Case vs GEC Jackknives: Is Nailbreaker a Dealbreaker?

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GLDNDomer

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Hey all, I wanted to start off by saying this (sub)forum is great and I've already learned more than I thought I would ever need to know (but I still thirst for more knowledge hah). I especially enjoy reading all of jackknife's tales. My favorites are the personal ones about his recent views on life and knives. Oh wait, I really like the grandfather and grandson ones where he is always looking forward to being with his grandson. I'm about a third of the way through all of them, very good. And thanks for y'all who worked on putting the list of stories together.

Anyway, I'll move onto the topic. I've been researching for my first Case CV with bone handle for Christmas, lusting for the Swayback Jack or the Texas Jack, but I've just started considering maybe trying for a GEC with 1095 steel due to several threads indicating that GEC might be better quality wise than Case right now. I've done a TINY bit of research into GEC knives, but they're pretty much brand new to me. It seems to me that almost every "first GEC knife" thread I've come across mentions that some of the GEC knives can be nailbreakers. That is probably the one thing that I dislike most about certain traditional knives, so I'm trying to keep it at the spring strength of a classic like my USA Schrade small stockman or the old Imperial knives.

The question is: do GEC knife patterns that are similar to the Case Swayback or Texas Jack have the nailbreaker kind of spring strength??

And since you're already here, I would appreciate it if you could recommend either the Case pattern or GEC pattern for my first slipjoint from this century! Any other information and I'm all ears, too. This knife will be used for EDC, horse chores, and farm work. Thanks all.
 
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Well, it just so happens that I'll be getting a GEC serpentine Jack (kind of similar to the Case Texas Jack, atleast in appearance) by Wednesday and will do an unboxing vid when I get it. So I will be able to tell if it feels like a nail breaker or not.
 
GEC knives are considerably better built, better designed and better looking than Case knives.

But get a 4 1/4" Queen stockman if you around the farm all the while, :D:D or maybe a Moore Maker Cattle Knife with a punch

Come to think on it, Queen make a horse knife with maple scales
 
For me, a nail breaker has always been a deal breaker. That's why I don't like to buy knives on the 'net or mail order. With the exception of Buck, and Victorinox, I have to coon finger it first. Even when I was a young guy, I never liked hard to open knives. Some day you may be working and your hands are a little dirty, greasy, or wet, or cold, or even wet and cold. That's no time to be fighting with your knife.

The very act of cutting, and the dynamic forces at work while doing that, will keep a blade open. Buck has always been easy on the springs, but in 25 years of carrying a 301 as my edc pocket knife, I never had a problem with the springs keeping the blade open. It may be opinionated for me to say this, but if one needs a nail breaker spring to keep you safe, maybe one should use a box cutter or Stanley utility knife. Think of all those herdsmen and fishermen in Sardinia and Spain who use friction folders. Once, I had dinner with some Basque herdsmen who cooked their sausages over an open campfire, and they all had ten fingers, in spite of very large friction folders.

I have a very small hunch, that's the reason there are so many great condition old jacks around; they had nail breaker, or near nail breaker springs, and got tossed into the sock drawer never to be used.

To me nail breaker=deal breaker.

And thank you for the kind words.

Carl.
 
REAPER4206969 said:
That's certainly a matter of opinion.

I think GEC knives are oddly proportioned.
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Some of them sure are. And whatnis up with that "spear" point with parallel edge and spine and equal radius to the point??

I think some of their frames would be great with a spear main. Too bad they dont make one.
 
jackknife said:
For me, a nail breaker has always been a deal breaker. That's why I don't like to buy knives on the 'net or mail order. With the exception of Buck, and Victorinox, I have to coon finger it first. Even when I was a young guy, I never liked hard to open knives. Some day you may be working and your hands are a little dirty, greasy, or wet, or cold, or even wet and cold. That's no time to be fighting with your knife.

The very act of cutting, and the dynamic forces at work while doing that, will keep a blade open. Buck has always been easy on the springs, but in 25 years of carrying a 301 as my edc pocket knife, I never had a problem with the springs keeping the blade open. It may be opinionated for me to say this, but if one needs a nail breaker spring to keep you safe, maybe one should use a box cutter or Stanley utility knife. Think of all those herdsmen and fishermen in Sardinia and Spain who use friction folders. Once, I had dinner with some Basque herdsmen who cooked their sausages over an open campfire, and they all had ten fingers, in spite of very large friction folders.

I have a very small hunch, that's the reason there are so many great condition old jacks around; they had nail breaker, or near nail breaker springs, and got tossed into the sock drawer never to be used.

To me nail breaker=deal breaker.

And thank you for the kind words.

Carl.
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Well..... as usual..... not anything to add there. I would have to say that I couldn't agree more. I have had hard to open knives and they are just not suited for work. As stated, sweaty hands, wet hands, broken fingernails (no... not on a workingman's hands...) or sore hands and fingers make "nailbreakers" unacceptable as tools. I have cut myself enough over the years when using well made knives that deploy easily, so I won't test my luck with a knife I have to pry open to use.

I routinely open and close my knives all day long without a concern. I don't think it is cute, funny, nor do I admire a nail busting snapper that could be dangerous to use. I don't see it as a sign of a powerful or well made knife; nor is it a sign of quality.

To me, a tool that is difficult, dangerous or inaccessable for easy use is pointless. I wouldn't buy a router I couldn't get out of the box; nor would a buy a saw that I couldn't use with ease, concentrating on the intent of the tool, not worrying about how difficult it was to set up and use.

As far as CASE v. GEC, like any knives today you should handle them before you buy. That will tell you about the fit/finish and the walk and talk. As far as CASE lasting, buy with confidence. Unless you get a lemon, they will outlast you with some care. I carried the same one every day for about 10 years (large copperhead with clip/pen combo) every day and used it on the job site with no problems except rusting a bit now and then. In the days before we all had utility or box cutters, it cut everything you can imagine. The snap isn't the same for sure, but I figure it has another 30 in it before it retires. In other words, it will certainly outlast me.

And Carl... good point on the sock drawer knife collection. That's where my least desirable knives seem to wind up. Also, I always enjoy your posts. :thumbup:

Robert
 
I carry a Case Texas jackn cv amber bone almost everyday and love it. The only gec I own is a toothpick pattern. While I love the look and feel of it, have been pretty disappointed with it. Had to completely reprofile the crap blade grind and it has considerable side to side wobble. For the money I would take 2 case knives.
 
I don't like nail breakers... I think you will find most Case knives have similar pull to the original Schrades. That said, I have had a couple Case red bone knives
(70's era)that I loved, but the fact that they were rediculously hard to open, keep them out of pocket.

I don't like springs that are overly soft either. Not because they are unsafe, but they just don't have a quality feel to them IMHO.
 
GLDNDomer said:
And since you're already here, I would appreciate it if you could recommend either the Case pattern or GEC pattern for my first slipjoint from this century! Any other information and I'm all ears, too. This knife will be used for EDC, horse chores, and farm work. Thanks all.
Click to expand...

I would recommend either a GEC #66 Jack or Calf Roper. I have owned three #66 patterns and all of them have been very comfortable to open and close. They are also very nice knives. The Calf Ropers have a double hip Spey blade that I like much better than the Spey blades on most Case knives. Nice blade shape for a Spey blade. If you like larger folders, the Cattle Baron and Cattle Rancher might be worth checking out. Not sure about the spring tension on those.

Case's carbon steel offerings are somewhat limited but I think one of their Stockman models would be a good choice.
 
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GLDNDomer said:
I've been researching for my first Case CV with bone handle for Christmas, lusting for the Swayback Jack or the Texas Jack, but I've just started considering maybe trying for a GEC with 1095 steel due to several threads indicating that GEC might be better quality wise than Case right now.

The question is: do GEC knife patterns that are similar to the Case Swayback or Texas Jack have the nailbreaker kind of spring strength??

And since you're already here, I would appreciate it if you could recommend either the Case pattern or GEC pattern for my first slipjoint from this century! Any other information and I'm all ears, too. This knife will be used for EDC, horse chores, and farm work. Thanks all.
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For your first Case CV with bone handles you'd have a hard time doing better than what you've already chosen: the Swayback Jack or the Texas Jack. You'll not find any GEC knife that is of consistently better quality than the SBJ. Get ya one in Chestnut Bone CV. Personally, of the two I like the Small Texas Jack better because it feels better in the hand to me. YMMV. At 3 1/2" closed it's not all that "small" either. Get ya one in Amber Bone CV.

For a great GEC that's consistently not a nail-breaker check out the #33 Conductor. Great little knife! It may be a little small for horse chores & farm work ..... but then again, maybe not. ;) At any rate the Conductor pattern is a great introduction to the GEC stable of knives. Highly recommended.

Good luck and let us know what you decide on!
 
I have never worried about "too" much snap, I have used GEC knives on a produce farm for years, cutting things while covered in grease, sweat, or mud. The knife never slipped from my hand, but I can see what you guys are saying about that off chance of a slip. I like my knives to have some snap to them, I hate having that snap when someone else is using that knife though, they don't pay attention to the knife like I do, so I worry someone may get hurt. I have carried some bear traps from GEC, but after a couple weeks of good work the knives settled down. I'm carrying a #73 right now and it has some really good snap to it, but it's brand new.

I love my snap, so I have no problem with buying a GEC online, I know if it will never be "too" much for me to handle.
 
I'm the last one who can asnwer you on this, since I never handled any Case or GEC...but, since I asked the same question some time ago, I remember people answering me that recent GEC had mlder pulls than older models, and that there was also a difference in pull strength between GEC patterns with and without half stops (the former being harder).

As a general opinion, I absolutely hate nailbreakers, and wouldn't use any knife if I found it too hard to open, or snapping closed too hard.
I assume it might be due to my "knife roots":

jackknife said:
For me, a nail breaker has always been a deal breaker.
It may be opinionated for me to say this, but if one needs a nail breaker spring to keep you safe, maybe one should use a box cutter or Stanley utility knife. Think of all those herdsmen and fishermen in Sardinia and Spain who use friction folders. Once, I had dinner with some Basque herdsmen who cooked their sausages over an open campfire, and they all had ten fingers, in spite of very large friction folders.
Click to expand...

Those herdsmen Carl is talking about are my uncles, grandparents and ancestors. And all of them had ten fingers :D

Fausto
:cool:
 
Nail breakers are a no go for me. I keep my nails trimmed short as I am training to be a physiotherapist, thus prefer a pinch opening blade. I have 3 gec knives all with perfect springs. I think it depends heavily on the model. I have the Texas jack, single blade jack and scagel fruitport
 
The only GEC I have "bad" snap (a little too agressive ;)), is my tidioute cattle man. 3 blades and a punch. The main blade is easy to open, but the other three can be a PIA to get open. My 73 trapper was a beast to open at first, but has worn down over time, a 73 that I bought second hand had a good snap.

Of course, folders that I think are too loose are just right for my father.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
The only GEC I have "bad" snap (a little too agressive ;)), is my tidioute cattle man. 3 blades and a punch. The main blade is easy to open, but the other three can be a PIA to get open. My 73 trapper was a beast to open at first, but has worn down over time, a 73 that I bought second hand had a good snap.
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I don't think those GECs will ever wear out, so a second hand knife that has worn someone else out may be the answer. Especially for me, I don't know how much more time I have to "wear" one in.

silenthunterstudios said:
Of course, folders that I think are too loose are just right for my father.
Click to expand...

Sadly, I can relate to that. *sigh*

Robert
 
You should grab a Case SBJ, Chestnut bone/CV..imho. It's a little knife that does big things! After you've had that for a few weeks, Go and get yourself a GEC Dogleg Jack and then
you'll have the best of both worlds...lol. Both of those knives will do anything you need in a days works! ..imho! And they feel good in hand and pocket. Can't have too many..lol

Jason
 
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