Lets talk GEC!

Last night I rediscovered some "blade rap" on my #92 again o_O. I use quotes around "blade rap" because it's not rapping on the back spring when I close it. Before I thought I was gripping it too firmly while using the secondary, pushing the main past it's travel position and into the spring, but since then I've taken care not to grip it too hard. The only thing I can think about is maybe it gets bumped in my pocket, or squeezed if I pinch if between my body and, say, the arm of a sofa.

I sharpened it out lickety split, but it's been bothering me a little. At some point the problem will go away, once I've sharpened the blade down far enough. Before someone suggests it- I'd rather sharpen the blade down far enough over time than put a piece of rubber in the blade well.

Looks like I need to buy a new knife! :D
(I wonder what my son will think in 16 years as he wades through a sea of knives to ask me why we can't help him pay for college?)
 
EngrSorenson said:
Last night I rediscovered some "blade rap" on my #92 again o_O. I use quotes around "blade rap" because it's not rapping on the back spring when I close it. Before I thought I was gripping it too firmly while using the secondary, pushing the main past it's travel position and into the spring, but since then I've taken care not to grip it too hard. The only thing I can think about is maybe it gets bumped in my pocket, or squeezed if I pinch if between my body and, say, the arm of a sofa.

I sharpened it out lickety split, but it's been bothering me a little. At some point the problem will go away, once I've sharpened the blade down far enough. Before someone suggests it- I'd rather sharpen the blade down far enough over time than put a piece of rubber in the blade well.

Looks like I need to buy a new knife! :D
(I wonder what my son will think in 16 years as he wades through a sea of knives to ask me why we can't help him pay for college?)
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How about a piece of leather? ;)

Y6zMotj.jpg


Seriously, I’ll take this solution over several unnecessary sharpenings any day. Just saying.
 
EngrSorenson said:
Last night I rediscovered some "blade rap" on my #92 again o_O. I use quotes around "blade rap" because it's not rapping on the back spring when I close it. Before I thought I was gripping it too firmly while using the secondary, pushing the main past it's travel position and into the spring, but since then I've taken care not to grip it too hard. The only thing I can think about is maybe it gets bumped in my pocket, or squeezed if I pinch if between my body and, say, the arm of a sofa.

I sharpened it out lickety split, but it's been bothering me a little. At some point the problem will go away, once I've sharpened the blade down far enough. Before someone suggests it- I'd rather sharpen the blade down far enough over time than put a piece of rubber in the blade well.

Looks like I need to buy a new knife! :D
(I wonder what my son will think in 16 years as he wades through a sea of knives to ask me why we can't help him pay for college?)
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are you slamming that blade shut? I once had a modified TC that had some blade rap that I kept having to sharpen out. But after the modification blade swap it never happened again.
 
I've got what I believe to be a dumb question about blade rap.o_O Would it be practical to lightly file the hump on the back spring where the blade usually hits instead of sharpening the edge?

Could enough be filed off to eliminate the blade rap while still maintaining the integrity of the spring and the pin going through it?
 
Railsplitter said:
I've got what I believe to be a dumb question about blade rap.o_O Would it be practical to lightly file the hump on the back spring where the blade usually hits instead of sharpening the edge?

Could enough be filed off to eliminate the blade rap while still maintaining the integrity of the spring and the pin going through it?
Click to expand...
Pure speculation on my part, but I can't see how it would hurt the spring, just "dusting" off the hump a little..... the hard part would be getting to it. A cylindrical stone on a dremel might get down in there, but it would be a touchy task. Me? Heck, I'd try it... I've learned to not try to hog out material... easy does it... so it wouldn't scare me to try it.
I don't understand all the physics involved in the spring shape... it might even lighten it up a bit.... who knows? Wheres EngSorenson when you need him? :p

or.... old engineer....any of those "engine" folks that know stuff....
 
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Yes I dyed this one as well as giving it a light sand to tidy up the bone. I don’t know if I like the sanded effect, I might have gone a tiny bit too far, but it certainly felt unfinished when it got to me. The preferable treatment is time in a pocket banging against keys and stuff.

There were quite a few of these sitting on dealer’s shelves back then, and I thought why not buy one and dye it, there’s plenty of them to spare.

VTc58Uu.jpg

0taAGXe.jpg
 
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Camillus said:
Will Power Will Power a few days ago I mentioned the #35 calf pen could use improvements. That sparked a few responses here about the #35. Not sure if that was the cause of the rumour or just a coincidence.
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No, I wasn't thinking of you in connexion with the hopeful speculations about a 35 ;) All cool :cool:
 
I meant, that post seemed to trigger some interest in the pattern that then seemed to morph into posts about it being the next knife in production. I hope it is and there is substance to the rumours. Fingers crossed.
 
Camillus said:
I meant, that post seemed to trigger some interest in the pattern that then seemed to morph into posts about it being the next knife in production. I hope it is and there is substance to the rumours. Fingers crossed.
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I asked what tweaks you would make? I never saw a response, I may have missed it though.
 
hornetguy said:
I don't understand all the physics involved in the spring shape... it might even lighten it up a bit.... who knows? Wheres EngSorenson when you need him? :p

or.... old engineer....any of those "engine" folks that know stuff....
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Hmm? Physics? you rang? :D
A back spring could be simplified to be a cantilever beam. It's ability to resist a bending moment is a function of it's moment of inertia through the cross-section. I = (b*h^3)/12.
Where:
b is the length of the base of the spring
h is the height of the spring

the height of the spring (or the distance from the back to front, parallel with the liners) resists bending to the 3rd power, which means if you change the height of the spring in the blade well by "x", the effect on the springs resistance to bending is "x" times "x" times "x". Further more, by changing the spring at the pin (or where we'd consider the beam "cantilevered") you greatly reduce the spring's ability to resist deflection.
 
Railsplitter said:
I've got what I believe to be a dumb question about blade rap.o_O Would it be practical to lightly file the hump on the back spring where the blade usually hits instead of sharpening the edge?

Could enough be filed off to eliminate the blade rap while still maintaining the integrity of the spring and the pin going through it?
Click to expand...

My 2015 BF knife (the CSC Jack) had blade rap when I got it, which was apparently a reasonably common issue. I took it to a professional sharpener -- as the edge, understandably, needed a touch-up anyway -- and talked to him about it. Along with sharpening out the ding in the blade, he used a jeweler's file to do exactly what you've described -- basically removing a tiny "V" of metal from the back spring in that spot.

The blade rap hasn't been an issue since, and I've never had any problems with the knife. The amount of metal removed was minuscule.

It does feel like a "probably voids your warranty" bit of repair work, but unfortunately that became moot not too long thereafter when CSC shut down. :(
 
Jiki said:
3nIG7cD.jpg

The calf pen IS a must have, those who have them know. :cool: Underrated for sure
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Jiki said:
I asked what tweaks you would make? I never saw a response, I may have missed it though.
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Sorry, I got thinking on your question and a few others posted in the meantime. After a few drinks I came to the conclusion that Leatherman and Victorinox’s engineers were doing this as a paid full time job, so I shouldn’t try to beat them at their own game.

That said, I think scissors are the key for me. Schrade did them at one point, not sure about any other traditional makers. They are such a useful little tool. Preferably the Wenger scissors style as they are reported to be better.

If scissors aren’t in the mix, then my load out on a 35 frame with lanyard hole would be 4 blades on two springs


  1. Main spear
  2. Fine awl similar to the 35 forum knife
  3. Robust coping blade
  4. Flat head screwdriver/bottle opener
The robust coping blade is just an idea - basically a coping blade as you see on the venerable Camillus 72, but with GEC’s prettier geometry and with a sabre grind, so a thicker spine than normal. Good for breaking up boxes and whittling, cutting rope and stripping cables, marking lines in woodworking.

Notice no gimmicks in the mix, so every gram of knife is useful.

This knife would be robust and pocketable, and intended to be a direct competitor to something like a Cadet as an EDC.
 
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Camillus said:
Sorry, I got thinking on your question and a few others posted in the meantime. After a few drinks I came to the conclusion that Leatherman and Victorinox’s engineers were doing this as a paid full time job, so I shouldn’t try to beat them at their own game.

That said, I think scissors are the key for me. Schrade did them at one point, not sure about any other traditional makers. They are such a useful little tool. Preferably the Wenger scissors style as they are reported to be better.

If scissors aren’t in the mix, then my load out on a 35 frame with lanyard hole would be 4 blades on two springs


  1. Main spear
  2. Fine awl similar to the 35 forum knife
  3. Robust coping blade
  4. Flat head screwdriver/bottle opener
The robust coping blade is just an idea - basically a coping blade as you see on the venerable Camillus 72, but with GEC’s prettier geometry and with a sabre grind, so a thicker spine than normal. Good for breaking up boxes and whittling, cutting rope and stripping cables, marking lines in woodworking.

Notice no gimmicks in the mix, so every gram of knife is useful.

This knife would be robust and pocketable, and intended to be a direct competitor to something like a Cadet as an EDC.
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Thank you, that would be a useful knife.
 
hornetguy said:
Pure speculation on my part, but I can't see how it would hurt the spring, just "dusting" off the hump a little..... the hard part would be getting to it. A cylindrical stone on a dremel might get down in there, but it would be a touchy task. Me? Heck, I'd try it... I've learned to not try to hog out material... easy does it... so it wouldn't scare me to try it.
I don't understand all the physics involved in the spring shape... it might even lighten it up a bit.... who knows? Wheres EngSorenson when you need him? :p

or.... old engineer....any of those "engine" folks that know stuff....
Click to expand...
I would not try Grinding on any area of a spring other than an end .

Harry
 
Jiki said:
3nIG7cD.jpg

The calf pen IS a must have, those who have them know. :cool: Underrated for sure and unfortunately due to the cool reception they will probably never be made again. The 35 frame is so nice though the Churchill and Harness Jack are also great knives. It will be interesting to see what they will do with and when they will use that frame again.
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Quiet said:
Agree here! I was able to find one (the one I wanted!!) in orange Delrin still available on a dealer site. That's bonkers. Great knives, especially after they break in a bit!
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I'm behind on these posts, but I couldn't agree more fellas. The Calfpen is a real work horse, I need to pick up a couple more for future reserve. I did a minor mod on mine which was to file back the beak on the one arm opening feature,just a little so it isn't as sharp.
eph6HRM.jpg

No matter what I may post pics of in the carry thread, the Calfpen is always in my pocket when I'm on the job:thumbsup:
 
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