2020 GEC #23 Trapper Thread

I was hoping there would be a brown jigged bone with the jackass shield. I’ve always liked that combination and on a large trapper that’d be a kick. Lol maybe a kicking mule on the blade. Lol but maybe soon they’ll have another Lock back jack knife they can apply those embellishments to minus the half stops of course. The brown mule don’t need to be that contrary!
 
AndreLinoge said:
Got my Northfield today. Blade rap on the spey, fkn great. It'd be less annoying if I did it, but it came out of the tube like that.
Seems like if you're gonna take the time to polish all that bone and 2 fat blades, you could make sure they close right.
At least it's a nice looking piece. Tight layers and great action.
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I have 2 thoughts.
First off ..Sorry to hear of your disappointment...understandable...
Also ...and not making light of QC issues...nothing speaks of handmade quality louder than imperfection....
Keeper or Senderbacker?...
Cheers
 
meako said:
I have 2 thoughts.
First off ..Sorry to hear of your disappointment...understandable...
Also ...and not making light of QC issues...nothing speaks of handmade quality louder than imperfection....
Keeper or Senderbacker?...
Cheers
Click to expand...

Blades slapping the mainspring isn't what I'd call an endearing quirk.
Poorly rounded pin head? Sure. Some remaining grit scratches that weren't polished out? Fine. Construction that immediately nullifies my sharpening efforts? Irritating. Especially considering how awesome and perfect the micarta version came.

I don't know what I'll do with it, tbh. I really want to like the Northfield, the covers remind me of the Schrade Old Timer delrin a bit and I sort of like that.

The micarta one is really nice tho.
 
AndreLinoge said:
Blades slapping the mainspring isn't what I'd call an endearing quirk.
Poorly rounded pin head? Sure. Some remaining grit scratches that weren't polished out? Fine. Construction that immediately nullifies my sharpening efforts? Irritating. Especially considering how awesome and perfect the micarta version came.

I don't know what I'll do with it, tbh. I really want to like the Northfield, the covers remind me of the Schrade Old Timer delrin a bit and I sort of like that.

The micarta one is really nice tho.
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I get it. I love having a sharp knife, and it annoys me when my blade is dull and I don't have the chance to refine it. I also enjoy the satisfaction of opening and closing a knife--the walk and talk are part of what makes traditional slip joints fun. Even so, it is overly scrupulous to expect a company that combines hand-made quality with higher volume production to check details like blade rap and remove them through sharpening. I have (and have had) several regional French folding knives which were designed to have the blade rest on the spring--they weren't meant to be closed hard and the blade was going to be used to cut so often that it wouldn't be long before the blade naturally rose above the spring from extended use and sharpening. That's part of what makes it a traditional knife, as opposed to a meticulously engineered work of art (which customs and a lot of modern knives are). If you like everything else about the knife, you'll probably regret getting rid of it if the only thing to dislike is blade rap. It will sharpen out eventually, and you'll have everything you wanted in the first place, right?
 
I feel they should have caught it. Part of this design's features is its attitude of action. It's meant to go hard to all it's stops, that's why it was built the way it was. Yes, it will sharpen out. Eventually. Does that make it less irritating? No. Especially since the knife wasn't meant to have the blade laying in the well against the spring in the first place like the French examples quoted above.
I paid a premium to GEC for their attention given to smaller batches of knives and their style of making them, paid another premium for their higher tier finish treatment on the UN X LD version of the knife. They don't get a pass from me on quirky construction just because they're making traditional knives. Especially this one. Heavy springs, hard stops, and fat blades mean you should be aware of certain things, and keep them in mind from beginning to end.
Now, the good thing is: not many people have had this issue. I think I saw one post previous in this thread that mentioned it. Pretty good odds on getting a good one, looks like, so it's clear that someone is paying attention most all of the time.
It's not making a hard pass on future purchases, nor will it create any hate for the brand from myself. There's always going to be Monday knives and Friday knives from all manufacturers, I get that.

Other than that little flat spot on my FAVORITE BLADE... (Lol)... These are wonderful knives, and I doubt strongly I'll be parting with either.

Edit:
I'll add that the Beaver Tail mom bought is perfect as well and the beaver chewed jigging really is some cool looking stuff in person. These really are good knives, I promise.
 
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Just curious, I had what I thought was some minor blade rap on my micarta #23 spey blade. I realized that I had been using the drop point blade to cut some zip ties and wonder if I gripped the knife hard enough to push the spey down into the blade well?\
 
That's possible, but as strong as these springs are the blade would have had to been very, very close to begin with to squeeze down on the hump in the spring. Have you been letting the spey snap back into the well at all? If you let it snap under full power and it wasn't making contact, that's the only other way you can get that mark. And if you hadn't got it from letting it walk home (erm, hard drag race launch home, lol) you'd really have to put a grip on it to force the blade down that far.

So, maybe?
I've not let the Northfield snap back closed at all on the spey. I noticed that flat spot right out of the tube, so I ride that one home to keep from making it way worse till it gets sharpened back some.

I have done the exact thing you're talking about on a smaller knife in the past, so it is possible.
 
So here's some pics.. rain let up a bit..

sB40xM5.jpg


These fellas are not insubstantial knives.. Shown (left to right in the middle) are Case #07 mini trapper, Schrade Uncle Henry 'mid' trapper #285, Western #691, Case #54, DFC Queen swayback trapper (#3? Can't remember..)

One more with an Old Timer #51OT..
bJF55uH.jpg


And a stack up shot. These #23s are girthy, very satisfying in the (long finger'd) hand.
XoV7ruY.jpg


Blade rap whining aside, I'm happy with them.
 
AndreLinoge AndreLinoge it sounds like a Friday arvo job...I hooe you get a resolution either through some time and use or contact GEC see if they can fix it.
JTB_5 JTB_5 I hear what you're saying but I think overly meticulous scrupulosity should be the yardstick of QC....by the sound of it Andres specimen slipped through the net.
Hard use knives of yesteryear didnt cost as much as these modern day descendants...but yes they should be equal to the tasks they are built for.
Cheers
 
AndreLinoge said:
That's possible, but as strong as these springs are the blade would have had to been very, very close to begin with to squeeze down on the hump in the spring. Have you been letting the spey snap back into the well at all? If you let it snap under full power and it wasn't making contact, that's the only other way you can get that mark. And if you hadn't got it from letting it walk home (erm, hard drag race launch home, lol) you'd really have to put a grip on it to force the blade down that far.

So, maybe?
I've not let the Northfield snap back closed at all on the spey. I noticed that flat spot right out of the tube, so I ride that one home to keep from making it way worse till it gets sharpened back some.

I have done the exact thing you're talking about on a smaller knife in the past, so it is possible.
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Good point
 
meako said:
AndreLinoge AndreLinoge it sounds like a Friday arvo job...I hooe you get a resolution either through some time and use or contact GEC see if they can fix it.
JTB_5 JTB_5 I hear what you're saying but I think overly meticulous scrupulosity should be the yardstick of QC....by the sound of it Andres specimen slipped through the net.
Hard use knives of yesteryear didnt cost as much as these modern day descendants...but yes they should be equal to the tasks they are built for.
Cheers
Click to expand...

It is always a trade-off. My guess is that it would cost more time and money to either 1) do the retooling necessary to get the patterns with blade rap to have none, or 2) take a worker off of one part of the process and dedicate that person to inspect blade rap. If blade rap were a fatal flaw, I'd say it is worth the trade off, but given that using the knife (i.e. putting it to its designed purpose) eliminates the defect, it seems like a hard cost to justify, if I'm thinking like a guy who has to run a business, pay employees, and make enough profit to live on.
 
I guess it comes down to a one bad apple scenario....it stands out because in the main they certainly do pump out a high grade quality product at what I consider a very reasonable price...and dont forget I pay heaps for postage and the exchange rate is killin me:(:):)
Can't take it with ya.
 
I have 2 #23s (Micarta and Cherry). I’ve sharpened both to a razor sharp degrees. Both knives get flat spots from the blade contacting the backspring. I slid a piece of paper down the blades when closed and they are not resting on the backspring. So after reading the last few pages of this thread I think it is Blade Rap. I haven’t done any heavy cutting or squeezing of the handles that would have forced the blade to contact the backspring.

One knife has the problem with both blades, the other has only showed the problem with 1 blade so far. I will resharpen and try closing them slowly (which isn’t all that easy with their heavy pulls) and see if the problem continues.
 
Blade rap occurrences remind me of my younger days when you'd line up for the quarter mile; rev the engine to 4500 rpm and dump the clutch.... Then wonder why the drive train was toast....
Just cause you can let a knife hit home full tilt, it isn't necessarily the wisest thing to do...
 
I was initially going to pass on the two-blade 23s and just stick with the CK SFO in Mesquite. But I really like that Redtail Jigged with Bullet Shield - I just might try scooping one up if one can be found.
 
It should be able to snap closed, especially if you're paying premium prices. I just bought a 14 dollar rough rider with no blade rap.
I also just ordered the 23.
I get it, no one is perfect, but GEC has a reputation that people pay for and so I say send it back and have it fixed. Benchmade or Buck would warranty that no questions asked.
I'm sure no one expects to pay top dollar and then have to try to carefully hold back the alligator snap on that 23.
 
meako said:
I guess it comes down to a one bad apple scenario....it stands out because in the main they certainly do pump out a high grade quality product at what I consider a very reasonable price...and dont forget I pay heaps for postage and the exchange rate is killin me:(:):)
Can't take it with ya.
Click to expand...
It’s like a fine lady. You start by seeing all that’s beautiful, but once you’ve grown accustomed to her beauty you begin to notice small imperfections. Then there’s the choice—do I grow to appreciate the beauty more for it’s obvious presence, or do I fixate on the imperfections until I can no longer appreciate the beauty?
 
While I respect peoples’ points about expecting quality for the price point, personally I never check for blade rap - I don’t think its a significant enough issue... a folding pocket knife isn’t intended to be used in situations where it would be. Most knives in retail stores or on the exchange are traded without this issue ever being discussed.
 
JTB_5 said:
It’s like a fine lady. You start by seeing all that’s beautiful, but once you’ve grown accustomed to her beauty you begin to notice small imperfections. Then there’s the choice—do I grow to appreciate the beauty more for it’s obvious presence, or do I fixate on the imperfections until I can no longer appreciate the beauty?
Click to expand...

How true How true...deep...but true.
I could certainly go to town with that...ive got a nasty sexist misogynist joke for you....
Man The LifeBoats? we're going to Pirates Cove.
 
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