My first GEC

[ed_is_dead]

I had this with an old but unused Taylor Eye Witness folder which had the strongest backsprings I had encountered. Needed a spoon to open it and I guess thats why it went unused in its eighty odd yrs of life.
Tried all the usual tricks with no joy so resorted to this...

After two days like this it eased up to a 7 and is in regular use now.
I also ground/polished in nail reliefs for both nicks

These really helped getting the nail under the nicks as opposed at 90 degrees to.
Would I do both of these things on an expensive and new gec....possibly but you run the risk of bending/snapping the back spring. Hope this helps someone.

 

[UhOhShizah]

Thanks for the input guys! I will leave it with max spring tension for a bit and see if that helps!

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.

I have my Tidioute #23 Liner Lock in this position right now. I test it every day or so. Can't tell if it's really getting better or I'm just getting used to it.

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.

My First GEC was a #97 and it was very easy to pull open. Like you said this is a more stout blade with more to pull on. This #23 is my first experience with a hard to open knife from them, hopefully it breaks in.

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...

That's what I figured. I have mine in its own "time out" drawer to keep people away from it now while it's open. It's good to hear that it may take months. I haven't seen a huge difference in the week or so it's been in the drawer. But it feels a bit better (not sure if placebo or not). After the month or so is up I'll try some of these other methods you mentioned.

Thanks for the help!

I had this with an old but unused Taylor Eye Witness folder which had the strongest backsprings I had encountered. Needed a spoon to open it and I guess thats why it went unused in its eighty odd yrs of life.
Tried all the usual tricks with no joy so resorted to this...

After two days like this it eased up to a 7 and is in regular use now.
I also ground/polished in nail reliefs for both nicks

These really helped getting the nail under the nicks as opposed at 90 degrees to.
Would I do both of these things on an expensive and new gec....possibly but you run the risk of bending/snapping the back spring. Hope this helps someone.

Whoa. That is truly extreme measures. I may give this a shot as a last resort. But like you said, this is a new knife and I dont want to risk breaking it yet. Plus my knife isn't at spoon opening levels of stiff so it may not be needed.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[UhOhShizah]

While I have this wealth of GEC knowledge in the forum here. I have another question for you all. I keep having this issue with staining/rust spots on my knives that I cannot rub or steel wool off. See below for photo of stain on my new #23. The blade was oiled and it was stored in a case with silica desiccants packets to cut down on moisture. So I'm not sure how this is happening.

My first knife (#97) had this same issue. But this knife had not been touched for awhile so I figured it was just due to lack of oil and poor storage. But my new knife got a similar but lesser stain/spot after only a few days.

.

Can you guys help me out? I do not want my newer knife to get to this level. Thanks!

 

[sitflyer]

U UhOhShizah , I've had a couple 23's that were hard openers, Took a Lot of flushing the joint with WD40, and other lubricants to clean out the pivot. That and cycling the action many many times helped to tame them. If your going to cycle the blade a bunch of times it is wise to tape the edge with some masking tape, especially on a really hard opener. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

As for the marks on the blades, its carbon steel, sometimes they will develop "pepper spots" just sitting there. Could be you left fingerprints on the blades?

This is a new 23 that I have been using for a couple months, it's getting to the point where the patina will somewhat stabilize and settle into a grey more protective state. But with carbon steel, it's never really stable, just a matter of time before the oxygen and moisture will react with it.

 

[JohnDF]

I keep having this issue with staining/rust spots on my knives that I cannot rub or steel wool off.

It's been mentioned before that some people's acidic levels may be higher than others and effect their carbon blades more.

 

[UhOhShizah]

U UhOhShizah , I've had a couple 23's that were hard openers, Took a Lot of flushing the joint with WD40, and other lubricants to clean out the pivot. That and cycling the action many many times helped to tame them. If your going to cycle the blade a bunch of times it is wise to tape the edge with some masking tape, especially on a really hard opener. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

As for the marks on the blades, its carbon steel, sometimes they will develop "pepper spots" just sitting there. Could be you left fingerprints on the blades?

This is a new 23 that I have been using for a couple months, it's getting to the point where the patina will somewhat stabilize and settle into a grey more protective state. But with carbon steel, it's never really stable, just a matter of time before the oxygen and moisture will react with it.

I'll settle in for the long haul and get to actuating the knife with lubrication after I've left it open for a bit longer. I've already nicked myself a few times trying to actuate it so I will definitely be taping it this time.

There is a chance that I left a print on it. I'll be more careful moving forward, but less worried about it knowing that it just happens sometimes.

That is a beautiful knife. The patina is looking great . Guess I need to put my knife to work to make sure it develops this way.

It's been mentioned before that some people's acidic levels may be higher than others and effect their carbon blades more.

Good to know. Guess my pH might be a bit low then. Thanks for the info!

 

[Auglaize117]

I'm a bad nail biter so hard pulls can be PITA for me. I only carry slipjoints so its bad problem to have. Ive always just powered through and tried my best to use the knife as often as possible. This tends to weaken the pull and give the blade/blades a good patina. I will say it can be frustrating opening a carbon steel blade, while trying to keep some oil on it.