Warning!! Do not push the blade inside GEC #73.

Modoc ED said:
....Now, while catching up with BF since I got up a couple hours ago, I've been forcefully pushing the blade of this pictured #73 into it's frame and no ding has appeared.

The spring is so stiff on the pictured #73 that it is impossible to push the blade into the fame with enough force to ding the blade on the center pivot area of the back spring. Every #73 I've ever seen has a very stiff spring....
Click to expand...

This is why I suspect the edge damage is the result of snap-closing, perhaps repeated many times. I understand from what others have said that GECs apparently have stiff springs as part of their design. This means the closing force should be substantial. However, a stiff spring also works to limit the "overshoot" as a snap-closing blade comes to rest when the kick touches bottom.
 
Will Power said:
I just find it a bit odd that somebody would feel the urge to do this :confused::confused: I mean, it's not a part of knife use is it........
Click to expand...

Some knives bottom out real easy, some not at all. If it bottoms out easy, it may do so when rolling around in your pocket with keys.

I have my Case/Bose Arkansas Hunter in my pocket today. You cannot contact the spring with the blade by pushing on it. It only moves about 2mm. A little more than the Case/Bose Norfolk whittler.

Play in the spring when closed seems to be related to the design of slipjoint. It appears that for Case/Bose designed knives it's a feature that is unwelcome.

In the book "Knife Mechanisms Just for the Fun of It" Leroi Price documents a lot of designs for the same "kind" of knife. There are a host of different designs for what we use a single name for such as "lockback" or "slipjoint." I've yet to get to a section (or maybe I have but forgot :) ) where he discusses this slipjoint phenomena.
 
...and this is why I ease my blades closed, rather than letting it slam closed so as to get that "satisfying":rolleyes: snap that several here have advocated.
 
Sometimes I buy an old slipjoint knife which has been over sharpened until the blade's tip sits above the well. Before I file down the kick to drop the point, I will gently push down the blade to see how much clearance it has before it touches the spring.

So I can't say I've never pushed down a blade. How hard would one have to bear down to do the kind of damage in the first post? I don't know, but I believe it is user error, rather than a design flaw
 
On the blade rapping issue, not long ago I had two pretty brand new #65 Ben Hogans, both with blade rap. Rather than at the pin, though, each had an approx. 1/2" flat spot about 1" from the tip. I don't know if the long blades on the #65s caused the spot to be so much higher up, but seeing both spots in exactly the same place led me to believe it was something peculiar to the #65 design.

I decided to just sharpen out the flat spot. Unfortunately, the issue was serious enough that I had to remove too much metal. By the time I resolved the blade rap, I had a much slimmer blade! I contacted Chris at GEC who said to send in the second one and that they would adjust the spring. I did that, along with a #92 Talon spear which had a minor blade rap. Chris had told me that it would be a while and that was fine with me. About a month later, which I thought was a reasonable turnaround time, I received both knives and the blade raps were completely eliminated. There were no other apparent changes to the knives and I was very pleased.

Lesson learned. Next time I have a GEC with blade rap which can't be easily sharpened out, it's taking a trip to Titusville, PA!

Andrew
 
Yes, the blade edge will make contact with the spring on the 73 (and other patterns) if you press on the closed blade. Also, this same damage can occur if you let your blade 'snap shut' on strongly sprung knives, and letting the blade snap closed can also crack the bone covers at the pivot pin on some of these stiffly sprung patterns like the 73 or 23. The best handling procedure is to not let your knife slam closed, but close it gently while holding onto the blade. Dings in the edge will sharpen out, but cracks in the bone are permanent and are not covered under warranty as rough handling is just abuse. Also don't throw your knife or leave it out in the rain.

Jus' sayin'. :)
 
gunstockjack said:
Yes, the blade edge will make contact with the spring on the 73 (and other patterns) if you press on the closed blade. Also, this same damage can occur if you let your blade 'snap shut' on strongly sprung knives, and letting the blade snap closed can also crack the bone covers at the pivot pin on some of these stiffly sprung patterns like the 73 or 23. The best handling procedure is to not let your knife slam closed, but close it gently while holding onto the blade. Dings in the edge will sharpen out, but cracks in the bone are permanent and are not covered under warranty as rough handling is just abuse. Also don't throw your knife or leave it out in the rain.

Jus' sayin'. :)
Click to expand...

Cracks in the bone around the pivot pin are handled as warranty repairs by some. I believe there are other reasons for a crack at the pivot spring than a too stiff spring.

If your knife bottoms out opening and closing, whether it's due to design or construction, I wouldn't immediately put the blame on the user. As noted above, if it can be fixed with an adjustment by a cutler, it's not a user error, just a knife that needs a little more attention :)

I have some big slipjoints (3 1/2 to 4 1/4/" blades), Queen/S&M, Case, Case/Bose, Boker , DoukDouk. I like effective springs to keep them open and I don't always let them close easy. For example, I often close a slipjoint, particularly a larger one, on my pants leg since my other hand is holding what I cut...Snaps shut. No problems. I would not view this as "incorrect" method of closure.
 
Will Power said:
I just find it a bit odd that somebody would feel the urge to do this :confused::confused: I mean, it's not a part of knife use is it........
Click to expand...

OCD/just messing about with your knife. Good way to mess it up though. I wonder if warranty departments would consider that abuse, if the edge wasn't affected.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
OCD/just messing about with your knife. Good way to mess it up though. I wonder if warranty departments would consider that abuse, if the edge wasn't affected.
Click to expand...

Any damage from this abuse I do not think would be a Warranty Issue for GEC. Just my opinion though. You may also refer to Post #3.
 
I'm glad I dont have OCD otherwise I would try the blade crush on my collection. I take it easy on my traditionals when closing. However, it's a different story when I play with my Spydercos.
 
In my limited experience it's the lock-backs which are more susceptible to this problem because they have in fact weaker springs.
Since the spring is weaker it takes much less force to depress the blade too far by accident.
And when letting the blade snap closed the weak spring isn't enough to stop the blade's inertia, especially since the lock-backs usually have pretty smooth joints.
 
the very first slipjoint i made had this rapping problem when snapping to closed position.
I did understimate the necessary clearance to make up for inertia, my fault 360°!! If a blade raps by itself when closing it is just a plain defect and the knife should be adjusted/replaced/discounted under warranty.
If the blade raps closed it should be a maker's problem, not the customer's.
 
stezann said:
the very first slipjoint i made had this rapping problem when snapping to closed position.
I did understimate the necessary clearance to make up for inertia, my fault 360°!! If a blade raps by itself when closing it is just a plain defect and the knife should be adjusted/replaced/discounted under warranty.
If the blade raps closed it should be a maker's problem, not the customer's.
Click to expand...

Blade rap when closing the blade was not the OP's problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top