GEC #33 Conductor Whittler

You guys are killing me, especially with that sweet blue denim Sarah :thumbup: The red jigged bone is a looker too Stu, and the Pineapple, and the Tuna, and the....ARRRRGH!

It figures, GEC does it again and I'm broke. Of all my GEC"s, I love the Northfield Conductor the most. If the whittler had a bail I would have sold some blood to get one... :D
 
Great looking #33 P. I'm happy you got one!!

I really like the red bone on your as well Stu. Looks like some nice deep jigging on that.
 
OK, question for y'all - have you had the main blade contact the spine of the secondaries when closing? I don't let my blades snap shut, but on several occasions I've had this happen. I do hold the blade I'm closing until my fingers hit the secondaries, then let it go. Hasn't caused a dull spot or anything, but I definitely pay attention when closing the main now! Anyone else?
 
jwren said:
OK, question for y'all - have you had the main blade contact the spine of the secondaries when closing? I don't let my blades snap shut, but on several occasions I've had this happen. I do hold the blade I'm closing until my fingers hit the secondaries, then let it go. Hasn't caused a dull spot or anything, but I definitely pay attention when closing the main now! Anyone else?
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Me too... but that´s not a matter of the pattern. I´ve let the mainblade already snap shut when the knife is fully opened, in many cases it was no problem, but on some knives it actually causes a dull spot on the edge. So I just do it the way you just explained above :)
 
jwren said:
OK, question for y'all - have you had the main blade contact the spine of the secondaries when closing? I don't let my blades snap shut, but on several occasions I've had this happen. I do hold the blade I'm closing until my fingers hit the secondaries, then let it go. Hasn't caused a dull spot or anything, but I definitely pay attention when closing the main now! Anyone else?
Click to expand...

If I ease the blade down, I find that holding the blade might torqued and hit a secondary on the way down. However, if I just let it snap, it doesn't bounce off the back, and doesn't bump into a secondary blade.
 
2Dead said:
Great looking #33 P. I'm happy you got one!!
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Thanks. :)

jwren said:
OK, question for y'all - have you had the main blade contact the spine of the secondaries when closing? I don't let my blades snap shut, but on several occasions I've had this happen. I do hold the blade I'm closing until my fingers hit the secondaries, then let it go. Hasn't caused a dull spot or anything, but I definitely pay attention when closing the main now! Anyone else?
Click to expand...

Oof, that doesn't sound good.

Yes, you made me look.



As noted previously, the secondary blades rub on the main blade when I open either of them, but don't hit upon closing.

My main blade doesn't hit either of the secondaries/spines upon opening or closing, but looking more closely the tolerances/spacings are aw-ful-ly tight. It wouldn't take much veering for the main blade to hit either one of them.

-- Does your main blade look centered when its closed? Does it hit just one of the secondary blades, or either/both of them?

(If it it hits the pen blade's spine only, I'd guess the main is curved toward that blade slightly? And if so, possibly wouldn't rub when opening, because pressure at the nail nick would push it away from it....)

Sorry.

~ P.
 
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pertinux said:
My main blade doesn't hit either of the secondaries'/spines upon opening or closing, but looking more closely the tolerances/spacings are aw-ful-ly tight. It wouldn't take much veering for the main blade to hit either one of them.

-- Does your main blade look centered when its closed? Does it hit just one of the secondary blades, or either/both of them?

(If it it hits the pen blade's spine only, I'd guess the main is curved toward that blade slightly? And if so, possibly wouldn't rub when opening, because pressure at the nail nick would push it away from it....)

Sorry.

~ P.
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Ahhh, good observation. I though it was perfectly centered but went and took a close look, and it's just a *wee* bit towards the coping....not a big deal, I'll just have to be a little careful :)
No pics looking down in the closed position, but here's a quickie - this is a really great pattern, more on the way ;)

 
jwren said:
OK, question for y'all - have you had the main blade contact the spine of the secondaries when closing? I don't let my blades snap shut, but on several occasions I've had this happen. I do hold the blade I'm closing until my fingers hit the secondaries, then let it go. Hasn't caused a dull spot or anything, but I definitely pay attention when closing the main now! Anyone else?
Click to expand...

Planterz said:
If I ease the blade down, I find that holding the blade might torqued and hit a secondary on the way down. However, if I just let it snap, it doesn't bounce off the back, and doesn't bump into a secondary blade.
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I checked mine right out of the tube and thought it was about perfectly centered. I have had no rubbing when closing any blade, even if I let them snap shut (pretty much always). But if I open any blade like I would with almost any other knife I find the blades rubbing very lightly. I have to remember to "lift" the blade with my thumbnail without putting any real pressure against the side.
I intend (knife gods willing) to carry this knife most days for the next 30-40 years if I live that long. So even though I am pretty picky, the inevitable blade rubs wont bother me on a whittler like this. They are going to happen happen if you use the knife.

If however the main blade actually hit one of the other blades when closing naturally I would have to have that remedied. That ain't right.

I snapped a few cell pics of the blade alignment. To the eye all three looked just about perfectly centered and spaced.

8640940611_f602ed6ce5_b.jpg
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Planterz said:
If I ease the blade down, I find that holding the blade might torqued and hit a secondary on the way down. However, if I just let it snap, it doesn't bounce off the back, and doesn't bump into a secondary blade.
Click to expand...

I've been letting it snap shut since you mentioned this, and even though the main leans a little towards the coping, it doesn't hit it when closing like this. I never close any of my knives this way, but I guess this one I will :)
 
jwren said:
I've been letting it snap shut since you mentioned this, and even though the main leans a little towards the coping, it doesn't hit it when closing like this. I never close any of my knives this way, but I guess this one I will :)
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Well, I'll be. I'm glad the solution is so simple, if counter-intuitive. Do you cringe every time you let 'er fly?

I don't slam my blades closed intentionally, but often close them one-handed by pressing the spine against my leg. That's one of the reasons this Whittler keeps me entertained-- if I have all three blades out, say for a picture, the tactile feedback of closing half-stopped and smooth-camber blades all on one knife is definitely a new experience.

~ P.
 
pertinux said:
Do you cringe every time you let 'er fly?
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Lol, I will admit, I do. Something about it seems wrong to me, even though I realize others do this all the time.
Hopefully I'll get used to it, but right now I find it jarring.

Funny you should mention that about the half stops/smooth camber combo - that's one of the things I've always liked about my #57's (and now #33) :)
 
jwren said:
pertinux said:
I'm glad the solution is so simple, if counter-intuitive. Do you cringe every time you let 'er fly?
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Lol, I will admit, I do. Something about it seems wrong to me, even though I realize others do this all the time.
Hopefully I'll get used to it, but right now I find it jarring.
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I thought maybe. However, few things "jar" me as much as contemplating a blade's edge hitting the spine of another, even from this distance! :eek: I'm glad, again, you've at least solved that much, other sensitivities notwithstanding.

More on the way, you say? ;)

Hope they allow for more gentle closing. :)

jwren said:
pertinux said:
That's one of the reasons this Whittler keeps me entertained-- if I have all three blades out, say for a picture, the tactile feedback of closing half-stopped and smooth-camber blades all on one knife is definitely a new experience..
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention that about the half stops/smooth camber combo - that's one of the things I've always liked about my #57's (and now #33) :)
Click to expand...

Do you (or anyone else) know if the smooth-opening main, half-stopped secondaries combination is typical of whittlers in general, or just how GEC has (evidently) decided to do it?

~ P.
 
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Good question! I don't know the answer, but here's what I have:
GEC #57, 62, 33 - half stops on secondaries, not on main
GEC #79 - half stops on all blades
Queen whittler - no half stops on any blade
Case 5383 whittler - no half stops on any blade
Boker Tree Brand whittler - no half stops on any blade

I believe that's all of mine...
Anybody else have any info?
 
jwren said:
Good question! I don't know the answer, but here's what I have:
GEC #57, 62, 33 - half stops on secondaries, not on main
GEC #79 - half stops on all blades
Queen whittler - no half stops on any blade
Case 5383 whittler - no half stops on any blade
Boker Tree Brand whittler - no half stops on any blade

I believe that's all of mine...
Anybody else have any info?
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Thanks! So far, it's a GEC whittler phenomenon. Heh. (While GEC calls the #79 a whittler, I'd put it in another category due to its three springs...?)

~ P.
 
Half Stops, in general, are an old time,traditional feature of Quality pocket knives. No longer used by most knife manufacturers for reason of cost and time.
 
pertinux said:
Thanks! So far, it's a GEC whittler phenomenon. Heh. (While GEC calls the #79 a whittler, I'd put it in another category due to its three springs...?)

~ P.
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Yes, meant to add - each blade has its own spring on the #79; the Case, Queen, and GEC's #33, 57, and 62 are split back; and the Boker has - I'm forgetting what this arrangement on the Boker is called - help someone? :)
 
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