GEC 73's: General ramblings ...

tonystl said:
I've found just normal use will lighten the pull. Not by much, and it may be more of a sugar pill than anything. I think I've just grown accustom to the harder pull.

My first three 73s were too hard for me to open and I sold them off. Went back to the pattern (just can't get enough of the look) and found the pull to be hard. But like any habit to be formed I stuck with it. Now, they are still tough but I think I've also toughened my thumbnail and my thumb muscles.
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I think you've hit upon a lot of key points there, Tony. I've sometimes wondered if it wasn't just my imagination that my 73's were getting easier to open, and that fiddling with them (leaving them partially open to stress the backspring) really did nothing at all. I do think the powdered graphite helps some, and can understand the reasoning behind that. Not so sure about the "partially open" trick.

I've also noticed that at different times throughout the day (or different days of the week) the 73's will sometimes feel about right, and other times still feel like a nail breaker. I understand that's because of me and not the knife - 64 years of age, and sometimes feel like a teen-ager and sometimes like an old man. ;)

The primitive bone looks great, as does the cold bluing! :thumbup:
 
Powdered graphite you say? Hmmmm...got lots of the stuff from my kids' Pinewood Derby days. All kinds of blends too, with molybdenum and tungsten disulphide. That last stuff cost a fortune, but boy did the wheels spin, and WS2 stays where you put it and doesn't spin out like regular graphite.
Now where did I put it...
 
Whitedog said:
I posted a thread about the powdered graphite a couple of days ago. It really worked well on my GEC 73. After I gave it the graphite treatment I blew it all out with Tri-Flow and then cleaned out all the crap. Still a strong pull but a smooth pull now and makes the knife useable now. The 73 is in my pocket now and is probably going to be a user. It is quite the slicing machine.
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Thanks for coming forward "Whitedog". Perhaps it wasn't your original idea but I give you credit for bringing it here. Thanks again. Oh, and nice looking mods on your knife.
 
I think the #73 is still GEC's best pattern.

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- Christian
 
For whats it's worth I love the severe spring on my new run #73L Ebony, wouldn't change it for anything. Very authoritative and positive lock up.

Kris,.
 
kamagong said:
I think the #73 is still GEC's best pattern.


- Christian
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Hard to argue with that ^, Christian. Plus, Bob agrees with ya so it must be so. Great popcorn stag on yours - thanks for posting it here!!! :thumbup:

Kris, glad to hear you're good to go with how they come. Obviously I prefer a little softer pull, but at least it's possible to soften 'em up some - not so the other way around.
 
I couldn't pass up this run so I got one in ebony and ended up with this one that looked a lot like macasser. My 72 has gotten most of the pocket time lately but I'll have to give this a chance.

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KP - That sure looks like macassar. I have suspected that a lot of the GEC ebony is macassar, not gaboon.
 
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