Slippie advice needed

[Zack]

I am working a trade for a Tidioute Scout #73 Chocolate Bone.  I'm pretty new to the slippie front, the knife looks gorgeous, but how is the quality?

[Ashley]

GEC makes excellent knives. The 73 is the smaller version of the 23. I'll trade you for it when you get it.

[Zack]

Everything is always for trade...whatcha got in mind.

[texasflyfisher]

GEC knives are known for excellent quality. They are hard working knives. The #73 and #23 tend to have strong springs but some folks (like me) like them like that. The Northfield brand typically has some nicer finishing with swedged blades, long pulls, etc. but the Tidioute are still really nice, too. Both use good 1095 carbon steel and have pinned shields. There is a third brand, Great Eastern, that is like Northfield in some ways with different shields and these come in 440C stainless steel. 2xTap can tell you way more about these brands. Post up photos when you get it. Should be a nice one!

[2xTap]

Zack,

TFF pretty much covered it in regards to GEC's lines of slippies. For my own $.02 I will add they are some of the best quality production slipjoints out there. I own many of them, most of mine are actual GEC brand but I do have some Northfields and Tidioutes. As TFF also mentioned a good majority of their patterns have very strong backsprings, something to keep in mind. They have a tendency to make some nail-breakers, but like TFF I too like them like that.

Also, they are not known for razor sharp edges. While their quality of materials and fit and finish are usually exceptional they tend to put mediocre edges on their knives. Sharp enough for general use but often times not up to par for most people. Their edges are their one down side in some regards......but outside that you'd be hard pressed to find much better in a production slippie.

Here's my current collection of them thus far.............





And here's a few more I have added since the above pics were taken................







I have one more I haven't got pics taken of yet as well, a Tidioute #73 linerlock in Rosewood that was a gift from a friend. I need to get some pics taken of it soon. Oh, I did forget to mention one other downside to them.......they are addictive!  

2xTap

[texasflyfisher]

Thanks 2xTap! I forgot to mention that #73 and #23 have half stops which some folks find to be a safety issue interestingly enough with those strong springs, particularly when opening the blade(s). I found that the tension of the #53 stockman knives wasn't as strong plus no half stops. The #25 easy open knives help but at 3" close, I simply find them just a hair too small.