A rambling comparison of GEC's #53 - #79

rockgolfer

rockgolfer

Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
4,558
Well I have had the pleasure of carrying around these two knives for awhile now and felt I should do a little comparison on these hard working knives. First lets lay out some specs to compare the two. (all measurements are approx.)

#53:
3 blades, 2 springs, 4 1/8" long, 9/16ths thick, 1" tall
Main blade and coping have their nail nicks on the mark side, spey on the pile
Clip - 2 3/4" usable
Coping - 2"
Spey - 1 3/4

#79
3 blades, 3 springs(half stops), 3 3/4" long, 9/16ths thick, 1 1/8th" tall
Main blade and clip share pulls on the mark side, sheepsfoot on the pile side
Spear - 2 3/8" usable
Clip - 2 3/16"
Sheepsfoot - 2 3/16"

The stats speak for themselves. If you are purely after blade length to frame ratio, the #79 would be your choice. On the other hand if you are looking for a frame thats big enough to choke up or down on, the #53 is perfect. For me I have found 3 3/4" frames are the perfect fit for my hand. I can cut sheetrock comfortably with the 79 and I think thats my new standard for testing, scoring and processing pieces of sheetrock gives me quick feedback on weather the frame is comfortable for hard use. I feel both of these knives excel for me at that task.

I owned the #79 first. In fact it was my first traditional pattern I purchased after finding this subforum. I am hard pressed to find any flaws with the knife. I would say the reason its not pocketed all the time is the relatively small gap in size difference between the main and secondary blades. I also dont consider either a deal breaker by any means but I think if I had a choice, I would take my traditionals with no half stops. I would also note that for me it took a bit to get used to the spear blade and how high it rides out of the frame. The clip blade is so thin, I think its the best slicing blade I own. Pair that with the spear main blade being one of the thickest, stoutest blades on any traditional I have handled and you have a great combo. Now throw in the utilitarian usage of the sheepsfoot and its hard to argue how versatile the Montana Workhorse can be.

The #53 has really been the king of my pocket lately, I just cant seem to shake it. I love the coping blade and use it for most tasks from opening boxes of parts to stripping wire or shaving a hair off a panel I am installing, just a great blade. The 53 has also taught me that their is a place in my pocket for a spey blade. I use it for all kinds of tasks as well like sheetrock and template cutting. I use the belly for chisel type push cuts to remove excess material around drilled holes and such. I find it funny now looking back but I never use the main blade. That clip is reserved for food prep I guess and I never usually stop during the day to eat so it doesnt see much use. Its still nice knowing I have an absolutely super sharp long thin blade at my disposal if needed. I have also used that nice fine tip to extract splinters from my hand. The extra length in the handle while noticeable in the pocket is forgiven once you put it in your hand, hard to argue that more handle is not a nice feature when it comes to use.

All in all it would be impossible for me to pick one over the other, I love both of them for obviously different reasons. If you work construction I would highly recommend either of these knives to be your daily companion. I push them hard and they never talk back. I enjoy pulling them out and using them during the day when needed. My more modern one handed utility blade sits in my caulking box. I wont use my traditionals to puncture holes in the caulking bags I use, I may push the limits with them but I wont get them caked in glue lol. Ok time to close this out with a few pics for comparison. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or picture requests please dont hesitate to ask. Happy holidays to all my friends in the traditional forum :thumbup:

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Jeff,

thanks for the comparison.

Great to hear/read your opinion when putting these knives into hard use (no abuse) at your daily done work. I like those first-hand-experiences! I think have made a great thread here. I never have cut sheetrock with a pocketknife - I don´t use this material too often. But some sanded roofsheet (of tar) which is murder for the edge.

A Merry Christmas to You and Your family, my friend :)
 
Thanks Andi and yes, sheetrock is hard on the edge just not as much as tar ;). I also cut beutel tape on a pretty regular basis and that stuff is thick and sticky. I have yet to perform any random daily task with either of these knives and then said to myself.....darn, I wish I had a different knife.....think that about sums these two up :D

I can go about 2 weeks without touching the edges, I love GEC's 1095. It keeps a great working edge. I am hoping the re-visit some of these tougher use knives with their O1 steel. I would love to compair them.

A Merry Christmas to you and your family as well my friend. I hope all is well(looking forward to some picture updates of your building lot ;) ) in your neck of the woods :thumbup:
 
These last two weeks I have gone without sharpening the 53. I put a hair shaving edge on all three blades to start. I was very impressed with the performance of the steel. GEC's 1095 is perfect in my opinion, dont know what it rockwells at but it is not too soft and not too hard. At the end of two weeks the blades where dull but still cutting stuff just took a little extra effort. Well this Monday(the last day I used it) I forgot my tool bag in my personal truck :sorrow:, luckily my boss was working with me that day so I did not have to turn around. Anyways I did not have my utility knife with me so the 53 was going to get some pretty tough tasks thrown at it. And honestly this is part of the reason I carry this knife, I dont want to use it super hard but can if I need to :thumbup:. About mid day I needed to cut some 1/4" foam for templating a shower wall. Normally the blade slices through that stuff like its air but without sharpening for 2 weeks it was dragging, hanging up and ripping it a little. I had to lay into it hard to get it to cut clean. To make maters worse the easiest and fastest surface I could use to cut on was tile. The belly on the spey was already dull and after this it was rolled but was still cutting stuff, just not very well(good for rough tasks). The coping blade got used a few times for this job as well and saw other use notching a piece of wood and shaving sheetrock etc... After the day was done it had a few little chips I could see near the tip. The clip blade still being razor sharp was used whenever I really needed a clean fast cut. I was pleased to see the 53 could make it 2 weeks of constant use and still perform, marginally yes, but still going non the less.

I gave it a break yesterday and carried the 79. My boss needed it to cut some foam and couldnt believe how well it cut(he is a Case guy, trying to convert him). Glad I have such a capable combo and a backup when the need arises and life gets in the way of me sharpening up my go to. Well just a few minutes ago I grabbed the sharpener and decided to see how bad I had screwed these blades up. Now I use a Smith tri-hone, nothing fancy and use the backside of my leather belt to strop it on when I am done. I think I spent less then 5 minutes per blade for the spey and coping. The roll of the spey came out with just a few passes on the coarse as was the result when removing the chips on the coping. Just a few passes on the rough and I was on to the medium in no time. I think I spent 30 seconds touching up the belly of the clip as it was the only part not still razor sharp. I was very impressed with these results. The 53 got a good flushing, cleaning and oil job. It looks and feels brand new now and ready to tackle anything 2013 throws at me :D
 
Well, lets take the main blades of the two knives - spear blade for the #79 and Muskrat clip for the #53. The spear blade is a broad blade with a wide spine. Perfect for making that last 1/4" or 1/8" of radiator hose, hydraulic hose or heavy branch/piece of wood where you need to wobble/twist your wrist in order to make the final cut. The narrow Muskrat clip of the #53 is too fragile for this type of work. As to the sheepfoot (could be called a sheepcliffe) blade of the #79, it is fairly stout - stout enough to make a good scraper on a hose flange, vise ear, square the end of a reinforced radiator hose etc.. The sheepfoot on the #53 is a bit short for my taste. The clip blade of the #79 is just there as far as I'm concerned. Very thin as the OP stated but has a slinder, delicate point for good penetration on clamshell packaging, and your finger should you get careless. I'd sum it up by saying that the #79 is a great knife for farm, ranch, commercial shop, heavy home shop, and garage use. The #53 can accomplish those tasks but is a bit lite for really heavy stuff.

#53 Stockman
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#79 Whittler (not a true whittler in the collector world sense)
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The #53 is a heck of a work knife but the #79 will work rings around the #53 any day. Of course - my .02¢

This #79 is in my pocket almost every day now. It's just a great work knife for the property I live on and to have around for general heavy duty use.

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Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
ED, I welcome and respect your opinion. Certainly agree with you on the main blades. If I had to choose I would take the broader, thicker spear of the whittler and transpose it onto the 53. I just dont think it would feel right on the knife but in theory I would be on board. I also agree with you when you say "The clip blade of the #79 is just there as far as I'm concerned.", although it is nice to have a very thin slicer. It is becoming obvious to me that any three blade knife I own will have one blade I barely use but leave it laser beam sharp for when I really need it. I am sure I could combine aspects of these knives to make MY ideal EDC, ill save that for another post ;). Thanks for the comments guys, always welcome :)

Heres a few pics I just took with it on the sharpener outside.

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Great review! Thanks for posting that.

Couple of side notes:
  • IIRC, GEC is said to harden their 1095 to 58HRC. This is the range that Schrade used on their 1095 and is several points above that used by Case. The couple of points make a noticeable difference in performance.
  • Overall cutting performance is actually more a function of blade geometry than blade steel. When I tested GEC 440C I noticed the superb geometry of the blade. In my thread on that testing I commented on it.
    http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/730419-GEC-440C-cutting-performance
The combination of good blade geometry and good blade hardness makes for impressive performance.
 
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Thanks Frank and thanks again for the hardness info. If you find the link to your testing please post it here. I missed it and would love to read it :thumbup:.


Thanks
Jeff
 
knarfeng said:
Great review! Thanks for posting that.

Couple of side notes:
  • IIRC, GEC is said to harden their 1095 to 58HRC. This is the range that Schrade used on their 1095 and is several points above that used by Case. The couple of points make a noticeable difference in performance.
  • Overall cutting performance is actually more a function of blade geometry than blade steel. When I tested GEC 440C I noticed the superb geometry of the blade. In my thread on that testing I commented on it.
    http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/730419-GEC-440C-cutting-performance
The combination of good blade geometry and good blade hardness makes for impressive performance.
Click to expand...

I am still intrigued that you feel 440c is equal to or perhaps superior to 1095
i am not arguing your findings by any means, just makes me want to try something with some 440c and see for myself :)

thanks for the link
 
I am still intrigued that you feel 440c is equal to or perhaps superior to 1095
Click to expand...

Depends on your usage.

For making slicing cuts in abrasive materials such as for cutting cardboard or for skinning game, 440C with its carbides plainly outlasts 1095. 440C contains chunks of chromium carbide, which is harder and more wear resistant than steel.

On the other hand, properly heat treated, 1095 will retain an absolute razor edge longer than 440C. This is useful for push cutting or for cutting non-abrasive media such as meat. Once the pure razor edge is gone on both, 440C will keep cutting longer, because the carbides come into play.

Rats! You pushed one of my buttons. Sorry.
 
This is an old thread, but it should be bumped as I have come across it numerous times when searching for heavy duty GEC Stockmans.

This thread covers the use aspects of these two knives very well, but doesn't touch on carrying then (that 99.7% of the time of a knife's life spent with its owner).

Are either of these knives able to be pocket carried? The 79 is shorter but much wider, is it harder or easier to carry? A long term review update would be great!
 
Great review. Both are heavy duty performers for sure. I know I've recently grown to love a big Stockman and it's 3 heavy blades on tap - the short/stout blades get most of the work and the long clip does food duty only.

That 79 Workhorse is a handful.
 
I've only carried the #53 in my pocket. It is 4 1/4" and for me that is pretty much the limit for me for pocket carry but having said that, the #53 is very doable/manageable in the pocket. I only wear jeans anymore - don't even have a pair of dress slacks so, a knife the size of the #53 is more jean friendly than I believe it would be dress slack friendly.

I've carried my #79 both ways - pocket or belt sheath. If just carrying the #79 as an everyday knife for run of the mill tasks, pocket carry is great as the knife is only 3 3/4". When I know in advance that I'll be working with it on a project, I will likely carry it in a belt sheath because it is so much easier to get to it with it in a belt sheath while bent over, or maybe on your back under a vehicle etc., and working.

Neither the #53 or #79 are noticeably heavier than the other but I think because of the weight to length ration and the fact that the #79 is a bit bulkier, the #79 would make a body more than likely think about carrying the #79 in a belt sheath.

As a matter of fact, I just ordered another #79 Tuesday night and by the looks of the USPS tracking utility, the knife will be here today - Ebony covers of course.
 
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