2020 GEC #23 Trapper Thread

I had gotten an email from a dealer and decided to pass, after sleeping on my decision, i realized i made a mistake. They were gone the next day. Luckily i happened by here and saw mike had some. I even hesitated for awhile. Im so glad i didnt hesitate too long!
 
Mass1632 said:
I had gotten an email from a dealer and decided to pass, after sleeping on my decision, i realized i made a mistake. They were gone the next day. Luckily i happened by here and saw mike had some. I even hesitated for awhile. Im so glad i didnt hesitate too long!
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I do not think that you will regret your decision young man .

Harry
 
Flushed it out once yesterday and again today. Its manageable but inconsistent like theres still crude in it. Itll have a couple easier pulls followed by extreme heavy pulls.
 
Here it is fresh out of the packaging. Mine also has a very strong pull, and felt a bit gritty. The tip is also right on the brink of being proud. It will catch skin on my finger if I run it over that area. It has some lock rock, but no blade play. On the plus side, this is the first GEC I've received with a somewhat sharp edge from the factory.

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It's about the same size as a Buck 110. Definitely a belt sheath carry for me!

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Not sure if there was an oopsies with my covers, but they seem oddly arranged. The top left and bottom right corners are more rounded while the other corners are more square in the pic below. Is this what they all look like?

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My Redtail 23LL arrived yesterday and I noticed right away that it was the smoothest of the 23's I got and the lightest pull of them all. I'm kinda surprised the others posted lately have been harder pulls, guess I got lucky as mine's about perfect. The only 'issue' is the liner lock just barely pops out over the blade tang. I've seen others with the same lock position and am not bothered by it, it's already gotten a bit better and in time it will be fine.
 
Tx308 said:
My Redtail 23LL arrived yesterday and I noticed right away that it was the smoothest of the 23's I got and the lightest pull of them all. I'm kinda surprised the others posted lately have been harder pulls, guess I got lucky as mine's about perfect. The only 'issue' is the liner lock just barely pops out over the blade tang. I've seen others with the same lock position and am not bothered by it, it's already gotten a bit better and in time it will be fine.
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That is interesting because mine goes all the way 100% to the other side. Probably why I have lock rock. If put pressure on the spine of the blade in the open position, the blade moves down a little.

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My lock seems perfect to me. The liner seems to move just about all the way and the blade will not budge at all with it engaged.
 
Tx308 Tx308 my first 23 which I still own and use liner lock was real bad, it got better after I flushed with oil and worked in.
 
Completely stumbled on these dropping at two dealers and I bought both times, now that GECs are almost unobtanium, you've got to buy when you see them.
Glad I did, great feel in the hand and the pull isn't the worst. It's less than my '08 in Burnt Grizzly.
I don't love the shield, but the jigging is great.
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The Redtail LL arrived and I've been carrying it with me throughout the day.

My first Redtail (2-blade) is an example of a pretty close to perfect knife from GEC - they truly knocked it out of the park, especially compared to some of their later runs last year. I wasn't really expecting this LL version to measure up quite as well and I think I was wise to keep my expectations somewhat modest.

The action was pretty gritty when I took it out of the tube, which is not a big deal - a good flush would remedy that in a hurry. I didn't take the time to do that, rather I carried and fidgeted with it throughout the day and it has already smoothed out considerably. The pull on it is a bit lighter than my 2-blade version and after some smoothing out, the action is remarkably excellent - it has some springy snap to it that is very pleasant. The lockup is stout and there is absolutely no movement in the blade - there is a wee bit of movement on my Mesquite version so I was expecting the same on this Redtail.

Some points of critique:
  • The jigging is kind of rough - particularly on the pile side, it is chippy and splintered. Nothing that some fine sandpaper, pocket carry, and/or use won't fix but it is still a bit irksome.
  • The butt of the knife looks like someone got overly aggressive with the equipment. There is a very visual slant, making the liners appear to be different lengths. Nothing functionally wrong but it is a visual eyesore.
Other than the above, it is a very fine knife and will be better suited for everyday use than the 2-blade version (which I hope to use during some hunting later this year).

4Aa9fsM.jpg


pMifSv9.jpg


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Pàdruig said:
The Redtail LL arrived and I've been carrying it with me throughout the day.

My first Redtail (2-blade) is an example of a pretty close to perfect knife from GEC - they truly knocked it out of the park, especially compared to some of their later runs last year. I wasn't really expecting this LL version to measure up quite as well and I think I was wise to keep my expectations somewhat modest.

The action was pretty gritty when I took it out of the tube, which is not a big deal - a good flush would remedy that in a hurry. I didn't take the time to do that, rather I carried and fidgeted with it throughout the day and it has already smoothed out considerably. The pull on it is a bit lighter than my 2-blade version and after some smoothing out, the action is remarkably excellent - it has some springy snap to it that is very pleasant. The lockup is stout and there is absolutely no movement in the blade - there is a wee bit of movement on my Mesquite version so I was expecting the same on this Redtail.

Some points of critique:
  • The jigging is kind of rough - particularly on the pile side, it is chippy and splintered. Nothing that some fine sandpaper, pocket carry, and/or use won't fix but it is still a bit irksome.
  • The butt of the knife looks like someone got overly aggressive with the equipment. There is a very visual slant, making the liners appear to be different lengths. Nothing functionally wrong but it is a visual eyesore.
Other than the above, it is a very fine knife and will be better suited for everyday use than the 2-blade version (which I hope to use during some hunting later this year).

4Aa9fsM.jpg


pMifSv9.jpg


yp28Psb.jpg
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Mine has a few of these on this side that are trying to splinter off in me.
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this is probably the worst, though one felt like it went deeper into the cover. Im not too concerned. The other side is perfect at least.
 
The 23 is a great pattern, and has a really broad selection of covers (but no stag is very sad).

Here is a former micarta covered in Lignum Vitae by @glennbad with a mesquite and a blue camel. The lignum vitae one is my favorite, I wish I had also sent Glenn a 2 blade to recover.

One thing I just noticed looking at my picture that I never noticed before is that Glennbad’s recover doesn’t have the 4th pin- which I like because it shows off the wood better. I don’t know what the significance is in terms of knife construction since the 4th pin is bisected by the blade.


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