What percentage of your GEC Barlows came with perfect blade centering?

How far off center? It's virtually impossible to get them perfectly centered, but they are usually very nicely centered.

Way off center would be an anomaly.
 
black mamba said:
How far off center? It's virtually impossible to get them perfectly centered, but they are usually very nicely centered.

Way off center would be an anomaly.
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The blade isn't rubbing but it's off when you look at it. I'll try to explain it using numbers since my pictures will not come out well.
It's a single blade clip and looking down the liner this is what the blade looks like. 123 with 2 being perfect centering, it's in between 2 and 3 leaning more towards 3, but not rubbing.
 
I don't buy a lot of single blades, because for me, the main allure of traditionals is the utility of more than one blade. As a result, blade centering is not a big issue with me. But of all the single blade GECs I've owned (not just barlows), very few have been noticeably off center. Sounds like yours is one of the few. If it really bothers you, send it back to GEC for a tune up.
 
black mamba said:
I don't buy a lot of single blades, because for me, the main allure of traditionals is the utility of more than one blade. As a result, blade centering is not a big issue with me. But of all the single blade GECs I've owned (not just barlows), very few have been noticeably off center. Sounds like yours is one of the few. If it really bothers you, send it back to GEC for a tune up.
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I don't think they would be able to fix blade centering. Once the knife is put together, they would either have to crink it or take it apart.
 
Never gave it any thought; blade centering isn't something I'm wary of, unless the blade's rubbing.

Going over the moat, past the armed guards, and down into the dungeon to check the GECs for blade centering... Stand by...

1) TC Barlow, 1 blade, perfect.
2) TC Barlow, 1 blade, perfect.
3) Pony Jack, 2 blade, each is perfect.
4) White Own, 2 blade, pen blade favors the liner side.
5) #64 Swing Guard, 1 blade, perfect.
6) #65, 1 blade, off-center about mid-way. Not even close to rubbing.
7) #89, 2 blade. Main blade almost rubs liner, but could only be adjusted a very small amount without rubbing second blade's tang - very tight tolerance inside the frame. The secondary blade is perfect.

So in my mind:

0% are problems.
14% are off center but not enough to matter, and perhaps could be adjusted.
29% are off-center, but probably are off too little or in such tight space as to not be realistically repairable.
57% are perfect.

Thanks for opening my eyes to an entirely new dimension of pickiness that I was unaware of. :)
 
Now Bob - Thats a great answer Sir!:thumbup: ^^


The off centering doesnt bother me at all with singles - especially if it doesnt touch the Liner - so its just a slight aesthetics thing, and you will get this in any manufacturer.
With a knife such as Stockmans etc usually there is a small amount of blade rub - a lot if this is caused from the pressure of the operator - having to need pressure to use the nail nick - pushing the blades ever so slightly over - but again..the problem is so slight - I personally am a fan of GEC, and cant help being bias...only because I havent had issues with their knives..and I have a few.
I am not having a go at you here Ribeyeguy - but could I refer back to previous discussions my friend......some people can get pretty fussy and whiny with the smallest of imperfections on the GEC's forgetting that they paid around $100 for a knife that will last 4 to 6 generations quite easily with the help of a drop of oil now and then...to me thats the biggest bang for your buck one can get - now if one paid $1500 to $3K for a Custom I would sit and listen to some of these peoples concerns and most probably fully back them up...but we are getting a knife thats not too far off massive Custom quality - for $100.

I bought this very topic up with a very well known knife collector here-and I consider him a friend and I look up to him and respect his opinion VERY much - he disagreed with me on this stance - and thats ok - thats his opinion..
Ribeye - me personally Sir..I wouldnt worry, the situation wont worsen with use - unless of course the knife is abused, if you did send it back to GEC they know how to fix a knife if it needed it, its not a common problem, and if they did have to take the knife apart - you would never know - please dont forget that GEC are arguably this modern days best Cutler firm
 
I checked my two 15s (not Barlows - just Boy's Knives) - both are the 2-blade type. They appeared to have pretty well centered blades, though I think the pen blade on one of them may have been a little off. When I use the nail nick to open the blades they are going to get pushed off to one side anyway, so ideally I'd want them un-centered in the direction of the nail nick, I suppose.

It's just one of those things I don't look at much. I must be doing this whole knife ownership thing wrong. I will have some knife that I have been using happily with no complaints for months, then someone posts a question about centering, or liner gaps, or whether the backspring is perfectly flush. And I'll go look at it and sure enough, it has one of those problems. And now my perfect little knife is less perfect.

But I'm old and need reading glasses to see close up, and to really look at a knife in detail I need a magnifying glass or some extra-strong readers. I figure if I can't notice something with the naked eye, it just isn't important to me.

My suggestion - if you are a collector looking for perfection, then buy three of each new knife pattern at a time, pick out the perfect one to keep, and sell the other two as "new in tube" on the Exchange or some other forum and let the next guy worry about it. I am certain that many of the NIT knives that pop up for sale are exactly that - collector seconds, that are still within acceptable factory specs.
 
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I always put in the (comments section) to make sure the blade (s) are centered. so all of mine except stockmans or more than two blades are relatively centered.
 
My review:

2 Barlows, both very nicely in the centre.

The 15 pattern, same frame as the Barlow, I have 4 of them all Bareheads, 1 Jack with Clip&Crown lifter, 1 EZ Open, the other two are singles. All spot on and very pleasing.:thumbup:

Clearly, a single-blade that is well centred is more desirable than one that's slightly off, from an aesthetic view not functionality. Yet there are worse things to encounter in a knife in my view, e.g. non flush spring on open/close, large gaps, weak snap or palpable blade-play....:eek::barf:

Thanks, Will
 
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