Lets talk GEC!

waynorth said:
Here's one that must have an interesting technique for sharpening!! It's my only Cotton Sampler, and I can't imagine carrying it. There are some nifty details -- ALL hardware is Brass, except for the blade of course!! Bolsters, rivets, liners and shield are all Brass!!!
Usually I prefer steel, but all combined, the look is striking!! Especially with the Antique Amber
jigged bone in that unusual pattern!!:)
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To me, this knife is sort of a GEC curiosity, but maybe someone can tell me if they use one, or how it is meant to be used??:rolleyes:
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im a huge fan of all brass hardware, and I do love the cotton sampler as a tool of a bygone age. I don’t have one myself, but I’ve done some reading on them. I think you’ll find one user said it best here: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/history-of-cotton-sampler-blade.1157655/
 
waynorth waynorth I may be wrong, but the scalpel-like design of the blade was optimized for slicing open a cotton bulb to inspect for pests, bloom, etc. As we can see it has a much more pronounced belly than even a skinner/spey blade, ideal for slicing open a bulb-shaped object and slicing back a skin. The straight section seems to be akin to a modern day "finger choil", if you wanted to choke up on the blade and get a finer cut.

Your example is unique indeed. I wasn't aware hitherto your post that GEC had done any full-brass knives prior to the 44 Northfields.

Personally, I find sometimes that slicing reach is more a factor than slicing length, and with such belly, it looks like that knife gives the best of both worlds.
 
Thanks for the info, refs and comments, EngrS, and tk!!:thumbsup:
I have new appreciation for my "curiosity"!!:D
 
EngrSorenson said:
As a rule I never trust those types of sharpeners; I think of them in the same lot as those belt sanders they call sharpeners. Much like choosing a life partner, beware of fast and easy!
That said I don’t invest in waterstones, either. too fancy for my taste and I have yet to see a meaningful difference in the finished product. I have some 6” DMT whetstones from extra course to extra fine: the last two being continuous surface. I don’t use water or oil and I freehand sharpen. After the initial sharpening any touch ups take very little time. I Always strop the knives I use at the end of the day. Nothing fancy, but my knives are hair whittlers To be sure.
Don’t think of it as an investment in time- think of it as participating in maintaining a fine tool. if you were talking about a rough rider, or any other cheap knife that would be a different story. Right now I’m cringing at the thought of running a GEC blade through one of those contraptions... but to each their own! Not everyone needs the same level of sharpness or fine tuned bevel geometry. One of my close friends presses blunt steel through plastic, calls that steel a knife, and is perfectly happy.
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I’d second the recommendation of DMT diamond stones, and personally don’t find that I need more than two for most of the sharpening I do. I use the 8” continuous surface DMT stones, one in Fine (which will remove metal surprisingly quickly, at least with 1095 — I mostly use this stone for re-profiling a new knife to my liking) and one in Extra Fine for finishing and upkeep/resharpening. The thing I like most about them is that they don’t require oil or even water (although you can use water if you want). I just use them dry and clean ‘em off every once in a while. Works great.

( EngrSorenson EngrSorenson , I’d be curious to hear your thoughts about your Extra Course DMT stone. I’d have to imaging that thing sharpens pretty aggressively, no? The only time I’ve felt like I wanted a coarser stone than the Fine was on a fixed blade that had a chip in the edge.)

waynorth said:
Here's one that must have an interesting technique for sharpening!! It's my only Cotton Sampler, and I can't imagine carrying it. There are some nifty details -- ALL hardware is Brass, except for the blade of course!! Bolsters, rivets, liners and shield are all Brass!!!
Usually I prefer steel, but all combined, the look is striking!! Especially with the Antique Amber
jigged bone in that unusual pattern!!:)
View attachment 1243733

To me, this knife is sort of a GEC curiosity, but maybe someone can tell me if they use one, or how it is meant to be used??:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

That one would certainly be… interesting to sharpen. o_O :D
 
waynorth said:
Thanks for the info, refs and comments, EngrS, and tk!!:thumbsup:
I have new appreciation for my "curiosity"!!:D
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I've heard that the long flat tang behind the blade is used for rolling the cotton fibers around and somehow gauging their quality. It's not entirely clear to me and I'd love to know more about how this is done myself. Edit: Whoops should've clicked on that link, looks like this was actually explained.
 
btb01 said:
( EngrSorenson EngrSorenson , I’d be curious to hear your thoughts about your Extra Course DMT stone. I’d have to imaging that thing sharpens pretty aggressively, no? The only time I’ve felt like I wanted a coarser stone than the Fine was on a fixed blade that had a chip in the edge.)
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Like you I began with a fine stone, but I found it would take me hours to grind enough metal away to correct all the mistakes of the factory grind. I got a coarse stone and that reduced time and wear-and-tear on my fine stone. The natural progression took me to an extra coarse stone which saves more time and more wear-and-tear still. My philosophy is currently to do all the work with an extra coarse stone for the first sharpening, then it’s a few passes on each progressive stone to clean it up. Extra Extra coarse is in the cards as recently I’ve been spending too much time putting bevels on old axes and hatchets. The prevailing theory with diamond stones is that as they wear the effect is to reduce their effective grit, which I hope to test personality by getting a new fine stone and doing a side-by-side with the very old and much used one that I have. Yeah, extra coarse is aggressive, but it’s a time saver and doesn’t take off too much blade if you’re a moderately skilled sharpener. Also I get flatter bevels as it requires less passes and reduces my human error.

Edit: just for reference, I predominantly sharpen GEC’s 1095 (just to bring it back to “on-topic”), an old camilus scout knife in 440C and various 420C equivalents including true sharp.

edited for typos: coarse, not course.
 
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I use DMT stones also, but rarely go coarser than the Medium. Medium to re profile and fine/extra fine to finish. The medium is plenty aggressive for my needs and as others have mentioned, they all work better and feel smoother after some breaking in and use.
 
The extra course DMT is very helpful for modern steels the new hybrids from lionsteel and other manufactures. However I use the extra course on every knife steel that needs profiling. Sometimes those GEC factory bevels are terrible and ya gotta knock down that shoulder to get a good edge apex. Fearing it being too aggressive at removing steel is a bit silly. Just pace yourself and check for a bur frequently. Its not like using a belt sander that eats away your blade stock. I do use water on the extra course and course to keep the metal dust down. And have been keeping the extra extra fine continuous surface on my wish list for a while now, but figure the extra fine will eventually wear into it. I never knew DMT has a 'medium' grit. I've only seen advertised Extra Course, Course, Fine, Extra Fine, Extra Extra Fine.
 
"Medium Extra-Fine diamond (6 micron / 4000 mesh) to attain a polished edge on your tools and knives."
 
If we're splittin' hairs, I've never seen "course". Only "coarse".:D:p


I may have named it medium myself, can't recall for sure. I'll check tonight.
Also, I was referencing what I use on my GEC's. Mostly 1095 but some 440c.
I'm not saying what anyone else should do, or that anyone else's way is silly, just what I do and what works for me.:thumbsup:

YMMV;)
 
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I was going through Titusville today on my way to hunting camp..... I decided to whip into GEC.... I met Joan Mae Howard and snapped up a couple knives from the store.... In fact Joan Mae was restocking the display cases when I arrived.... She is a very nice Lady and had great things to say about former husband Bill.... She applauded his dedication and hard work..... I told her that GEC knife buffs appreciate the factory's efforts and attention to detail.....

She was not familiar with BF..... I told her it was a hot spot for GEC scuttle and chatter...

Anyway, I was at Mecca today and just wanted to pass it along... P.S. She said the factory was in whistle gear trying to keep up...
 
Ramrodmb said:
If we're splittin' hairs, I've never seen "course". Only "coarse".:D:p
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I blame the text-to-speech function. :poop:
Ramrodmb said:
I may have named it medium myself, can't recall for sure. I'll check tonight.
Also, I was referencing what I use on my GEC's. Mostly 1095 but some 440c.
I'm not saying what anyone else should do, or that anyone else's way is silly, just what I do and what works for me.:thumbsup:

YMMV;)
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yup was just adding my experiences for conversation. :thumbsup:
 
Ramrodmb said:
If we're splittin' hairs, I've never seen "course". Only "coarse".:D:p
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... yup, that was humbling, haha.

bax229 said:
Ya not confusing at all, right? :eek: There's 3 levels of "Extra-Fine" Extra-Fine, Medium Extra-Fine, Extra Extra-Fine (9, 6 and 3 Microns)
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careful! Sounds like you might be describing the double sided stones they have. The three levels of fine are, “fine” (red), “extra fine” (green) and “extra extra fine” (tan). My one continuous DMT is “fine/extra fine” because it’s double sided. Instead of the colors they print it on the side.
 
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