All About Pocket Knives

So, after reading this forum and how others feel about GEC's quality, I decided to save up enough cash and purchase a #15 single blade boys knife (my first GEC). After waiting patiently, it arrived in the mail today and........ Pfffft! A big flop! I think (and hope) I got a lemon. I'm not one to bash anything,I just need to know if this is the norm. I'll start with the scales. In the area where the bone meets the liner, there are gaps that seemed to be filled by epoxy or some other resin and where it meets the top bolsters, it doesn't meet evenly at all, meaning the bolsters seem to high or scales to thin. If I run my finger up and down, it gets caught on the bolsters. There are grind marks left in the "pinched" areas on the top bolster and also on the bottom or rear where it meets the backspring. Also where the bolsters meet the liners there's noticeable difference in the two (no gaps, just obvious that they are two pieces). And then there is the blade wobble. Holy smokes! This can't be normal. It almost feels unsafe. I know some will think I'm being picky but money doesn't come real easy for me, so when I spend the amount this knife cost I think I can be. Anyway, not sure how the warranty works but I'm gonna call the number on the tube tomarrow. Please tell me this is a lemon!

That sucks, I am very picky with new knives also. I have the same knife and its pretty good, I have no issues with it. However I would have issues with the one you are showing. I say send it back, I have always recieved a great response from GEC on any issues I have had with knives.

You got a dud, bud. What a shame to get a loser like that for your first GEC. I hope it doesn't permanently sour you on them. (pun intended)

I think calling them and asking what the procedure is to get everything squared away is a great idea. Please keep us posted.

contact the dealer you bought it from.

I agree with Chris____Contact the "DEALER" first___most will swap the knife or refund,no questions ***** good luck,Monk

id garentee GEC or the dealer will take care of ya, most all dealers have told me if not satisfield, send it back.

Will definitely keep you posted. I just don't understand how something like this makes it off the assembly line.

So I called this morning, 6:30 am eastern, thinking I'd get an answering machine telling me hours of operation. Nope, a fellow named William answers and after listening to my issues with the knife simply replies, "send it back, we'll fix it". The wait begins!

usually the fastest ftx is to return it to the distributor. certainly this is not equal to the normal gec quality.--HiPower

Your issues inspired me to pull my own out of my pocket and inspect it for similar issues. I did find that I was able to slide a sheet of paper between the front bolsters and scales (it's a barehead) at which point it removed the black buffing compound. I wonder if perhaps the bone was not fully dry? Can't verify perimeter shrinkage as I refinish the frames of my users right from the start. Everything else is good. Doesn't bother me on a user as the gap will be filled in again in a week. Only time I have seen this on one of my GEC's.

Blademan13 wrote:Your issues inspired me to pull my own out of my pocket and inspect it for similar issues. I did find that I was able to slide a sheet of paper between the front bolsters and scales (it's a barehead) at which point it removed the black buffing compound. I wonder if perhaps the bone was not fully dry? Can't verify perimeter shrinkage as I refinish the frames of my users right from the start. Everything else is good. Doesn't bother me on a user as the gap will be filled in again in a week. Only time I have seen this on one of my GEC's.

If compound was filling it then my guess is it didn't shrink after final buffing.

They are making the "Boys Knife" line at a little lower price point and may be rushing some of the standard processes. But I have seen tiny fit issues like this from time to time all along. The guys that have collected for a long time and handled a lot of OLD knives will not notice something that the younger crowd might. I have some antique knives in near mint that I could store a plug of tobacco in the cavity between bone/liner on the backspring side. Haven't heard anybody complain that they could see the line between bolster and liner before, but the steel may be a little harder to blend than NS. Also, although it would be nice if the bone always met the bolster exactly flush, this is probably not a criteria that the factory has heard before and I would personally rather have jigging all the way to the bolster than have them make their bone bigger and buff it down to the bolster for a perfect fit. But many people like the way Case does it by taking off the jigging a good bit from the bolster. If this is your preference, you might put a note in with the return. As far as small grind lines not buffed out and play in the blade - it does happen; especially when they seem to get in a hurry on larger runs. The play is just a little fine tuning, but there is little excuse to be sending out grind lines - whether in the blade or on the skins (even on the simple but classic models).

Well I decided to send it back to GEC, instead of the dealer, to see how they handle their warranty, for future reference. As far as the "younger crowd" thing, I don't know man, quality is quality. I don't think age should determine the perception if a products quality. No offense.

I am sure all be fine with your knife. Hope you get it back soon.

GECs a good company... They will take care of ya. I've only had one issue with a scale on one side of one of the knives I received. I sent it back to the distributor and picked out something else no questions asked.

In the interest of 'managing expectations', I can share how the couple times I sent a knife back to GEC has gone …

You won't hear a thing for a week or so. You'll wonder about the status. You wait a little longer, and just about the time you're ready to call and ask, it'll show up at your door (FedEx both times for mine), and the knife will be right.

GEC stands behind their knives. Most of their established dealers will take good care of you as well. Too bad you got a less than ideal knife the first time out, but all in all, I think most GEC collectors here will agree they are making some of the nicest traditionals available today.

~ Edge

terdl76 wrote:So, after reading this forum and how others feel about GEC's quality, I decided to save up enough cash and purchase a #15 single blade boys knife (my first GEC). After waiting patiently, it arrived in the mail today and........ Pfffft! A big flop! I think (and hope) I got a lemon. I'm not one to bash anything,I just need to know if this is the norm. I'll start with the scales. In the area where the bone meets the liner, there are gaps that seemed to be filled by epoxy or some other resin and where it meets the top bolsters, it doesn't meet evenly at all, meaning the bolsters seem to high or scales to thin. If I run my finger up and down, it gets caught on the bolsters. There are grind marks left in the "pinched" areas on the top bolster and also on the bottom or rear where it meets the backspring. Also where the bolsters meet the liners there's noticeable difference in the two (no gaps, just obvious that they are two pieces). And then there is the blade wobble. Holy smokes! This can't be normal. It almost feels unsafe. I know some will think I'm being picky but money doesn't come real easy for me, so when I spend the amount this knife cost I think I can be. Anyway, not sure how the warranty works but I'm gonna call the number on the tube tomarrow. Please tell me this is a lemon!

I would send it back for a replacement.
I had the same kind of thing with my first knife of another company not GEC I won't say who but let me say the knife was about $140.00 win all said and done. I had a problem with the bone it had epoxy all over the front of the knife and the shield was on crooked real bad. I sent the knife back and since they had none of the same bone anymore the only thing they could do is send it back to me or send me a replacement that they did have on hand.Well I should have went with the first option It was worse than the knife I sent to have fixed it looked like it had been used in their office or something,it had scratches on the back spring and the main blade had been used often to cut something because it was just not sharp at all like the other two,that is why I suspect it was used and they just threw it in a box and sent it to me. That was the first and last knife I will ever buy from them and the real shame is my wife used her own money to buy it for my B-day.The bone was fine on it lol

Well it's been a month with no contact from GEC. Is this normal or should I call? I know Case sends out a little post card letting you know they've received an item. Should I have expected this from GEC? Getting a little anxious.

Got it back today and I am much happier with this knife. Fit and finish we're not touched but the blade is tight and snappy. Christine was nice and polite throughout our conversations and I'm happy they stood by their warranty.

First off, I am not a regular GEC collector. The two that I do have are second to none. Mostly I collect older knives. We know that GEC distributors and probably GEC themselves monitor this forem. That being said, it took this guy over a month to get his piece back. When he got it back, still no fit and finish satisfaction. When GEC's dirty laundry was being aired, that was the time for them to really shine. They didn't! This is a case for working with your distributor for sure.

In closing, everybody has problems. It is how you solve them that really proves yourself in any business. As for me, I've got my eye on a new GEC right now, and am about to pull the trigger. If I have a problem, I will deal with my distributor.
Randy

Just a question, does GEC sell knives that doesn't meet their normal quality standards to a secondary market?

The distributers sell some knives as EDC knives. They have some minor flaws and are sold at a discount. They are labeled as such from the distributer, and although I cant swear to it, I imagine the tangs are stamped S or something.

I thought all knives are made as EDC's. What other knives are there? I know people buy to collect with no intent to use but if a knife isn't made to perform as a useful tool....what's the point? As beautiful as any knife can be, if it isn't able to perform when needed, it's just a piece if scrap metal. Production or custom, knives are tools!

The GEC's with minor flaws such as mismatched bone etc are listed as "EDC's", meaning they are less expensive and not intended as a prime example for a collector. Mine has an S stamped on the tang of the secondary blade. All of the Great Eastern knives that I've seen and handled will perform just fine as a tool.

I bought an Executive Whittler from collectorknives.net as an "EDC" and there is no "S" stamped on any of the blades

I dont have many GECs, I only own 6, and none are stamped with S, nor were they sold as EDC models.

I do have a Factory Second that is marked with a 2 on the main blade pile side. It was a gift, not a purchase, from a vendor I bought other knives from. I knew it was a second from the beginning, and honestly, I cant tell why. It is a great knife.



I dont have any perfect GECs, they all have some liner gaps, and because of the way I open and close them many many times, 4 out of 6 have developed some very minor blade wobble. I have come to accept that a GEC is not a multi benjamin custom. And since I do use them, and they cut great, Ive lowered my expectations to accept the reality that a user is not going to be perfect.

As far as GEC collectors, from where I sit, those are people that buy many, and dont use them. They may think GEC is close to perfect, but imho, the blade spines are not finished to my satisfaction, on any of them. I also find the spring spines are not completely polished to remove lower grit scoring marks.

I usually go over my GECs handles, spines and liners, with 1500 grit emery paper, to get them to feel nice to my delicate hands. Just my newbie reaction to reality. And regarding GECs customer service, they took about a month to turn around a repair of a wobbly blade, that I caused, which is faster than my experience with Case. I also agree that Chris has a fantastic customer service communication style.

IF I was to receive a brand new GEC with a wobbly blade, or the point sticking up when closed, it would most definitely be returned to the vendor, or to GEC for repair. In my limited experience, GEC will not rehandle a knife sent in for complaints about symmetry, nor do they have the ability to fix a liner gap, short of replacing the knife, as disassembling and rebuilding seems to be impractical for them. I found Case followed similar protocols.