All About Pocket Knives

I posted a topic about the Backspring and blade meeting on my new Case knife and my dads 1960's Case knife. I have noticed that the old knives are tighter and better made. I also have heard that the GEC knives are better made than the Case knives now. I would appreciate any pics of the GEC knives and any responses.

Have a great day.

one on the left is a 2006 #23 the one on the right ins a 2008 #23. I've noticed that GEC has the best fit/finish of most modern production knives I've seen. Thier quality has progressed from thier first year or so of production though, thats for sure. Notice the small flaw on the left blade tang, that's the only one like that out of my 30 some odd GECs

Yikes! I hope the new one I ordered doesn't come out like that. It would be a bad mistake for any Cutlery Co. to start cutting corners by losing focus on Quality. Thats too bad, I'll let you know when or if mine arrives.

Thanks for posting you photos of the GEC knives. They look great. I hope to purchase one when I have my next opportunity. Thanks again. Dale

Well, to be fair to Case I just got one of the new Standard Brand barlows and its backspring/blade junction is flawless.

I keep hearing about crappy Case knives on this forum but I've acquired 6 or 8 in the past few months and they have all been nice.

Hello,

I am sure that there are some good Case knives out there. But I didn't see any that had a good tight connection when I was looking. And I paid 130.00 dollars for mine and it is not anything I would carry. I have to say that with the quality I have seen from them I wouldn't waste my time with Case again. I would purchase a Vintage Case.

Thanks to everyone for your responses concerning this disappointment.

The fit you see in the newer Case is due to the fact they tumble polish their bades. It does not affect the functionality nor "fit" of the knife

The best fit I have seen was on a Gerber made in Japan by Sakai. It was difficult to tell where blade and backspring met. Speaking of GEC, I think the closed blade being flush with the bolsters is pretty neat.
Jerry

I'm sure the factories feel like they are in a terrible cycle of satisfying customers. They tumble blades and try to keep the run-up of the blades below the liners when possible, to insure there are no sharp corners in a closed position. This is a complaint I hear more than any; and Case solved it by the way most of their blades are finished. The downside is that the run-up is softer and less pronounced, thus does not come all the way back to flush on the backspring in an open position.

If we get them to fix their designs such that all angles meet flush; it will only be a few months before the complaints start coming in about the sharp edges again. Queen is on the other end of the spectrum and the biggest complaint I hear about them is the sharp edges...

I would hate to be the company trying to make one knife that everybody loved; just try and get 100 forum members to agree on a member knife and see what I mean

jands40 wrote:The best fit I have seen was on a Gerber made in Japan by Sakai. It was difficult to tell where blade and backspring met. Speaking of GEC, I think the closed blade being flush with the bolsters is pretty neat.
Jerry

The knives from Sakai Japan, especially those made in the 1980s, had some of the closest fitting joints where the blade meets the backspring of any knives I have seen. This is especially true of the Al Mar knives from this era. The Al Mars of that time were made by Huhey. I have seen those joints so well fitted than you could not feel the joint when you ran a finger nail over it. Once the blade is fully open, the joint all but disappears. On the other hand,the Al Mars of that time were some of the most expensive production knives on the market.

I have a Gerber Silver Knight in my desk drawer from the 1980s. The joint is as close to perfect as possible, though other knives are not as well fit.

Dale