Reprofiling GEC's

I found that my GECs came with the edge very nicely ground but without the last step of actually making it sharp. In one case (#48) it took a solid hour plus to get it dialed in but the others haven't needed as much. Never had one that came with the edge far enough out of whack that it needed reprofiling.
 
I have reprofiled some. Hasn't been necessary on others.

It really depends on exactly how you like your edge. I think most GEC blades come with about a 20° per side edge angle. Folks who like a finer angle will need to reprofile. Those who are happy with the wider angle may need to touch up the edge, but won't have to reprofile.
 
I've only got one GEC so far, a #68 Pony Jack, and the main blade is definitely paper-cutting sharp. The small pen blade is not as sharp but serviceable. I plan to touch them both up a bit when I get a chance.
 
Reading just this thread is enough to prove that every owner sharpens their blade differently. No manufacturer will ever satisfy more than one person on that score.
I like sharpening a new knife. It is a habit I enjoy & learn from. I think it is more important for the blade to be ground perfectly, rather than the edge to be sharp.

The only thing that irritates me about factory sharpening is when the power sharpener has ruined the temper of the edge, & it take 6 months of sharpening to get to good steel. I do not level that charge at GEC.
 
mtangent said:
I think it is more important for the blade to be ground perfectly, rather than the edge to be sharp.
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I agree with that, and obviously many of us here at Traditionals have different ideas on what sort of edge we like, but I don't see why it's so hard for knife companies to put an edge on thir knives - ALL their knives - that the average customer would regard as sharp.

mtangent said:
The only thing that irritates me about factory sharpening is when the power sharpener has ruined the temper of the edge
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Yes, that's terrible and far worse than a dull edge or even bad blade geometry. It really shouldn't happen at all, though I've seen cutlers with knives that were glowing in their hands in Sheffield! I'm sure GEC are far too clued up for that to happen. Their edge/sharpness problems are relatively minor and could easily be addressed in my opinion.
 
I don't usually have to reprofile GECs out of the tube. I do touch them up and they reprofiled eventually through my regular sharpening when the touched up factory edge no longer does it for me. Or sometimes just because...
 
I reprofile pretty much all my GECs. As mentioned the secondary bevel, while obtuse, is generally very nice and symmetrical so the reprofile is not too bad. I do take the edge down to ~30 degrees inclusive and then put a 40 degree (inclusive) micro-bevel. Makes for easy touch-ups and still slices well. The primary grind on all my GECs are set up where a reprofile of the secondary bevel works well.
 
Honestly, most knives I receive that are 'sharp' from the factory are modern knives and the funny part about it is they are 'sharp' because they have a burr.

At GEC its just a human holding these blades to an electric sharpening wheel. Doesn't take much to throw off that angle here and there. The other thing is that GEC's new honing leaves the edge with either a wire edge or over buffed from my experience. The blades with the burr can be easily brought to shaving sharp with zero honing, just a little stropping. With that said I go around on this topic. I would love for GEC to have a professional sharpener honing all of these knives to perfection, but that is so unrealistic IMHO.

Then you have the fact that most are 1095. 1095 is so easy to sharpen for the user that this should not be a huge deal. I do get folks just entering and learning wanting there knives all ready to go right onto the sharpmaker and stuff like that. I would think the only way to really get what people want here is to have a jig lined up to that grinding wheel or an automated sharpening process.

A lot of the sharper knives you get from manufacturers have been sharpened on a grinding belt and then stropped on a buffer. There are a few that use leather belts for the final stropping, but not many that I know of. I have received a few GEC knives that seemed to be ground to a right angle, but even then a little time and you have a great edge to your liking.

Since I have been on these forums from the time of 2007 (not that long) I have watched a few manufacturers directly take criticism from the forum members here. Some manufacturers really stepped up their sharpening, but for the most part you end up with sharper knives but sloppier edges. Consider a shop putting a 120 grit belt edge on a knife. Real quick, easy to make even. They run it down a buffer real quick to take care of the burr a bit and there you have it. A semi sharp edge to your door. Now I can take this edge and do with it what I like. Another option the maker sets up all new sharpening grinders and belt systems and attempts to train an employee to sharpen like a real pro (trust me its not that easy, some guys just make it look easy). Well now you have knives with rounded tips, choils thinned to drastically, mini recurves near the ricasso.

I for one would rather receive a nice even edge that need a bit of work than a failed attempt that really takes work to clean up.

Kevin


Jack Black said:
I agree with that, and obviously many of us here at Traditionals have different ideas on what sort of edge we like, but I don't see why it's so hard for knife companies to put an edge on thir knives - ALL their knives - that the average customer would regard as sharp.



Yes, that's terrible and far worse than a dull edge or even bad blade geometry. It really shouldn't happen at all, though I've seen cutlers with knives that were glowing in their hands in Sheffield! I'm sure GEC are far too clued up for that to happen. Their edge/sharpness problems are relatively minor and could easily be addressed in my opinion.
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What Kevin said :)

In my experience the problem with the earlier GECs was the overbuffed edges. The grind was fine (a bit obtuse for my liking but thin behind the edge) but the buffing convexed the edge to an even more obtuse angle, making it really dull.
I reprofile every knife I receive to around 15 degrees per side, depends on the blade (on multibladed knives I sometimes use different angles). It makes it just so much easier to maintain the edges.

For me the ideal would be no sharpening at all :D
 
I haven't bought any in the last couple of years.

Mine are all earlier models.

I am fixing to invest in some more though.
 
Seems like as good an opportunity as any to sing the praises of 1095!

I re profile most of my knives, pretty much all my users have been convexed using the mousemat method. Over time I've been putting a more and more acute angle on them, I now re profile by laying the blade flat on the wet and dry paper and use the give of the mousemat to form a bevel. The relative shallow depth of a traditional blade from spine to edge means this works well.

The convexed Scagel has responded the best to this treatment, leaving a pretty much zero convex edge, great:D



And 1095 makes this possible, the worst that will happen if you get it wrong is edge rolling (fine, re profile with a more obtuse edge) far less of an issue than a big chip in S30-V for example. To top it off the consequent patina loses any sharpening marks too:)

Sam
 
avoidspam said:
Seems like as good an opportunity as any to sing the praises of 1095!

I re profile most of my knives, pretty much all my users have been convexed using the mousemat method. Over time I've been putting a more and more acute angle on them, I now re profile by laying the blade flat on the wet and dry paper and use the give of the mousemat to form a bevel. The relative shallow depth of a traditional blade from spine to edge means this works well.

The convexed Scagel has responded the best to this treatment, leaving a pretty much zero convex edge, great:D



And 1095 makes this possible, the worst that will happen if you get it wrong is edge rolling (fine, re profile with a more obtuse edge) far less of an issue than a big chip in S30-V for example. To top it off the consequent patina loses any sharpening marks too:)

Sam
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That is a beauty.
 
I love a nice convex edge.

queendanburkehalfwhittl.jpg


- Christian
 
I quite agree with Kevin and I almost always sharpen a new knife to my liking when it gets home.
But I think too that GEC doesn't do a good work with the grind on their smaller blades, in my experience the #25 spear and the main on the #62 are way too thick behind the edge for the size and purpose of the knife
Just my humble opinion
 
I haven't had much of an issue with my GEC knives. I use them from the factory until they're dull(ish), then take them through all 4 sets of rods on the Sharpmaker at a 30 degree angle on the primary blade. From there, they rarely need more than a light touch up.
 
The majority of my GECs have arrived with a good edge and reasonably sharp. Others had a good edge, but weren't very sharp. In every case, I still sharpened them to my own satisfaction. But I have yet to have to actually reprofile one, unlike some other brands.
 
For hundreds of years, being able to grind and sharpen a knife has been considered an intrinsic part of the cutler's art. Personally I regret that's declined to the point where bad grinds and blunt edges are passed off as 'just one of those things'. I have plenty of criticisms of Sheffield cutlers and of the Sheffield cutlery industry, but I've watched dozens of men turn out hundreds of knives, sharpening them on wheels, with nothing more than hand and eye, and do a great job. It seems to me that the starting point should be what you strive for in your product, once it becomes acceptable - and is accepted - to turn out knives that are less than how they should be, it'll only be a matter of time before you compromise on some other aspect of that product, and overall quality continues to decline. If knives are being missed by the 'cutler' to the extent that they're not being sharpened at all, you maybe need to look at finding someone a little more dilligent or competent, and the same goes for whoever is supposed to be inspecting them.
 
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