GEC- Wont Get Sharp?

Dump the Sharpmaker! Get some good DMT stones and sharpen that thing up. Sharpmaker is good for maintaing a sharp edge. No good for reprofiling.
 
Whitedog said:
Dump the Sharpmaker! Get some good DMT stones and sharpen that thing up. Sharpmaker is good for maintaing a sharp edge. No good for reprofiling.
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I'll second that, except I use Lansky diamond rods. I like the fine (white) rods for a little touch up, or maybe a microbevel, but for any real work the Sharpmaker only frustrates me.
 
I gave...yes gave away.... three GEC's. Won't buy another. Dull as butter knives. No excuse for that IMO. Very disappointed actually.
 
Sonnemann / Jack, I appreciate your comments. I cannot understand why they would not just finish their job and put an acceptable edge on them? No other knife brand that I have, at any price point does such a poor job. Their designs are very nice; so is the fit & finish, but the edges were so poor that I could not get them sharp at all with my Sharpmaker. I use my knives on a daily basis. I need them to be able to cut. That is not too much to ask of a knifemaker.
 
dan oliver said:
Sonnemann / Jack, I appreciate your comments. I cannot understand why they would not just finish their job and put an acceptable edge on them? No other knife brand that I have, at any price point does such a poor job. Their designs are very nice; so is the fit & finish, but the edges were so poor that I could not get them sharp at all with my Sharpmaker. I use my knives on a daily basis. I need them to be able to cut. That is not too much to ask of a knifemaker.
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I just watched the film in the GEC factory tour thread, where in Part 3 a "razor edge" is put on the knives! :D This does seem to be an ongoing issue, and while I think GEC's steel is excellent and will take a great edge, how many customers want to think about re-profiling a knife they just bought? Most regular guys would just run their thumb across the edge, feel that it isn't sharp, and consider something else. In my opinion, GEC really need to look at this, and all the DIY advice and talk about labour costs in the world doesn't make a bit of difference to that. GEC produce such great-looking knives, why not spend an extra two minutes on ALL of them, putting on the shaving-sharp edge they will take?
 
Based on what I saw in part three of the tour where the knife is sharpened by that talented,ambidextrous, lady, I am seriously impressed with her skill. The last 4 or 5 knives from GEC seem to be acceptably sharp out of the box. The worst experience with dull knives I have had is with Queen on a
Country Cousin (sodbuster). The S&M Heritage in rosewood you've been seeing from me on Wednesdays was similar (but easier to sharpen).

Such seems to be the lot of knife users for the most part. I will say that some companies do a good job, so it is possible. It just doesn't seem to happen enough.

Ed J
 
I guess that is something they may want to address.

Got to admit though that I am entirely in the opposite camp. I am completely pleased when they factory just barely hits the edge. The actual blade grind is much more important to me. If they have this correct I can clean up the edge and get it to my liking a lot better than they can with little fuss. And I don't want to have to waste a bunch of blade material to take off what they would give me and set the bevel at what I prefer. Granted GEC knives tend to have taller blades and the loss of material wouldn't be huge but I still prefer to not waste it resetting the edge.

But that is just me. I think I am outnumbered. :)

Will
 
It's definitely a weird double-standard when it comes to higher-end traditional folding knives. Consumers don't tend to tolerate a brand new knife with dull edges when it comes to higher-end fixed blades, in my experience. Sure, I've touched them up to my liking, but they generally are expected to arrive reasonably sharp, out of the box - certainly not dull, and possibly in need of re-profiling. I'm thinking Bark River, Blind Horse, etc. Heck - even inexpensive Buck knives seem to consistently be quite sharp out of the box.

So I've never understood why the same expectation doesn't hold for Queen, S&M and GEC. I've only received one GEC (out of 8) that was really dull. But every Queen and S&M I've purchased could barely slice butter when I got it.

I don't mind sharpening at all (in fact I enjoy it), but that's beside the point, imo. A high end knife should leave the factory sharp.
 
As the Zen philosopher Basha once wrote "A flute without holes, is not a flute. A knife with a dull blade, is not a knife. A donut without a hole, is a Danish." ;)

I agree that the typical GEC edge was not very sharp until a few years ago, but I think they are getting better. The 2011, and 2012 Forum knife were sharp. Not really sharp enough for me, but I wouldn't hand one to a toddler either. The Conductor Whittler I got a few weeks ago would actually shave arm hair right out of the tube.

Queen* on the other hand has easily the worse sharpening I have ever seen on any knife. Like a dull, poorly ground chisel at times. You would no doubt find a better edge on all 101 knives if you bought one of those late night TV "101 knives for $100" deals.

*In fairness, I have not handled a knife from the new ownership group at Queen, so maybe they are better now.
 
You can reprofile D2 with the SharpMaker. The diamond rods are your friends!

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dan oliver said:
I gave...yes gave away.... three GEC's. Won't buy another. Dull as butter knives. No excuse for that IMO. Very disappointed actually.
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If you use the knife, you're going to have to sharpen it at some point anyway. I think all new knives should ship sharp, but I'm not going to dump it because it doesn't. I just sharpen it.
 
FLymon said:
As the Zen philosopher Basha once wrote "A flute without holes, is not a flute. A knife with a dull blade, is not a knife. A donut without a hole, is a Danish." ;)

I agree that the typical GEC edge was not very sharp until a few years ago, but I think they are getting better. The 2011, and 2012 Forum knife were sharp. Not really sharp enough for me, but I wouldn't hand one to a toddler either. The Conductor Whittler I got a few weeks ago would actually shave arm hair right out of the tube.

Queen* on the other hand has easily the worse sharpening I have ever seen on any knife. Like a dull, poorly ground chisel at times. You would no doubt find a better edge on all 101 knives if you bought one of those late night TV "101 knives for $100" deals.

*In fairness, I have not handled a knife from the new ownership group at Queen, so maybe they are better now.
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My 2012 forum knife wouldn't even cut paper. It was incredibly dull, but a little work and it was razor sharp. I like GEC's 1095. It's easy to sharpen to shaving sharp and touchups are quick.
 
I'm sure its frustrating to have a knife that you are unable to sharpen. I really do not get it though. It would be one thing if we were talking about a .320" thick prybar made of super steel but these are 1095 and very thin blades. I have never had to go lower grit than a natural black arkansas stone to reprofile a GEC.

I'm NOT defending GEC for this, they can run their company however they want. I don't get a thing from them....

I'm saying this for the sake of the folks that are less than stellar with sharpening. A problem I had years ago and when I took the time to stop buying knives and buy some sharpening supplies this whole knife thing became so much more enjoyable.

Most guys could benefit by getting one DMT bench stone for reprofiling and then use the sharpmaker for touch ups.

I remember the frustrations of being a novice sharpening but man taking the time and money to learn to do it right was worth it.

Kevin
 
Good post Kevin with some good advice. :)
But could you clarify - you reprofile 1095 with a surgical black Arkansas?
 
jwren said:
you reprofile 1095 with a surgical black Arkansas?
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It's up to kevin to answer, but I bet he does :rolleyes:
As for the OP: I'm climbing the learning curve of sharpening skills myself, but there is one thing I have learned some time ago. There surely are steels that sharpen "better" or "easier" than others, but in the end it's all up to your skills (and sometimes tools). In my small knife experience, I've seen people getting anything sharp, from a SAK to a Vanadis 23 fixed blade made here in Italy, and by sharp I mean sharp beyond any real needs (edge retention being another matter, of course). Maybe GEC's steel is just different from what you've dealt with so far, and you just need more time, or an adjusted technique, but it can get sharp.
And yes, you are right, any new knife should come sharp from the factory, but there's more to a knife than factory edge :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
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