This past weekend Great Eastern Cutlery held their yearly Rendezvous. It’s a combination of several things: a gathering of GEC enthusiasts, an open house, and (since 2018) a small knife show. I’ve gone the last 6 years, and always look forward to the trip. If you want to know more about the Rendezvous in general, checkout my article here:
2019 is the second year GEC has offered tents and tables for collectors and vendors to set up displays, and this year I decided to set up as Knife Thoughts. I wasn’t sure that it was a good idea to set up a display, being that my collection and knowledge pale in comparison to that of many of the collectors who attend the Rendezvous, but I decided to go for it. I thought I could offer something worthwhile mainly by displaying the last 6 years (2019 inclusive) of Rendezvous Specials. In all the years I’d gone, I never saw any of the Rendezvous Specials displayed and I felt people would enjoy seeing them. I also wanted to display my Allegheny Mountain Knife Collectors Association club knives.
2019 Rendezvous Special
2019 Special Factory Assembly
If you want to know more about the parts knives, subscribe for updates via email, as I plan to write a short article explaining them.
After waiting in line all night and getting my 2019 Rendezvous Special and a Special Factory Assembly, I set up my first public knife display! I used a very nice stepped display given to me by my wife to display the Rendezvous Specials, a magnetic kitchen knife holder to display some fixed blades, and laid out many of my traditional pocket knives in a semblance of order.
Knife Thoughts display the 2019 GEC Rendezvous (and a little shirt flair)
It turned out to be a great experience! I had many people stop at my table to discuss the knives and GEC in general. I also got to see some old friends from previous Rendezvous, and meet many new friends. I got to meet and talk with Mike of Collector Knives, Austin of C. Risner / Traditional Pocket Knives, and Jamie of JSR Sports & More. I also got to see and talk with Ken of Blue Creek Cutlery / Maher & Grosh, as well as Gary of Kifer Cutlery Classics, whom I’ve seen at previous Rendezvous. It’s always a treat to get to discuss knives with others who share your enthusiasm for all things cutlery!
The line to get in at 7am just before they opened the doors
The Special Factory Assembly aka parts knives for 2019
I also learned a few things in the process. First, I should bring knives I plan to sell and have their prices pre-determined. Pretty much everyone who came to my table asked if I was selling. Even the knives I was willing to sell, I didn’t pre-plan pricing which made it awkward trying to give an asking price. Second, it would be easier to have a table and still be able to look around at the other displays with a partner to help watch. Thirdly, I should have a Knife Thoughts shirt and/or banner to help distinguish and identify my display (rather than just stickers). So not only was this Rendezvous a fun time, it was a learning experience to help improve Knife Thoughts displays at future shows.
A Special Factory Assembly #93 Lambfoot for Charlie Campagna
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:
It would be difficult to argue that any aspect of a knife is more important than the blade. The blade is the soul of the knife; it influences how the knife is best used, the cutting style and effectiveness of the knife, the overall aesthetic of the knife, and it can even determine the handle shape and lock style on a folding knife. Knives and knife like tools have been made for well over a million years, but the first tools most people would recognize as knives were probably made around 2,000 bce. Both stone age and early metal knife blades were usually in a dagger or leaf shape, but in the 4,000 years since man began forging metal into blades a myriad of other styles have risen to meet the innumerable cutting needs of humanity. In this article I’ll define and discuss some of the most recognizable blade shapes.
TL;DR? Check out this corresponding video from my YouTube channel!
Curved Edges
Spear Point
An extremely classic and widespread blade shape is the spear point. Spear point blade shapes can differ greatly in overall aesthetics, but they do have some specific hallmarks. The edge and spine should both curve toward the point nearer to the tip than the handle, and not continuously (like on a barong or leaf shaped blade). The curvatures of the edge and spine should be very similar, although either can be slightly more pronounced. The point should sit at or near the center line of the blade. Spear point blades can range from extremely tall or “fat” with an exaggerated curvature of the edge and spine, all the way to being extremely slender with a parallel edge and spine up until an abrupt curve to the point. I personally really enjoy the spear point for its general utility; it usually is ground to slice well but can still pierce effectively, and it offers both straight and curved edge portions. I also appreciate the relative symmetry of spear points and resulting aesthetic.
Lots of slipjoint spear points, from thin and straight to tall and bulbous
The spear point name comes from the shape of a traditional western style spear with a point protruding in line with the handle and an equal curvature of both the edge and spine (or to both edges) to the point, but that specific blade shape has become more commonly known as the dagger blade shape / grind. The dagger blade shape is more of a sub-category of spear points in which the blade is ground toward both the edge and spine (or both edges) from the centerline. Although double edged knives were ubiquitous for most of the history of humanity, they have become less common with restrictive knife laws and therefore the dagger grind has also lessened in popularity. A dagger shaped blade is more often a single edged knife with the spine side only partially ground to a false edge. Another reason for this blade shape’s falling popularity is that its grind is less well suited to the daily needs of the modern knife user, which consists more of slicing cardboard and less of fighting off attackers or wild animals. Still, the dagger blade shape is a timeless design and I find it calls back to the romanticized trappings of knights and the middle ages.
Frank B Stiletto, Cold Steel FGX Balisong, Kershaw Hinderer Decimus
Another sub-category of blade shapes that has regained popularity with the rise of Spyderco is the leaf shaped blade. I say regained because what Spyderco, and now most of the industry, calls a leaf shaped blade is very similar to the traditional barong knife and many of the lithic knives used by humans for tens of thousands of years. The leaf shaped blade differs from the spear point in that it has a continuous curve of the edge and spine, rather than a more abrupt curve toward the tip end of the blade. The leaf blade shape lends itself to many uses and is one that I have used and enjoyed quite a bit, but I don’t currently have any great examples to show.
A final sub-category of spear points is the pen blade shape. The pen blade is basically a spear point as a small secondary blade. A pen blade is always a secondary blade, and can be found on many different kinds of traditional patterns. As a secondary blade the pen blade is always smaller in size than the main blade, but they can vary in size and shape across patterns.
A group of pen blades showing a wide range of variation
Drop Point
The drop point is a blade shape with an edge that curves upward to the point at a much more pronounced angle than that at which the spine curves downward to the point. If you’ve ever heard the term “belly” used in reference to a knife edge, this pronounced curve is that characteristic. The drop point is well suited for hunting and other outdoor tasks, so many traditional American fixed blades have this blade shape. Many modern one hand opening and locking knives are drop points, although in the last few years other blade shapes including those with straight edges have gained popularity, probably because modern one hand opening and locking knives developed in large part as a more convenient replacement for carrying fixed blades. On traditional knives the drop point blade shape is most often a main blade, as on the A.G. Russell Rancher shown in the picture below, or on many of GEC’s larger trapper patterns like the #73 and #23 but it can also be a secondary blade, as on the GEC Northfield #82 stockman shown in the picture below, as well as some other traditional patterns like small jacks and whittlers.
A few drop point blades on slipjoints
A few drop points on modern folding knives (the Kershaw Thistle is a modified drop point / sheepfoot)
A couple drop point fixed blades. A modern, Steel Will Roamer R300, and a traditional, Blind Horse Knives Woodsman Pro.
Clip Point
The clip point is a widely recognized blade shape because it has become the symbol of iconic characters such as Jim Bowie, Crocodile Dundee, and Rambo. It has a curve of the edge toward the tip end of the blade, but it is characterized by a “clipped” section of the blade on the spine side from the tip toward the handle side. The curvature and length of the clipped area of the spine can vary and, along with the degree of curvature of the edge, can make for a wide range of clip point blade shapes. There are classic clip points, slender clip points, and several other variations including saber ground clip points. I like the look of clip points and have several of them. They just look plain classic to me; it’s tough to explain but they just hit me the right way. I also find them to be quite utilitarian. They offer a solid amount of belly, but still have a very useful point due to the clipped portion. However, they’re not for everyone; my fiancee HATES the look of clip points!
A variety of clip point style blades
Hawkbill / Talon / Pruner
Another very traditional blade shape that has several different names and variations is the hawkbill. The hawkbill blade shape is characterized by a concave edge with a downward pointing tip. There are many traditional knife patterns with similar blade shapes such as the pruner, karambit, and talon knives. An interesting aspect of these knives is that they often originated as agricultural tools, with the concave or downward curved edge being suited for pulling cuts commonly used in farming, gardening, etc.. However, they have come to be associated more with self defense due to their use as improvised weapons by those who didn’t have access to implements purposefully designed as weapons, such as farmers who couldn’t afford swords using sickles as weapons.
My only hawkbill blade, the Spyderco Reverse, with its superb DarkStar Gear sheath
Straight Edges
Wharncliffe
A wharncliffe has a straight edge and a spine that curves gradually down to meet the tip. Due to the more gradual curve of the spine to the edge, a wharncliffe tends to have a finer point than the proceeding two straight edged blade shapes. A wharncliffe is often a secondary blade on multi blade knives, but can also be a main blade especially on its own as a single blade. The wharncliffe is a great blade for fine work and pull cuts, and I usually prefer it as a small secondary. I like pen style two blade knives with a straight edged secondary, and a wharncliffe is probably my favorite in that role of the three listed here.
A sheepfoot has a straight edge, but the spine has a straight portion that angles downward to the tip with a rounded area connecting the two spine portions. I’m not sure I have done a great job describing that well enough that you could picture it accurately based on the description alone, but thankfully I have lots of examples to show! The sheepfoot is a well liked blade shape. It is often a secondary blade, especially on stockman patterns, but can be a main blade even on multi bladed knives. My first GEC, the knife that got me back into traditionals, was a #15 TC barlow with a single sheepfoot blade. I’ve found it to be extremely practical, despite its lack of a fine point and lack of a curved edge. I also think it looks great when manufactured with the right proportions. The sheepfoot can also another great option of a straight edged secondary blade, like on the GEC #35 Churchill or the GEC #98 Texas Camp Knife.
A coping blade is very similar to a sheepfoot, but with the connection of the two spine areas that come together having a sharp angle rather than being rounded. Coping blades are almost always secondary blades. Coping blades are often found on whittler and congress patterns. Although they can work well for small fine cuts in whittling and other similar tasks, I have often found that the angled spine of a coping blade can decrease the ergonomic comfortability of a knife, especially on a heavy user. Unfortunately, I don’t currently have a coping blade to take a close up picture but the Queen Railsplitter below has a secondary blade that is on the coping side of a sheepfoot.
Queen Railsplitter with Coping secondary blade
Tanto
The tanto blade shape is essentially the same shape as a coping blade, but with the spine and edge sides switched. A tanto has a long straight edge, sometimes with a slight continuous curve, starting from the handle that meets at an angle with another shorter edge that is angled upward and connects with the spine to form the tip. The tanto blade shape originated in Japan and was slightly different than it is commonly made now, with a less hard angle at the intersection of the two edges and an upward curved spine. The now more well known “Americanized tanto” usually has a straight or downward curved spine and a very hard angle at the intersection of the two edges. A tanto often has a hollow grind on the long edge and a flat grind on the shorter edge, for increased strength at the tip, but this is not universal. I like the tanto blade as a utility knife. It excels at opening boxes, using the angled intersection of the edges, and push cuts like those done while breaking down cardboard.
Cold Steel Micro Recon 1, Kershaw Cathode, Outdoor Edge Chasm 2.5, with varying degrees of “Americanized” tanto blade shapes
Americanized Tanto Fixed Blade, Cold Steel Kobun
Traditional Tanto, DCL Knives Kwaiken
Outliers
There are many traditional blade shapes not discussed in full above, and an endless continuum of variations between and upon the traditional blade shapes. Modern knife makers have also designed many modified versions of traditional blade shapes. A. G. Russell has contributed a great deal to the knife community over the years, and they offer an incredible resource in their Blade Shapes Encyclopedia. Although I don’t use the exact same terminology or definitions as them across the board, their site has a huge amount of helpful information.
Several blade shapes that span more than one traditional pattern or are modified from a traditional pattern
Blade shapes are designated by specific traits and how they relate to each other: edge shape, spine shape, tip height, and sometimes spine and edge angles. However, many of these traits and their relations to discrete blade shapes work more subjectively and on sliding scales, rather than as clear cut absolutes. Some of the most common curved edge blade shapes are the spear point, drop point, and clip point. Some of the most common straight edged blade shapes are the wharncliffe, sheepfoot, and coping blades. Still, sometimes a blade won’t fit these general categories and you’ll have to just look at the knife and categorize it based on its overall design and aesthetic. Yet again, another aspect of the knife hobby comes down to “you know it when you see it”!
The question of what the “right way” to express enthusiasm for knives is one that shouldn’t need answered. I find it silly and overbearing for anyone to suppose that they should or can tell another the best way to enjoy a hobby. Still, I have gone through several phases in regard to the idea of keeping knives as collection pieces in contrast to keeping them as using tools, and I think others have had similar shifts in perspectives. In this post I’ll describe my progression through those stages and how my current collection looks… but no guarantees it won’t change again!
A tasteful knife display, the stand a gift from my fiancee
I, like many, started with having only one knife that I used for everything. I didn’t even really consider the idea of having knives as collection pieces, and probably would have scoffed at the idea had it been suggested. Still, I was what I would consider a knife enthusiast though, as I appreciated the knife not just as a tool but as a piece of mechanical workmanship that elevated man’s most ancient tool to a higher level. I think there is a silent but quite large population of people who fit this category; they appreciate a good knife and see it as more than a disposable tool, but they don’t venture further into the hobby with more knives and deeper research.
I store my modern knives in a cheap single layer tackle box
Most of my modern knives, all users to varying degrees
A desire to know more about a particular knife brought me to the next step in the knife hobby. I don’t remember exactly what I was looking up, but in the process I found BladeForums and my eyes were opened to the wide world of the knife hobby. As I read, watched, and listened I grew more knowledgeable on knives, the knife making process, and the knife community in general. At this stage I began to purchase more knives beyond one user, but the number stayed relatively low and all were used regularly. I think this represents another distinct stage in the knife enthusiast scale, as it is a step out of appreciating knives as an individual separate from any other enthusiasts, and into the larger knife community. I stayed at this stage for a while, buying and selling and trading knives as I learned. During this stage I never amassed a significant enough number of knives that any would go unused for long. I think this is a stage that a lot of people also stay in and don’t move deeper into the hobby from, but fewer than the previous stage.
I store most of my user traditionals, sharpening gear, and random EDC stuff in a multi layer tackle box
Some of my user traditionals
The final stage is reached when you have more than enough knives to use, but you keep buying them anyway! Often, I think people reach this stage also because they start to realize their preferences and build coherent collections. This is when knives accumulate to the point that some don’t get used. Another thing that often happens before this stage is you start to accumulate knives that are rare, have sentimental value, etc. that make them less likely to be used. This stage probably has the widest variation in expression; some people might have one knife they use all the time and 100 (or 1000) that they never use or carry at all, and some might have 100 knives that they carry and use in a rotation and only 10 (or 1) that they have as a non user collection piece. I fall somewhere on that spectrum closer to the latter end.
I store my non user knife collection in a Pelican case
Top Row: GEC #46 Whaler AMKCA 2018 Club Knife, GEC #46 Whaler 2018 Rendezvous Special, GEC #38 Special 2017 Rendezvous Special, GEC #74 Mustang 2016 Rendezvous Special, GEC #74 Improved Trapper 2015 Rendezvous Special, GEC #15 TC One Arm Barlow 2014 Rendezvous Special Bottom Row: Queen Copperhead, GEC #53 Cuban Stockman, GEC #82 Dixie Stock Knife, Victorinox Spartan Costa Rica
However, I don’t believe those stages tell the whole story of knife collecting. For me, being a knife collector is about enjoying the hobby. For some people, that means having and using one knife till the wheels fall off. For others, that means buying every trendy or appealing knife that comes out and keeping them pristine. For me, it has come to mean many things. First, it means enjoying the knives I have. While I do keep some knives as pristine as possible, I try to enjoy them by displaying them and showing them at knife club meetings and shows. Other knives I enjoy by carrying and using them. I find that using a knife is the best way to enjoy it. It just feels right to use a knife as a tool, and doing so seems to confirm its value and place as the most fundamental human tool. So, why not use all my knives? For a long time, I didn’t think I had a satisfactory answer to that question. I had valuable knives, both of the monetary and sentimental type, but I thought that if I didn’t use them it was a waste to keep them. However, that led me to sell knives that I later wished I had kept (which will be the subject of another article). Now, I’ve become comfortable with the idea that some knives are better kept in good condition whether it be because they’re valuable, part of a set, or meant to be an heirloom. I have a small collection of knives I don’t use. Some of them are the Great Eastern Cutlery Rendezvous Specials. These are knives made in small numbers for the gathering GEC holds in Titusville every year and only available at the gathering. They’re usually unique knives in some way. They’ve become the main part of my non user collection, as they’re easily the most coherent and rare set of knives I have owned. I actually did use the first couple of these initially, but later decided they were better kept in good condition to form a recognizable and consistent set. I also have a Queen Copperhead that is the best Queen made knife I’ve ever seen that I don’t use because Queen has unfortunately gone out of business. I plan to add some more Queen knives to my non user collection, as I want to have some examples from Queen as one of the most historic cutlery companies in the U.S. and they’ll only get scarcer the longer its doors have been closed. I also have some knives that have been given to me as gifts from friends, family, and loved ones. Despite it seeming silly to not use knives as tools like they’re inherently intended, some knives are worth maintaining in good condition for posterity.
Great Eastern Cutlery Rendezvous Specials on the knife stand from my fiancee, top to bottom: #46 Whaler 2018 Oily Heart Pine Wood, #38 Special LVS Paua Abalone 2017, #74 Mustang Primitive Bone 2016, GEC #74 Improved Trapper Tortoise Shell Acrylic 2015, GEC #15 TC One Arm Barlow Oil Sucker Rod Wood 2014
Thanks to my fiancee for the idea for this article and the inspiration for the title! In her words “Your heart wants to use all the knives but your head says you should keep some nice”. I can’t thank her enough.
In 1865 John Stith Pemberton suffered a saber wound to the chest in the Battle of Columbus and subsequently became addicted to morphine. Searching for a replacement for the morphine he created a recipe for “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca”, a variation of a beverage combining alcohol and cocaine: cocaethylene. However, with social pressures against alcohol and looming temperance legislation in his resident city of Atlanta, he scrambled to create a new beverage without alcohol. Mostly through trial and error, with a little random luck, Coca-Cola was born. In the proceeding 150 years Coca-Cola has been adopted worldwide as the soft drink of choice, and one of the most recognizable symbols of that cultural empire is the classic Coke Bottle.
The classic Coca-Cola Bottle
The Coke Bottle traditional knife pattern was given its name in reference to the shape that it shares with the classic curves of the typical glass bottle used by and for Coca-Cola. Although there were probably knives made with this handle shape (more technically called an unequal end swell center jack) before such a bottle was used for Coca-Cola, the ubiquity of the brand and associated shape gave the pattern a unique name and lasting place in the wheelhouse of traditional knife manufacturers. So, to make it clear, a Coke Bottle pattern knife has two rounded ends, usually both ends having bolsters, with one end being smaller than the other and the blade or blades opening at the smaller end with a swell in the center of the handle.
The Great Eastern Cutlery Northfield #06 Pemberton in Smooth White Bone
That brings us to Great Eastern Cutlery’s #06 Pemberton pattern. The Pemberton is a SMALL Coke Bottle pattern knife measuring at about 2.75″ closed with a 2.125″ blade and 2″ cutting edge (on this wharncliffe model). It was first produced in 2013 in single blade clip point and two blade clip point and pen models in several handle materials. In the beginning of 2019 Great Eastern Cutlery is manufacturing another run, this time in a single wharncliffe blade model and a two blade spear point and small sheepfoot model (we’ll talk more about those blade shapes later). They’re making Northfield branded Pembertons in Smooth White Bone (like the subject of this article) and stag, and Tidioute branded knives with Muslin Micarta and Dark Blue Jigged Bone.
The Pemberton is dwarfed even by the medium sized #15 frame TC Barlow
This particular Pemberton is extremely well made; a great ambassador of the Northfield brand. The action is nice with a relatively strong pull for the size of the knife at about a 6 out of 10, and great walk and talk and snap both opening and closing. The top bolster is both threaded (the three lines) and pinched, which I both like the looks of and appreciate in a user because I feel it gives a teence of extra grip in a pinch hold (the most often used grip when cutting). The smooth white bone covers are beautiful, with a nice cream color and little flecks of black in the voids left by the bone capillaries, and very finely fitted to the liners and bolsters so that there are no gaps. The shield is also particularly well fitted on this knife, and I much prefer this “small badge” shield over the “Tidioute” shield used on the blue jigged bone models. This knife also doesn’t have any gaps between the backspring and liners. The backspring is flush with the liners in the fully open and fully closed positions, but not the half stop position (I don’t consider this an issue at all, though I mention it because I know some people like the backspring to be flush in all positions). The only slight manufacturing imperfection on this knife is that the blade is about a half a millimeter off center toward the pile side, but it is in no means a practical issue.
Centering slightly off to the left, no gaps
I’m also pleasantly surprised with the design of this knife. Although I have and enjoy some of GECs other under 3″ patterns, I was concerned that this knife might be too small in the hand to really use due to being a single blade (unlike my other sub 3″ GECs). However, I’ve found this knife to be comfortable in hand, affording a solid 3 finger grip, and easy to use for appropriate tasks. The wharncliffe blade, though small, provides enough cutting edge to do quick work of cutting paper, opening boxes, snipping strings, opening letters, and even breaking down cardboard. This isn’t a knife made for carving the Thanksgiving turkey or skinning and butchering a deer, but it offers a nice thinly ground straight edge in a small package for daily small cutting needs. Also, this knife came from the factory significantly sharper than most Great Eastern Cutlery made knives which was another pleasant surprise. Speaking of small, this thing disappears in your pocket. It’s small enough that it actually sits horizontally in the watch pocket of my jeans, so I’m sure this would be a good low profile option if you work in a less than knife positive environment or have to wear more formal work attire than I do. That said, my typical carry of this knife will probably most often include another larger knife in case I run into a bigger cutting need.
The Pemberton with a Zero Tolerance 0561, a much different knife
The main reason I got this knife is because it fits into two mini collections I have built. I typically focus on just buying knives that individually appeal to me, but I do sometimes make little groupings based on some characteristic. I will be writing another article on my collection of Great Eastern Cutlery small and large pattern pairings and their relation to the upcoming #97 Large Coke Bottle, so subscribe for updates on that. Here I just want to point out the common factor between my collection of under 3″ closed GECs.
GEC #22 Magnum, #06 Pemberton, and #18 Beagle Frames
These three knives are the #22 Magnum, #06 Pemberton, and #18 Beagle. The shared characteristic between these three patterns are their blades; not that they have the same blades obviously but that, according to an engineer at GEC named Randy whom I’ve spoken to at several of the Rendezvous gatherings, the blades represented on the three knives shown are designed to be able to be built into any of the three patterns. What that means is that GEC designed Clip Point, Pen, Wharncliffe, Spear Point, and Small Sheepfoot blades which can all fit into any of these three frames (not that they’re interchangeable once built). So far GEC has produced the #06 with all 5 of these blade shapes (having done Clip Point and Pen on the previous run and doing Wharncliffe, Spear Point and Small Sheepfoot on this run), the #18 with 3 (Wharncliffe, Spear Point and Small Sheepfoot), and the #22 in only 2, the two blade Clip Point and Pen (the #22 is one of GEC’s three patterns with the fewest total number manufactured). This type of engineering oddity might not appeal to all Great Eastern Cutlery collectors, let alone all knife enthusiasts, but I think it is pretty cool and a unique strategy that allows GEC to more easily produce a wide range of different knives without creating new tooling.
Clip Point and Pen, Wharncliffe, and Spear Point and Small Sheepfoot blades
Overall, I think Great Eastern Cutlery got the recipe just right on this Northfield #06 Pemberton. It’s a small knife with superb construction and a classic style that’s tough to deny. John Stith Pemberton advertised his French Coca Wine as beneficial for “all those whose sedentary employment causes nervous prostration” which I think probably covers the majority of us reading this, but I also think the #06 Pemberton (especially in this version with the Wharncliffe blade) would make a more than capable and stylish cutting tool for the daily tasks of our modern lives and sedentary works.
Great Eastern Cutlery manufactures knives based on traditional patterns with classic materials and construction, and in that endeavor they’ve reproduced many of the most timeless knife designs. From the ever popular working man’s Barlow to the Congress made famous by its inclusion in President Lincoln’s personal goods, they’ve put their own spin on a myriad of classic American folding knife and fixed blade patterns. Their versions of the classic sod buster pattern show how they can breathe new life into an age old design.
The #71 Bullnose is relatively easy to pocket but stands out once in your hand with the bright orange delrin
Now, first off, neither of these knives are named after the sod buster pattern directly because a certain other cutlery company has trademarked the pattern name. The ethics of trademarking a general industry term aren’t the point of this article, but I just wanted to point out that that situation is why you won’t see or hear anyone at GEC refer to these as “sodbusters”. Instead, they’ve named the #71 and #21 patterns the Bull Nose and Bull Buster, respectively. Still, they are sod buster style knives because they have the simple handle with upswept butt, single skinner blade, and no frills construction that define the pattern.
Size comparison of the #71 Bull Nose and #21 Bull Buster with some familiar knives: Spyderco Native, GEC #15 TC Barlow, Case Trapper, and Benchmade 940
The #71 came first, with the original run being produced in 2012, and is the smaller of the two at around 3.875″ closed. Interestingly, the #71 pattern was first produced in O1 steel under what GEC initially called the Redneck Farm Tool brand. Similarly to the pattern name itself, apparently this was too close to being a trademark issue and they renamed the pattern and launched the Farm & Field brand. The #21 was first produced in 2014 and is a good bit larger at about 4.625″ closed.
Aside from the size, the design and construction of the two patterns are next to identical. Both have 1095 carbon steel, which has become the norm for the vast majority of GEC made knives. Both have steel liners and a lanyard hole. Both have a nail nick for opening, and mine have all been pinchable (able to be opened by pinching the blade with thumb and forefinger, rather than with the nail nick). Both are shadow patterns, meaning they have no bolsters. Being shadow patterns, they feature a bird’s eye pivot which is a metal collar into which the pivot pin is peened (hammered to form a press fit). The pivots on recent models are stamped “F&F USA” with two stars on each side, and the tangs are stamped “Farm & Field Tool USA” on the mark side and “GEC CAR” and the model number designation on the pile side. I have included a link to GEC’s model number / tang stamp chart above. As indicated in it, these knives both have what GEC refers to as a “skinner” blade. It seems they consider the skinner blade shape to be differentiated from their drop point blade shape by the more abrupt belly (upward curve toward the spine and tip), but both shapes hold the “5” blade designation on the tang stamp chart. Both have half stops. They’ve both been made in several handle materials, often including black delrin, orange delrin, and different types of micarta.
An example of a possible every day carry setup with the #71 BullNose
Both patterns also have similar Farm & Field Tool brand fit and finish. Farm & Field is Great Eastern Cutlery’s brand under which they produce knives made to be truly used as tools. Knives under the F&F brand are GEC’s most budget friendly knives. With this in mind, there are some differences in construction and fit and finish compared to GEC’s other brands. First off, the knives under this brand tend to have less expensive handle materials (like delrin and micarta vs bone and wood). The lack of bolsters requires fewer manufacturing processes and therefore also contributes to the lower prices. They also have less handle contouring and polishing. Both the #71 Bull Nose and #21 Bull Buster have thicker handles than most of GEC’s knives. Although this can make them more comfortable in the hand for tough cutting jobs, it’s also due to less finishing time spent on the handles. Certain things like small gaps between the backspring and liners, slight handle imperfections, or imperfect centering are also more likely to be considered acceptable on knives under the Farm & Field Tool brand.
That said, the Farm & Field Tool brand knives are still extremely well made knives. I’ve had several of each of the #71 and #21 patterns along with some other knives under the F&F brand, and they’ve all been generally really well built and ready for a lifetime of use. These two fit that description. The Bull Nose has a slight imperfection in the handle material next to the liner on the backspring, and the Bull Buster had a sliver of liner sticking out that eventually fell off on its own. The one practical issue I’ve had with these is one that, from the sounds of things on the forums etc., others have also encountered. The smaller #71 Bull Nose seems to sometimes suffer from blade rap. Blade rap is when the snap of the blade’s closing makes the edge bounce on the inside of the backspring, thereby damaging the edge (usually a roll in the edge). This edge damage by no means makes the entire blade unusable, but it does cause issues in cutting and can be extremely frustrating. That frustration is often compounded by the fact that the only way for the knife user to fix the issue is to sharpen the blade rap out, meaning they have to sharpen the edge down to the level where it no longer reaches the backspring upon closing. This process can be extremely time consuming and also can shorten the usable life of the knife, due to the removed steel. I had blade rap on a previous #71 that I had to sharpen out, but initially I thought that the two knives featured in this article were both free of blade rap. Unfortunately, actually while filming my linked YouTube video on these knives, I realized that the #71 did have blade rap. However, after two sharpenings with a diamond stone the edge damage and blade rap seems to be gone for good (at least on this knife). I think this issue tends to arise on the smaller #71 and not the larger #21 because the blade well offers less extra room in which the blade can travel as the knife closes.
As for the designs of these knives, I think they hit their mark well as simple but well made work knives. The handle on the Bull Nose is just large enough for me to get a full four finger hold of the knife in a hammer style grip, but is more than large enough for the more practical and more often used pinch style grip. The rounded butt of the handle also helps to secure the knife in this grip. Altogether, this makes for good ergonomics even if my (admittedly rather wide) hands wouldn’t hate another half inch or so of handle. Even with my large hands, the significantly larger Bull Buster offers more than enough grip area and feels spacious in any type of hold. The extra width of the handles, compared to most traditional knives, does make them a little less comfortable to carry in a back pocket (as I do), and this characteristic is especially evident on the larger Bull Buster. However, I think both can be carried easily enough to make them good every day carry options if you’d like something you can throw in your pocket and use and not worry about scuffing up. I appreciate the semi strong pull / backspring strengths on these knives, coming in at about a 6 or 7 out of 10, especially with the design intent of using them in a tougher role than most traditional knives. The skinner style blade shape is pretty good for general use and I doubt anyone will find too much practical fault with it, though I have to say I prefer the look and sharpenability of GEC’s normal drop point shape.
An example of a possible EDC gear setup with the #21 BullBuster
Overall, I would definitely recommend either of these knives if you want a low cost high utility user traditional knife made in America. Which you choose mostly depends on how big a knife you prefer, and whether you are okay with risking blade rap and the resulting necessary work to sharpen out the issue (it’s important to note also that I have only had blade rap on the 2018 Bull Noses, not the ones from previous runs). I think these are a great value at the price they cost, which is about $55 for the #71 Bull Nose and about $65 for the #21 Bull Buster. I also think that it’s great that GEC is able and willing to offer such well made high value knives while not compromising on their quality.
The Bull brothers with another of GEC’s most practical knives, the Tidioute #82 Possum Skinner in Micarta
