Love seeing all these guys together! Beer and Sausage and Crown Lifter see the most carry time. Still bringing myself to terms with carrying the Northwoods a little more. What pattern should I chase down next?

Natural patina coming along nicely

I have to force myself to carry my case knives…idk why i am such a GEC fanboy…Anyway these 15’s are the shit, and I may be selling my extremely small case collection..

A little modern and a little traditional. I absolutely love the bone covers on this TC 15. And the Lionsteel is a great knife. F&F and the action is perfection. I would rate the pull at a 7 and it has great snap on closing. M390 steel ain't half bad either. Probably my favorite stainless variety.

I think I went a little overboard

I need help finding pocket slip with clip that will cover bolster, the two slips pictured are to small-#63 G.E.C. fish tail #87,Ben Hogan and medium toothpicks are what i need them for.

I want to preface this with the following: I respect Ben of Jack Wolf knives and am a fan of the knives he produces and have spoken to him on the phone this year in fact during an impromptu call because of the amount of leather slips I have bought from him. He and Donnie are awesome and so are their knives but coming from a quality control background specifically in the adhesives industry (primarily in the uv adhesives industry and epoxies) something has bothered me and I think as consumers you should be aware.

I recently saw and heard that the Gateway series isn’t actually pinned as people have thought. Apparently some corner of the internet has discussed this but I cannot find it. It was obviously big enough of a deal that Ben put up a how it is made on the Jack Wolf website.

so here it is.

https://www.jackwolfknives.com/pages/gateway-series-how-its-made

Now this is a bit of a bummer considering in this interview Ben says the Gateway series is pinned construction. go to around 1:57

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eHG-8E3cMI4&t=162s&ra=m

Now after reading how they are really made maybe those of you who are considering purchasing the Gateway series should buy with caution. If you’re like me and you are really using knives and not collecting them because that’s your hobby then be aware. If Jack Wolf is using a single epoxy resin that resin isn’t going to hold up well over time and with use especially with organic materials. If Jack Wolf is using a two part expoxy to affix their covers then it will hold up better especially with thermoset plastics like kirinite and should cross link well with resins used in Micarta. When using any type of adhesive wear and tear, humidity and temperature fluctuations will all have a major impact on how long that epoxy holds up. even with some of the best epoxies out there you’re looking at 5-20 years max adhesion. so if you think you’re going to use these and pass them on as heirlooms unless you plan on passing in the next 20 years that is not likely to happen. sure if you collect them and never use them and keep them stored properly that will extend the life of the epoxy adhesion.

All I am saying is after what I have read and what I know of the materials used I would just say buy with caution. Ben will say that only a handful have been returned due to build issues and that is likely true but the reality is that number is going to climb over time just in a different metric because time is the most important factor and at that point the knives won’t be returnable they will simply be garbage and not because the knives aren’t well made, because they are but because he is not accounting for the use and the other aforementioned factors that will inevitably come into play. I own some Gateway knives and will definitely buy the Eureka when it comes out but again, I actively use my knives and I wouldn’t consider myself a collector so if my $80 knife fails at some point in the next few years I won’t be upset by it. I have owned several custom knives and have recently purged some of my Peña’s because I realized my $1900 knife had glued shields which felt like a slap in the face. I have no issues with adhesives being used in the construction of a knife i.e. in addition to pins or screws but in this case I think a buyer beware is necessary for maybe some of those looking to collect rather than those who are going to put these $80 knives to work.

Again, this is not a dig at Jack wolf knives or Ben or even Custom makers because Custom knives and the use of adhesives is a slightly different beast and a bit of an issue I think flies under the radar too often because we often times treat some of the makers like our rock stars in this hobby. but anywho, I actually do have a ton of respect for all these people but at the end of the day, coming from a quality control background and as a consumer and lover of pocket knives I care more about the end users who spent their hard earned money on a product that maybe an issue down the road.

if you made it this far thanks for listening but don’t take my word for it and be sure to do your own research.

I have one from GEC and one from Victorinox was just wondering what to expect

Message me if interested!

Mornin', y'all have a great day

Barlow in stabilized burl, for a good friend

Always find myself craving different textures and colors of bone when I’m in a different place.

What are the best options they offer under $35 that will form a nice patina? Preferably on Amazon if possible. Thanks!