My first GEC - my butter knife is sharper

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I would rather my nice knives arrive with an edge that is dull as opposed to one that is overly ground or asymetrical.
I have yet to find a factory edge that is sharper than one I can produce myself with minimal effort.
Learn how to sharpen and your knives become much more than display pieces.
 
If its really that bad then I'd return it and demand a good edge. Must have been a slip in the QC department that day or something as generally GEC puts out a very nice knife for a production folder. Sometimes things slip through, perhaps this was one of those made on a Monday after a long holiday weekend sort of thing. Believe me they'll make it right, no worries.

As said above people's definitions of sharp varies widely, from surgery scalpel to just a useable edge, but in this case yours sounds like it slipped through somehow. Send it in and they'll get it up to par.
 
I love GEC knives.

They are producing a particular niche product I can't get anywhere else for anything resembling the price point.

The last few I have received have been acceptable from the factory.

I have received a couple that weren't as dull as yours but were not very sharp.

I can put a wicked edge on a knife in a pretty short time, so I just put up with the hit and miss edges.

All things considered, however, I am not going to refuse to buy great knives over an issue I can easily and quickly correct myself.
 
nuggetz said:
Here you go
http://youtu.be/DxmdSjTDwRU
Click to expand...

lol yup that's how the few GECs I've purchased were too. I ran my thumb over the edges and didn't even come close to getting cut. One was the Bladeforums 2012 Traditional Forum Knife. Perfect fit and finish but I don't think it even had an edge of any kind on it. My Queen mini trapper, fixed blade, and stockman were the same. My Case mini trapper and prime stag XX trapper were the same. All the Rough Riders were the same. The list of dull out of box knives goes on...

It would be nice for all knives to come sharp with symmetrical bevels. It's odd because in the GEC factory tour video the woman who sharpens the knives gets them sharp enough to push cut paper. Obviously she has the ability to sharpen them. I imagine doing it all day every day is incredibly tiresome for one person and she probably doesn't get to spend enough time on each one. Maybe GEC needs another employee to sharpen to handle the load. Who knows.

I got tired of dull knives so I bought a Sharpmaker and a Wicked Edge. I reprofile on the Wicked Edge and do finishing/retouching on the Sharpmaker Ultra Fine stones. No more dull knives and no wasted money shipping knives back to dealers or companies. I wish companies would ship out knives with a decent edge, but my take on it is I might as well sharpen it myself because I'll have to later on anyway.

This issue might be one of the reasons most people don't buy traditionals for serious use. I have yet to get a traditional knife that was sharp out of the box, yet Spyderco and Kershaw seem to put out knives that will at least cut computer printer paper. I've had some that would even shave a little...
 
Wow, now we're up to four pages about a dull knife. Plus video! Yup, that knife is dull. No doubt. Shouldn't arrive that way, no doubt. If you don't want to sharpen it, send it back, ask for a refund, ask them to sharpen it, whatever. Yup, it's unfortunate and you shouldn't have to, but stuff happens. They're a good company and I'm sure they don't want you to be unhappy.

This thread sort of reminds me about threads in watch forums, "I just bought my first high-end watch, paid XX for it and my Timex tells better time!!!" Yup, that's true and that's going to happen. A high end watch doesn't tell better time than a fifteen dollar Timex. Never will. A 200 dollar knife isn't going to be as sharp as a two dollar boxcutter with blades you snap off after using. Just isn't. Has to do with blade geometry, and re: watches, has to do with analog vs. digital. There's a reason that razors are made with really thin edges that would most likely be unusable in a pocket knife. And there's a reason that most box cutters have blades that are less than an inch in length.

It seems to me that even if that knife arrived as sharp as the OP wanted, that at some point after using it a bit to sample his cotton, he'd have to sharpen the thing. Maybe that's not the point. Maybe I don't know what the point is, unless it's that the knife doesn't have one... (joke)... But seriously, send it in, tell them you're REALLY unhappy. See what they do. I think that's the test of a good company, or at least of good customer service.

It seems that there are so many ways to sharpen an edge, that it becomes a pretty personal thing. I wonder how many of us would be willing to pay an extra ten bucks to have GEC put a custom edge on it to our liking? Or have that cost build in to the knife, but it would arrive "razor-sharp"? My guess is not that many. So yeah, it should have arrived sharper, you're right. But 1095 is pretty easy to sharpen, which eventually you'll have to do anyway...

(It's a long day for me in front of computers, waiting on prints, so this is sort of fun...) Have a good Saturday folks, hopefully you're spending your's outside!!
 
While GEC are not above criticism, I think bashing the brand as a whole should be avoided. The OP stated himself that the thread was started in anger. If I get a knife from GEC that has a problem, I would send it back or fix it myself. I got a knife from GEC and it had a loose shield and it was the first problem I had with fit & finish on a GEC, so I made a thread asking what people here would do, I didn't start a thread to tear down the company. I put a drop of glue on it and got on with life.

Like many reasonable members have already stated, Send it back or sharpen it yourself. GEC like every company lets a dud slip through, it sucks when your the one who gets the lemon and maybe more of us need to make GEC aware of the edge problem. For the record, I have handled about 30 GEC knives and all of them have had reasonable factory edges on them. I would also rather have a neat grind that is a little dull than a nasty uneven/ugly grind that is sharp.

Just send it back. If you don't like how GEC rolls, don't buy from them.
 
nuggetz said:
Here you go
http://youtu.be/DxmdSjTDwRU
Click to expand...

Well done. I wish someone would have suggested this when I had a similar post and got attacked in a similar manner. Not to downplay your disappointment, but it looks like yours came with CONSIDERABLY more of an edge than mine. There was absolutely no attempt at a secondary bevel on mine. It is sickening that people here put you down for wanting your $100+ knife to come sharp. Don't pay them any mind. Just call GEC and explain it and they will make it right. They did for me and far surpassed my expectations. Very quick repair too compared to some companies.
 
I think saying he is being "attacked" is a little extreme. This traditional forum just isn't much for bellyaching. Everyone pretty much agrees that GEC is hit and miss with it's edges, and just to send it back or sharpen it. This forum is full of reasonable people who are defending the brand as a whole because GEC makes a fantastic product overall. I don't think anyone thought he was lying when he said it was dull, but their are only a couple options as to how to fix it.

Hopefully GEC starts putting slightly better edges on its blades, but 99% of people who buy GEC are extremely happy with the product. GEC has great customer service for that 1% that are not.
 
nuggetz said:
Here you go
http://youtu.be/DxmdSjTDwRU
Click to expand...

I think maybe you missed the italicized (for emphasis) part of the instructions that said "without your finger ever leaving the edge".

I open EVERY knife from partial to fully opened by pushing the edge with my finger. It is horizontal movement that cuts, not straight on pressure unless it is extreme. Admittedly I don't wipe my finger up and down on them once they are open :)

But is obviously not as sharp as you would like. And you are the one that needs to be happy. Either send it back to the dealer for a refund or the factory for another attempt at the edge. If they can't do any better they will have the original seller send you a refund. Everybody human has a preference and opinion - you paid for that when you bought the knife. But, my entire point is that all opinions and preferences are not the same; nor are they all correct for everyone.
 
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I feel the need to defend a great institution here. Ill-advised posts, done in fits of pique, have no business in this forum, and deserve to be criticized and answered. They are like accusing someone of rape when it is not true! Something still sticks to the accused unfairly!

A few facts!!

A) GEC has worked at sending out sharper knives for some time now. They recognize the shortcoming from the past, and are working constantly at fixing it.

B) ALL (that's every one of them!) current manufacturers send out a dull knife now and then.

C) Bill Howard, GEC's owner spends most of his time training people to make cutlery. There is no school that teaches it. It is rare that he can find someone with experience of any kind!! He's putting Americans to work during perilous times, and he is a respected mentor!
Makes me feel guilty when I buy (not often!) something made offshore !

D) Show me a company that has the will and the ability to produce the great knives that GEC has produced lately! Amazingly flexible and nimble for a shoestring company, much more so than their closest competitors! Hopefully that shoestring part is changing. They deserve to make knives for a long time!
 
waynorth said:
I feel the need to defend a great institution here. Ill-advised posts, done in fits of pique, have no business in this forum, and deserve to be criticized and answered. They are like accusing someone of rape when it is not true! Something still sticks to the accused unfairly!

A few facts!!

A) GEC has worked at sending out sharper knives for some time now. They recognize the shortcoming from the past, and are working constantly at fixing it.

B) ALL (that's every one of them!) current manufacturers send out a dull knife now and then.

C) Bill Howard, GEC's owner spends most of his time training people to make cutlery. There is no school that teaches it. It is rare that he can find someone with experience of any kind!! He's putting Americans to work during perilous times, and he is a respected mentor!
Makes me feel guilty when I buy (not often!) something made offshore !

D) Show me a company that has the will and the ability to produce the great knives that GEC has produced lately! Amazingly flexible and nimble for a shoestring company, much more so than their closest competitors! Hopefully that shoestring part is changing. They deserve to make knives for a long time!
Click to expand...


True. No intent to bash the OP or certainly not GEC. Things happen even with the best producers. This is not a custom hand-built knife remember. The vast majority of GEC's pocket knives are of outstanding quality in every way. I know they're fix the occasional oops that leaves their factory.

I hope you come to enjoy your new knife OP :)
 
Nobody is attacking the OP. Simply explaining that his/her expectations may be too high, especially since the knife will require sharpening soon anyway.
And, here in the traditional forum, we hear alot of this "my brand new knife came dull", which gets very old considering the ability to search for the answer so easily, or simply send it back to GEC for sharpening if you can't do it yourself.
The majority of us do understand that it would be easier to have every knife arrive shaving sharp out of the box, but it's simply not reality, so we have grown accustom to sharpening ourselves, which becomes a pleasure once learned.
 
This is a great group that simply will either agree with any OP, or not. Just because everyone doesn't have the same opinion, doesn't mean they are attacking anyone. As a dealer, my perspective is a little different as I have seen everything. Originally the edges were terrible; they would cut, but not much more. Now, they didn't look like they were done by a bench grinder, like Case did in the early 2000's. But after a lot of complaining by customers (and dealers) several years ago, Bill went and worked with the finishing crew and got them to a fairly consistent edge. Do they miss the mark on some - yes. They also periodically backslide on a couple other issues I have griped about many times in the past. But I think they learned pretty quick that when they fix what I am complaining about, it takes me about 10 days to find something else to complain about.

But this particular issue always just makes me wonder why someone that is going to use a knife gets so upset when the edge doesn't suit them. Do they just throw knives away once the factory edge is gone? No, most know how to put their personal edge on a knife. And if it is a collector, I would just as soon they didn't even try to get more than a basic bevel. Matter of fact I saw a post one time from a gentleman that should have known a little history said that is why old timers used to advertise knives with a utility factory bevel as "Brand New - In The Box - Unsharpened" as to keep maximum collector value. I know, I know - you shouldn't have to put an edge on a factory fresh knife. But if that is a deal breaker, don't buy anymore and maybe we can bankrupt them (ok, being extreme for impact ;) ).

But, since the factory doesn't allocate a person at the factory to peruse the forums as an apologist; I can only say that they will fix it - somehow. Am I defending them? Probably, because they have become like my family and I want everyone of them to keep this American tradition alive as long as feasible. From a guy keeping a pretty close eye on this hobby - the sun is setting on handmade cutlery. Many don't even agree with that, but that is like many things these days in our country; there is no use arguing about it today when tomorrow is going to bear the proof.
 
So far I have had to issue two warnings for posts in this thread.

DO NOT DISCUSS EACH OTHER.
DO NOT INSULT EITHER THE THREAD OR OTHERS WHO DO NOT SHARE YOUR OPINION.

Discuss the issue at hand.
 
Yeah it's dull, but that wouldn't bother me at all. Historically pocket knives were always shipped dull. It's only recently, modern companies sending out sharp knives.

If it was a different model, I'd say send it to me and I'd send money. But I don't care to carry a sampler.
 
knarfeng said:
So far I have had to issue two warnings for posts in this thread.

DO NOT DISCUSS EACH OTHER.
DO NOT INSULT EITHER THE THREAD OR OTHERS WHO DO NOT SHARE YOUR OPINION.

Discuss the issue at hand.
Click to expand...

Maybe I did not make myself clear.

Present your own opinion. Do not discuss the opinion of others.
 
i guess im one of the few people that enjoys sharpening a new knife. it's like a bonding moment for me.
 
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