Has the steel flaked off my GEC Bull Nose?

C

Cloak&Dagger

Joined
Dec 30, 2016
Messages
11
I just got my first Great Eastern Cutlery knife (a #71 Bull Nose in red linen micarta). I've been wanting a GEC for a long time, partly because of their reputation for excellent fit and finish. I've had quite a run of bad luck recently with knives with bad grinds etc., so I decided it was time to get a GEC. Imagine my surprise when I inspected my knife and found what appears to be a major defect. But I'm not sure if it is a defect, so I need some feedback. The part of the blade where the tang meets the back spring is black and rough. I looked at it closely and it appears as if some of the shiny polished steel surface has flaked off. There is even a visible crack along the edge of the black area and I can stick the point of a pin under it. Does this mean that there is a problem with the heat treat or something, if the steel has flaked off where the spring hits the blade when it snaps open? (Sorry the pictures are not so good.) Thanks for your help.

(You can also see something dark on the steel liner, I rubbed it off with my finger, it was some sort of oily black substance, but I think it is unrelated to the problem I'm inquiring about.)

gec_02.jpg
gec_01.jpg
 
Remember these are handmade items. They have “flaws” and that’s what makes each one unique. A Bullnose is a hard working knife that is built for toughness and usuabity.

All my GECs are dirty - to some degree -from the factory. I suggest cleaning it with a toothbrush and Dawn soap. Dry it and apply oil and get it dirty again. All my GECs have those mark as well, to some degree.

A ‘perfect’ pocketknife is usually 5-10 times that knife’s price. Personally, I like nuances in my slippies and it’s what makes me get different covers on the same model. There’s differences in the same model from different runs.
 
That’s normal! Just heat treat scale that didn’t get ground off and didn’t need to be ground off. Same black stuff that may be in the nail nick of some knives also (making it black instead of white bare steel).

Use it and enjoy it!
 
That's a really sweet looking Bullnose, use and enjoy that fine hard working tool, it should serve you well for many years!
 
Congrats , new slip joints are like a blonde but that's part of the fun.;):thumbsup:
Q: Why did the blonde run out of shampoo so fast?

A: She kept following the instructions: lather, rinse, repeat!
 
Not a flake, not a crack, not a flaw. It's just an effect of how these knives are made. The shiny part was polished, the polishing wheel didn't hit the not shiny part. Don't worry about it.

I do suggest checking the sides of the Tang at the plunge grind to make sure they're not rough to cause burrs on the liners.
 
All of mine have that too! Some of the black gunk is probably factory oil like the others say.
 
Jsega51 said:
To be fair to all of the custom makers out there, GEC’s may be hand assembled, but they are not hand made. There’s a big difference.
Click to expand...

I was gonna say hand-assembled, however, at the time, it seemed like slipping hairs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top