Advice on a recent gec purchase?

G

Gearhead22

Joined
Apr 27, 2014
Messages
87
I recently pulled the trigger on my first gec, #22 magnum in sea glass acrylic. After a few days of excited anticipation, i received the knife yesterday. Overall I love the pattern and the sea glass acrylic, but upon closer inspection there were quite a few little flaws that I didn't expect; a few Knicks on the bolsters, a scratch and some rough spots from machining on the scales, a slight gap where one of the scales meets the bolster, one of the brass liners not completely flush, and the blades were pretty scratched up and barely paper Slicing sharp.
Now I'm certainly not one to complain, and this is going to be an edc knife for me anyways, but I guess with the kind of "prestige" surrounding gec knives i thought that the fit and finish would be a little better. I asked if maybe the knife i got was used and returned or something, but the company I bought it from assured me that it's a brand new knife.
So I guess my question is, is this normal to see from gec, or did I just have bad luck on this one? I'm sure that there production knives must be slightly less "polished" than there sfo's. So maybe I'm just over analyzing and looking to hard at the flaws? Any insight is very much appreciated.

Here's a few pics on what I'm talking about.
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Thanks,
-Tyler
 
It always stinks when things don't measure up to the prestige you've heard from GEC from the forums but to get a 'brand new' knife from a dealer like this I would say send it back and get a refund if you aren't happy or send it into GEC's warranty. I've done so with a couple knives that had blade play issues and they fixed them up quick. GEC's aren't perfect but many are very near. Hopefully this doesn't deter you from another GEC.

It looks used/the main blade looks as if it's been opened and closed several times which resulted in rub with the pen blade. That or someone used it and did a rough job of polishing it up. The nicks in the bolsters look deeper than any normal handling marks I've had on my GEC's
 
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Send it back. Get a refund.

I've had gecs with similar flaws. They aren't perfect, though this forum usually says otherwise.
 
The scratched up blade really doesn't measure up. The nick on the bolsters is suspect as well. If you're OK with the knife as-is (those two issues are going to come up on a user anyways) I'd say throw it in your pocket and put your own marks on it. If it's the type of thing that's going to bother you every time you pick up the knife, send it back.

If it's just a matter of feeling like you got the short end of the stick because everybody else is getting perfect knives and you're not, that's simply not the case. I was a couple of GECs in before I became satisfied with the fact that people that were posting "perfect" knives were just experienced enough to know that the flaws in their knives were within the limits of what was acceptable. You can't expect perfection out of GEC, even though you'd think you could reading the posts here. People tend to gloss over the imperfections on knives that they're excited about, and rightfully so. It's more fun to post about how great a knife is than to write the post that you had to, and we're all doing this to have fun. It's also easier to find things to like about their knives than it is to find things to complain about. I've had that feeling that maybe I should send my knife back because even though I liked it, it wasn't up to snuff with the reports I was reading here. I have come to learn that these knives get more perfect as they age. That is to say, the imperfections blend in to the battle scars and become less of an issue.

I haven't found the SFOs to be any better or worse than their normal production knives in terms of fit and finish.

Bottom line is that only you can decide if you're satisfied with the knife for what you spent on it. The knife that you got doesn't look to be GEC's best work, but if you like the knife there aren't any issues there that can't be overlooked.
 
I got a few GEC's that aren't perfect. I'm ok with them though and chalk the flaws up as character.
 
As you see here it's somewhat subjective. I probably would not send it back. If the blade is seriously off center, scales are cracked or large gaps I'll send it back.
 
I don't know, I think I'd be somewhat disappointed with that one, it really might be a returned knife that's gone out again.....look like use and handling marks.
 
Either send it back for a full refund or do some swap with the dealer you bought it from, for another. This should have not left the factory looking like this!
 
This knife, if presented straight from the tube, looks like your pics, I would send it back. The gouge on the bolster is too deep, but what I am seeing from your pics, is an etching faded by an attempt to remove it.... Hence the scratches. Just my opinion, but from what you have presented, this knife looks as if it has been used.

I'd send it back, some would not. For the premium you pay for a GEC, I'd expect more.
Let us know where you land.
Peter
 
Will Power said:
I don't know, I think I'd be somewhat disappointed with that one, it really might be a returned knife that's gone out again.....look like use and handling marks.
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This...looks like the knife was used or handled, then returned. A couple scuffs out of the box might be expected, but that looks used.

That being said, you mentioned this is going to be a user for you, and if you didn't overpay for it in the first place, I'd probably just keep it as is.
 
IMO there is NO WAY that blade is unused,it looks like someone steel wooled it, with medium steel wool.:eek:

I'd send it back.

Best regards

Robin
 
The swirls in the acrylic are a little too raw to be considered finished. That would be a reason to have GEC take another run at it.

Everything in the other pictures I can reproduce the appearance with about any GEC or Queen knife in my inventory. They hand buff the polished finish on the blades unlike Case's tumbling; and the outcome is a lot of swirl marks that can be exaggerated by putting the direct light source on it at a certain angle. The last part of their finishing process has all the knives rubbing each other on a tray, thus the nickle silver bolsters do get a little marked. You could probably solve most of your issues with this knife with 20 seconds work on a good finishing buffer wheel. This would be a good investment if you spend much time in traditionals made today.

If the blade swirls bother you (they always have me), you might be better off with a Tidioute model. That's why my sfo Northfield's generally have a satin finish. But, I can assure you that an assumption that sfo's get more finish work than general production is nonsense. But GEC will do their best to take care of it for you.
 
Gearhead22 - You said:

this is going to be an edc knife for me anyways
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IF that's the case, you are going to be greatly dissatisfied once you start carrying either this knife or one like it if replaced because those acrylic covers are going to scratch up easily and start to cloud after a short time. That is assuming that you will be carrying it in your pocket with keys and change or a combination of the two. The cure to the scratches and clouding is polishing and buffing them with a plastic polish and carrying the knife in a pouch or in a pocket with nothing else in it.

That knife looks ok to me if you are going to make it an EDC knife. If not send it back and get another. I read in your post that you already asked the dealer if it was a return and the dealer said no. If it turns out that it was a user or a return, I'd dump that dealer in a heart beat after he makes this knife right with you.

Pipeman said:

IMO there is NO WAY that blade is unused,it looks like someone steel wooled it, with medium steel wool.
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I gotta go with Robin 100% on that statement.
 
I for one have received blades like this in the Northfield line, just as Mike stated. The blades wouldn't bother me as much as the other issues mentioned. I like to be the one who gives my knife character. I'd send it in.
 
My Northfield 38 Whittler, a three blade knife that has potential for blade-rub has none. It also has matte finished blades not the usual Northfield polish, the matte finish marks run vertical top to bottom of the blade and like the Tidioute ones are entirely even. What the OP shows are not like this at all, they are angled across the blade as if somebody has scotchbrited or used steel wool to remove...patina? They don't look much like buffing swirls to my eye anyway.

Since it's the OP's first GEC he rightly hoped for more, first impressions are important.
 
Well that knife looks like a "second" to me. Any of the issues, by themself, would not warrant it from GEC, but taken as a whole, you should not have paid full price for it. So send it back. Which is something I have never done, I usually live with it, or sell it at a discounted price. My GEC experiences have been great, only 2 with issues, but new Case on the other hand...but, I've read of many sending them back, and getting very satisfactory results. If I had a #22 GEC, I'd send it to you right now. Don't give up on GEC, they really are the best new slip-joint maker out there today (ymmv).
 
Wow, thanks so much everyone for your responses! VERY helpful and Informative. So I think the consensus pretty much confirmed what I was suspicious of. It would seem that this knife was possibly used and returned based on the scratching on the blades and such. It's not that the marks form use bother me that much, but it's like KBA said
I like to be the one who gives my knife character
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Since it's the OP's first GEC he rightly hoped for more, first impressions are important.
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Will Power is right. This being my first gec I was hoping for more. By no means did i expect perfection, but based on everything ive seen and read about gec around here, i would say that i expected closer to perfect than what I received. However, I don't feel that gec is to blame for the condition of the knife, i think this one's pretty much all on the dealer. While I wouldn't necessarily say that I overpayed for the knife, I did pay full price for a NEW knife from the dealer. Imho the knife should have been discounted accordingly based in its condition. I know you can find the #22's cheaper, but I really love the look of the sea glass acrylic and every place I could find it was about the same price.
(They don't seem to come up to often here on the exchange either.)
If I had a #22 GEC, I'd send it to you right now.
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Thanks for the generous gesture Coolio! :) I think what I might try to do is exchange the knife with the dealer and give them a chance to make it right. Then if that doesn't work I'll contact gec directly. I'll post an update to let you guys know how it turns out.
Thanks again for all the great feedback, I very much appreciate it!


Side note:
Hopefully this doesn't deter you from another GEC.
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Don't give up on GEC, they really are the best new slip-joint maker out there today (ymmv).
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Even though this first encounter with gec, turned out to be an unlucky one. I wouldn't say that it has turned me off to there knives in any way. It's clear, even with this knife, that gec makes some very high quality slip-joints. Right after ordering the #22, I couldn't resist grabbing a #77 in sunbrite here off the exchange, (which should be arriving soon), and also putting a beer scout in sunbrite on reserve. :thumbup:
 
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