GEC#29 Stockyard Whittler knife 2019

[Onearmbladejunkie]

Two more releases shipping out !

[Onearmbladejunkie]

Not my knives , my #29 Burnt Sienna jigged bone is on the mail truck right now.

[Tsar Bomba]

My Osage #29 arrived today.

The good news is the knife is a looker. GEC has done some good things with the Tidioute brand and Osage orange wood in the past, and this knife doesn't disappoint. The handles are great-looking, hafted perfectly, and the knife's level of finish just works for the overall aesthetic. It is exactly how I wanted the knife to look. Unfortunately, I would also like to carry this piece and get some of that skin oil character into that pristine Osage orange wood.

I say "would" because this transaction has a bad side, too. For those who don't want to read bad things about Great Eastern, stop right now.

The best thing about the mechanics of the knife is that none of the blades have any side-to-side wobble and the secondary sheepsfoot blade snaps open and closed fairly strongly for a 3-spring knife.

The worst thing about the mechanics of the knife is "everything else."

The master clip blade opens softly, barely snaps open, and barely stays open due to the spring tension. It is comically easy to get the blade to start closing from the open position, and while it might not be an issue with light/medium use, it does not even approach the usual high standards of GEC craftsmanship.

And that's not even the worst part. The punch, which was a primary reason I bought this particular knife, suffers the same soft-open and lazy-opening-snap problems, plus one extra: The spring tension is not anywhere enough to keep it in place. It has up-down movement when the blade is supposed to be fully open. Again, this is a punch, a tool which necessarily would need to provide a little stability to do the job it was designed for. With the beveled edge on the closing side of the punch, I see any number of ways someone can pretty seriously cut or gouge themselves because of this lazy "lock-up" (and yes, I know none of the tools actually lock).

I am starting to see the diminishing returns associated with manufacturers increasing their output without substantially upgrading their workforce or tooling, and this is by far the worst example I've noticed yet. I'm highly disappointed for two reasons: The dealer doesn't seem to think this is a valid reason to take the knife back (and exchange for another of the same kind after a token check of the tools to see if they suffer the same defects!) and this does not in ANY way reflect the workmanship and quality I expect out of a $120 American pocket knife. For a few dollars more I could replace this with one of the recent multi-blade Lionsteels and I know it will be rock-solid and punch well above its weight class.

This is compounded by the fact that I have one of the burnt sienna jigged bone Tidioute #29s in the mail, and if it suffers from the same problems as the Osage version then I'm going to have nearly $240 into two knives that just do not "cut the mustard," at least one of which was intended to be a regular user. I was looking forward to the #29 run since the day the variants were announced, but this has really dampened my enthusiasm.

I know this is not a problem with the #29 frame and its 3-spring construction, because my Maher & Grosh Appaloosa model is built on the same frame and spring layout and it is snappy, tight, and does not disappoint mechanically. I know the #29 CAN be built properly...I just can't be sure if GEC was willing to put the same effort into it as we've always expected from them.

So now I have to decide if I fight the dealer for an exchange, demand a refund based on the fact that it's a brand new knife, or give up and send the knife into GEC to do what they can do. If the problems persist with the bone version, I may have to give up on the punch, request refunds for both, and just buy a couple more M&Gs.

Anyone else experience this lazy, loose action on any of the GEC main-line #29s?

[Duffer]

Tony, sorry you got a bad #29! A lemon from your description

I just got a Burnt Sienna and it is near perfect in all those regards that your Osage Orange is not. Sounds literally like night and day! How does one like that get through GEC QC? Oh I can hear you say it now, but they don’t do QC

The blade pull on mine is a strong 5 on the primary and around 6 on the SF and punch. W & T is great with loud audible snap sounds on opening and closing all blades. Craftsmanship and hafting of the highest order. Mine is very impressive!

Hope you can get your #29 sorted out without having to send it back to GEC. Best of Luck!

[RalphAlsip]

My experience mirrors what Lloyd described. Same knife (Burnt Siena) and same evaluation of opening pull and force needed to move out of the fully open position. My example has a pretty firm half-stop on all blades as well. When any of the blades are forced from open to start closing they will not pass through the half-stop and it takes a decent amount of force to move a blade out of the half-stop position.

I fully realize another person could have a totally different evaluation of the performance of my knife. I would imagine if I was prying on something forcefully in a direction that would apply force on a blade in the closing direction, then I might have some regrets.

[Onearmbladejunkie]

I bought the #29 Sienna jigged bone , brown buffalo slip , shipped $114.01 !!! I bought the #29 bloodwood for $108.90 by subtracting with my bonus points. I am done with the #29s. My pre-order #29 snakewood was canceled by my GEC dealer. Seth Borries -- owner of Southern Long-beards Knives won last weeks "Forged in Fire" TV show. Seth is making me a "Karen" harpoon clip 5" "black hammered" fixed blade knife with snakewood scales. When GEC fails , I will have a fixed blade snakewood knife. This #29 bloodwood knife will be my 40th GEC knife. GEC does not look out for their best customers. The custom knife makers are looking better in my knife collecting future.

[kootenay joe]

Tony what you describe is disappointing but others have received #29's that are 'right on' so likely the in bound bone 29 will be a good one with no issues.
Could it be that the pivot pins were not tightened enough ? How else could one explain such weak spring action when the other examples with the same parts have good spring strength ?
Would be helpful to have a knife mechanic comment on this.
kj

[Drukai]

I wish a woulda had the Capital and connections I woulda loved to tryn’ to a “Jack Knife Ben” SFO for this pattern! Oh a boy can wish anways

[Tsar Bomba]

Still no reply from the dealer to my appeal that I should not have to eat the cost of a quasi-defective $120 knife with a punch. At this point I'm hoping for a "night and day" difference when my bone #29 arrives. If not, I'm going to try and claw back every dollar and redirect them to the latest Maher & Grosh releases. Knocking wood that the overwhelmingly positive response to the 29 in this thread is mirrored by my now-in-transit whittler and whatever I end up with in replacement of my "lemon Osagi (orange)" knife.

I guess the dealer doesn't want the hassle of any RMAs to GEC for poor build quality but, frankly, neither do I, and on top of that my day job has nothing to do with cutlery like theirs do. That's the way I see it after GEC ramped up its production so dramatically: Buyer beware but dealer prepare!

[JohnR]

My Osage #29 arrived today.

The good news is the knife is a looker. GEC has done some good things with the Tidioute brand and Osage orange wood in the past, and this knife doesn't disappoint. The handles are great-looking, hafted perfectly, and the knife's level of finish just works for the overall aesthetic. It is exactly how I wanted the knife to look. Unfortunately, I would also like to carry this piece and get some of that skin oil character into that pristine Osage orange wood.

I say "would" because this transaction has a bad side, too. For those who don't want to read bad things about Great Eastern, stop right now.

The best thing about the mechanics of the knife is that none of the blades have any side-to-side wobble and the secondary sheepsfoot blade snaps open and closed fairly strongly for a 3-spring knife.

The worst thing about the mechanics of the knife is "everything else."

The master clip blade opens softly, barely snaps open, and barely stays open due to the spring tension. It is comically easy to get the blade to start closing from the open position, and while it might not be an issue with light/medium use, it does not even approach the usual high standards of GEC craftsmanship.

And that's not even the worst part. The punch, which was a primary reason I bought this particular knife, suffers the same soft-open and lazy-opening-snap problems, plus one extra: The spring tension is not anywhere enough to keep it in place. It has up-down movement when the blade is supposed to be fully open. Again, this is a punch, a tool which necessarily would need to provide a little stability to do the job it was designed for. With the beveled edge on the closing side of the punch, I see any number of ways someone can pretty seriously cut or gouge themselves because of this lazy "lock-up" (and yes, I know none of the tools actually lock).

I am starting to see the diminishing returns associated with manufacturers increasing their output without substantially upgrading their workforce or tooling, and this is by far the worst example I've noticed yet. I'm highly disappointed for two reasons: The dealer doesn't seem to think this is a valid reason to take the knife back (and exchange for another of the same kind after a token check of the tools to see if they suffer the same defects!) and this does not in ANY way reflect the workmanship and quality I expect out of a $120 American pocket knife. For a few dollars more I could replace this with one of the recent multi-blade Lionsteels and I know it will be rock-solid and punch well above its weight class.

This is compounded by the fact that I have one of the burnt sienna jigged bone Tidioute #29s in the mail, and if it suffers from the same problems as the Osage version then I'm going to have nearly $240 into two knives that just do not "cut the mustard," at least one of which was intended to be a regular user. I was looking forward to the #29 run since the day the variants were announced, but this has really dampened my enthusiasm.

I know this is not a problem with the #29 frame and its 3-spring construction, because my Maher & Grosh Appaloosa model is built on the same frame and spring layout and it is snappy, tight, and does not disappoint mechanically. I know the #29 CAN be built properly...I just can't be sure if GEC was willing to put the same effort into it as we've always expected from them.

So now I have to decide if I fight the dealer for an exchange, demand a refund based on the fact that it's a brand new knife, or give up and send the knife into GEC to do what they can do. If the problems persist with the bone version, I may have to give up on the punch, request refunds for both, and just buy a couple more M&Gs.

Anyone else experience this lazy, loose action on any of the GEC main-line #29s?

Tony, sorry you are having issues with your 29, I've received 6 or so now and one, the acrylic , had a lighter pull on the main than I would like, I flushed it and lubed it and it is better but still lighter than the others. There must be something in the assembly process that causes this. I just received a bloodwood that the action is perfect right out of the tube so maybe as they are getting further into the run assembly is getting better.
I was surprised at your report of the punch having issues as that is the first I have herd of any of the secondary blades having issues, all my secondaries including the weak main acrylic are just about perfect.It sure sounds like you got a real turkey with your osage, I'm also surprised the dealer won't take it back, I've never returned one but I've read of others returning knives to GEC dealers with no hassle so not sure why yours is just not telling you to send it back. If no satisfaction from the dealer I would send it back to GEC and maybe find another dealer.
Hope you have better luck with the others, let us know how the bone 29 is.

[JohnR]

My bloodwood showed up yesterday , great looking and functioning knife.

[FarSide]

My bloodwood showed up yesterday , great looking and functioning knife.

Very nice!

[Tsar Bomba]

The burnt sienna bone #29 arrived today. As hoped, it is a night-and-day difference from my Osage orange lemon. Strong snap for a 3-spring folder (pay attention, Buck) and all blades are rock solid in all directions. My faith in the #29 is fully restored (but my warnings for GEC's QC team stand).

I don't foresee getting a 2nd chance at the bloodwood Northfield, which is a very attractive knife, John. If I can get a tight Osage #29 as a replacement, I will be happy. Otherwise, I am going to raise holy heck until I get my money back and then put that towards another Maher & Grosh SFO.

[JohnR]

The burnt sienna bone #29 arrived today. As hoped, it is a night-and-day difference from my Osage orange lemon. Strong snap for a 3-spring folder (pay attention, Buck) and all blades are rock solid in all directions. My faith in the #29 is fully restored (but my warnings for GEC's QC team stand).

I don't foresee getting a 2nd chance at the bloodwood Northfield, which is a very attractive knife, John. If I can get a tight Osage #29 as a replacement, I will be happy. Otherwise, I am going to raise holy heck until I get my money back and then put that towards another Maher & Grosh SFO.

Glad you got a good one Tony, it is a very nice pattern. Someone reported on another forum that they sent an osage back for very weak pulls and little snap, wonder if you got the one that was sent back.

[JohnR]

Got my Maple and it's a beauty, only thing that would have made it better would be Northfield trim.

[jerryd6818]

I don't know. I like the Maple Leaf shield.

[kootenay joe]

I have the M&G version of this pattern, with Apaloosa bone handles and it is excellent in all regards. I would like one of the GEC Stockyard Whittlers because it has the punch blade which is a favorite of mine. I would really like one with stag or snakewood handles, as do a few thousand other people.
Because i live in 'Slow Internet Land' i have not been able to secure any of the popular GEC releases for the last 2-3 years. I don't mind paying 'extra', but on principle i won't feed an ebay flipper a double.
So, if anyone here just happens to score an extra stag or snakewood #29, i'd sure like to have a chance for it.
kj

[Sharpnshinyknives]

I just got my Blood Red Jigged Bone in this Pattern from Barry at Gunstock Jacks. I can not remember when I have been more excited about a knife pattern. Everyone of these has been absolutely perfect. My Maher and Grosh were just over the top. This red jigged bone is amazing. So much in fact, I just ordered a second one. Still hoping to score a Snakewood and a stag in this. If anyone is on the fence about buying one of these in any handle material, don’t hesitate, buy it. I think these will be ones that will appreciate in value so if you don’t use it, put it back and sell it later. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

[JohnR]

Received my Snakewood and Red jigged bone Northfields today, both have excellent fit and finish and all blades have great snap and pulls, much better than the first grits with butter and molasses which has a weak main blade. I suspect that as a new pattern progresses in production the later ones will have any kinks worked out.
The jigging on the red jigged bone is excellent, much better than the production pictures showed.
The Snakewood is disappointing in that the wood is very plain, no snake to it, I suspect that this is why GEC cut the Snakewood production short, just did not have good Snakewood, I'll either sell it or make it my first Northfield carry knife. Probably should not buy a wood like Snakewood without seeing individual pictures.

[Tsar Bomba]

Jigged blood red bone back in stock at Risner (traditionalpocketknives.com). Come & get 'em!

Also ordered ebony AND user Appy bone Maher & Grosh whittlers.

I knew these #29s were gonna lead to bankruptcy...

[WelderBob]

Those are nice, I think the Northfield would would look good in a brownish color bone (JMO) maybe latter.

Been using the Osage for a few weeks, the clip could have a stronger pull but mine is all right. Secondary blades are just right, I was surprised how much I used the punch. Handles are common, bolsters have shined up a bit from pocket carry but I bought it for a work knife, if it gets dropped it shouldn't hurt much. I carry a 73 or 72 pattern most of the time and don't notice any difference in the pocket.

I've had the Sienna bone for a week and am very impressed with it. A much stronger pull on clip and secondary's, fit and finish on this one is excellent.
I like the bone and color on these Tidioute's...in fact we had some pork stakes together, yes this one's a keeper...

Hopefully they can straighten out the issue's with the pull and add some more bone handle's (Please no more Red).

[Rotten]

Saw the 29's announced and was watching them go quickly but I just couldn't get excited.
Than I ran across a youtube video showing that all three blades had half stops.
My blood red jigged bone arrived today and impressed me to the point the money (which came from I know not where) jumped out and now there is another blood red 29 inbound. As an aside mine has perfect f&f and w&t.

I'd post pics but the ones already in the thread are better than anything I can do.

[JohnR]

First of the Stag's dropped at KSF this morning, went in 20 minutes, I think there were less than 20. Keep your eye out at the other dealers if you are interested. I think I got a good one.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Sure didn’t have enough time to look over the selection at the Knife Connection. But this is the one I got. I just scrolled fast down the page and picked one that looked like it had good coverage of stag. This wasn’t the best by far but at least I was able to get one, for that I feel fortunate.

[kootenay joe]

Mark, i think your stag #29 looks very attractive. Bet it will be even more so once in hand.
GEC dealers still have the 29 in both the Burnt Sienna and the Blood Red bone. Can anyone recommend if one looks better than the other ?
kj