I love GECs but...

It has occurred to me (perhaps incorrectly) that since some brands of traditional knives are sold primarily for collecting rather than using, that a poorly finished edge might be by intent, to serve as proof when selling that it has "never been sharpened" which seems help the resale price.

Knives where the maker thinks they will get used perhaps come sharp out of the box by design.

I have no knowledge of the knifemakers' intentions, just a conjecture.
 
John, on that weekly knife show from the "big blue roof" they said essentially that very thing about Queen. If they had an edge on 'em, you knew somebody had used it.
 
The First GEC I have bought had an alright edge except for the tip. Looked like the tip of a butter knife! Few min on my water stones and it razor sharp. Love that little knife. Replaced my opinel just right.
 
Par for the course with us knife enthusiasts. I'm with Frank, I always fuss with the edge no matter how the knife arrives.
 
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 have to agree that I find the obtuse edge on almost every GE knife I've ever purchased to be an incredible shame. Most especially in light of the fact of how amazingly sharp an edge that they can obtain and hold, given the right attention. To many of us, (myself included) this is no big problem, because as Frank stated earlier:

" 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."

The problem for others is in the simple fact that a fair number of people never get to appreciate the cutlery's full potential because it never gets more attention than the quickly-ground factory edge. I understand that a company running production slipjoints cannot devote a lot of time and resources to honing razor edges without raising prices, but not all of their customers have the time or experience to do it for themselves.

There should be some middle ground.

I realize that no edge from a factory would be likely to satisfy me, but it would be nice to see better than a quick swipe across a belt or wheel at 30 degrees per side for those who aren't as OCD about edges as myself.
 
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I'm considering getting one for what would really be my first "nice" slipjoint. I end up re-profiling every knife I use anyway. seems very odd to me though, you'd think someone making knives would have that pretty high on the list.
 
monger4142 said:
I'm considering getting one for what would really be my first "nice" slipjoint. I end up re-profiling every knife I use anyway. seems very odd to me though, you'd think someone making knives would have that pretty high on the list.
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Don't let "Negative Nellies" like myself dissuade you; every GE knife I've ever purchased I'd buy again. If you've the time and ability to put your own edge on one, I'll wager you'll be a repeat customer of Great Eastern :)
 
I have never considered any knife as mine until I put my own edge onto the steel. For me that is the ritual of bonding with the tool...
The GEC's that I have gotten new have mostly been OK from the factory, with only a few that I would call dull, no better, or worse, than any other manufacturer in my experience.
 
Pretty much every knife I've bought regardless of company wasn't all that sharp. I've had to thin the edge on almost all of them, and usually the tip area is at a higher angle than the rest of the blade. I guess reprofiling is just part of the hobby. Even with a Wicked Edge it still takes me a while to reprofile even a small blade. I try to go slowly and carefully establish the bevel. Once I get the edge to 15dps on the WEPS or 12 dps or so free handed it takes less than a minute to actually sharpen the edge on the Sharpmaker. Maintaining the edge at that point is simple and very fast. The initial shaping is slow and tedious. I don't care if knives come with a coarse edge. Ideally they'd have a consistent <15 dps bevel so I can sharpen them easily and quickly at the 15 dps setting on my Sharpmaker.

But of course everyone wants something different. More attention to the edge = more cost for the factory. I'd rather have tight tolerances and nice materials than a sharp edge. GECs don't tend to take a horribly long time to shape the edge. I'm not very fast at it. YMMV and all that.
 
ALLHSS said:
This!!! ^ The tips have also been extremely thick on mine.

Just an invitation to thin the whole edge out I guess.
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I screwed up the tip on mine trying to reprofile mine on my DMT Aligner, there was a chip in it or something and I ended up removing a lot of metal on one side :grumpy:. It annoys me when I pull out my Bullnose but it was my fault and I just had to get rid of it and before you knew it the tip looks like junk even more.

But honestly I assume every knife I own needs to be reprofiled when you buy it. I just assume they did a poor job at it or they put an obtuse angle on it and I prefer something more acute.
 
Most of my GEC knives are anywhere from dull to barely sharp out of the tube. The one exception I recall was when they came out with the Radio Knife. It was wicked sharp right out of the tube.

I have about 50 Queen made Winchesters that are really sharp out of the box.

Regardless, if I buy a knife to be a user, I always sharpen it and re-profile the edge how I like. For a utility edge I get it sharp on a Sharpmaker at 30 degrees, then finish it of at 40 degrees. For a whittling edge I only use 30 degrees. If I will be doing a lot of whittling with the knife, I will also knock the shoulder back by laying the blade flat on a series of diamond and ceramic stones, followed by multiple grades of sandpaper.

The only knife maker I know of that is always sharp out of the box is Victorinox.
 
Hopefully GEC will up the game on their edges.

I have had about 8. Most had decent edges. A few needed a bit of sharpening to be paper slicing.

But that darned 1095 just takes a few minutes to get where you want it. But the kicker is that none of the primary grinds has been too thick behind the edge.

With My Queens, the edges have been terrible, and thick behind the edges, and that D2 takes way more time to re-profile. Once you get a good edge on it, though, it is worth it.
 
I am in the camp of sharpening my new knives, even before I will carry them. With one exception; Kershaw. I have never purchased a Kershaw knife (I have owned a few!) that didn't come anywhere from pretty sharp to just razor like.

I haven't purchased a traditional pattern in years that came with an edge I like. Used to many, many years ago, but no more.

Since I don't collect knives, I look to see if they function properly and have acceptable fit and finish. Those are the deal killers for me. I always plan on sharpening as I rarely like the grind angles and the quality of the edge. Like me, I would bet that most experienced knife owners don't care for factory edges to begin with.

But I agree that if I was a vendor of $100 and up knives that I would have "a guy" that inspected and touched up all edges from my shop as it is really important to a lot of folks. Whether they admit it or not, look how folks crow when they get a knife that is really sharp out of the box. They can't wait to share. And for me, it is a joy to open a Kershaw and simply drop in my pocket until I feel it needs some attention.

But these days I am satisfied with good fit and finish, and walk/talk.

Besides the 10XX series of carbon steels used on most of the traditional patterns is soft enough to be very easily rebeveled and sharpened in no time. Same goes with most stainless steels used on the traditional offerings. I can sharpen in front of the TV or while watching something on the computer, so no big deal.

Robert
 
I have noticed that the GEC's purchased the last couple of months have been decently sharp and would slice paper, maybe the are trying to correct this?
 
My sharpening skills are hit or miss so the poor factory edges on my GECs have frustrated me. Never enough to stop purchasing them. However this week I received a #48 Trapper that was hair shaving sharp on both blades from the factory. Still did some stropping but I was pleased to finally get one from the factory with a pretty perfect edge. :thumbup:
 
The tip grinding on GEC's has always confused me. Their spear and clips always seem a little blunt and thick with the exception of my recent #92 Talon which was thin and pointy. On the other hand, they have done a stellar job on every wharncliffe blade I have, a very fine, needle point. It seems to me they have the ability but choose to thicken up the spears and clips. Is this a matter of helping to prevent snapped tips? Has anyone ever broke or bent the tip on a GEC?
 
The gec's I've received have all been pretty decent out of the tube. I touch them up anyways. I have to agree with blademan13 above. Every wharncliffe I've received has had an excellent point on it, sharp and not rounded towards the top. I think GEC is on par with the other manufacturers for out of the box sharpness. I just bought a brand new Case muskrat last week. It was sharp (about the same as gec) but the tips on both blades were burned very slightly. In the same spot visible just behind the point on the back. No big deal as I doubt that little bit will affect the temper much. But still, thats one of the risks the manufacture takes to sharpen with a belt or wheel I suppose. I've never seen how they sharpen at the factory, but if they do it with just one pass on each side of the edge, then it must remove a fair amount of steel to reach an apex i would think. Truthfully I wouldn't even mind if GEC or others offered new knives with NO edge put on them. Just finish ground with no bevel, Id buy them. Its satisfying putting your own edge on the way you like it
 
It's not so much the sharpness as the obtuse grind angles that need to be reprofiled. Any Case I open just needs a couple strokes on a sharpmaker and it's shaving sharp. 90% of the GECs I open up need some serious time put in before the will get that sharp. But like I said I love the darn things and can't keep from buying them.
 
It's been my experience that GEC knives post-2011 have been much sharper out of the tube than their 2007 through 2011 knives. That said; GEC knives are not hair poppin sharp even today but the ones I've had recently are serviceable out of the tube.

Here's a test for those complaining about this issue (dull, uneven, edges) that has been known since GEC's get-go.

Draw the cutting edged of your new knife across your throat. If it will slice your throat, at least it's "throat poppin sharp".

As a substitute, go out to your shed or garage and see if the cutting edge of your new knife will cut a piece of rope. If it cuts the rope that's great - if not, hang yourself with the rope.

These two tests are offered tongue-in-cheek but it's not uncommon to have to sharpen almost any traditional knife out of the box or tube if you're looking for a razor edge.
 
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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I am not expecting a shaving edge but at least a decent even grind. I have gotten a couple that were almost a chisel grind where one side had almost no metal removed.
I have no problem sharpening them but I also know how to sew. If I buy a $40-50 dress shirt & half the buttons are not sewn properly I am not getting the needle & thread
out, the shirt will be returned.
As long as customers keep accepting them the way they shipped GEC will never raise the bar.
 
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