Reprofiling GEC's

C

Coonskinner

Joined
Mar 28, 2001
Messages
2,491
I love GEC's.

I have some and am going to keep buying them.

But I have had to do some serious reprofiling on every one of them to get the edge I like.

Is that anyone else's experience?
 
yep. though i only own a couple, i've had to do that to mine as well. some blades are worse than others.
 
Serious reprofiling? Nah, though like all production slipjoints they did require some tuning to get the edge I want. Didn't require as much work as other knives though.

- Christian
 
Depends on the blade grind more than anything else I believe. Some GEC blades are thin and easy to reprofile and some are a bit thick and take a good bit of work to get into shape. 1095 is a steel that is pretty easy to work with and I haven't had much trouble with GEC blades. But I am one of those folks who really doesn't care what the factory edge looks like. I am much more interested in how the blade grind was done.

Will
 
Totally,
the worst case is the main wharncliff on the #62 whittler, because the blade stock was pretty thick being split spring construction, although the #25 ez open needed quite a bit of work too.
As Will says the problem is the blade grind and the thickness behind the edge.
What I do is thin the blade by putting it flat on the coarse diamond, and when the thickness is alright go through the grits to 8000 japanese waterstone which leaves almost mirror polish again.

Anyway is not so bad but I'm nuts about a thin grind.
The 2012 forum knife on the other side was perfect.
 
I had to thin out the edge of a 72 Farmer quite a bit on the DMT, then moved to fine paper. It is like a straight razor now! As others have said it largely depends on the pattern. My daily carry Conductor would cut well even if it weren't sharp, thanks to blade geometry alone. All the talk of the fine grinds on the 2012 knife have me jonesing for a single blade version.
 
I have not had to do any serious reprofiling on and of my GEC's. Just a bit of edge tuning.

My Queens have been a different story.
 
I always sharpen my knives when I first get them. GEC's are no exception.

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I just got my first GEC, a #85 EZ Open Jack. It is a fine knife, but the blades were the dullest of any knife I have ever bought. The main spear blade is what I would call "dull", but it would cut with some effort. The small sheepsfoot blade is almost like it had never had any kind of edge put on it.

I usually like to touch up edges on new knives when I get them too, but it seems silly to me for a brand new knife to not even be able to cut without putting in a considerable amount of time sharpening it. I am pleased with the knife, but it is a little ridiculous for this nice of a knife to be butter knife dull from the factory.
 
I have to reprofile most. Not because the profile they use is bad, its just because my sharpening tools and methods use a different angle. Even a slight deviation from the angle that was used for the factory edge will require a whole lot of fine sharpening or a reprofiling to get and edgs that works for you. I dont consider it a defect or issue with manufacture.
 
When I first started buying GEC knives around 2009, it was my experience that most knives came with semi-sharp edges. Then about a year and a half ago, GEC improved their edge sharpening techniques and most knives now come with a nice useable edge. That said, if I intend to use a GEC for a work knife, I will touch-up/sharpen the blade/blades before using it.

Someone here (I think a dealer) made the outlandish claim that GEC does a paper, cut, test on each of their blades before they leave the factory. We know that's just not true because many of the 2012 Blade Forum knives came with the wharncliffe blade unsharpened - not even touched by a sharpener of any kind.

By the way. That same dealer said:

You must be careful with wd40 and carbon steel. wd40 uses a water based propellant and must be cleaned off of carbon steel immediatley after use.
Click to expand...

Really???? Enough to make anyone shake their head.

So, to answer the OP's question - no, I have not needed to do any serious reprofiling to any of the GEC knives I have but I will touch-up the edges before putting them to use even though the majority are ready for at least light tasks out of the tube..
 
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okbohn said:
I convex mine too!! :)
Click to expand...

I find the edge is more durable, last longer, easier to maintain, and glides through material with zero resistance.

That one pictured was from your store for Father's Day, thanks for the sheath, you provide excellent service.

Pete
 
In the past, GEC edges were a bit poor. More of a hit-or-miss, really. Recently, however, they all have been razor sharp. Why mess with perfection?

Like some above, I also like to convex my edges, but it's not something I set to do to a new knife. Instead, I just use sandpaper to sharpen the knives when needed and, with time, they eventually get fully convex.
 
Well... not really a reprofiling. But that´s propably just a term. I, personally, call it "reprofiling" when there are chips in the edge and a new bevel needs to get done.

New GECs are mostly dull out of the tube, at least mine were like this.

It´s just like putting the personal favorite angle on the blade for getting the wanted edge. I do this to most of my knives when I get them.
 
Modoc ED said:
many of the 2012 Blade Forum knives came with the wharncliffe blade unsharpened - not even touched by a sharpener of any kind.
Click to expand...

That's terrible, particularly on the Bladeforums knife, where one might suppose extra care and attention was invested. I do hope the GEC management occassionally peruse this forum because few companies get the benefit of intelligent customer feedback in the way it's presented here. I think most of us can agree that a bit more effort could be put in in the sharpening department, whether or not customers put their own edges on, as most of us do, or not.
 
I expect to have to change the edge on any knife anyway, GEC's edges are relatively obtuse, but the edge is always nice and straight and consistent, so it is easy to change. The neatness of their edges is leagues above any other major production knife. I look at pictures of the primary edge on a lot of big brand knives here, and the factory edges seem crude in comparison, even if they are more acute.
 
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