Grace to you and peace my friend. Sir, your videos are very informative and entertaining. Thank you so much and please keep’em coming. ✌🏼

Superb video. Thanks for sharing.

Such a beautiful knife, I want it bad!

Nice to see GEC here. Best traditional maker out there.

@howabouthetruth2157

4 жыл бұрын

Queen/S&M's troubles & eventual closing actually ran deeper than the Daniels family. As you may ( or may not ) already know, Bill Howard got his start in producing traditional folders with Queen, fresh out of high school, way back in the mid to late 70's. All of the senior master artisans were impressed with the strong work ethic & good manners of "young Bill", so they basically taught him most of what they knew. Bill rose to supervisor rather quickly and eventually got to where he was the ONLY man in the entire plant ( the senior cutlers had all retired by then ) who cared enough to learn how to keep all of that machinery properly maintained & calibrated. This was crucial for perfect blade grinds & fine fit & finish. But Bill still didn't have the full "say so" within the company, and his repeated requests to bring long lost patterns "back from the grave" were shot down, so he got fed up & quit. ( Queen's quality dropped dramatically as the result. ) Some months later, they sweet talked Bill into coming back using false promises. The first thing Bill had to do, was go through ALL of the machinery & re-calibrate & fix everything, because it was all jacked out of shape. The quality of the knives came right back up. But soon after that, Bill realized that the owners of Queen weren't keeping their promise of allowing Bill to make killer old patterns that no one had made in over 75 years, so he quit for the last time, to start GEC. And he couldn't have done it without the financial help of Ken Daniels. After his major financial investment, Ken's role at GEC was only in marketing the knives, no production. During the first few years of GEC, the quality at Queen remained good, but sure enough, due to NO ONE keeping the machinery in proper working order, the quality started slipping yet again. Ken sold his interests in GEC to Bill in order to buy Queen & try to save it. Problem was, Ken Daniels knew nothing about how to actually make the knives, and it continued going down hill. Ken didn't have the money, nor the experience to maintain or even replace worn out cutlery machinery either. Many of us always hoped that Bill Howard would've acquired Queen and run BOTH plants. But Bill wanted no part of it, after what happened in the past, and who could blame him. He was doing just fine at GEC, with 100% ownership & control. Ken may be partially to blame, but make no mistake, NONE of the cutlers who had been working at Queen all those years while Bill was there, gave a hoot enough to learn everything it takes to make traditional production folders to the high standards that Bill Howard kept while he was there, as all of the old master artisans had retired years before he even left Queen the first time. Those workers at Queen should've stepped up to the plate the way Bill did. Funny how Bill was able to turn Queen around single-handedly when he returned, after quitting the first time. At least some of the workers at Queen could've learned what needed to be done with that machinery. But with or without the Daniels family, they didn't. And so we all watched with great disappointment, as Queen went out of business. These are the facts, and Mike Latham of Collector Knives.net will tell you the same story. The part of the story about Bill Howard quitting Queen both times is also told in the book: "Great Eastern Cutlery" as well. ( now out of print )

@steveledbetter5613

4 жыл бұрын

@howaboutthetruth thanks for helping me better understand that situation. I edited my comment to exclude any mention of a brand or ownership. It now just praises GEC. I also appreciate the the demeanor of your response. Most people would not be so kind. Thank you for correcting me, and educating me. Now if you could teach me how to pronounce Tidioute then you would really be something!

Ahh, so cool, Rob. I love traditional slip-joints.

Oh believe me, it's almost torture for me not to EDC this thing! Dog gone it Rob, your not helping matters either, LOL. ( I sure hope Mike decides to make more someday, because 1 of the 2 WILL see the stones! ) Great video as always Brother, Thanks!!! Everyone have a blessed day and the weekend coming.

I have one in Antique Amber Gigged bone. I think I bought one of the last available from Mikes site, but didn't realize how rare it was at the time. Beautiful knife. Thanks for another great traditional knife video and history lesson.

Thank you once again guys. Great video Rob and one Awesome blade Steve. I truly hope there is another run of these beautiful knives as I Will be snapping one up and sending it Rob's way for the "ApostleP" treatment then home to the UK! Cheers Fellas! Grace and Peace, Lee.

Wow brings back memories so cool ty my friend

Enjoyed the video brother and that sure is a nice knife. Belive i would keep it put up my self.Hope you and all have a very blessed day Randy.

in production right now

Thanks Lee. Tell ya what, if I find out any more of these are going to be made, I'll make sure you know about it, so ya don't miss out. I want another one myself. I can't honestly recall a bullet end jack, easy open, with a liner lock, ever being made, except for this SFO by Mike. That's why I fight the urge to use it. It's very rare, and I wanna keep it mint. And ya know what? It's gonna stay REALLY rare, until Brother Rob decides to give it back to me, LOL. ................hey, why am I laughing? ;-)

Another great video, I too was lucky enough to get this SFO EO in African Blackwood but it is the 2 blade model with a small coping blade marked 852213. It looks exactly like that one (satin blade with matchstrike longpull) without the liner lock and black instead of ivory. I too always make my knives into users but have yet to throw this one into the wild because it is so perfect (machine work, blade stamps, grind, etc... Beautiful knife, thanks for sharing.

I have two of this SFO in amber bone. This knife is a great light EDC in a small pocket slip. Both knives could benefit from an ApostleP edge. I may talk to you about that. Thanks for another great video. Pete.

I currently EDC 5 different traditionals. 4 GEC's and all are different patterns, and 1 Case 54 trapper. Believe me fellas, if this knife wasn't so rare, not only would I be using it, it would probably be the FIRST knife that I would force a patina on, LOL!!! I can just picture it with a patina, against those creamy handles...........uh......ok....I'm gonna stop now........I'm torturing myself again, lol. ( I sure hope Mike makes some more of these bad boys, but until then, discipline discipline.)

I guess I can understand the reason to keep the knife in the factory shipped condition, but, like Rob, I would want that thing just hair poppin' sharp. Sweet knife.

Do you know when liner locks with the tab along the handle were introduced to traditional pocket knives?

@howabouthetruth2157

7 жыл бұрын

Hey Dwight, hope ya see this, being as you asked over a month ago. I'm not sure exactly when the liner locks first appeared, but they have been around for quite a long time. The lock-back design was a very old design too, when Buck finally popularized their version, due to the lock-tab being placed near the butt-end of the knife, rather than earlier designs where the tab was about midway along the frame. Overall, the lock-back design pretty much gained favor & popularity over the liner-locks, although the liner-locks were still made occasionally. Great Eastern makes the best liner-lock in my opinion. Hope this helps.

@DwightJurling

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks. I hope I'll have the chance to add vintage and modern versions to my collection in the future. I'm enjoying learning and appreciate the knowledge you share.

I have this knife.

@howabouthetruth2157

2 жыл бұрын

And you have style my friend. ;o)

GEC is releasing more #85 single spear blades in November 2018. Collector knives have sold out before production. Great Eastern Cutlery is the "DICK TEASE" of American knife makers.

I've always heard them called "threaded bolsters." A Google image search backs this up.

Why are you teasing me with a beautiful knife only to find out that it can't be bought? Has my wife told you to do that?

@twilightshooter4990

5 жыл бұрын

Great Eastern Cutlery is the "DICK TEASE" of American knife makers.