My first GEC

rinos

rinos

Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
1,265
nailbreaker....

So far i was only reading about nail breaking slipjoints,closest experience was old forgotten SAK with heavily oxidized liners i opened with pliers :D
ant today i got one perfectly fine knife,new in waxed paper,wich goes high on pull scale,very,very high :(all other GEC knives i own are perfect 5-6 on pull scale)
but i still like it and i will keep it (hopefully my nails will grow stronger)

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i was actually looking(and still do) matching 72 clip point for spear and Wharncliffe,couldn't found it,so i went one number up with less clip :D
 
Just keep opening and closing it. The spring will loosen in time. I think. I have no idea. That's just what I've heard, it's never happened for me though.
 
If you're comparing it to the lockbacks it is bound to be a nailbreaker :D but I feel your pain, I hope it smooths out. I have a 73 from the same new run as yours and it took a little breaking in. Flush out the joint, oil it up and open/close repeatedly until black gunk stops coming out of the pivot. Leave it in the half-cocked 45 degree angle open position for a while. Lots of tricks to try.
 
I personally like a strong pull but a nail breaker is just not fun. I open my knives and play with them too much to have to deal with something like that. Luckily it hasn't happened yet. Let us know how it goes over time I am interested in the "final" results. I will be even more interested if I happen upon an overly stiff slip joint.
 
Been there! Got a #26 that ripped a chunk of nail off.

I also recommend leaving it open between stops for a bit, that loosened up the spring on an old Imperial I have, might help your situation. Beautiful knife though!
 
thanks for suggestions,
it is thoroughly cleaned,oiled and it got workout,now stays open at 45 deg. hopefully.
i'm not comparing it with lockbacks (spearpoint 72 is easily opened with one hand ;) )
long matchstick pull position is close to swelling on handle,perhaps if is cut bit forward to tip would help :confused:
 
rinos said:
long matchstick pull position is close to swelling on handle,perhaps if is cut bit forward to tip would help :confused:
Click to expand...

Definitely agree with you there--I have a hard time getting my nail in there often. The long pulls look great but in this case I'm not sure they're better than the normal crescent nick.
 
I love a solid 9 on a new knife. I don't know why. But all my 9's eventually make to about a 7, 6, or even 5. If you are trying to soften it more, try working the joint bone dry for a session. Get the oil off, and open it a ton. It helps if you do this before you put a screaming edge on it.

I have a few of the early GEC'S with the very stiff pulls. I've seen them tear nails off friends. Most I can open with my pinkie now and are solid 6's. I think more than anything, the corners round a bit on the tangs. Try leaving it open with the tang maxing the spring out for a day or two.

That sure is a lovely knife!
 
Bigfattyt said:
..... I think more than anything, the corners round a bit on the tangs.
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Bigfattyt has a great point there. I've "helped along" rounding the corners of the tangs by using this little set of diamond files:




Pic of GEC #73 with blade open, looking down into the recess. Lousy pic, but you can see where I rounded the tang:




If you try this be sure to clean out as much of the filing residue as possible before closing the blade for the first time. Even so, there will still be crud left so follow up by flushing with soap & hot water, WD40, etc. Repeat as needed, followed by a good lube job. ;)

YMMV, but it brought the pull down from a 9 to a very friendly 5 or 6 on mine.
 
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Of the GEC's I have got, I haven't encountered what I would call a nail breaker yet, I must be lucky in this regard. However, this little Bower brand Barlow came to me in un used condition, and I very quickly found out why, On the first attempt at opening this knife, my thumbnail actually folded backwards and left a purple painful crescent under the nail. Flushing the joint, working it open and closed, nothing helped...until...




several nights in the time out box, and the spring tension began to ease. I left the knife as pictured with the maximum extension attainable on the spring. Also the tang corners were very sharp, and the corners would drag on the backspring increasing this opening load, so, like coyote711, the corners of the tang got a slight rounding off, more like softened the sharp edge ( this was a tedious and carefully done operation ). Now this knife is a dream to open and close, night and day difference really. I hope that you can achieve some good results with your efforts on your Northfield, it looks to be a really great knife just begging to be used ;)
 
Knife was left couple days open at 45 ° but i think rounding the corner did the trick,pull is still strong but initial part is much easier on nail, pocket time now ;)
Thanks for all advice.

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Seems to me, that the placement of the pulls inside the swedges on some of the Northfields dramatically interferes with opening the blade. Just that little bit of thickness makes a huge difference, in my experience. If the pull or nick is placed in a spot on the blade where the spine is un-swedged, the blade is way easier to open, regardless of how far it is down the length of the blade. Burying it within the swedge might look nice, but it certainly doesn't work as well, often forcing one to use a thumbnail on a blade that would otherwise be easily pinchable.
 
puukkoman said:
Seems to me, that the placement of the pulls inside the swedges on some of the Northfields dramatically interferes with opening the blade. Just that little bit of thickness makes a huge difference, in my experience. If the pull or nick is placed in a spot on the blade where the spine is un-swedged, the blade is way easier to open, regardless of how far it is down the length of the blade. Burying it within the swedge might look nice, but it certainly doesn't work as well, often forcing one to use a thumbnail on a blade that would otherwise be easily pinchable.
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That's exactly right as far as my personal experience goes. I have two 73's - a Northfield and a Tidioute. The thinner spine of the Northfield, due to the swedge, makes it harder to get a good bite when opening. The Tidioute feels much more secure when opening. It is amazing what a difference that little bit of thickness makes!





 
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sitflyer said:
Of the GEC's I have got, I haven't encountered what I would call a nail breaker yet, I must be lucky in this regard. However, this little Bower brand Barlow came to me in un used condition, and I very quickly found out why, On the first attempt at opening this knife, my thumbnail actually folded backwards and left a purple painful crescent under the nail. Flushing the joint, working it open and closed, nothing helped...until...




several nights in the time out box, and the spring tension began to ease. I left the knife as pictured with the maximum extension attainable on the spring. Also the tang corners were very sharp, and the corners would drag on the backspring increasing this opening load, so, like coyote711, the corners of the tang got a slight rounding off, more like softened the sharp edge ( this was a tedious and carefully done operation ). Now this knife is a dream to open and close, night and day difference really. I hope that you can achieve some good results with your efforts on your Northfield, it looks to be a really great knife just begging to be used ;)
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Sorry to resurrect such an old thread. But I have heard about this "time out box" from sitflyer in a few "stiff slip joint" threads on this site. But the photo link is broken. Is it just as simple as leaving the blade half cocked to put some tension on the spring? Thanks in advance!
 
UhOhShizah said:
Sorry to resurrect such an old thread. But I have heard about this "time out box" from sitflyer in a few "stiff slip joint" threads on this site. But the photo link is broken. Is it just as simple as leaving the blade half cocked to put some tension on the spring? Thanks in advance!
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That's what I did with my 73, which was quite stiff too, and I claim it helped. I left it overnight in about this position below a couple of times.

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I have a 73 with that same nail nick. While they look stunning, they add a second layer to the nail-breaker effect. You have the combination of a stout spring WITH a longpull nail nick that has a swedge over the top of it. GEC doesn't really do those anymore and.....I suspect....its precisely because of this that they don't do them anymore. Is not apparent from the pics, but the nail nick is much lower (it has to be if room is made for the swedge). So it's actually very difficult to get a thumbnail in there. The good news is you have a rare and beautiful GEC. The bad news is that you have to almost take a breath and think before starting to open it. But there's more good news....your next GEC will NOT be this hard to open. So don't get turned off. Indeed, even really stout GECs (like the 23s) are easier to open precisely because they don't have that swedge over the longpull nail nick. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
UhOhShizah said:
Sorry to resurrect such an old thread. But I have heard about this "time out box" from sitflyer in a few "stiff slip joint" threads on this site. But the photo link is broken. Is it just as simple as leaving the blade half cocked to put some tension on the spring? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Yeah, basically just leave the blade open to a point of maximum spring extension, sometimes for several weeks or even a month or more. Also I have sanded the part of the tang that contacts the spring from the closed position using wet/dry paper wrapped around a piece of wood, like a coffee stir, with the blade fully open. Breaking the edge of the tang will lower the pressure needed to initiate opening...the time out box was a plastic enclosure to keep the knife away from anyone, or my pets from accidentally getting cut by a blade under spring tension if they came upon the knife not knowing the danger...
 
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