GEC and sharp knives....

I sharpen/re-profile every new knife I buy whether it's GEC, Case et al. It only takes a few minutes and it is something that I enjoy doing while relaxing at night. 1095 is just a great blade steel and it only needs touching up after some use.
 
First off, I don't own a GEC product and I know how to sharpen a knife.

This topic seems to come up every so often and generates a lot of debate.
To me it comes down to two basic sides of the argument.

1. Those that love and respect the product irregardless of how sharp the knife they get is, or
2.Those that expect a knife they purchased to be sharp.

That's all. Instead some people that fall into group 2 seem to be chastised for expressing their dissapointment when receiving a not so sharp knife.
That or their knife sharpening skill comes into question. To me that is irrelevent and off topic.

On the other hand GEC enthusiasts are possibly viewed as loyal to a fault by those who don't follow the brand as intensely.

I'm an old Schrade/Camillus kind of guy but I'm planning on purchasing a GEC product in the future.
I'm glad I came to this forum as It made me aware of many things, including GEC knives.
This sharp/not sharp thing is not going to influence my purchase now but it has made me ready to accept I might get a not so sharp knife out of the tube.

Extreme views on either side are just that.
Dismissing a fine line of knives because of a easily rectified issue or not accepting the fact that some people are not of the same level of tolerance is unfortunate.
Thanks
 
All of the GEC knives that I have acquired over the past two years (probably about a dozen or so, including a few that were older manufacture I got through the Exchange forum here) have had acceptably sharp blades right out of the tube, at least as good if not better than most of my new Case knives and Queen knives.

I have had a few knives (a few Case, my one Canal Street, a couple of GEC) that were so good out of the box that I could not have improved on them at all but in general all production edges can be refined a bit more than the factory grind.

So from my limited perspective, I haven't seen anything particular worthy of negative comment about GEC edges compared to any other brands.
 
I have a ritual when I get a new knife. First thing I do is admire, fondle and drool over my new pride and joy.
Then after wiping off the spittle, it's time to inspect. First is fit and finish. Then I check out function, walk and talk, blade wobble, etc.
Then I sharpen. Before it ever leaves the garage, before it is ever used for anything, it is sharpened.
Since I always sharpen right from the get go, maybe a dull edge bothers me less than it bothers others.

It is aggravating if you have to re-profile a blade that looks like it wasn't touched at the factory. But it is not a deal breaker, sometimes one just slips through that isn't sharp. You can sharpen it or send it back and hope for a toothy, usable edge.
You should expect a usable edge from any company but. It is a production knife and poop and other stuff happens.

Now my definition of shaving, sharp is 15 degrees per side and and a 1500 grit finish minimum. Never in my 50 plus years using knives, have I seen a production knife come shaving sharp. My definition of sharp starts at 20 degrees and 600 grit finish. I've never seen that on a new out of the box production slip joint, I consider all production knives dull, so if I returned every dull knife I ever got. I wouldn't have any knives. The best I hope for is a usable toothy sharp not perfectly symmetrical edge, that will work until you can sharpen it.

Will a few dull edges ruin it's reputation and bankrupt the company, no but at the same time it doesn't help their reputation or sales.
I've been lucky enough to handle a few GEC's and I will say in spite of my limited experience they are one of the best production knives available today.
You've got a good knife, just sharpen it.
 
Bloefield said:
First off, I don't own a GEC product and I know how to sharpen a knife.

This topic seems to come up every so often and generates a lot of debate.
To me it comes down to two basic sides of the argument.

1. Those that love and respect the product irregardless of how sharp the knife they get is, or
2.Those that expect a knife they purchased to be sharp.

That's all. Instead some people that fall into group 2 seem to be chastised for expressing their dissapointment when receiving a not so sharp knife.
That or their knife sharpening skill comes into question. To me that is irrelevent and off topic.

On the other hand GEC enthusiasts are possibly viewed as loyal to a fault by those who don't follow the brand as intensely.

I'm an old Schrade/Camillus kind of guy but I'm planning on purchasing a GEC product in the future.
I'm glad I came to this forum as It made me aware of many things, including GEC knives.
This sharp/not sharp thing is not going to influence my purchase now but it has made me ready to accept I might get a not so sharp knife out of the tube.

Extreme views on either side are just that.
Dismissing a fine line of knives because of a easily rectified issue or not accepting the fact that some people are not of the same level of tolerance is unfortunate.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Usually I snip a post for brevity, but there isn't anything to pare away on that post. So I quoted the whole thing for its truth.

Re-reading this thread, you can see there is the "mine just needed a strop and it was ready for anything" group, and the butter knife group of GEC recipients. No one was bashing GEC, and in the spirit of this sub forum, I haven't seen one post I would consider as critical of the brand.

But all the elements you have in the post are here in this thread, including the reports from guys that "heard" that GEC had changed things (where do they hear these things?) and dutifully reported that here for all to see. Mike is an unimpeachable source on GEC (besides being a straight shooter) so I will take his word over rumor and wishful hearsay.

No doubt this will just be the last quarterly debate on this subject before the year is out and it will come back several times next year as a brand new subject. It always does. Nothing will change, either. Many will post that theirs have always come sharp, some will post that they "bond" with their knives after rebeveling, sharpening and honing and it is a necessary experience to have with any knife they buy. Others will make the butter knife observation, and question why. And of course as noted, there will be those that question the sharpening ability of those that don't think that a premium knife should arrive dull.

Maybe this should be a "sticky"...

Robert
 
Wasn't there a mention or two of GEC's special attention to sharpening in relation to this year's forum knife? I think there was.

The issue of the sharpness of GEC's knives used to come up here all the time, now it only crops up occasionally. Since GEC haven't changed their sharpening practices, maybe the topic is just 'old news' for most of us, or maybe folks just think 'Well they may not be the sharpest knives out of the box, but they sure are some of the best traditionals around today'?

In terms of the two groups mentioned in Bloefield's post, I think I fit into both, kind of. The fact the factory edges can be dull doesn't put me off their knives, but I do think knives should be sold sharp.
 
I've been impressed with recent GECs. My first few weren't particularly sharp, but recently they seem significantly better. The 77s I received (forum knife, Washington Jack, Barlow) all have nicely sharpened blades. I was actually surprised at how good they were.
 
I'm with Jack on this. I have no problem putting a great edge on a new knife. I still think a knife should arrive with a serviceable edge. There are knife buyers and users that aren't knife nuts, like most of us. They should at least be able to expect a serviceable edge.

We have enough stickies already.
 
My main gripe with dullness new, is when the entire edge has a reasonably thin edge, the. Drastically thickens right at the tip as to maintain appearance. Thus when you sharpen the tip properly the bevel at the tip is much wider than the rest of the edge. I use my knives and don't mind them being used, but bevel evenness and readiness to work are also important to me- I want it to look good while working!!
 
Yep, the tip is my issue. Sometimes the clip and spears could use a little more distal taper. Their wharncliffes are wonderful in this regard.
 
The 77's I have received are some of sharpest I have received from GEC. The 21's were not as sharp but have no issue with that.
 
singin50 said:
GEC did recently change the way they sharpen their knives. As recently as a month ago, I believe.
Click to expand...

Thats nice to know. I love my 3 GEC knives BUT I always thought that they should come sharper. I am going to have to buy a new GEC now!
 
Out of my 3 GEC knives I own, 2 were ground flat on the apex of the edge and the other one (my most recent purchase) is sharp, but the bevels are hair thin, I'm not complaining about 3rd knife,it's just something I noticed. My Case knives' bevels are double the size of the GEC.
 
joepa150 said:
Thats nice to know. I love my 3 GEC knives BUT I always thought that they should come sharper. I am going to have to buy a new GEC now!
Click to expand...
Mike said they had not changed their way of sharpening and I take this as the truth. Sure thought I had read this somewhere but can't remember where now.
 
singin50 said:
Mike said they had not changed their way of sharpening and I take this as the truth. Sure thought I had read this somewhere but can't remember where now.
Click to expand...

Maybe they haven't changed their way of sharpening, but perhaps are putting more effort into their sharpening. All I know is the latest GEC knives I have purchased (Washington 77, Tidiioute 77, and Wall st. 99), have been sharper out of the box than the previous 65 GECs I've purchased.
 
I'm sure there are a thousand variables, with the most important being practice. So maybe the hands are improving every day; or maybe those hands were on vacation, etc... I just cornered the hands that generally does the sharpening, and to their knowledge they had not changed their method or process.
 
I just wish they would grind the whole blade thinner, but that goes for just about any knife company...

I like the thinness of old timers and "antiques"
 
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The last few GEC knives I've bought have been really sharp. So I'm happy. :) Their edge grinds--even if sharp--aren't narrow enough for me, so I usually reprofile anyway. But I can't complain.
 
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