I love GECs but...

B Hess

B Hess

Joined
Feb 20, 2006
Messages
1,471
I am tired of just about every GEC I get being dull and needing to be reprofiled. The quality of the knives is amazing and I love the patterns and choices of scales. I just can't get past how bad the edges are on the ones I get.
 
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That sucks. I haven't had that problem with GEC, but it certainly has been an issue with some companies so I can sympathize.

Maybe let them know what problems you're having, I know they listen to their customers.
 
It can be frustrating to get a knife that immediately needs some attention, but I just count it as one of the quirks of GEC and Queen.

It is kind of a ritual, when I get a new one, the first thing I do is sharpen it.
 
I had a huge problem with this when I bought my first GEC. The edge was not very good at all and I was not very good at all with sharpening. I also came from the modern knives world where the steel is often much more abrasive resistant and the company I liked/like was known for great factory edges. Now that I am better at sharpening (and buy almost exclusively GEC's recently), I don't mind it that much. It doesn't take too long to put an edge on a GEC with diamond stones, even if it's a multiple blade knife. I actually enjoy it, putting my own edge, as long as it doesn't take too too long. You can put as thin or thick an edge as you like or have the ability to do.
 
B Hess said:
I am tired of just about every GEC I get being dull and needing to be reprofiled. The quality of the knives is amazing and I love the patterns and choices of scales. I just can't get past how bad the edges are on the ones I get.
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I know exactly how you feel. I have bought 6 or 7 of them in the last 4 years & none of them were even remotely ground evenly much less be able to cut anything.
If you are going to charge a premium price for a knife it should not be sent to the end user like that. I for one will not be buying any more GEC.
If companies that build hundreds of thousands & even more knives a year can take the time to put a working edge on their blades there is no excuse for GEC not to.
I am a fair hand at sharpening but do not feel it should have to be done to a brand new knife
 
My GECs have been better out of the box than Queen. I just ordered another Queen, so I'll see if it is better than my past couple (in sharpness), or not.

Ed J
 
Most of mine have been good but I have had some dull ones too. Sharpening is fun & after i have my edge on there it feels like my knife. Swearing a brand off because it doesn't have a perfect edge from the factory but is superior in pretty much all the areas that matter is a logic i don't really understand I guess. :)
 
Different strokes for different folks I guess, it makes no difference to me. To me, if it's going to be a user and it comes dull no big deal cause I get to put my own edge on the knife. Let's face it, you're going to sharpen the user knife as some point anyway. Now if I buy it to be a safe queen, whatever edge comes from the factory is ok by me. I don't care how sharp it is since I'm not using it to cut anyway and having the factory edge, no matter how bad, makes it minty fresh and original. It's your money though and if you're not happy then I can't blame you for hopping ship to another maker.
 
One thing I've notice on all my GECs is that the edge is worse at the tip, even squared off on most of mine. The rest of the edge is usually useable but the last half inch or so to the tip is where mine require re profiling. I'm very picky about my edge. I inspect it very closely upon arrival and at this point I've had 9 GECs all with this issue. Now having said that, it's not a deal breaker or anything for me since I'm able to sharpen just fine. But, it would be nice, especially for what we pay, to have an edge that just needs to be maintained, not re profiled.
 
perchjerk said:
One thing I've notice on all my GECs is that the edge is worse at the tip, even squared off on most of mine. The rest of the edge is usually useable but the last half inch or so to the tip is where mine require re profiling. I'm very picky about my edge. I inspect it very closely upon arrival and at this point I've had 9 GECs all with this issue. Now having said that, it's not a deal breaker or anything for me since I'm able to sharpen just fine. But, it would be nice, especially for what we pay, to have an edge that just needs to be maintained, not re profiled.
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This!!! ^ The tips have also been extremely thick on mine.

Just an invitation to thin the whole edge out I guess.
 
Just not that big a deal to me I guess. The alternative is to buy an inferior overall quality knife in that price range that has an acceptable edge to you. Or you can spend double or triple or even more for a custom. I can't see the logic in that.

I agree they should have a good edge on them. Write or call GEC and express youR displeasure in this. Beyond that personally I'm not going to worry that much about it. For $80-$100 it's an outstanding quality knife. I know of no other company at the moment in this price range that delivers the quality of GEC.
 
Yeah, I completely agree. The last few GECs I've bought haven't even been sharp enough to cut printer paper. Most have been really easy to reprofile and sharpen, but I'm still having issues with one. And that is super frustrating, since I don't want to buy a DIY project. I just want a knife that works right away. This is one area where Case blows them out of the water, imo. Every Case I've seen has had a wicked edge with a great edge profile. I even emailed GEC with a mild complaint about it. I guess that went over like a lead balloon. :disturbed:
 
Of all the things that might be wrong with a knife. A dull edge is the easiest for the average user to fix. And for the average knife knut, it's even easier.

Personally, I've never received any knife, modern or traditional, that I didn't fuss with the edge to make it the way I like it.
 
knarfeng said:
Of all the things that might be wrong with a knife. A dull edge is the easiest for the average user to fix. And for the average knife knut, it's even easier.

Personally, I've never received any knife, modern or traditional, that I didn't fuss with the edge to make it the way I like it.
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Very well stated, please quit reading my mail :D
 
I'm still pretty new to GECs having only gotten a handful in the past couple of months but I agree about the dull edges. However it's not put me off the brand 'cos every knife I buy is going to be a user. That means that at some point in time, I'm gonna have to sharpen the knife anyway. With GECs, that time just happens to be right when I first receive them :rolleyes:

I'll still buy GECs 'cos I think they offer a lot of knife for the money. That being said, I do wish they'd improve on their edges. After all, if the budget class Rough Riders and a recently arrived chinese-made Baladeo anchor knife can slice paper right out of the box, I don't see why GEC can't.
 
I guess we all have different experiences. I don't have a lot of GEC knives, but the ones I purchased last year new all had acceptably sharp edges on them out of the tube. Not as sharp as a knife I have sharpened myself, but good enough to drop in a pocket without sharpening first.

As much of a Case fan as I am, I wouldn't say their factory edges are anything to be proud of, at least not on the SS knives. Mine have almost always had a wire edge and a fairly coarse grind on the bevel. The profiles were usually good, but needed some work on the stones and strop to smooth up the edges.

Case does a much better job of turning out a "ready to use" blade on their CV knives, from my experience with them. I bought a Chestnut Bone CV Mini Trapper last year that was a work of art, it was shaving sharp out of the box with no burr and a smooth grind. I've still never had to touch that one up. I picked up a trio of their Yellow Delrin CV that were also quite good. They needed some sharpening but not much.

I got a Queen D2 on the other hand that needed a fair bit of effort just to get it apexed.
 
thedaver8 said:
Yeah, I completely agree. The last few GECs I've bought haven't even been sharp enough to cut printer paper. Most have been really easy to reprofile and sharpen, but I'm still having issues with one. And that is super frustrating, since I don't want to buy a DIY project. I just want a knife that works right away. This is one area where Case blows them out of the water, imo. Every Case I've seen has had a wicked edge with a great edge profile. I even emailed GEC with a mild complaint about it. I guess that went over like a lead balloon. :disturbed:
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That's what I'm saying. If Case can do it why can't GEC at twice the price?
 
Buck and Spyderco have been the most consistently sharp out of the box for me. Case and Rough Rider are usually sharp, but very coarse. Up close, some of them even look like they are serrated (from the side, not along the apex). Around 2009 or '10, GEC had a big improvement in their sharpening, but it could still be better. A couple of the Charlows I've had were really good, along with a couple of their smaller thinner blades, but overall they are just adequate. Their 440C, which is run a couple points harder than Case's Tru-Sharp, holds an edge very well and does not form the wire edge like the softer, "gummier" Case 420. If they would just get two specialists, one to set the bevels and another to put the final edge on (maybe using paper wheels), they could really have something.
 
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