Lets talk GEC!

nice Jak3.
love the toothpicks.

Heres that ruby red -2010 it is.
In a photo I call "theres got to be a morning after":)
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This one arrived today. Loving it! The color is great on these covers.
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GEC secondaries drive me nuts at times... they take a fair amount of work to get them to the point I can use them. I'd like to be able to open the secondary without having to open the primary, or worry about running it into the liner, or other blades. I know all the tricks to get them dialed in, but it's a pain. I used to look at it as a bonding experience. I used to like the idea that I could dial in the secondary right where I wanted it, but anymore it's a chore. My preferences change over time, right now I'm inclined to stick with single blades and carry a pocket tool.
 
When you say "dial it in," just exactly what do you mean? Are you talking about the pull strength, making the secondary easier to open?
 
Yes, for some reason almost every 2-blade jack I've had from GEC has a stronger pull on the pen or coping secondary, compared to the main blade. With a shorter blade, the spring needs to be a little weaker to compensate for the lack of mechanical advantage. I'm not sure why it's so hard to get this right.
 
black mamba said:
Yes, for some reason almost every 2-blade jack I've had from GEC has a stronger pull on the pen or coping secondary, compared to the main blade. With a shorter blade, the spring needs to be a little weaker to compensate for the lack of mechanical advantage. I'm not sure why it's so hard to get this right.
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Some people say the secondary is so hard to open to make them safer. That can't really be the case,... after fighting with a couple knives over the past week I grabbed my 30 year old SAK, it opens smoothly and has never opened in my pocket. Just the same as my 1 year old SAK.. never hear stories about people losing fingers, or knives opening up in the pocket of many other brands that are much easier to open.

I've read comments where people say the spring is so strong to make them last longer. In my opinion this is not the case, but I'm not 100% sure because I'm not a knife maker and haven't used a GEC for 20 years. My assumption is, the super high spring tension reduces the life because the spring and tang are under so much pressure that over a long period of time the tang will round. After the tang rounds a bit the tension is still there and where the tang and spring meet up the spring starts to round too. Maybe this takes 100 years and I'm complaining about something that won't happen, but dag nab-it I'd like to be able to open the secondary without feeling like I'm trying to herd cats.

Anyway, still love the knives, just venting a bit over recent acquisitions.
 
black mamba said:
Yes, for some reason almost every 2-blade jack I've had from GEC has a stronger pull on the pen or coping secondary, compared to the main blade. With a shorter blade, the spring needs to be a little weaker to compensate for the lack of mechanical advantage. I'm not sure why it's so hard to get this right.
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Same on the knives I've had, too, but also on Cases too. The springs on the knives I'm referencing have been narrower, too, than the main springs, which leads me to believe the higher tension is intensional. In-tension-al.
 
black mamba said:
Yes, for some reason almost every 2-blade jack I've had from GEC has a stronger pull on the pen or coping secondary, compared to the main blade. With a shorter blade, the spring needs to be a little weaker to compensate for the lack of mechanical advantage. I'm not sure why it's so hard to get this right.
Click to expand...

This thread got me thinking, so I did a random sampling of some of my 2 bladed GECs. I tried a couple 66 Calf Roper Jacks, a couple 56 Doglegs, a 92 Eureka with a coping secondary, and an 85 with a pen secondary. The pull on the secondary was equal to or lighter than the main on all of them. Maybe the issue is more pronounced on certain patterns, particularly the 15? I don't have any 2 blade/implement 15s, so I can't speak to that pattern at all.
 
huelsdonk said:
This thread got me thinking, so I did a random sampling of some of my 2 bladed GECs. I tried a couple 66 Calf Roper Jacks, a couple 56 Doglegs, a 92 Eureka with a coping secondary, and an 85 with a pen secondary. The pull on the secondary was equal to or lighter than the main on all of them. Maybe the issue is more pronounced on certain patterns, particularly the 15? I don't have any 2 blade/implement 15s, so I can't speak to that pattern at all.
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85 with coping, 35 with punch, and 15 with cap lifter are the one's recently causing me grief. Might just be luck of the draw as I haven't seen anyone else post difficulty opening the punch on the forum knife (GEC modified version). The coping on the 85, and the punch on the 35 are pretty small relative to the size of the knife.
 
cbr1000 said:
85 with coping, 35 with punch, and 15 with cap lifter are the one's recently causing me grief. Might just be luck of the draw as I haven't seen anyone else post difficulty opening the punch on the forum knife (GEC modified version). The coping on the 85, and the punch on the 35 are pretty small relative to the size of the knife.
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Yeah, I lucked out on my 35. The punch opened fine out of the tube. I also haven't tried an 85 with a coping secondary - mine is a Tidioute from the 2012 run. I did just try a 23 with a pen secondary (also small relative to knife size) and can definitely confirm that the pull on the pen is A LOT stiffer than the main. It's a bear trap.
 
cbr1000 said:
85 with coping, 35 with punch, and 15 with cap lifter are the one's recently causing me grief. Might just be luck of the draw as I haven't seen anyone else post difficulty opening the punch on the forum knife (GEC modified version). The coping on the 85, and the punch on the 35 are pretty small relative to the size of the knife.
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Lots of people were having problems with opening the punch on the forum knife. Mine was rough at first but somehow fixed itself after I opened it several times.
 
Is there a list somewhere of all the models that have been made with GEC branding, i.e. 440C stainless?
 
I think a stinger pull on the punches and caplifters is intensional as for the stress scurried on these tools during use you don't want them folding on you unwantedly. I believe to havetbis you'all require a stiffer spring.
 
BearBug said:
I think a stinger pull on the punches and caplifters is intensional as for the stress scurried on these tools during use you don't want them folding on you unwantedly. I believe to havetbis you'all require a stiffer spring.
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If that's true then the caplifter should be easy and the primary blade should be super difficult to open. Nobody is going to take much damage from a bottle opener...

Looking at my Washington Jack GEC 77 I happened to have in my hand while typing this.. the secondary spring is smaller.
 
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