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it is not at all uncommon in stag and elk for the shield to sit a little wonky. I think it has to do with how the hole is milled out of such an uneven surface.

As to the backsprings at half stop. I GEC doesn't have that on their list of quality inspections. I suspect it is because it doesn't matter in the working of the knife.

I also like flush half stops, but for now, unless it is a custom, I consider it a bonus.
 
Geez, that would annoy me more than the sunk pins:D I'm sure they'll fix it or send you another, that is hard to miss on the final inspection.

Best regards

Robin
 
Is GEC good about stuff like that if I contact them? Has anyone had any experience with this before, where GEC fixed something like this? I actually really like the covers on this one so am hoping they would fix rather than replace.

Pipeman said:
Geez, that would annoy me more than the sunk pins:D I'm sure they'll fix it or send you another, that is hard to miss on the final inspection.

Best regards

Robin
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It appears to be a Northwoods knife is it not? The stag seems the same to me as what they use. If so it seems consistent with a old timey Scagel or some similar copy of a pattern he did. Many of his exhibited this same oddity at times. Its perhaps considered in character for the model.
 
Neither of those things would be considered F&F issues to me honestly. The springs are only important to me when open and closed on production slipjoints.
 
Few production knives manage a flush half-stop. CASE's SBJ does but this is a rare feature.

From my point of view, provided the spring is flush on open or closed then it's OK. Proud or depressed springs on open incense me - they look shoddy and they feel unpleasant when handling the knife.

Generally, I'd say GEC does an impressive job of inletting their shields, remember these are pinned too. The acorn shield from the Cyclop's Works may present more difficulties I suppose? Although the Northfield cloud shield must be equally tricky and I've yet to see a poor one. My stainless White Owl in bone is fine, an early Cyclops 73 twin blade has a raised shield from the bone, could be better. But then, my CASE/Bose collab Norfolk also has a pronounced raised shield- given its high cost this disappointed me.

You might well find that with carry the elk will smooth down somewhat or you could file away some of the bone to even it out a bit. Is the knife otherwise good? No gaps, play or poor snap? I hope you get to carry it.

Regards, Will
 
No, it's actually a GEC #470112 Viper, not Northwoods, but GEC manufactures the Northwoods, don't they? Anyways, thanks for the info STR. It sounds like from what you and Derrick have mentioned, that it is not at all that uncommon for this type of material. I'm assuming since there is such a thing as a GEC "factory second" that something like this, is not considered to them as a "defect".

STR said:
It appears to be a Northwoods knife is it not? The stag seems the same to me as what they use. If so it seems consistent with a old timey Scagel or some similar copy of a pattern he did. Many of his exhibited this same oddity at times. Its perhaps considered in character for the model.
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Thanks for the input Macchina. That helps. I was looking for input from GEC enthusiasts more experienced than myself to try and understand if this was an anomaly or if it is fairly typical. From the sounds of it, it is fairly typical...

Macchina said:
Neither of those things would be considered F&F issues to me honestly. The springs are only important to me when open and closed on production slipjoints.
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The spring is completely flush when the blade is open, so the F&F in that department is fine. No gaps or play and the walk & talk is good, so I guess based on what yourself and others have said, I will chalk the shield setting up to as "being normal". Thanks for the help and knowledge!

willgoy said:
Few production knives manage a flush half-stop. CASE's SBJ does but this is a rare feature.

From my point of view, provided the spring is flush on open or closed then it's OK. Proud or depressed springs on open incense me - they look shoddy and they feel unpleasant when handling the knife.

Generally, I'd say GEC does an impressive job of inletting their shields, remember these are pinned too. The acorn shield from the Cyclop's Works may present more difficulties I suppose? Although the Northfield cloud shield must be equally tricky and I've yet to see a poor one. My stainless White Owl in bone is fine, an early Cyclops 73 twin blade has a raised shield from the bone, could be better. But then, my CASE/Bose collab Norfolk also has a pronounced raised shield- given its high cost this disappointed me.

You might well find that with carry the elk will smooth down somewhat or you could file away some of the bone to even it out a bit. Is the knife otherwise good? No gaps, play or poor snap? I hope you get to carry it.

Regards, Will
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I'm not sure either of these would be a Warranty issue. But more the nature of that particular piece of Elk. It's pretty hard to inlay a flat shield into a textured piece of antler. If it bothers you, send it back to the Dealer.
 
Yes, I agree. It is a kind of cosmetic flaw but the dealer may well be able to swap one for you. Kind of like if a person dislikes mismatched scales.
 
I would not accept this as pictured. Send it back for a replacement. No...it's not a custom...but you're paying a lot of $. GEC is a great knife mfg'r...... go ahead an hold them to a higher standard. I agree with rma100, that inlaying on elk can be tricky...but if you can't execute it...don't offer it.

Peter
 
If the surface of the shield is parallel (or close to parallel) with the liner then I think it's inlet properly. The horn thickness dictates how the shield sits. I've got a Scagel Fruitport in stag that looks a lot worse then that. It really doesn't bother me at all.
 
Here's the shield of my GEC Northfield #42 in Natural Stag.

LvEE0G.jpg


I think differences in shield recesses, has more to do with the antler.
It belongs to the style and add a lot of character.
If it was me, I would use the knife and get another one for the collection.


Regards
Mikael
 
I have had stag handled GEC knives with a much more severe looking shield placement than that.

Looks fine to me and par for the course with natural materials.
 
Could be worse :-)

rwtclEp.jpg


I sent an email to the sales address and got a response a couple days later, where they assured me they'd fix it if I sent it in. Sending them an email won't hurt :-)
 
The *frame* is placed parallel when they essentially route out the recess for the shield. Thus if the stag is not even, and it seldom is, there will be some variance. Generally in highly textured stag you don't notice it as well as Elk stag. Since the shield has a pin already on the back of it and can't be set in un-even; would you rather they left the other end above the stag? Bend the pin and set it at a 30 degree angle so fleas could ski down it? Ground out a little flat spot in the stag before routing? In trying to come up with another solution in the most unforgiving horn, I am at a loss (maybe trash the set of horn and raise the price of every other knife $1).

There will always be these little things one person other other can spot. And there will always be those that tell you they don't consider it a problem and those that tell you to get it back to the dealer asap. The fact of the matter is that you have to decide if it works for you. No factory or dealer would consider either of those issues a defect, or even an anomaly for that matter. But if you don't like it, send it back. Generally on these types of hot sellers you can expect a refund instead of replacement. And I can near assure you that GEC would not fix the shield issue - they would have your dealer refund you and they would give him the option to have it back or get a refund (and the next buyer would be tickled to have found one).

The moral to the story is that YOU have to decide if it is going to bother you every time you rub on it. You can ask on a public forum and get a lot of opinions; but I have found if they don't match the way I was already thinking, I don't get much solace from them. If it will bother you, send it back as a personal preference return. If you don't like the way you are treated, go on down the road to the next dealer. There have only been a couple that couldn't find a dealer that they could get along with :D
 
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