Is This Common on GEC Knives with Jigged Bone Scales?

kamagong said:
There's your problem right there. GEC does make knives to a very high level, but none of the ones I've seen are perfect. Not even the knives I've seen from the benches of Ken Erickson or Tony Bose reach that impossible standard.
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I have to agree here, GEC is putting out a hand-made / hand-jigged "everyman's" pocket knife, not a $400 custom. That's where you can start demanding these sorts of details IMHO.

A month or so in your pocket and you'll never notice anything rough on the scales. I'm sure there's an occasional oops that gets through the QC department but this pictured here is typical of production traditional pocket knives of the past 100 years.
 
I sent this one back. Been with GEC a little over a month now........I have to fight every urge in my body to not call on a weekly basis to check on status. Haha.

For me that 33 is an expense knife......and I have cheaper knives that don't have the flaw. Not sure what id do with your knife. Id just have to hold it and see what it tells me.

Jim

 
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Yes it's an imperfection. The only question is whether or not it bothers you. If it does, return the knife. Personally I'd prefer that kind of pin over sunk ones.

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I kept mine even though the sunk pins are annoying. I know they can make pins flush

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Nice and flush right there. However, it makes me hesitate to use and carry it because it's too pretty. For me having one imperfection like a sunk pin makes it easier to carry and use the knife.
 
Maple Tree said:
I'm just curious why it's only the centre pin.
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It's because pins that go through the backspring have to be spun after assembling the knife. The other pins that hold the covers on are peened on the inside of the liner before final assembly. With non jigged covers they can be sanded and buffed to a smooth finish.
 
The holes for spun center hole pins (I'm not talking cover pins here) need to be counter bored slightly larger than the domed head that is produced in order for the spinner head to do its job without gouging the covers. The counter bore also levels the surface so that the spun pin call lay flat without any sharp high sides. If you've got a slightly slanted cover as on the conductor, you're going to wind up with a slightly deeper cut on the high side. This is all quite normal. Certainly doesn't warrant all the extra postage costs that are involved. Post number 22 is a completely different issue, you can see that there was an issue with the spinner head jumping off the pin and also mushrooming it.
 
Those newer pictures do show the flaws more prominently, that centre pin looks like it has a rough surround, which could very well lead to cracking...:eek: think I'd ask for another knife actually.
 
ea42 said:
The holes for spun center hole pins (I'm not talking cover pins here) need to be counter bored slightly larger than the domed head that is produced in order for the spinner head to do its job without gouging the covers. The counter bore also levels the surface so that the spun pin call lay flat without any sharp high sides. If you've got a slightly slanted cover as on the conductor, you're going to wind up with a slightly deeper cut on the high side. This is all quite normal. Certainly doesn't warrant all the extra postage costs that are involved. Post number 22 is a completely different issue, you can see that there was an issue with the spinner head jumping off the pin and also mushrooming it.
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It's always enjoyable to read your posts about manufacturing processes.

knife_fan said:
Here's a few more pictures further away. You can see the white bone around the pin.

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You will find similar pins on a LOT of knives.
 
Slightly goobered center pins and sunken pins too far down, are one of the reasons GEC was a turn off for me when they first entered the business and it has continued. This thread touches on a GEC problem, or probably better characterized as a GEC design feature, that is not popular with everyone. If you buy GEC, you should not be surprised the center pin has a spun doughnut around it, is slightly squished, or is too low compared to the scales of other firms. You also should not be surprised if the other pins are "too low." I would usually say return it for replacement so the company can learn from their customers, but in this case I believe GEC would not feel there is a problem since that's the way they make 'em. If you don't like it, return it and pick something else or get a refund.
 
Brownshoe, I tend to agree. GEC seem to feel that sink hole pins are OK, for many people it's not a problem. But I don't like it, I want the pins all the same. GEC can get it right and when they do it makes the knife superb, see Fanglekai's post. Interestingly, my Queen knives don't have this pin disparity, nor do most CASE knives.

This is what I prefer to see on a GEC knife, domed pins nicely done.

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It's not something that is unique to GEC and it is not always prominent on their knives. I don't notice it at all on some of my knife like the 38 whittler. It's also not something new. The knife in the photo (below) is older than me.

Recently, I was looking at knives on several distributer web sites and enjoyed seeing photos of the front and back of each knife.... sometimes there's even a photo of the well. And the photos are LARGE. It's especially nice for picking stag covers. It wasn't long ago that dealers used stock photos and you didn't know what you'd get until you opened the box. Knife collecting has really come a long way.

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I still haven't heard back from GEC yet. I have to say I'm not impressed with their response time. Also hearing that OneJim has been waiting over a month for his knife kind of sealed the deal on it going back to the dealer.

If I decide to get a GEC knife in bone scales in the future, it'll be from a dealer that lists pictures of the specific knife. I don't trust stock photos anymore.
 
knife_fan said:
I recently purchased a new Tidioute #33 Whittler in Spring Green Jigged Bone. I must admit i was let down when I opened the waxed paper. :(

The center pin looks to be set to low in the bone and has carved a circle around the pin on both sides. Also the jigged bone looks to have a bunch of chips in it on the back side off to the right. It's rough in spots.

Are these issues common with GEC knives in jigged bone?

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The issues you show are so ridiculously minor that if I were a dealer or manufacture, I would refuse to accept the knife for replacement or refund should you try to return it whether it meant losing you as a customer or not.
 
knife_fan said:
I still haven't heard back from GEC yet. I have to say I'm not impressed with their response time. Also hearing that OneJim has been waiting over a month for his knife kind of sealed the deal on it going back to the dealer.

If I decide to get a GEC knife in bone scales in the future, it'll be from a dealer that lists pictures of the specific knife. I don't trust stock photos anymore.
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I guess i have been either lucky or not to fussy about cover pins and the holes they sit in, although i would not send away for a knife that showed a "sink hole" in the picture on the dealers site. The only knife i have sent back to GEC was a lovely little Stag Watch pocket sunfish that ripped my thumb nail out the first time i tried to open it, i tried all i could think of to ease the blade before eventually sending it back for attention, i must say GEC were very good and it came back just perfect, but the disadvantage with living in the UK is that the combined postage plus fixing time, meant that by the time it came back to me i had just about forgotten all about it. So the moral of this story is, Even if the covers are perfect watch out for the blade. Good luck with which ever route you decide upon, but i would go with the give it a gentle rub down and live with it vote.
 
Modoc ED said:
The issues you show are so ridiculously minor that if I were a dealer or manufacture, I would refuse to accept the knife for replacement or refund should you try to return it whether it meant losing you as a customer or not.
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It is a $191.95 list price knife. There is no harm in returning it to the dealer if he's not satisfied. You cannot really know a knife until you hold it. I've seen enough GEC in hand, that I would not buy one w/o seeing it first or buying with an option of return after inspection. Be careful, some GEC dealers don't let you return after inspection for a refund, so make sure you read the terms and conditions before buying.
 
knife_fan said:
I still haven't heard back from GEC yet. I have to say I'm not impressed with their response time. Also hearing that OneJim has been waiting over a month for his knife kind of sealed the deal on it going back to the dealer.

If I decide to get a GEC knife in bone scales in the future, it'll be from a dealer that lists pictures of the specific knife. I don't trust stock photos anymore.
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Your knife, do as you please. I do think your expectations are entirely too high both on GEC's customer response time as well as the product in general. Afterall, it is a factory knife not a custom knife.
 
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