The Cattle Knife is the stand out for me between the two. I was highly anticipating the Camp Knife but the cap lifter and can opener combo with the spear point is not my favorite combo. This was a great overview of the pattern and a great review of the 2022 models of the number 35.
To a non-Facebooker, this is invaluable background information Logan, thank you. The Cattle Knife looks fantastic - hope I get one. I really like how low the secondaries sit in the bladewell, although perhaps that also accounts for the more difficult access you mentioned. Camp Knife? Impressed of course, but not tempted - a synthetic handled tool compendium has Victorinox written all over it in my book, but that's just me - probably something remembered from schooldays. Heartened that you make a distinction between 'the pandemic' and 'the reaction to the pandemic' - my take too!
I wish they would do the calf pen again, I really wanted one and they never seem to come up on secondary market. When they do they’re outrageously priced.
I don’t know if GEC intended this, but that lightning bolt symbol on the badge looks similar to Elvis Presley’s “Taking Care of Business” lightning bolt logo. I guess ‘taking care of business’ goes along with ‘Johnny on the Spot.’
That farm and field calf pen I got just to get and wasn't that enthusiastic about it but all these years later it's my most carried GEC. I love that thing
Got a Charlie coming tomorrow. Think if the bottle opener had been left alone without the addition of the bit driver I'd like it all the more. Bike themed I get it very cool indeed. The bone looks similar to the style from the baby bullet. Will have to wait and see!
Excellent review with great background info on the #35 pattern. I picked up this #35 and I have to say it was not my favorite at first look. I have the Churchill banana, three Maher and Grosh and the Northwoods Indian River Jack and I prefer all of those to this one. While it is attractive, the blades felt thin to me (might be necessary) and the pull of the main blade felt rough. Maybe I'll give it a second look since you like it so much. In any case, it will not be a user for me.
Randy has said that the beard tools on the urban jack and the beer & sausage knives were cut out from liner locks that had been recently used on the 23. I think this explains what he meant about not having enough steel to make a camp knife; the B&S used leftover parts for one of its tools.
Please stop using fat carbon on your knives dude. They have become soulless and a lot of us would love some more traditional materials. Please. For the love of god. Fat carbon… it’s been overused.
I was interested in the knife until I saw the screwdriver tool and it had only three blades. If it had the same tools, as your Texas 98 model it would be a much better Camp or Scout knife style pattern. Most patterns like this one have bails and that is not as serious as only having three blades. If it included an awl, it would better qualify as a camp knife. The model 98 is much like the Camillus made Remington Bullet model R-4243 model made in 1994 in size and blade set. It has no can opener and your 98 does. The idea of the tiny tool bit wrench puzzles me why GEC did that. It simply would work better if placed in the middle of the blade to prevent the bit from slipping out of the wrench. Maybe the SFO model will be different. 🤔
@@KnifeThoughts I believe the Johnny on the spot is more a Cub Scout pattern than a Camp Knife. They were made with three blades. Spear point, awl and bottle opener screwdriver blade. I understand the idea of the knife better now.😅🤣😂
Shame it is so expensive. It really is not worth the money. Would have been perfect if they could have fit an awl in. Nobody ever talks about the blade quality or sharpness. Does it actually make a good knife? I think we in the knife community lose focus on what is important. Does a knife actually cut, slice, and do what a knife is suppose to do as a tool? I think any of my $15 to $20 Rough Ryder knives will give GEC knives a run for the money in a performance comparison.
The Facebook group is the most realistic way to snag one. That's how I got my one and only GEC. It's a great knife and lives up to the hype, but I think I might be one and done!
These two were very disappointing. Another red, but actually pink, bone in the only cover option on the cattle knife? Then a cheap plastic cover on the camp knife, only for an SFO to follow in the bone that we all wanted but in a quantity of only 100? The best days of GEC are long past. They can’t even get the production schedule done until after knives are shipping from dealers.
