The steam escapes the trapper's mouth as he exhales into the frigid morning air, a rushing stream muffles the groans as he struggles to straighten his back from another cold night on a frozen ground. Stoking a near dead fire, he brings the coals back to life. Reaching into his pocket he slides out a trappers knife, a big jack knife with a spey blade. Opening the clip blade he begins to whittle himself some tinder to feed into the coals, soon he has a nice little fire to keep him warm. Sitting beside the fire he holds the knife in his hand, looking down at the bone handles worn smooth by time. His thumb traces the scale up to the bolster and back, remembering the trapping seasons past and the many critters that old jack knife had skinned out, the living earned by and with that knife, a hard living, a rewarding living. Plucking a whisker from his beard he smiles as he whittles away the hair, the blade barely seeming to touch before the hair "pops" away. Closing the knife, the blade snaps shut like an old Bridger #3 breaking the still of the morning, the trapper grins.

My Primitive bone #73 scout arrived today and I'm extremely happy to have it in my possession. It's a "vintage" Great Eastern Cutlery pocket knife having been completed in '07. A lot has happened since those first knives rolled out of GEC back in 2006 and I'm happy to have a knife like this to remind me why they are doing so well today, they haven't swayed from the fundamentals, yet they've continued to improved their product. Pinned shields, tight blades with a smooth walk and talk, clean swegdes and great handle scales are all offered in a huge array of patterns, unlike in '06 when just a few patterns were paving the way. 

Here she be.