GEC Whaler

[Owd Wullie]

Got mine today. Bought it from Old Hundred Collectibles. His price was good and his shipping was fast.

As for GEC?

I think a knife of this price should NOT have blade rub nor feel as if the blades are full of sand when you open them.
I re-oiled the hinges and a lot of black crap floated out, but they are still rough. My GEC #23 has harder snap and MUCH smoother opening and closing.




I bought it to use, but I expected a bit more in the QC dept.

[philco]

That grit will float out with oil and use.

It's a fine looking knife Wullie.

[tjmurphy]

Well Willie, you weren't kidding were you? It's a great looking knife, cocobolo or Brazilian rose wood handles. It was the fit and finish on these premium knives that drove me back to the old ones. I expected a lot more from the Conductor that I bought and sent back a few months ago. You goin to send it back to GEC for realignment of the blades?

[chetr1200c]

i got the gec 5th anniversary whaler a few weeks ago. i never plan to use it so i put it with my gec collection. i took it out after reading this topic and opened and closed it. it opens like a damm bear with that huge backspring. and i know that a few years back they altered the kick on these so they wont snap like they used to. figured knives this big can take a finger off.. i am very happy with mine, no problem with any sort of opening interference. wells, its back to gec clan with mine.
if you dont like the fit and finish, like tom said, send it back to them, they will either send you a new one or readjust that one.
chet

[biglmbass]

I think a knife of this price should NOT have blade rub nor feel as if the blades are full of sand when you open them.

I'm with you on the blade rub. I've gotten a few GECs recently that felt a bit gritty and had less snap than I've grown used to with this brand. Most were older production, say 2009. All improved after being flushed with WD40 and re-oiled.

[paulsvintage]

i would of not been happy with factory blade rubs. they have very good customer service.

[PigSticker]

Good lookin knife but the kinda $$ they get for em you shouldn't have any issues with it at all i'd send er back. i've been close to gettin a GEC now quite a few times and haven't because of different problems people have had here on this board.

[HiPower]

willie i'm with you about the blade rub. only 2 blades so they should be able to do it right. hope the stag i ordered is'nt rubbing.the guys are right about grit, take a pattern & with a base of paper towels, spray the knife well with wd40, let it drip dry & you will be amazed at the black gunk that drains out. good idea not to use solvents or carbuerator cleaner.--HiPower

[Owd Wullie]

I've fooled with it off and on today. It seems to be binding worse than it was before. It isn't the spring, it's just rough. The small blade isn't bad, but the big blade is just nasty with a bad tight spot just before it closes and almost at open.

I figured out the bade rub problem. Appears that the smaller blade is so thin that it bends into the main blade when you stick your thumbnail into the nick to open it. IF this was supposed to be built as copy of the old Platts knives, they sure scrimped on the blade thickness. All of the old toes that I've messed with and it hasn't been many, had a pretty thick main blade. I recall reading somewhere of an ad that said words to the effect of having an ax in your vest pocket. If you took a piece of wood and tired the drive the blade on this one through something, I seriously doubt it would work too good as the back of the blade is swedged on both side and woudln't take a lot to put an edge on it as it is.

I also have a Chinese ROUGH RIDER toe that was in a box of junk I bought. Damn shame when a 15 dollar Chinese knife has better blade action and no blade rubs.

GEC will get to lick their calf on this one. I'm thinkin' they may be falling into the same BS that Case has. They're making knives to collect and not use.

My #23 is a user. HELL of a knife. It's a few years older than this one and I based my decision to drop that kind of change on this thing on the way that #23 was built.

[rigwelder]

I agree with everything you said Willie,,
If there going to build and sell a high-dollar knife,, the damn thing should work right and not rub.
Heck,,once you open it a few times and scratch the blades up,,the term mint just flew out the window.
I believe I'd let GEC know about there crappy high-dollar knife.

[Miller Bro's]

IF this was supposed to be built as copy of the old Platts knives, they sure scrimped on the blade thickness. All of the old toes that I've messed with and it hasn't been many, had a pretty thick main blade. I recall reading somewhere of an ad that said words to the effect of having an ax in your vest pocket.

W, for the hell of it let me know what the thickness of both blades are and I will measure one of my Antique toe`s.

[chetr1200c]

dimitri, i have measured my ebony anniversary whaler. it should be exact as wullie's, but here goes. i didnt get into metric, so this is as accurate as i can with standard. the main blade has 3 step downs to the back. 1st starts as 9/64, 2nd is 7/64 and 3rd is 2/32----- pen blade starts with 5/64 and tapers to the point. lets see if wullie concurs.. like i said, i have no blade marks on mione,, so i dont think its skimpy steel,, just the way it is assembled....
chet

[tjmurphy]

It's like I said about the Conductor, if your going to sell me a premium knife at a premium price, gimmie the damned premium knife.

[tjmurphy]

Willie, are you going to send it back? They need to get all these wacked knives back that are not put together correctly.

[Owd Wullie]

.073 at the tang tapering .057 at the nick to .028 at the tip on the small blade GEC
.072 on the Chinese RR small blade. It's pretty constant all the way down.

Main blade is .154 at the tang, steps down to .110, then steps down again to about .090 about the middle of the long pull with it tapering to .040 along the top edge above the long pull and pretty constant out toward the tip.

The Chinese RR main blade is right .1 all the way from the hinge and tapers down at the tip.

I don't do metric either, OR fractions LOL

[Miller Bro's]

On this old beast..............

Master Blade Tang: .170"

Front Nail Nick: .080"

Pen Blade Tang: .095"

End Of Nail Pull: .065

No rubbing, tremendous blade snap.

Stick with the OLD stuff

[chetr1200c]

excuse my math, but what are those measuements translated into standards or metric.. i dont have a micrometer...

[tjmurphy]

Stick with the old stuff

[chetr1200c]

always

[chetr1200c]

i have been a carpenter/ framer most of my life, and one of the most frequent sayings in the business is,,,,,,WHAT"S A 1/16??????

[Owd Wullie]

excuse my math, but what are those measuements translated into standards or metric.. i dont have a micrometer...

Here ya go Chet.
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/fract ... _1159.html

[chetr1200c]

thanks wullie.. i see the difference now, you cant beat that old steel and its thickness. but then you also have to account for the new steel and the technology behind it.. big is not always better.... but i am no metalurgist

i do prefer the old to the new, just cause it was done with a lot more care...

[Owd Wullie]

Compare the blade shape on that Case with our GEC's. The small blade in ours completely is flat ground. Now look at the small blade on the Case. It's ground in sucha way as to make it stiffer.

The main blade swedge starts in front of the long pull. The spine of the blade is wide and solid. Compare out GEC's.

I'd LOVE to have that big old CASE of D's in my pocket.

Can't afford it.

As for steel? I'll put L-6 that has been properly hardened against 1095 that has been properly hardened all day long. At the end of the day, I'd bet it would be a draw.

[WelderBob]

Willie, If that was mine it would be headed to Pa in a heartbeat...QC should not be a problem considering the low numbers of knives they make. I have a few GEC's and I've sent more than a few back, and don't feel the least bit bad about it. What disappoint's me about the Whaler is the blade thickness...the smaller 36 pattern toe has the same blade thickness. I thought the whale should have thicker blade's...I believe it was made for show, not go...JMO.

[Owd Wullie]

I agree on the show and no go.

It'll be goin back. GAYRONTEE!!!!