniform as some of GEC’s jigging patterns and it actually provides some grippiness in the hand. Some people found the pull on these #97s to be lighter than they expected on such a big knife, and mine is light for a GEC at about a 4, but the action is very smooth and snappy with great walk and talk. On a user, I think there’s a balance between a pull being too strong to be convenient to open and too weak to keep the blade fully open in use. This knife falls nicely between.
Basically, it’s another well built and classic looking Great Eastern Cutlery that’s equally suited as a user or a collection piece.
I have used this knife a lot since getting it, and I’m enjoying it more and more. It’s certainly a big knife for a slipjoint, but I’ve found it easy to carry and it’s always nice to have that extra blade length. The #97 Northfield Kifer Cutlery Classics Special Factory Order is another top notch knife from Great Eastern Cutlery. If you’d like to get one for yourself, there are still some available on the Cutlery Classics site at this link. Thanks again to Gary for providing this one!
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Knife Thoughts Full Collection Overview Update
I recently set out to do a full collection overview video. A few people have requested an update to my previous collection videos, and my collection has changed some since I made those first videos. I intended to do the video rapid fire style and condense it into one video with a run time of under an hour. However, I had to stop filming after the fixed blades and modern knives and realized the length would necessitate a two part series. I intended to cover all of my traditional folding knives in the second video, but it just took too long covering the non – GECs. So 3 parts it is! I hope my enthusiasm for knives comes through in full force and you derive some enjoyment from perusing my collection along with me.
Part 1: Fixed Blades and Modern Folding Knives
Part 2: Non – GEC Traditional Folding Knives
Part 3: Great Eastern Cutlery Folding Knives
I appreciate all of you who watch my videos, especially these longer ones. They certainly make for marathon watch sessions. I often watch longer knife videos in parts while I’m cooking and things like that, and I find it’s a great way to take in a full video even on a busy schedule. Although I have a solid core of keepers, there are always lots of ins and outs in my collection so it’s nice to put a snapshot out there of how it stands at this time. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog here by entering you email, and subscribe to my YouTube channel at this link.
