My Modified GEC #71 Bull Nose in Linen Micarta

Fred Sanford

Fred Sanford

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
3,132
I am just not big on the factory shape of most any "sodbuster type" of blade. I love the rest of the knife so I decided to make the blade shape something I liked. I prefer drop points and spear points so that's what I did to the #71. Just wanted to share. Great knife by the way. The 01 Tool steel sharpens awesome and gets insane sharp. First time I've used 01 and I think it's amazing. I like it better than 1095 now.


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Looks amazing and a very useful blade shape. Thanks for sharing.
 
That's the shape I prefer as well. If the canvas Bullnose was half an inch longer closed and had that blade shape it would have been perfect for me. Sadlyz I know of no way to lengthen a handle, so I sold it.
 
ALLHSS said:
That's the shape I prefer as well. If the canvas Bullnose was half an inch longer closed and had that blade shape it would have been perfect for me. Sadlyz I know of no way to lengthen a handle, so I sold it.
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Half an inch? Really?
 
rma100 said:
Half an inch? Really?
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I don't know if you think that tip be a lot to want or too little to matter. But as it was, all I used mine for was to cut up two apples, and even with that my index finger was being pushed past the kick. I have a very wide hand, and in hand feel is what decides what I carry a lot of the time. One reason I really like Barlow shaped knives is that the rounded butt lens itself to comfortably resting a finger (or two) below the butt. With a handle that swells at the butt like a sodbuster or Bullnose that is not comfortable, so I want to have a full and solid grip. I would say an extra half inch to an inch (or less of a drastic change from the pivot to the butt) would have given me that grip.
 
That looks good!! The only mods I've done to my #71 have been to sand the canvas a bit more so its a little rougher, round the canvas where the front bolster would be, and to take a ceramic rod to the inside liners while the knife was open so it was less sharp (especially at the tip of the heel)

ALLHSS said:
I don't know if you think that tip be a lot to want or too little to matter. But as it was, all I used mine for was to cut up two apples, and even with that my index finger was being pushed past the kick. I have a very wide hand, and in hand feel is what decides what I carry a lot of the time. One reason I really like Barlow shaped knives is that the rounded butt lens itself to comfortably resting a finger (or two) below the butt. With a handle that swells at the butt like a sodbuster or Bullnose that is not comfortable, so I want to have a full and solid grip. I would say an extra half inch to an inch (or less of a drastic change from the pivot to the butt) would have given me that grip.
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Not a sodbuster type but it sounds like a #65 Ben Hogan or #23 Pioneer would suit you more. Both are 4 1/2" closed with ~3 1/2 blades.
 
Very nice job Dave, I like that!!! I did something very similar to my CASEE Soddie Jr...

Again, nice job :thumbup:

Paul
 
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2Dead said:
That looks good!! The only mods I've done to my #71 have been to sand the canvas a bit more so its a little rougher, round the canvas where the front bolster would be, and to take a ceramic rod to the inside liners while the knife was open so it was less sharp (especially at the tip of the heel)



Not a sodbuster type but it sounds like a #65 Ben Hogan or #23 Pioneer would suit you more. Both are 4 1/2" closed with ~3 1/2 blades.
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You are right with that! I love the 65, and have been looking at the 23. I almost got a 65 in a trade, but missed it because of email trouble. Really bummed about it.
 
Thanks folks. Much appreciated. I just don't like it from the factory as it seems like it's a tanto blade without the definitive corner. Too much blade on the front instead of a point. :)
 
David Lowry said:
Thanks folks. Much appreciated. I just don't like it from the factory as it seems like it's a tanto blade without the definitive corner. Too much blade on the front instead of a point. :)
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That's how I have thought of blades with such steep bellies, in some instances, but didn't wanna say it. I like a long gradual belly.
 
I added an additional pic I took last night to better show the blade profile. Again, thanks all for the compliments. I love this knife. I really love my black Delrin Case Sodbuster Jr. but this one from GEC just takes the cake. That smooth linen micarta is just the bomb.

And yes.....the last pic was taken after I had used Flitz on the blade which took off the "Bull Nose" etching....or at least the dark part of it.
 
I did just about the exact same thing on my redneck version. Much more useful for my cutting needs.
 
I REALLY LIKE THAT! I just scribed a sodbuster pattern onto steel for my next try at a slipjoint, and I was thinking about what a dp would look like on one. Now I know; Awesome!
Could I make a request, can you take a picture down into the blade well with the blade open? Basically, I want to see how they did the lanyard tube on these.

Good job!
 
To you guys who have done this mod, can I ask how you went about it? I did a similar mod to my GEC 25 with spear, and basically ground the edge on a file til I got the profile I wanted, then sharpened (forever) to get the grind back. Is there an easier way? Do you put her on a grinder?

~Jim
 
medicevans said:
I REALLY LIKE THAT! I just scribed a sodbuster pattern onto steel for my next try at a slipjoint, and I was thinking about what a dp would look like on one. Now I know; Awesome!
Could I make a request, can you take a picture down into the blade well with the blade open? Basically, I want to see how they did the lanyard tube on these.

Good job!
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Hope these pics help... :)

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SonnyJim said:
To you guys who have done this mod, can I ask how you went about it? I did a similar mod to my GEC 25 with spear, and basically ground the edge on a file til I got the profile I wanted, then sharpened (forever) to get the grind back. Is there an easier way? Do you put her on a grinder?

~Jim
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Jim,

I basically held my knife upside down (while open) so the spine faced downward and used sandpaper. I used 80 grit until I had the shape I wanted then I went to 150 grit and then went right to 600 grit and then 1000 grit. With 80 and 150 grit I had plywood under the sandpaper and held it down with my left hand and moved the knife back and forth with my right hand making sure to keep it absolutely perpendicular to the table. When I went to the 600 grit and 1000 grit I put a 1/4" thick old mousepad under the sandpaper. This helps polish the sides a little bit too when a small amount of force is applied downward to the blade. I did try to recreate the small swedge on each side and I think it worked nicely. For the swedge I just held the knife at about a 60 degree angle and ran it back and forth and would continue to check and see how much I had done.

Total time took me about 20 minutes. No more than 30 for sure.

Side note: The paper that I used was actually pieces of thick industrial sanding belts made for sanding steel. I cut the belts up into 10" long pieces but the belt is about 8" wide. The grit in these kinds of belts seem to be fused to the belt like crazy and do not want to come off. I have never had good luck with sandpaper bought from home improvement stores when it comes to sanding knife steel.
 
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SonnyJim said:
To you guys who have done this mod, can I ask how you went about it? I did a similar mod to my GEC 25 with spear, and basically ground the edge on a file til I got the profile I wanted, then sharpened (forever) to get the grind back. Is there an easier way? Do you put her on a grinder?

~Jim
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When I dropped the point on mine I did it on a belt grinder in the machine shop where I work. Took me maybe 45 seconds to drop the point and a couple minutes with some fine grit sandpaper to take the scratches out of the top of the spine. Mine is a little more subtle that David's is. Mine is more of a loveless drop point than a spear.
 
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