Thoughts on weak springs

Will Power said:
Shocked to hear this, is it evidence of GEC aiming at collector market rather than users?

Snap on my 15 Barlows from previous years always very satisfying. On the other hand, if the pull snap is weak I don't think it will get weaker in time as there's little resistance. The opposite should be true of heavy pulls which will tame down a bit with frequent use, you will hopefully find this out when you receive the 73 I sent you....:D

In the meantime, the 15 non Barlow you sent me as the trade has excellent pull/snap and I'm very pleased with it.

Thanks, Will

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Hope we can trade again in future will,I have another of the 15 cocobolo from a trade and the snap is not weak or strong,i would give it a 4 which is OK in my books,prior to the 15 tractor the 81 had the softest springs but not to off putting that I didn't have confidence in it.it just feels like when your working with a sprained wrist your a little more cautious or nervous.
 
My recent 15 has a solid 5 pull. 2022 14 is a 6 which I actually consider perfect - strong but not too hard, and the snap is melodic, if I can say so.

Will Power said:
is it evidence of GEC aiming at collector market rather than users?
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Of course. I bet that of all non-knife Titusvillians who happened to randomly drop by, one or two (given the prices, remember, I am talking about non-knife people) actually bought themselves a nice user. Everybody else - collectors. If they were ~$60 in every hunting &fishing store anytime then things would be different, but that's not the case, as we all perfectly know.
 
I don't like bear traps but I also don't like weak springs.
The first GEC I bought myself was a 73 jack. Out of the tube it was very hard to open. I managed to tame it a bit, at least the main blade, but it was still a bit more than what I like. You couldn't pinch the blades open and the knife cut me a few times pretty well when I tried to open it a bit clumsily. So I ended up selling it.

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I don't like big easy open notches either, they ruin the aesthetics of the knife for me. But if the blade can be pinched effectively, I can live with a strong spring, such as on this Náder.

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On the other hand I don't like soft springs either. For me it makes the knife feel cheap, even if it isn't. Nothing wrong with a cheap knife, but if I pay proper money for it, I want a proper spring to go along with it as well. I used to have a Buck 303 and the soft pulls put me off. I otherwise liked the looks and feel of the knife.

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afishhunter said:
The Buck 301 and 303 are known for ... "soft" ... pulls ... around a "3" to no more than "3.5" is my guess.
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knarfeng said:
But, to my knowledge Buck has run the 300 series springs on the soft side since the get-go in ~1985. (The 300 series knives sold before that were made by Camillus.) I have Buck 300 Series knives from the 90's, and they also have the soft springs. Whether there is an actual connection between that first 700 run and the subsequent soft springs, I can't swear to. But, that's always been my theory for why the 300 series has soft springs.
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Are the springs on the Chinese Buck 371 and 373 also notoriously soft?
I have a 373 that has pull on all 3 blades definitely stronger than the pull on a SAK I'm carrying. (IIRC, a SAK "by definition" has a 5 pull, right?)

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
Are the springs on the Chinese Buck 371 and 373 also notoriously soft?
I have a 373 that has pull on all 3 blades definitely stronger than the pull on a SAK I'm carrying. (IIRC, a SAK "by definition" has a 5 pull, right?)

- GT
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The springs on my three 371's are a "SAK 5", or if u prefer, about the same as a 389 Canoe.
(I know u have a 389 so u can relate to that reference. 😊)
 
5K Qs said:
Are the springs on the Chinese Buck 371 and 373 also notoriously soft?
I have a 373 that has pull on all 3 blades definitely stronger than the pull on a SAK I'm carrying. (IIRC, a SAK "by definition" has a 5 pull, right?)

- GT
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I've never tried one of the Chinese Buck knives, so couldn't say.
 
mrknife said:
no, 15 pulls have been going down the toilet since the 2018 run. the 2021 run was ehhhhh at best. i wonder if its the spring heat treatment because I have modded 15s from various years that maintained their pulls. i had a clip swapped into a 21 cocobolo and its walk and talk is anemic
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I agree. 2021 and the latest run are pretty bad.
 
TheJon said:
Yes thats scale I usually use.
0 - springs don't even keep the knife closed
5 - SAK springs
10 - break out the pliers causes that the only way you're getting it open.
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afishhunter said:
The springs on my three 371's are a "SAK 5", or if u prefer, about the same as a 389 Canoe.
(I know u have a 389 so u can relate to that reference. 😊)
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knarfeng said:
I've never tried one of the Chinese Buck knives, so couldn't say.
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Thanks for the responses regarding Chinese Buck stockman knives. My 3 examples (2 373s and a 371) do not have soft pulls.

- GT
 
I must have lucked out - my 303 has a very nice 4.5 on all three blades, and my 371 and 373 have a 5 on all blades except for a 7 on the 373's spey.
 
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Concerning weak springs i have actually contacted gec to ask if this is the trend going forward ,and asked if there is a way that spring strength could be tested and posted from factory,one of the major problems is that pull weight can be subjective. There are alot of people I suspect that like light springs or it doesn't effect them,maybe my beat up arthritic body is looking for the knife to make up for my shortfalls.
 
I prefer a 5-7 pull range... maybe an 8 on a GEC. Anything less is considered WEAK/INFERIOR and just doesn't suit me. On the flip side, my favorite Case knives are a 5 at best. 🤦‍♂️ Is knife logic suppose to make sense? If so, we'd all have Moras, Swiss Army Knives and maybe a Spyderco. Just my $0.02. 🤷‍♂️
 
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