- Joined
- Nov 12, 2011
- Messages
- 1,884
+1, 2 and 3! Ridiculous Comments! Tongue in cheek or not, this stuff has no place here. There is absolutely nothing even remotely funny about suicide! Come on MODS!
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
I love GECs but...
- Thread starter B Hess
- Start date
+1, 2 and 3! Ridiculous Comments! Tongue in cheek or not, this stuff has no place here. There is absolutely nothing even remotely funny about suicide! Come on MODS!
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2006
- Messages
- 44,254
Bob, none of the comments have been contrary to forum posting guidelines.
We get enough crap from posters for insisting on no cussing. We not going to become the thought police.
Be careful what you wish for. Some of your own posts have been over the line and we have let them go.
Now, this is done. It is going to be dropped. Talk about the topic and not about each other.
If I received a knife with a grind that was THAT much off, I would definitely send it back to the manufacturer, gec or not. This comment is a little surprising to me actually. Gec's seem to have better, more consistent grinds than other brands of production traditional's, in my experience. Do you have pics showing this? You'd be right to be concerned if you see a problem like that. On some blades, the grind is basically chisel, but only when the pattern demands it for fit (multiple blades), at least in the ones I've handled.
On the topic of having to sharpen out-of-the-box... that doesn't bother me really. Everyone has different preferences for edges, based on individual tastes or uses. Personally, my edc knives can easily slice paper, but they are not always 'hair-shaving sharp' since I don't use them to shave! Edge is a compromise between strength and sharpness. I just keep mine sharp enough for the tasks I need it for. Any sharper, the edge would be prone to chipping and so on.
edited to add: nvm if that's about uneven bevels. Yes, I've seen those on gec's. In that, and for out-of-box sharpness, gec is about the same as other trad. production brands. there seems to be a greater range of variation WITHIN a brand than BETWEEN different brands from what I've seen. YMMV
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2011
- Messages
- 1,884
So now it's about ME? No worries, I'm done
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2012
- Messages
- 2,554
One nice thing is the 1095 GEC uses does sharpen up very well and my edges are easily maintained with a strop.
Gary W. Graley
“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Mar 2, 1999
- Messages
- 27,786
I've not received any that I recall as being sharp out of the box, but as others have said, they sharpen up very nicely.
I have received some with uneven bevels, one was a really nice wharncliff, I ended up sending that back as getting the bevels leveled out I felt would remove too much metal, plus I felt that while you usually need to sharpen them you shouldn't have to any major/minor re-profiling of the edge bevel.
Right now I'm GEC less, hope to rectify that on their open house day when I get down that way in August.
G2
I have received some with uneven bevels, one was a really nice wharncliff, I ended up sending that back as getting the bevels leveled out I felt would remove too much metal, plus I felt that while you usually need to sharpen them you shouldn't have to any major/minor re-profiling of the edge bevel.
Right now I'm GEC less, hope to rectify that on their open house day when I get down that way in August.
G2
To me, a new knife that's dull right out of the box (or tube) is an insult to the customer. How would you feel if the new car you just bought
was delivered with an empty fuel tank and in need of a tune up? Isn't the measure of a knife company the quality of the blade which, of
course, includes sharpness? Of course I can sharpen my own knives but when paying a premium price for a GEC I simply shouldn't have to.
And yeah, in my experience Case really DOES deliver a sharper product to the customer than GEC.
was delivered with an empty fuel tank and in need of a tune up? Isn't the measure of a knife company the quality of the blade which, of
course, includes sharpness? Of course I can sharpen my own knives but when paying a premium price for a GEC I simply shouldn't have to.
And yeah, in my experience Case really DOES deliver a sharper product to the customer than GEC.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that in the past many traditional knives were left unsharpened intentionally. The idea was for the new owner to sharpen it to their own liking. For instance, many will put a razor edge on their trapper clip blade, and a more robust one on the spey.
Actually when you leave a dealership in your new car, the tank is supposed to be full. Standard practice.
I bought a new car last month. Just before I departed with the car, the service manager gave me chit for a free tank of gas/fill up for a gas station down the street because the gauge needle was just off of the full mark (the tank was short a gallon or so from being filled). Also since I would have to go out of my way to fill the tank at that station after I used the gas that was then in the tank, he gave me dated card worth two years of oil and filter changes at the dealership's service department.
GEC might do well to follow that example. Uneven/asymmetric bevels is nothing but unsatisfactory regardless of cutler/manufacturer.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2009
- Messages
- 4,809
One time, I received a GEC so sharp that when I opened it up, it cut a hole in the space-time continuum and I fell clear into next week
. COME ON GEC!!! 
I mean seriously. A week!?!?! A few hours ahead could save me some aggravation at the DMV :grumpy:. Or if I fell back in time, I could've been a super hero
. Or bought a lottery ticket. I don't feel it right to send it back to the dealer... should I send it back in to GEC or should I dul.. I mean sharpen her up myself?
True story. :^)
. COME ON GEC!!! I mean seriously. A week!?!?! A few hours ahead could save me some aggravation at the DMV :grumpy:. Or if I fell back in time, I could've been a super hero. Or bought a lottery ticket. I don't feel it right to send it back to the dealer... should I send it back in to GEC or should I dul.. I mean sharpen her up myself?True story. :^)
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2005
- Messages
- 4,251
With the exception of my Radio Knife, none of my GEC knives came near as sharp as I'd like. That said, I still sat down with my Radio Knife and touched it up to where is was more how I like it. The good thing is that the edge profiles on them all were good and it didn't take much to get them sharpened up to an acceptable level. While it would be nice for them to come razor sharp out of the tube, I don't get upset about it.
Thank you.
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2013
- Messages
- 442
I believe you are correct, but the other way around. The trapper clip was used for general utility and would have a more robust edge. The spey was used for "surgery" and would have a thin razor edge.
As I said in my earlier post, I sharpen the edge based on my intended use as well.
Modoc ED
Gold Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2010
- Messages
- 14,396
I think that's the key. The degree of sharpness a knife has out of the box or tube is an individual perception. For instance, I'm ok if a blade is sharp enough to cleanly slice a piece of typing paper or a piece of advertising paper from a flyer in the newspaper or a piece of newspaper itself. On the other hand, that may not or will not be good enough for a guy/gal that likes an edge capable of shaving and splitting hairs - "hair poppin sharp" and then there are people that like their knives "scary sharp" and no knife comes out of the box that sharp. Those people ("scary sharp people") are people that love sharpening and who (or is it whom) are willing to spend hours at the sharpening table.
Modoc ED
Gold Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2010
- Messages
- 14,396
One time, I received a GEC so sharp that when I opened it up, it cut a hole in the space-time continuum and I fell clear into next week
True story. :^)
So Trand, since you are now a week ahead, should I book a flight to come visit you next Friday for the following Friday? Don't be waving that knife around too much or you may find yourself closer to your expiration date.
Like you, I don't think a dull or uneven blade is a good enough reason to send a knife back to a dealer/manufacture but then again that's just my ,02¢ .
Logically, if there were any factual basis for that claim, it would have been mentioned--or even bragged upon--in advertisements. Instead, when we look at old ads and catalogs, what we see is claims made for sharpness and usability out of the box. In examining over 3,000 ads from the 1875-1980 time period, I have yet to see even one stating that the edges were left unsharpened.
