My first GEC - my butter knife is sharper

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nuggetz

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I've been searching high and low for a serialized GEC burnt stag cotton sampler and it finally arrived today. This is my first GEC knife. Actually, this is the first knife I spent more than $150 on. Anyway, I fell in love with the company by just looking at all the knives they have on offer and by reading some history about GEC.

Anyway, knife arrives today and I was not that impressed. Main issue is that the blade is dull. Is this the way they come from the factory? I was planning on using this knife and not just putting it in a drawer as I'm really not a collector (yet). Anyway, I like the shape and size of the knife and the fit and finish is pretty good except for a small part near the blade stamp which looks like it was a slip up at the grinder. How the hell am I supposed to sharpen this thing? I don't think I want to attempt it. Looks like they had the same problem at the factory. I really hope that GEC knives aren't just display pieces. I was looking forward to playing with 1095 steel and so far the whole experience has been a big let down.

I suppose if this thing was scary sharp from the factory I would have fell in love with it but honestly this left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm sure if will affect my future purchases from GEC.
 
GEC is hit and miss on their sharpening. Most people just sharpen them up and put them in their pocket.

I don't know any pocket knife companies that turn out edges I am pleased with out of the box.
 
I agree it should arrive sharp, no question there. Just as a matter of course I would contact them and let them know a dull knife is not what someone expects from such a great company.

That said, just sharpen it and enjoy it. You'd need to sharpen it quite soon enough if you really do plan to use it, so it's nothing to get too down about. On principle you're right, but in reality it will be good to go with a few minutes on a stone.
 
okbohn said:
GEC is hit and miss on their sharpening. Most people just sharpen them up and put them in their pocket.

I don't know any pocket knife companies that turn out edges I am pleased with out of the box.
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I know of two companies that have always produced exceptionally sharp knives out of the box. Kershaw is one, which I guess I can mention because they have one or two traditional patterns. They will even re-sharpen your knives for free if you ship them to them. The other company has a big hole in most of their blades.

I've actually had a couple of Case CV knives that I've bought recently with very good factory edges. Their Tru-Sharp knives normally have a very toothy edge with a pronounced burr, but once the burr is stropped off the knives are very sharp (if you like toothy edges).

The GEC #48 in 440C I got a while back from GunstockJack was sharp enough out of the tube where I didn't feel the need to sharpen it before carry.

My Victorinox knives have been workably sharp out of the box, though could still stand a touch up.

"Butter knife dull" is really not acceptable unless you are buying butter knives.

Edit:
I just checked all 6 of the GEC knives I own, none of which I have gotten around to sharpening yet. Of them only one has a blade that is too dull to easily cut paper, and that's the pen blade on a Maverick. The rest go from "acceptable" to "I don't think I'll need to sharpen that one".
 
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If you are going to use such a knife, you do indeed need to know how to sharpen it, as Arizonaranchman said!! They are a lot easier to sharpen than Hawkbills, so you should consider yourself lucky!
I sharpen my Barlow once a week or so and absolutely love it! It's sharper now than it ever was!
 
nuggetz said:
I suppose if this thing was scary sharp from the factory I would have fell in love with it but honestly this left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm sure if will affect my future purchases from GEC.
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If you will be let down every time you open a tube and the knife is not scary sharp; just walk away now. A quick search, just on this forum, will find at least a half dozen threads where the factory edge is discussed as wanting by those that love a razor sharp knife from the factory. Those that like their own edge or have no use for pocket razors seem content.

Send it back and forget you ever heard about GEC :thumbup:
 
knifeswapper said:
If you will be let down every time you open a tube and the knife is not scary sharp; just walk away now. A quick search, just on this forum, will find at least a half dozen threads where the factory edge is discussed as wanting by those that love a razor sharp knife from the factory. Those that like their own edge or have no use for pocket razors seem content.

Send it back and forget you ever heard about GEC :thumbup:
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Thats a little too extreme. I do like the knife very much but I guess I was just being a baby. Went thru a lot of drama with it. Mailman delivered it yesterday but it was no where to be found. Tracking said it had been delivered. I confronted the postman today and he didn't know anything. Said he would check the office. An hour later my neighbor with the same house number on the next block drove up and handed me my package. Thank God for that. I was relieved. I guess it was that plus the fact that it was dull just made me a bit crabby. I might just end up leaving it the way it is and pick up a cheaper one as an EDC but it would be super cool to tote this one around.

I can sharpen it just fine. I was being a little dramatic since I don't own anything quite like it and figured it be a challenge to sharpen but I guess I'll practice on something else.
 
I have some 12-15 GECs and out of that lot 5 had cutting edges out of the tube. The rest was dull.
They are quite easy to sharpen and get to a great edge, and are easy to maintain.
 
Hey what do ya want? It's for cutting cotton :D
Just yankin your chain. ;-) Get a good stone and sharpen it up, you'll be a happy camper.

Best regards

Robin
 
I like a sharp edge when getting a new knife as well and think every knife should come that way but don't let this ruin the brand for you. Fit & finish is more important to me and they excel in that department. :)
 
I own 6 GEC knives so far and have not get gotten around to carrying or sharpening any of them yet (sad, I know). I just got them out and checked all of the blades. Of them all, which would entail 14 blades, I would say that only one of them (pen blade on a Maverick) was dull, and maybe 5 were "wow, that's pretty good for a factory edge", and the rest were acceptably sharp but could use a touch up.

I looked at that blade shape on the Cotton Sampler and I can see where it looks like a challenge at first. But if you look at it, it's two straight sections with a curved belly in the middle. I'd approach that as two separate sharpenings. I'd do the heel to the middle of the belly, both sides, until that was apexed and smoothed out. Then I'd come back and do tip to the middle of the belly. So kinda like sharpening two skinner-profile blades.

If you're handy with freehanding on stones then it should be pretty easy. If you use something like a Sharpmaker it might take some contortions but I think it's doable.
 
I like to think that GEC ships knives dull so that we can sharpen the knives how we see fit.

But, if that's not the case, then 1095 is very easy to sharpen. However, if the knife won't take or keep an edge, then that's a problem.

I say just sharpen it up and be done with it. Just me though.

~Chris
 
I don't think it's too much to expect that a knife should come sharp from the factory.
This has got nothing to do with " you're going to have to sharpen it sooner or later"

Every Kershaw or Rough Rider I've gotten has been razor sharp. We know what RR's cost.
If a company can't send out a $150 knife sharp I'll pass.

Rationalize it all you want but imo that's ridiculous you don't get a sharp knife.
 
New knives should come sharp, especially $150 ones. Nuggetz, I would be disappointed too. Knives are made for one purpose, cutting things. Most people don't want to spend a significant amount of time working on something that they just bought brand new.

I've only had one GEC. It had two blades and one had not been sharpened at all. The back side of the blade was sharper than the edge.
 
I only have 5 GEC's but all of them came very sharp out of the tube. Guess I was lucky???

I would most definitely send that one to them and have it sharpened or send it back to the seller, your decision. I expect a $150 knife to be sharp. I don't mind sharpening a new knife, I usually do either way but for it to be that dull would be a let down. Now a cotton sampler isn't necessarily a traditional do anything pattern but it had to be sharp to sample cotton and they make knives to be used IMO.
 
knifeswapper said:
If you will be let down every time you open a tube and the knife is not scary sharp; just walk away now. A quick search, just on this forum, will find at least a half dozen threads where the factory edge is discussed as wanting by those that love a razor sharp knife from the factory. Those that like their own edge or have no use for pocket razors seem content.

Send it back and forget you ever heard about GEC :thumbup:
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Amen. And to expand this to all of bladeforums you will find that just about every manufacturer sub forum has many of these same issues. In some cases knives costing 4 to 5 times the price of a GEC get turned out with an edge that is considered to be less than optimal by it's purchaser.

The good news is that 1095 is very easy to sharpen! I'd suggest spending a bit of time in the 'maintenence and embellishment' sub forum and spending some time developing some sharpening skills. It is a skill you will never regret learning.

In some cases the edge may be 'rolled' to one side or the other and the blade only needs a bit of stropping. This is very simple. Feel free to PM me on the subject if you wish and I'll be glad to help if I can.

.
 
I agree with the camp that expects a knife to be sharp when you buy it brand new. There is just too much competition out there for the knife market for it not to be. :eek:
-Bruce
 
my last gec came with a dull edge.....after 10mins it was the way it should have come...atleast for me
 
Actually, I think the cotton sampler would make a wonderful butter knife. I just don't think there really is much market for a butter knife that pricey. Indeed, this is a pattern that has me scratching my head a bit as I just don't have a need for its obviously specialized features. It is an interesting pattern, but it's not one I think I'll buy for myself.

Ed J
 
Learn to sharpen knives or dont buy them. I have to sharpen EVERY knife i get regardless of manufacturer. Its easy and necessary
 
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