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GEC #47 Viper Review

Last Updated: August 5, 2019
I have recently seen a resurgence of interest in classic slipjoint knives. Maybe folks are getting tired of shelling out $200+ for the latest framelock flipper. Or maybe they like the idea of carrying something their grandpa may have carried. Who knows for sure.

Buy the GEC Viper at KnivesShipFree

Personally I know over the past couple years my carry tastes have trended toward the traditional. I still enjoy the latest and greatest, but 2 of my favorite EDC folders in recent memory have been the Victorinox Cadet and Chris Reeve Mnandi. I loved the slim utility of the Cadet, and the leather ensconced classiness of the Mnandi. They are such excellent knives for my basic daily purposes.

Then reading Tony’s review of the Indian River Jack piqued my interest in GEC knives. I view some of these GEC slip joints as almost a cross between a Cadet and Mnandi: simple tools matched with higher end materials and finishes.

So today’s review is of the GEC Viper. Or the #47 as some call it. I don’t know what it is exactly about the classic swayback slip joint pattern, but I really dig these traditional wharncliffes. The Viper is a newer model, and it’s garnered a fair amount of enthusiasm amongst the traditional knife crowd, so I figured it would be a nice model to acquire for review.

I don’t proclaim to be an expert on these traditional knives. Heck I’m not an expert on knives at all (just ask Kershaw Thomas). But I enjoy cutlery and will do my best to share my opinion of this fine folder from Great Eastern Cutlery.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Viper has an overall length of 6.81″, a 3″ blade, and it weighs 2.7 ounces. I must not have researched this knife very carefully because when it arrived in it’s cardboard tube I was surprised at how big it was. This is a good size slippie, especially when compared to something like a Cadet. I grew to enjoy the size of the 47. After all, it was originally designed to be a working knife. It is also fine as a suburban EDC.

The Viper comes with a beautiful 1095 carbon steel warncliff blade. Mine has a high flat grind and swedge. The edge is very fine. It’s more of a microbevel than anything. The high carbon steel has been given almost a mirror polish. It looks good and I imagine it helps cut down on rust and corrosion. 1095 is not a stainless steel, and I have had it rust on a few of my fixed blades. By giving the blade a polish there is actually less surface area for rust.

But the cool thing is that the polished 1095 will patina. On my Sod Buster JR I decided to play around with a “forced” patina by slathering the blade in mustard. With the Viper I want the patina to form naturally, so I’ve just been using the knife as I normally would, and resisting the urge to dip it in a vat of honey dijon. So far the results have been cool. I like the character it has developed over the past couple months, and look forward to seeing how things progress.

One small complaint is the amount of branding that GEC etches onto the blade. In my pictures the etching has faded, but from the factory it comes with a very overt “NORTHFIELD UN-X-LD” logo smack dab in the middle of the beautiful blade. Yeah… no thanks. Mercifully, most of the logo rubbed off after an application of Barkeeper’s Friend, a cleaning product that should consider sponsoring the website given how much I talk about it.

The 1095 isn’t just good to look at. The blade of my Viper has been given a super keen edge, and the cutting performance has been really nice. The blade easily tracks through paper, and I’ve also used the knife for mild food prep, opening packages, etc. But the other weekend I really put the knife through it’s paces. I was tasked with cutting up a large quantity of cardboard with drywall joint compound on it that wouldn’t fit into a trash can. These slip joints are usually ground thin, and the Viper is no exception. It is a keen slicer and made easy work of the cardboard. At the end of the the edge had slowed down a little, but 1095 is very easy to touch up on a strop or corner of my Spyderco Sharpmaker.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Carry

GEC offers the Viper in a variety of handle configurations. Mine is bolstered with Che Chen Rosewood scales over brass liners. This is my first knife with rosewood. It’s a beautiful wood and I have seen it on many high end guitars. I love the fine cord-like grain and deep shimmering quality of the wood when you hold it up to the light. The handle has been beautifully finished. The edges are nicely chamferred, there are no gaps in the liner or backspring, the pins and lanyard tube are meticulously sanded down, and the silver medallion inset into the handle is flawless. When you turn the knife over to examine the back of the handle there is no gap or bump in between the back spring and spine of the blade. It’s a really nice and well made handle.

In hand the Viper feels like a spacious work knife should. Don’t let the wood handles fool you: this is still a high performance tool. Back before the days of titanium, G10 and stainless steel, these were the kinds of knives folks used every day. Working with the Viper you can understand why these kinds of handles have stood the test of time. They are basic and comfortable. You can definitely whittle some sticks, cut cardboard, or handle most other daily tasks with ease.

The Viper is without a pocket clip, but it came with a leather slip sheath. I enjoyed using a slip sheath with my Mnandi, and use a slip sheath with my Fantoni Dweller as well. This sheath is wider and thicker than I’m used to, but it’s sturdy and feels good in the pocket. I like this kind of carry – especially when working in an office. If the sheath is too bulky you could always throw the knife directly into your pocket.

Deployment and Lockup

I should probably change this section to “Walk and Talk” to fall more in line with the idiosyncrasies of traditional folders. After all, this is a slip joint with a nail nick. The knife doesn’t “deploy” and there is no lock up. The nail nick is easy to get at, and the backspring on the slip joint is surprisingly strong. This is a purposeful two handed opening knife. There is a dedicated half stop, and the backspring is almost flush at the half stop.

When closing the knife you need to use some level of care due to the strong back spring. There is a half stop, but if you aren’t careful there is still room for the meat of your finger to get pinched in between the ricasso and handle. The slip joint is sturdy and reassuring, and inspired enough confidence for me to take on tougher jobs. The spring itself is tempered high carbon steel. Still, you need to use some care when working with a knife like this. It’s not a locking folder, and it sure as heck isn’t a fixed blade. Make sure you are using the right tool for the job.

GEC Viper Review – Final Thoughts

The Viper has been a wonderful introduction to higher end US made slip joint knives. I really like the look of single bladed slip joints, and traditional wharnies, so it was easy to pick this one out of the GEC lineup when thinking of my first knife.

That said, I was still surprised at how much I have enjoyed the 47. This is a larger folder, but it is still innocuous enough to bring to work. It carries well, cuts cleanly, and is satisfying to open and use. The materials are great, the fit and finish are on point, and the price is reasonable. The knife is also made in the USA. At the end of the day I have an extremely hard time finding any kind of fault with the Viper. I could do without the lanyard hole, but I see why they included it. I am also not a huge fan of the amount of branding GEC etched onto the blade. Thankfully, that faded with cleaning. Beyond that I have no complaints.

I highly recommend the Viper if you are looking for a traditional folder or just an excellent EDC.

GEC Viper – From $82.36
From: KnivesShipFree

I recommend purchasing the Viper at KniveShipFree. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Emerson CQC-13 Review

by Dan Jackson 12 Comments

Last Updated: August 10, 2019
Emerson is one of the most American knife companies I can think of. Their blades are 100% made in the USA with American made materials, and when you thumb through one of their catalogs (or the pages of their website) you really get the feeling that these knives are distinctly American. There are plenty of references to the US Military, MMA, and hard rock – to the point where you can practically feel the bald eagles whooshing over your head.

Buy the CQC-13 at BladeHQ

Buy on Amazon

So when you take a company like Emerson Knives and combine it with the iconic American bowie you get what is arguably the most patriotic production knife on the planet: the Emerson CQC-13 Combat Bowie.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The CQC-13 has an overall length of 9″, a 3.85″ blade, and it weighs 5 ounces. Like most of Emerson’s offerings this is a pretty big knife. Designed for military, police, and anyone else seeking a large and rugged tool, this is a no-nonsense tactical folder. Personally I tend to pair it with a smaller utility knife.

The blade is what really drew me to the CQC-13, which makes sense because Emerson’s knives all follow a similar formula. Besides different blade and handle shapes, they are all built pretty much the same. Here we have a mean clip point cut from thick stock with a needle sharp tip, a good amount of belly, and a partial flat grind. My preference is for the stonewashed version, but Emerson also makes them in a black coated and matte finished (shown here) versions as well. Like many Emersons this knife is V ground, but the edge features a chisel grind (ground on one side instead of both like most normal knives). According to Emerson this is done for ease of sharpening in the field.

Like every other Emerson knife on the market the CQC-13’s blade comes in 154CM stainless steel. The steel is heat treated to 57-59 HRC, which makes the knife easy to sharpen yet capable of holding a nice edge. 154 won’t retain an edge as long as some of the more exotic steels on the market, but it is a proven steel and remains an all-around good choice.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

In the handle department the CQC-13 continues to follow the typical Emerson format: roughly textured black G10 scales, a partial G10 backspacer, a steel liner, and a titanium locking liner. There is a lanyard hole and all the screws are phillips head (except for the flat head pivot screw). Emerson isn’t known for making the prettiest knives, but I am actually quite impressed with how well this knife has been finished. The blade is beautifully ground, everything lines up, and the liners are attractively finished.

The CQC-13 really starts to shine once you start handling it. The spacious handle is extremely comfortable. There is plenty of room for forward or reverse grips and the handle features a deeply scalloped finger choil, and a nice run of jimping on the spine. This is a capable work knife and it is a pleasure to use. Ernest has a strong martial arts background and it shows time and time again in his handle designs. Simply put the ergonomics rock.

The pocket clip is once again classic Emerson. It’s a simple matte black parkerized clip, discrete and functional. My only gripe (per usual) is that the handle is only drilled and tapped for right side carry. I know they apparently make lefty versions of the knife and that you can send knife in to be drilled and tapped for left side carry (for $20) but honestly this is one of those cases where they should have just done that at the factory. Not just for lefties but also for right handed people wanting to carry on their weak side. When you consider the intended use and near $200 price tag, the 3 extra holes should come standard.

As for actual carry, the CQC-13 carries well for a larger knife. The pocket clip is discrete but not ultra-deep, so the knife is easy to get at but stays out of the way. At 5 ounces this larger knife feels lightweight for its size.

Deployment and Lockup

Naturally, one of the big selling points for an Emerson is the classic wave opening feature, which allows you to open the knife as you remove it from your pocket. If you don’t feel like waving open the CQC-13, you can always make use of the ambidextrous thumb disk, something I’ve always found slightly more cumbersome than a thumb stud or opening hole, but with a little practice it can certainly get the job done. Opening the knife is fairly smooth, Emerson uses nylatron washers in all his knives. They get the job done, especially if you opt to wave the knife open.

For lockup we have a titanium liner lock. I am generally not a huge fan of titanium for a locking liner, as it is not nearly as hard as steel of a blade tang, but Emerson has been making them this way for decades. In practice my knife still locks up fairly early, and there is little to no blade play. As an added bonus the titanium helps lighten the knife up – always a plus. It is also worth mentioning that the pivot screw is of the flathead variety, so it is easy to adjust with pretty much anything handy.

Emerson CQC-13 Review – Final Thoughts

Ernest’s Combat Bowie is exactly as advertised; a rugged folding tactical knife making great use of an iconic American blade shape. I have no doubt that fans of Emerson’s other offerings will also find much to love about the CQC-13. But lets be real for a moment, clearly, this is not a knife for everyone. Those preferring something a little more subtle will likely pass this one up. And like the rest of Emerson’s offerings, the Combat Bowie has it’s share of quirks unique to the brand (including the chisel ground edge, non-ambidextrous pocket clip, titanium liner lock, nylatron washers, etc). Finally, it’s not a cheap knife – not at all. All of these things tend to polarize people, and I can appreciate the opinions on both sides. However, if this is a knife that interests you I can attest that it is comfortable and well made. In conclusion the CQC-13 is another well thought out tactical folder that compliments the Emerson line nicely.

Emerson CQC-13
from: BladeHQ

Emerson ECBF CQC13 BT with Plain Black Blade

I recommend buying the Emerson CQC-13 at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thanks for reading.

Sergey Rogovets Titan Review

by Dan Jackson 6 Comments

I occasionally get asked if I will ever review custom knives. To be honest, I don’t have the money for custom knives, but they are definitely on my radar. I think that is true for a lot of people visiting the site, so I won’t be reviewing a ton of customs any time soon. That said, I think they are awesome, and I certainly wouldn’t mind sharing one occasionally, so I am very excited to show off this very cool custom knife made by Sergey Rogovets. Sergey is relatively new to the knifemaking scene, and it was actually his lovely custom handle scale work that originally caught my eye and prompted my to interview him over a year ago. Born in Moscow, Sergey moved to New York City when he was 17 to work with his father as a jeweler. Ever since he has been working as a jeweler, and he likes to make things in his free time, including customized zippos and scales for production knives. Recently he has begun to make his own custom knives. We have been exchanging emails over the months, and I recently took him up on an offer to check out one of his latest creations.

What we have here is a knife he calls “Titan.” It is a very beefy knife, and was born out of Sergey’s long time love of hard use blades. He wanted to make a knife that was meant to be used and abused, and it features some of his own signature twists. It’s a simple design, but it is very well executed with high tolerances. It is my pleasure to feature the work of this up and coming maker, and I am delighted to offer the Titan as my very first review of a custom knife.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

Sergey’s Titan has an overall length of 8-3/4″, has a 3-3/4″ long blade and it weighs around 7 ounces. This is a larger knife, but not outside the realms of EDC for those who appreciate bigger blades. It is simple, rugged, and over built. This overall theme trickles down into every facet of the knife.

The blade shape is a simple drop point. The blade has been given a high flat grind, neatly ground with with a very nice edge. Despite the thickness of the blade, the knife is still a surprisingly good slicer, and it arrived shaving sharp and ready for work. Since this one is on loan from Sergey I didn’t put it through a ton of abuse, but it zipped through cardboard without an issue. The blade is ground from a 4mm thick piece of steel, and despite there being no swedge, it holds a good amount of steel to the tip.

Sergey selected A-2 steel for the blade. A-2 is an air-hardend tool steel that is mainly characterized by its toughness, but it is also an easy-to-sharpen steel that will hold a good edge. The chromium content in A2 is only around 5% (opposed to the 13% required for a steel to be considered “stainless”). I haven’t had any issues with rust, but A2 will rust if you neglect it, and it can also develop some patina – especially if you use it on a lot of acidic foods. To me, that is part of the character of a knife like this. Sergey says this one was heat treated to around 59HRC. I think this was an excellent choice for a heavy duty knife.

Handle, Ergonomics and Pocket Clip

Sergey was especially concerned with the handle when he designed this knife. He wanted something simple and straight, so the knife could be comfortably used in any grip for any kind of job. He went with full titanium for this handle, and it feels quite substantial. Construction is simple, with a couple beefy stand offs, but everything is solid and well put together. All the edges have been contoured, and if you look closely there is a little texture where he sculpted the titanium a bit. He gave this handle a tiger stripe flame anodized finish. To be perfectly honest it’s not my first choice, but being a custom knife I’m sure it could be finished however you want it.

In hand the knife does just what Sergey designed it to do. I found the Titan to be comfortable in both forward and reverse grips, with no hot spots to speak of. He cut a little jimping into the thumb ramp, and it does a great job holding your thumb in place. The handle is very comfortable and allows the user to get a lot of work done.

The pocket clip is a simple piece of flame anodized titanium. It has great retention but it is still very easy to insert and remove the knife from your pocket. For a large knife like this the Titan carried well. It isn’t a knife that you will forget is in your pocket, but for such a big and heavy tool I had no complaints.

Deployment and Lockup

The Titan makes use of a pair of ambidextrous thumb studs for deployment. The thumb studs are well placed, and I can easily flick the large blade open. The knife is extremely smooth thanks to over-sized phosphor bronze washers. I was actually very impressed with how fast this big blade moved. It has been really well done. The pivot is also over-sized on this knife, and can be adjusted with a flat-head driver.

Lockup is extremely solid. The Titan makes use of a large titanium frame lock and the knife makes an extremely satisfying “thwack” as the lock falls in place. One thing I forgot to mention in the video is that Sergey has actually cut out part of the titanium on the lockbar and inserted a piece of stainless steel, so the tang of the blade actually comes in contact with steel, not titanium. What this does is prolong the life of the lock. This is where Sergey’s abilities as a jeweler really come into play. The execution is flawless and the lock is exceptionally reliable. Lockup is extremely early and the blade is without play.

Sergey also installed a carbon fiber lock-bar stabilizer. This prevents the lock from over extending when being disengaged, preserving the longevity of the lock once again.

Sergey Rogovet’s Titan – Final Thoughts

Well, I’d say “Titan” is an apt name for this one. What an absolute beast of a knife. Handmade from top notch materials by a true craftsman. It really doesn’t get much better than this if you are looking for a custom knife that is meant to be carried and used. It is a simple design, but Sergey’s attention to detail is what really makes it work. The lock has been flawlessly executed. The blade centering is perfect. All the machining is dead on. The devil is in the details with this one, and it elevates the utilitarian design into a functional work of art.

Additional information on Sergey’s work, including more knives and pricing information, can be found at his website SR-artdesign.com.

Sergey also told me that he is offering anything in stock on his website for 20% off if you mention BladeReviews.com. This offer is good until May 1, 2012 so if you like his work, feel free to let him know that I sent you.

BladeReviews.com Reader Appreciation Contest!

by Dan Jackson 63 Comments

Quick Update – 01.24.2012 – Contest is OVER! Congrats to all the winners! Please see below for the results.

That’s right folks, it’s contest time over here at BladeReviews.com!

I released a video earlier for my YouTube channel. If you do the whole YouTube thing and aren’t following my YouTube channel then I would casually suggest subscribing. In addition to all the video reviews I shoot for the website, I do other videos as well (knife comparisons, contest entries, shoutouts, unboxings, and yes, even the occasional contest video). It’s a fun way to interact with people and I feel like the videos have really added something to my reviews.

Anyhow, here is the official contest video:

So as the video states (with official rules on the video page in the description box, or watch it in 720P so you can read the text) you can enter by recording a video response or leaving a comment on the page of the video.

But wait, there’s more!

Of course I couldn’t leave all my awesome regular readers out of the mix. After all, the site came way before the YouTube Channel. So if you leave a comment in the comments section below (any comment will do), I’ll enter you to win a Cold Steel Hold Out II. This is the very same knife I used in my review a while back. It’s been gently carried for purposes of the review, but I think you will be very happy with it. Entrants are subject to the same general rules of the main contest (international entries are welcome, under 18 entries are welcome but you need to provide parental consent if you win).

And feel free to enter all 3 ways if you like, just include a valid email if you are going to enter through the comments section (I will never use your email address for any commercial purposes at all – I’ll only contact you if you win). Get your entries in by January 22, 2012 by 12AM EST.

Finally…

Thanks so much for making this website a success. Without readers like yourself this would all be pointless. I’ve got a lot of great stuff planned for 2012 and I hope everyone enjoys following the website as much as I enjoy putting everything together. Here’s to you!

-Dan

Update – The Winners!

As promised I did a random drawing on 01/25/2012 and both selected and announced the winners. I recorded the drawing and uploaded it to YouTube.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered. I really appreciated all the support. This project has been a lot of fun for me and I’m so happy to hear people have been enjoying the reviews. There will definitely be many more contests down the road so don’t feel bad if you didn’t win anything this time around! Thanks again.