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Quite Unique and very limited

Handle material is quite often unique, beautiful and durable, or all three of these features, but I think the handle on this knife of mine "takes the cake" as far as uniqueness especially. The wood on this handle came from the bottom of one of the first oil wells drilled near my home over 140 years ago. Many of the wells were abandoned after the oil gave out and just recently within the past 5 or 10 years these wooden rods (called sucker rods), were removed from the average depth of 600 feet where they had remained in a solution of crude oil, paraffin and water. Once these wooden rods were "pulled" concrete could be pumped down the well to protect the water supply in that area. The knife pictured is mine and was made by the Great Eastern Cutlery in Titusville, Pa.using a piece of that original sucker rod wood and is serial numbered 03. I am proud to own this knife as I don't think very many were ever produced. One reason the wood, either ash or oak, is so durable is that the crude oil containing paraffin has totally infiltrated the wood making it tough and water proof over this long period of time. I have made beautiful items from these rods but this is a first for knife handles. The shield in the handle reflects the brown wrapping paper but is brilliant German silver I think.

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Comment by Derek Wells on April 21, 2016 at 5:04: A truly unique knife Don ..... (and one of my favorite GEC patterns)

Featured Comment by Charles Sample on April 20, 2016 at 21:29: Very interesting and very nice knife!

Comment by Jan Carter on April 18, 2016 at 11:48: 2013

#735213J Oil Sucker Rod Wood 3 pcs. serialized

#811313 Sucker Rod Wood 8 pcs. no #

2014

#15A114STL Oil Sucker Rod Wood 30 pcs. Serialized

Comment by Don Neiman on April 17, 2016 at 20:35: Due to the rich history of Titusville the sucker-rod was just one of many ideas to incorporate a symbol that would relate to Titusville rather than for just the Oil Festival. Do you happen to know how many of this sucker-rod knives were made?...I don't think too many, but that I mean under 100. I know the cutlery kept #1 but I don't know what happend to #2, do you?

Comment by Jan Carter on April 17, 2016 at 19:01: 1 of 3. When I collected GEC, I searched out these low runs. I do like the suckerwood handles. If I remember right this test run you have was done as a test for what would become the 2013 Oil Festival knives in Titusville PA

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