...And a large Coke. GEC 97 Thread!

The Tidioute models look great, but I agree^^^These NF’s are in a class of their own. Can hardly wait to have one in hand...

 

I’m pretty disappointed with this knife. It is beautiful and I feel like I got a nice example of the jigging that has some character to it. It’s my biggest slip joint but I don’t feel like it’s too big.
The problem is the action. When I pulled it out of the tube, it was darn near a friction folder. I’d rate the snap at a 0.5. I’ve not yet returned a GEC but this one was close. I flushed it several times and got some life into it but not much. I’d rate the pull about a 3 and the snap a 2 and that’s generous. My 43 is a bear trap compared to this thing. Imagine a huge secondary blade on a 66 and you’ll have some idea of how this knife feels.
I don’t need it to be a nail breaker or a gator but a knife this size deserves to have SOME spring to it.

 

I can attest the pull and snap on my 97 is very light...maybe a 4 pretty much the same as my 43.
Yours is a beautiful example though

 

Sorry to hear that @TX Traditional. I just paid for my ebony and I'm hoping for a solid keeper.

 

I'm in the same boat, Alan. Looking forward to checking it out but I've been expecting a pull similar to my 43 which I thought was a bit light for a bigger knife.

On another note, has anyone noticed any blade rap on these? Aside from the light pull on my 43, that was my other big gripe about it. These 97s don't seem to have quite the belly that the 43s have but anything is possible, I suppose.

 

@Pàdruig Good luck to us Dylan. I've sold off most of my GEC knives except for a group of stag so I'm hoping these 97s exceed my expectations.

 

Got mine in yesterday. Very happy with the jigging and color. It's a bit bigger than I expected mostly due to thickness and width (length is where I expected it to be ~ a large Sebenza). Pull is a bit light on mine, a touch lighter than the recent Madison barlows. Not as bad as others have mentioned but just not fitting for a knife of this size. Seems out of place.

 

just paid for my pig sticker! its coming in soon as mike receives em and ships em out

 

Being a novice knife guy and a curious creature, what is objectionable to a lighter pull?...…. In my simple way of thinking as long as the knife goes into the various detents, or stops, and I have the strength to move it there, I am as happy as a pig in XXXX...……. I'm failing to see why more pull is desirable?...…. I have the Cherry and the Autumn Gold 97's and the Gabon Ebony is on the way..... I'm tickled to death with the way they actuate...…

 

i think the strong snap is indicative of a balanced spring and blade tang.

too light is no good and too strong can be an issue.

i dont really understand why they cant control this with some precision. isnt it mainly the thickness of backspring and close fit of blade tang?

 

I believe it largely comes down to personal preference. However, a weak pull can be indicative of a soft spring and can be detrimental when it comes to harder use. A lot of folks like the feeling of security that a stiffer spring might bring due to the increased assurance that the blade will remain in place during rigorous cutting tasks.

It is safe to assume that folks who are drawn to a bigger knife like the GEC 97 or 43 might want to use the knife for bigger cutting tasks that something like a Case Peanut or a GEC 06 might be a wee bit small for and therefore a stouter spring is more desirable.

My Sheffield made Lambsfoot knives sport a rather strong pull and hearty snap. These are working knives and the stout spring/pull brings me a lot of confidence when it comes to putting them to work. Safe knife handling, paired with a stout spring, provide me with plenty of assurance that the blade won't close on me when working.

I hope all that made sense.

 

Have you ever been going about the business of cutting stuff and accidently bumped the spine of the knife against another object? Soft springs are not a good thing... especially on a big knife, IMHO.

If the knife is not used for much more than opening mail or slicing printer paper, it's not really an issue.

 

I’m surprised GEC doesn’t have any pictures up of the yellow rose in production. I’m not going to buy one but I’m looking forward to seeing them. Should be a looker.

 

@MerryMadMonk , @Pàdruig , @Elgatodeacero
Thank you all for your input...……. Yes, when I'm gutting a deer and reaching in blindly behind the lungs to sever the windpipe you certainly don't want the knife closing on you...……. A fixed blade or locking folder is undoubtedly preferred for such uses...……. But sometimes when you are a couple miles from nowhere you have to be careful with your tools at hand and use the touch of a diamond cutter vs the touch of a blacksmith...…..
I am also an odd duck in that I don't use 99% of the knives I own...…… I'm like the guy who buys a $7,000 Snap-on tool box and fills it with $25,000.00 of Snap-On tools then uses a Harbor Freight socket set to fix his kids bike..... I have 4-5 knives I use and another 150+ that are like the day I bought them...…… So obviously my needs on a knife aren't the same as the guy feeding his family with his………. But you have answered my question for which I am appreciative...….. Thank you Gentlemen....

 

Ebony 97 paid for. Will ship after Mike receives them from GEC. After experiencing the light pull of the 43s I have, I am not expecting anything stronger with the 97. My pioneer bone 43 took a bit of work to get it to close properly.

 

Same here, hoping it s more like the recent Madison Barlows as someone mentioned. Those had lite but passable pulls, the 43 s were more of a mixed bag, I had one with a decent pull.

 

Dang, I was hoping for a nice solid pull and crisp action. It will be a little disappointing if the action on my knives doesn’t live up to my expectations for a couple reasons. Firstly, this has been a pattern I was hoping GEC would produce since they first blipped my radar back in 2008. Secondly, I have 3 of these ordered and the resale is not likely to be great if I feel the need to let them go.

 

I have had a knife with a weak spring try to close on me when I tried to pull the blade out some green wood I was notching. Is there ANY chance they could've made the Northfield springs a little stouter since they have the second nail nick, giving better leverage for opening? I'm guessing probably not.

Edited to mention that the knife that almost closed on my fingers was NOT a GEC.

 

Paid for my ebony yesterday, really looking forward to receiving it. As far as the soft action I think that is characteristic of this pattern, I've handled a lot of the original vintage ones and don't remember ever finding a nail breaker, thing it has something to do with that long spring with a bend in the middle.

Some pics with an original HSB ebony one, shows how GEC did a good job of downsizing the pattern making it a little more pocket friendly, original is a shade more than 5 1/4". The pull on the HSB and the GEC are just about the same.

 

I bought a micarta when they first came out and was gonna maybe get an ebony but then the American popped out and I really like the jigging and shield on this one. the action is just a bit light on these also but for my purposes they will do.