A New Year a New Direction

r redden

r redden

Joined
May 23, 2015
Messages
4,161
Leghog posted that he was taking a new direction this year and move out a bunch of his existing collection and focus on fixed blades and Scout patterns. This got me thinking I have a tendency to buy what ever I see as a good deal no matter what kind of knife it is. This has caused me to have an accumulation of knifes rather than a collection. I have 60 or so Case knives, about a hundred mix and match and 12 GEC's. After a lot of thought I have decided I would rather collect a Brand and stick to it. So I'm going to try my best to only buy GEC's for myself this year. I don't know how well I'll do at this but I am going to try. I have a little extra money right now and am looking for a knife that strikes me both in appeal and price. But I have also caught myself bidding on a Keen Kutter I thought was running at a decent price. :eek: Here is my GEC collection right now and I'll post more as I get them.


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If I could actually stick to my new years resolution to not buy firearms (already traded away some old stock for a new .357 magnum last week :o), I would love to collect more GECs. I have one right now. A gift from one of you fine gentlemen and i treasure it:)

I would like to add another next month.

I enjoy Cases because I can buy them locally to scratch an itch, and they are easy to pick out when my wife and daughter need to get a father's day gift:D

Currently, I am trying to snap up vintage knives that need some TLC. Nothing that will ever fetch much money, but I rather like finding the passed over ones that are rusted shut. It takes surprisingly little to wake them up.

That said, if I had the money, I would probably focus on GEC myself. They really speak to me.
 
Very nice collection of GEC you hve there.
Those 2 bkade jacks and the Barlows look to be quite pocket friendly.
 
Good Luck to you Randy for your goal of 2017. GEC makes enough knives that they alone will keep you busy and your wallet light as a feather:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::D
 
swaybacksteve said:
GEC makes enough knives that they alone will keep you busy and your wallet light as a feather:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::D
Click to expand...


Amen to that there are some of their knives I want and will eventually buy but the prices they are fetching on the secondary market make you feel like the seller just pulled out a gun and not only robbed you but took your shirt and pants too. :eek::)
 
Nice collection of GEC knives, Randy. There will be a lot of support in this forum for GEC collecting--you're in the right place! ;) But I'd encourage you to pick up some oldies, especially if that Keen Kutter is from the early Simmons era. :thumbup:

I used to be a pattern collector but that can be difficult and expensive, depending on the pattern. I find more enjoyment (or maybe less trouble) from just picking up nice knives when there is an opportunity. I've also sold a lot of really nice ones. I miss some but I enjoyed them while I had them. And it's easier for me to manage and enjoy a small collection.

What's the knife on the top right of your photo?
 
It is better to have a plan than no plan at all Randy . Good luck with your goal . I tried to also collect only GEC but found myself then deciding to only collect Northfield because I could not afford to collect them all. Then there is always a big time lag between them making something that I like . Then there are some other patterns that I like that they just do not make at all. I have decided that I will not pay the marked up prices that people want so all of these other issues make it impossible to stick to my plan . Good luck with your plan though . We all know that GEC makes very a very good product.

Harry
 
Good luck with the new focus, Randy. I enjoyed reading your post. It got me thinking about how I can thin my own herd (hoard? :)). I've definitely bought some knives more because of perceived value than because they made sense in my collection. I'd like to get away from doing this, but with the exchange here and that pesky auction site, I'm not sure that's a very realistic goal.
 
Collecting GEC's can certainly be fun, and of course they make some fantastic knives. I've been collecting them pretty actively for the last year and a half, although I've picked up other knives, as well (a few Case knives, a couple SAKs and Opinels, some old knives - nothing all that special, just some old Schrade Old Timers and knives like that).

With GEC, I've found that the way they their production schedule works has a sort of "peaks and valleys" effect, both when it comes to satisfying your desire for a new knife, and on your wallet. Sometimes there'll be run after run after run of things you're interested in, so you're satisfied with acquiring new knives, but your wallet can get a bit overwhelmed. Then you'll have droughts where they just aren't producing anything that you're into, and if that goes too long you might find yourself wanting to buy a knife but not being able to get anything from GEC. And although your wallet may be happy during these droughts, it can also start to burn a hole in your pocket. :D
 
Good luck in your quest Randy. As a guy that has a ver focused passion/collection I'll tell you it's very exciting and boring at the same time...I say focus on your GEC but never stop picking up those old gems that have all those stories to tell.
 
Randy...not to complicate the goal of the collection, will this include Northwood folders also?:D Too many knives not enough monthly budget...

One goal of mine for 2017 will be to obtain an number of knives (mainly EDC size) from the GA Knifemakers Guild, such as Fiddlebackforge, WA Surls, Osprey, AA forge. and also a number of the other apprentices that have gone thru the FbForge..I seemed to have already a nice collection of Jarrett Fleming. I really like having a fixed blade carry.

Less GEC/Northwoods unfortunately or fortunately and more custom folders. I have not had much luck with Queen/SM knives and so will continue to avoid for now. I would like to get a CASE/Bose collab knife once a year.
I haven't sold any knife yet since joining GF. A few have ended up with a brother or three and friends, I will have to sell some to get some.

I am a couple years from total retirement so might was well spend on hobbies that instill excitement and joy.:thumbup:
 
Randy-good luck. It can be hard to focus on one maker, but there are always knives on the secondary market. It's just whether you want to spend te money. I toyed with the idea of collecting all the different patterns Case makes/made (regardless of cover), or collecting knives just from Arkansas (2or 3 of my favorite makers live there, and came from the same "coaching" line so to speak), but financially it won't work, as well as the fact that sometimes you fall in love with a knife that doesn't fit the paradigm. Good luck, I hope it works for ya. Should be an interesting ride to follow:D
Thanks, Neal
Ps- and no, nothing yet on that other front. But it'll happen. Just a matter of when ;)
 
Reading all the great post from everyone shows how diverse yet similar folks are when comes to collecting knives. One thing that stands out is the fact when it comes to traditional knives there are so many that have been made for so many years that the options in collecting are almost infinite. I am sure I will be sidetracked by the lure of knives other than GEC but I truly would like to grow my collection of them.
My collection now consist of several mini collections. Like I posted above I at present have 12 GEC knives and simply put I would like to have more than that. I have had more but have sold, traded and gifted several. I don't know why the number of knives I have is important to me but for some reason it is.
This past year I have been going through a lot of changes in my collection. I sold almost all I had at one point, have gifted so many knives that I can't remember everyone I have given knives to. I bought more knives in 2016 than I have ever bought in a single year.
I don't know if the GEC thing will satisfy my knife itch or how long it will last but I am enjoying this hobby as much as anything I have ever done and I guess that's what it's all about.
One last thing to all of you that have gifted knives to me you will never know how much that means to me and how good you made me feel when I opened up those wonderful gifts.
 
Good luck! I have tried several times to streamline my collection but then something out of that "stream" will catch my eye and get added to the collection...
 
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