Lets talk GEC!

I'm fairly new to GEC and a pretty average knife sharpener. I do know that of the 5 GEC's I've got, four of them were fine out of the tube, for non-discerning me. The fifth one was actually the first I bought. A #71 purchased a few years ago. It was the dullest new knife I ever purchased. Worse than any $5 Imperial I had as a kid. I got it sharp, but it took me a while and it took a couple/three years before I bought any more GEC's. I was impressed with the f&f, but not with how dull it came out of the tube. I had decided it was a fluke, but reading all this it sounds like the was the norm just a few years ago. Glad they straightened it out. I'm one of the 95% that wouldn't be able to tell them what a proper edge is. I just want it to cut things :p
 
From my experience, the GEC sharpometer has gone up many points since I first got a GEC back in 2008. Early knives could frankly be blunt and take a while to get decent, at the time I and others found fault with it, only to be barked at by zealots who told us 'in the old days knives used to come blunt on purpose so stop moaning' Fortunately, GEC listened to those who want a knife that is sharp on delivery and these days I find their knives ready to cut.

Yes, it will eventually need sharpening but if it has a good edge on it in the first place it's not difficult to get it to where you like it. Not all knife enthusiasts are stellar at sharpening, even if we'd like to be;) Nor do I see the point of making the analogy with cars...I don't own 300 :D New cars are ready to drive, you don't expect to have to spend an hour or two adjusting the tracking or steering rack, or to reprofile the tyres before you can take it out ;)
 
Ramrodmb said:
Thick grinds are a legitimate problem that cannot be remedied by the average person as easily as a new edge. That's what I love about GEC (and 1095): almost never an overly thick grind!
IMO;)
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Not overly thick, especially in comparison to a lot of current knives on the market, but compared to many of the old knives they emulate the main grinds are not as thin as they could be. Obviously the knives would cut better but would also be even easier to sharpen. Again, their main grinds are not a bad standard but they could be improved. They could do with a more fine tip in many cases, some of those are overly thick.
 
TheChunk91 said:
Not overly thick, especially in comparison to a lot of current knives on the market, but compared to many of the old knives they emulate the main grinds are not as thin as they could be. Obviously the knives would cut better but would also be even easier to sharpen. Again, their main grinds are not a bad standard but they could be improved. They could do with a more fine tip in many cases, some of those are overly thick.
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No disagreement from me there. Some older knives had very fine tips and is probably why you see so many old knives that have been reshaped at the tip.
If GEC were to follow suit, can you imagine how many people would snap the tips and then want warranty work? I think they have found a good balance. It would not hurt my feelings if they went a little thinner or as thin as some of the oldies but I understand why they don't.:thumbsup:
 
They seem to be able to do a good job on all blade shapes except their spearpoints. Every one I've gotten have been really dull near the tip.
 
I once witnessed my brother cut himself with a butter knife, so I would agree that “sharp” is a relative term. Machinists know how sharp machined metals can become, even at 90 angles.

The dare has Inadvertently been made to define a proper edge. I know there are different sharpening jobs for different tasks, but my definition of proper is merely an apex that doesn’t meander. I just took a meandering edge out of a GEC tonight. It took me 1.5 hours trying to not grind away more blade than I had to.

if they put a steep bevel on it would be easy to correct with a straight (or even straight-ish) apex. I wouldn’t even fault them for the utility steep bevel, as it has a purpose.

Anyone who’s ever used a grinding wheel would know how hard it would be to do that by hand, so maybe GEC could get clever and find a better solution. But that’s it- my final thoughts, spurred by a tedious sharpening session.
 
EngrSorenson said:
The dare has Inadvertently been made to define a proper edge...
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I'll take a swing at this. I think it should be appropriate for the intended use. In my world, no knife that is pre-broken in the middle is intended for hard use other than in an emergency, so the blades should be thin and the grinds should be thin. The angle of the bevel should be less than twenty degrees per side and should sharpen a pencil without skating off.
 
GEC does a pretty decent job at keeping their grinds thin. I'd say that their consistency in this matter is maybe as good as Case. Every now and then, they run too thick. They usually run thin enough. And occasionally, they run even more thin, and knife Nirvana is produced. I guess I'd prefer that they ran more of their edges (say .015" to .017" at the edge) on the thinner side of the spectrum.

As far as sharpening goes, GEC can be a bit disappointing. I doesn't bother me too much though, as I'm more than happy to put my own edge on a knife. My father-in-law was far less discerning, and never complained once about the edges on his GECs. Then again, his knife sharpening skills weren't great, so GEC's felt reasonably sharp in comparison.

But I agree that GEC's spear points can be problematic towards the tip. This may be exacerbated by the fact that GEC often prefers to run their tips on the thick side. Again, not a huge deal to me on a main blade, as long as the secondary blade's point is up to snuff.
 
I have two 99s with bent tips - a result of them being weak by being ground too fine (not my handling of them). So I think the intended use of the knife is also relevant when considering the appropriate tip thickness.
 
Camillus said:
I have two 99s with bent tips - a result of them being weak by being ground too fine (not my handling of them). So I think the intended use of the knife is also relevant when considering the appropriate tip thickness.
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The #99’s with the Wharnecliffe blades? Wharnecliffe’s are generally known to have weak tips compared to the venerable sheepsfoot blades. I still love a good Wharnecliffe, but I know it’s limitations.

GEC nailed the primary grind on the 93 ramsfoot knives. I think the 93 is my choice for 2019’s GEC of the year.
 
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Very nice, José! I have the entire 2007 run of 440C #73 Scouts, but would dearly love one of those stag single blades.

EswdGLs.jpg
 
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