Slipjoint quality control

From all the comments in this thread it sounds like either GEC or Buck are a safe bet.
I like 1095 as it takes an edge very easily and seems to hold it well. I'd assume that GEC's heat treat would be as good as Schrade or Esee knives.
I've read through a few pages of reviews of Buck's 420HC steel and it seems that everyone considers it fairly good, in comparison to something like AUS8 (which I didn't mind when done by cold steel).
 
akadave2 said:
Not a big fan of their shield.
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I love their shield. :thumbup:

CSshield.jpg
 
pilgrimuk said:
One option might be the TAYLORS EYE WITNESS "Australian Stockman", made in UK, but available in Australia (there's a surprise! :rolleyes:).

Just google it, should be easy to find. At least this way, if it's not up to standard, it'll be easier to send back. Heard quite good things about Taylors Eye, but never owned one.

Good luck! hth, John
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available off the net unless you want to pay double.dont forget its a big place and the laws vary state to state .not just knives either.i'll be checking those eyewitness stockmans out tho.cheers.beef pm me for a buck stockman -its just lying around anyway.
 
Hi Meako, thanks for the generous offer. I must be technologically challenged because I can't find the pm button for bladeforums.... can someone take pity and help me out?
 
beef said:
Hi Meako, thanks for the generous offer. I must be technologically challenged because I can't find the pm button for bladeforums.... can someone take pity and help me out?
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You have to be a donating member to have PMs. It's one of the privileges of donating along with being to sell knives on the board. You can leave messages on visitor pages or use the email buttons to contact others.
 
Like Woodrow says, you have to be a paying member to be able to PM other paying members. If you do join up with a subscription, watching the exchange may be a very good bet for finding a good example. You may have to be patient for one to show up that you want, but you may have to be fast to get it. I bought my stag GEC 66 jack and a very nice autumn bone silver script Case mini copperlock through the exchange. I have not had any problem with the GECs that I own regardless of where I got them. I did have to hone the kick on the 66 main to drop the point in the handle a bit. Otherwise, it is a great pocketknife.

I can certainly understand your angst regarding ordering something sight unseen; it's a big hassle to return something out of country for warranty service. And, I've seen instances of folks that bought knives from dealers here that were pretty poor quality and should never have made it out of the factory. They shouldn't have left the USA either. Maybe if you contact one of our paying dealers (look for green user names) you can have one of them inspect your knife before they ship it.

Ed J
 
I am one, on GEC knives that never met a bear trap pull I did not like!. My newer ones are lighter, which is great for those who don't like a mean pull.

My most important thing on GEC has been straight blades, and no wobble. I can fix blade wobble (which I have had to do on the S&M, And both Queen collabs (Pardue and Burke collabs). Also the Queens both had thick grinds. Not just an obtuse edge angle, but a real fat primary grind. Meaning even after I spent some real time fixing the edge, they won't ever be the best slicers.

Poor liner gaps also.
 
Bigfattyt said:
I am one, on GEC knives that never met a bear trap pull I did not like!. My newer ones are lighter, which is great for those who don't like a mean pull.

My most important thing on GEC has been straight blades, and no wobble. I can fix blade wobble (which I have had to do on the S&M, And both Queen collabs (Pardue and Burke collabs). Also the Queens both had thick grinds. Not just an obtuse edge angle, but a real fat primary grind. Meaning even after I spent some real time fixing the edge, they won't ever be the best slicers.

Poor liner gaps also.
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With few exceptions I reprofile all my blades with a Lansky Diamond kit. My Queens generally all get a new profile. I go about 35 degrees and micro-bevel at 40, and they cut as well as anything else I have.
 
Bigfattyt said:
I am one, on GEC knives that never met a bear trap pull I did not like!. My newer ones are lighter, which is great for those who don't like a mean pull.

My most important thing on GEC has been straight blades, and no wobble. I can fix blade wobble (which I have had to do on the S&M, And both Queen collabs (Pardue and Burke collabs). Also the Queens both had thick grinds. Not just an obtuse edge angle, but a real fat primary grind. Meaning even after I spent some real time fixing the edge, they won't ever be the best slicers.

Poor liner gaps also.
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I like the pull on the victorinox alox models, even the regular cellidor models have pretty good pull. The case stockman I picked up had no "snap" to it, so the blade didn't feel very secure in the open position. Could you compare the GEC to either of these as a point of reference?

Meako has very kindly offered to help me out, so I'll be able to try some of buck's 420hc steel that I hear good things about.
A lot of great info in this thread.
 
beef said:
I like the pull on the victorinox alox models, even the regular cellidor models have pretty good pull. The case stockman I picked up had no "snap" to it, so the blade didn't feel very secure in the open position. Could you compare the GEC to either of these as a point of reference?

Meako has very kindly offered to help me out, so I'll be able to try some of buck's 420hc steel that I hear good things about.
A lot of great info in this thread.
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I have seen a lot of Case knives with anemic pulls. Feels mushy but the blade doesnt wobble. Most GECs are crisp and snap pretty hard. I would say about 3/4 of 16 GECs I have, have a nice solid pull with good snap. The others are pretty soft but not as soft as some of the CASE knives that I have.
 
beef said:
I like the pull on the victorinox alox models, even the regular cellidor models have pretty good pull. The case stockman I picked up had no "snap" to it, so the blade didn't feel very secure in the open position. Could you compare the GEC to either of these as a point of reference?

Meako has very kindly offered to help me out, so I'll be able to try some of buck's 420hc steel that I hear good things about.
A lot of great info in this thread.
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One thing you can be confident in when ordering GECs is the reliable walk and talk - the sound of a GEC blade snapping back into closed position will get every dog in the neighbourhood barking, and flocks of birds to fly up from the church belfry. :)
 
fatcorgi said:
One thing you can be confident in when ordering GECs is the reliable walk and talk - the sound of a GEC blade snapping back into closed position will get every dog in the neighbourhood barking, and flocks of birds to fly up from the church belfry. :)
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...and you should wear ear protection if you are going to do it more than 10 times per day.;)
 
Just a quick note to say a big thankyou to Meako, who sent me a Buck 303. I tried the 420HC steel out side by side with my Old Timer, after getting them hair popping sharp.
It holds its edge well and sharpens very easily. It seems great, like victorinox steel which I like too.
The springs are on the light side, but it's still a very well made little knife.

Now the hard decision is deciding which GEC to get...
 
beef said:
Just a quick note to say a big thankyou to Meako, who sent me a Buck 303. I tried the 420HC steel out side by side with my Old Timer, after getting them hair popping sharp.
It holds its edge well and sharpens very easily. It seems great, like victorinox steel which I like too.
The springs are on the light side, but it's still a very well made little knife.

Now the hard decision is deciding which GEC to get...
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Which pattern are you drawn to the most would you say? I have 2 #66 Calf Ropers and a #66 Serpentine Jack that I love. It's just the perfect size and carries very nicely in the pocket. I would look up some of the smaller dealers that show multiple pictures of the actual knife that you would be buying and most of the smaller dealers if you send them a message or call them they will go over the knife and address any concerns or questions you have about that particular knife.
 
The serpentine looks really good. Do they make any without printing on the main blade?
 
Very few GECs come without a blade etch. Luckily, the 1095 ones are easy to buff out/hide with a patina. 440c doesn't really buff out (it does get lighter) and doesn't patina.
 
My #66 Serpentine Jack that I got from AKC has the blade etchings almost removed. He said he used Flitz on them to get it off and you can just barely see the etchings now if you hold the blade at the right angle. A nice patina would hide what is left but so far the blades are still nice and polished. I forgot my camera at work and my cell phone camera sucks but when I get back to work on Monday I'll get a couple pictures of what I'm talking about and post them up here for you.
 
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