Will you expect top quality from the GEC #47 HAYN’ HELPER WITH HAWK BILL BLADE?

Nauplios said:
I suppose there is always potential there, as you say. But will those folks who wouldn't spend a hundred bucks on a very nice pocketknife spend $50-60 on a sodbuster-type knife, when there are proven ones out there for half that?
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lol i dont know. if they market it right (durable high end materials made entirely in america, deluxe quality at a fair but not rock bottom price, target the pitch at the shop foremen, project managers and construction site superintendents and not the laborers, sell it through someplace like rei or ll bean and not walmart, etc) i reckon they could make some sales. i see a fair number of guys in those sorts of positions who have things like expensive boots or big 4x4 vehicles that are not often dirty.
 
I'm very curious to see these knives when they come out (especially the sheepsfoot jack).
My idea is that this line of products should be offering "simple" knives (I'm surprised to see a two bladed jack...I was betting on single bladed knives only), with inexpensive materials and less details, but same quality.
I don't know what GEC will do...but that's the only option that I would consider good.

Fausto
:cool:
 
I expect perfect fit. I do not expect perfect finish. Build it solidly and simply but leave off the time on the buffing wheel and other cosmetic details and it should be a very VERY solid contender amongst folks (like me) who like simple and functional tools that provide high value. We don't need the spit-shining--just the performance. Any visual allure should come from the perceived potential utility of the design, or as I like to call it, "functional beauty."
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I expect perfect fit. I do not expect perfect finish. Build it solidly and simply but leave off the time on the buffing wheel and other cosmetic details and it should be a very VERY solid contender amongst folks (like me) who like simple and functional tools that provide high value. We don't need the spit-shining--just the performance. Any visual allure should come from the perceived potential utility of the design, or as I like to call it, "functional beauty."
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+1 What he said!
 
Things are moving along nicely. I liked this picture with the progression of the blade:

47-ff-204.jpg
 
I just bought one of the bullnose farm and field tools, because of all of the hype on here. When I got it, I was not disappointed. It wasn't too bad of a price for a
well made
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sodbuster either. It wasn't of the same high quality as the Northfield UNXLD line, it wasn't of the comparitive quality of the Tidioute or standard GEC line. I believe it was of a higher quality than the Case sodbusters I could compare it to. I too hope that quality does not come down to appease the bean counters at GEC, but I don't think that will happen. They have already secured their niche in the market, they are just trying out some new arenas.

O1 steel, my handles are already scratched and gouged from use, but the action is tight yet comfortable, and the blade is still sharp, after a few passes on my strop. I think they'll do fine with this line.

However, these are geared for the working man, not the collector like us.
 
I hope GEC does gangbusters with the Farm line. Personally though, I'd rather buy a 70 dollar Barlow or similar from them than a 50 dollar work knife. I also look for used GEC's and have been lucky so far. I also have a ton of user knives, but I like GEC as pocket jewelry. They get used as needed and all of them get carried, but I have other knives that I use for the tough jobs.
 
confucius37 said:
I certainly don't expect the same level of finish. In fact I'd prefer it if they spent less time on the finish in order to make these more affordable.

To make it clear, I still expect the FIT and function to be up to the GEC standard, I would not be happy if I got a knife with a wobbly blade or hitting the liners or large gaps.
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Ok. I like that this is being talked about. GEC is my favorite knife company. May always be. Now that being said.. The only thing that I don't want to see happen is this company start spending less time on this type of knife and fewer hours being spent on them for the to get use to doing so. I hope that te other lines do not start to dwindle in quality. Cutting corners is what got case in the reputation that they have now.. Not knocking case.. But I believe you all know where I'm coming from.
 
I like the looks of these more than the bullnose. And to be honest if them made the sheepsfoot jack with bolsters and bone I would buy 2
OCT-24-black-attack.png
 
blazerman said:
So is there a sheepsfoot jack knife and and a shepsfooot with just the main blade?
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While I'm delighted at having the choice between the single blade SBJ and one with a pen blade, I'm annoyed at the fact that I'll have to make a choice. I hope they come in orange (or GID) like the Bull Nose. If they plan to come out with a high-end version with bolsters and premium handles, I'll probably just stick with the single blade sheepsfoot for the F&F, and get a 2 blade premium one.
 
blazerman said:
So is there a sheepsfoot jack knife and and a shepsfooot with just the main blade?
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Whoa, good eye-- I hadn't noticed that in the above picture.

Planterz said:
While I'm delighted at having the choice between the single blade SBJ and one with a pen blade, I'm annoyed at the fact that I'll have to make a choice.
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There's an entire subforum for people like you. ;)

~ P.
 
How does up and down lock play fit into the equation? I just received a new Farmer lock and though slight it does wiggle up and down. Is this even something that can be fixed? I would think this is a sign that the pieces are ever so slightly short but I could be missing something(happens all the time)? I am worried it will get worse but I have no experience with a traditional lockback. The one handers I have had with lockbacks where always vaults.
 
The #47 is a solid slip joint. I have a few lockbacks with that sort of play but don't really carry them due to my local so I can't comment on how they'll last. I believe you can send it in to GEC to have them look at it/tighten it up. I don't know what that means exactly for a lockback though.
 
Thanks Trand. Think im just going to carry it and see if it gets worse. Its going to see all the dirty jobs anyway so what better way to test it out myself? Ill report back with any results good or bad ;)
 
I seem to recall that the first run of this class of GEC knives was for our own GEC dealer knifeswapper. There was a lot of talk about them ahead of delivery, mostly positive as I recall. When the knives were in folks hands, they were positively received and GEC made the decision to improve their costs on the range and also to expand it.

I guess I don't understand why forum members would herald a new "working class" of knives from GEC and then later turn it into a perceived drop in quality level of the entire catalog. The price point is indeed higher than other companies entries in the field, but it seemed marketable enough to GEC to continue to make them and to broaden the line.

GEC's main line of knives are very good. They cost more than other brands. GEC's working class line of knives seems to be very good (relative to their lower cost competition) judged by comments here in this forum. They cost more than other brands.

It seems to me that if you want a solid working class knife and you are willing to pony up the price tag, you should do so without being worried that GEC's quality is going to be poor. If you want better finished and polished knives with fancier handles and swedges and pinched bolsters, stick with the regular production knives. It's exactly the same as with other brands.

I don't think GEC's quality on these knives is poor and I don't think that the (lower) level of fit and finish in the F&F line will "spill over" into the TC and NW and GE lines. Maybe some of the new processes they are using on the F&F line will one day be refined to the point that they actually produce extremely high quality cutlery at a lower cost to GEC and possibly the consumer such that it will be used to make a better GEC or Northfield or Tidioute at lower cost. That's how innovation happens and it's all a good thing in my mind.

Now to Jeff's point about play in the lock - to me that is a warrantable issue regardless of the line in which it occurs.

Ed J
 
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