All About Pocket Knives

Hi, I just received my first GEC I today. Its beautiful! Reminds me of honey.

There is a blemish on the tang of the pen knife. It doesn't affect performance in my opinion but im still kind of bummed.

Would this blemish bother any of you? Should I seek an exchange? I ordered it new from an authorized GEC dealer.

The corners of the bolsters catch on fingertip but I assume thats normal on a handle material like bone, right?

I also noticed black specks in the bone which look like dirt but I assume its normal for bone.

I'm not a collector - yet but an enthusiast. I plan to carry occasionally in a slip.

Firstly, everyone will have a different opinion. Personally, the spot on the tang would not worry me, and i have a couple of bone/horn knives where the scales are not exactly flush with the bolsters, and it also does not worry me, can also happen with wood. You have a beautiful knife there, carry it and enjoy it.

It wouldn't bother me on a sub-$50 knife as are most of mine, but on a more than $100 knife, it most definitely would. If I am going to carry it (which you are), I probably wouldn't worry that much, as it doesn't cause any mechanical/functional problems.

I see nothing wrong with your knife. It is a tool, meant to be used as well as admired.
Is the blade action good ? i.e. blades open and close smoothly, good snaps, no play.
And are the blade grinds even from spine to edge and reasonably thin just above the edge ?
Are both blades reasonably sharp ?
Are there any cracks in the handles ? or actual gap where handle pieces meet the bolsters/caps ?
I consider all these aspects important. A tiny divot at tang edge does not in any way affect performance and is not seen except if the blade is open and you are actually looking for it.
With all due respect i suggest you are the issue, not this knife. Perfection in anything is rare, including custom knives that cost thousands of dollars. If you spend your life wanting things to be perfect you will be forever disappointed.
kj

This is highly unusual for GEC. Your next GEC will almost certainly not be afflicted.

If this blemish is not impeding function, don’t worry about it.

The 44 is an excellent pattern that sports some of GEC’s best action. But this variety of 44 has no collector value. Still, it has great use value.

Just enjoy your knife. Be glad that it was this one and not a nice stag that had a blemish.

Welcome to the club.

Yes, welcome to the club. You'll work out whose opinions you value.

Personally, I wouldn’t accept this in a new CASE. If it’s new it ought to be right. Granted here on the farm it’ll get scratches and dings, but I’ll put them there, it should be right from the factory.

That said, if I expect my CASES to be right from the factory, you can be sure I’d expect a knife as expensive as a GEC to be right. No way should that knife have been sold as anything other than a second in my opinion. YMMV

I wouldn't worry about the spot in the blade if you plan on using it. I am a little surprised this made it through QC and wasn't sold as a "store" knife. I've seen store knives with lesser defects than this. You might call the retailer you purchased it from and see what they say.

The transitions you speak of are normal and are what keep most GEC's in that 8-8.5/10 range for collectors. It's the most constant slight imperfection I see in GEC's if one is getting super picky. It's really rare to get one with all the bolster transitions being completely smooth.

The dark spots you see in the bone are one of two things. I can't quite tell from the picture, but it looks like it's from the dye in the bone that got deeper in the pores. This causes difference in color and tone in dyed cattle bone. The other thing it could be is from the buffing compound getting into the pores of the bone. Nothing to worry about and is just cosmetic.

Looks like character to me. I put a little bit of black dye on the jigging on my Golden rod bone #44 and buffed it out. Bone is natural and no two are alike. "NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT KNIFE !" I never carry my #44s. The GEC#44s are nail breakers and hard for me to open up. I use me feet and a CASE XX blade pick to open my GEC#44 knives.

It’s your money, your knife. You are the only judge that matters. If it bothers you (apparently it does or you wouldn’t have bothered to sign up here and ask) send it back.

If it doesn’t bother you enough to take the trouble to return it, put it in your pocket.

Welcome to AAPK.

Ken

It seems you are bothered by the imperfections otherwise you would not have mentioned
this. As you are aware the Tidioute is an expensive knife so I would expect something
better from them as far as QC is concerned.

Imperfections on the scale - probably how dye has been taken up by the bone in the process.
Dying naturally will give some imperfections but sometimes they come out perfect.

Tang imperfection- if you are going to carry it and use it probably nothing to fret over.

Bump between bolsters and scale- I would have expected something better but if you
are going to carry it heavily it will eventually smooth out. I think this is poor QC for an
expensive knife however.

All in all it obviously is up to you. Depending on if you want the knife to look really
good, especially in its early ages, I would see about returning it. You have nothing to
lose. I carry all my knives but am especially careful with the ones that are
near perfect and expensive.

Good luck in your decision.

Bob

Did a bit of reading and learned more about GEC blemishes. Info was new to me but probably not to all of you.

Blemished knives are cold stamped "S" on the tang.

A tang stamp with a cold stamped #2 is a factory second.

The other method they've used to identify factory seconds (its rare) is a "nail nick" on the tang using a file.

This knife doesn't have an S or a 2 but it could be a nail nick. It was not advertised by the dealer as an EDC or a second. Factory seconds do not come with a factory warranty so I want to be sure.

I've got an email in to GEC.

Myers4310 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 7:39 pm Did a bit of reading and learned more about GEC blemishes. Info was new to me but probably not to all of you.

Blemished knives are cold stamped "S" on the tang.

A tang stamp with a cold stamped #2 is a factory second.

The other method they've used to identify factory seconds (its rare) is a "nail nick" on the tang using a file.

This knife doesn't have an S or a 2 but it could be a nail nick. It was not advertised by the dealer as an EDC or a second. Factory seconds do not come with a factory warranty so I want to be sure.

I've got an email in to GEC.

I know most are saying it’s not an issue and it doesn’t affect function. I understand where you are coming from. I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to knives, cars, windows and various other things. If your eye goes to it immediately every time you open it and look at it and it bothers you, then return it. I have only returned one GEC knife since I started collecting. It had scratched bolsters. Didn’t affect function in the least, but it was scratched and every time I looked at that knife, I saw the scratches and that’s all I saw. That’s one reason I don’t collect used knives. If I look at a knife and see scratches on the blade from someone sharpening it, I pass. I have learned to live w/ blade rub, as much as it bothers me. If I rejected every knife w/ blade rub, I would have a hard time collecting the knives that I like.
We are all different and accept different things, so I think that if you are bothered by it, return it. GEC makes great knives and you should be happy with your first purchase from them. I doubt that you will have any difficulty returning it and I’m sure you will love it.
Welcome to the forum.

While I only have about 20 GEC knives total, I do own that same knife. When I received it I though the bolster ends were a bit sharp, and the jigging was also something of a hand scraper if held tight, but I think that is intentional. I have carried it some, and dropped it once on pavement and dinged a corner, but it has become one of my regular everyday carry knives. I love the clip main blade, Bill Howard's clip blades are beautiful. The color of the handle is nice, and it's just a stout, strong knife. I can't tell you whether to send it back, but for me I would just start using it and enjoying it. Have to warn you though nobody can own just one GEC!

Long live the Buffalo Jack!

Welcome to the forum, Myers. I think the spots in the bone are Haversian canals - the tiny capillaries that run through bone. The presence of Haversian canals is the main way I tell the difference between real bone and synthetic handles.

Regarding the ding on the tang - yes it should not be there. But I have some fairly expensive knives that I would be happy if a ding like that were the worst defect ... It is just up to you how bad a defect it is. Personally I would ignore it.