Are GEC knives a good collector knife for the future

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Ironmage

Joined
Jun 29, 2012
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124
Just wanted to git your guys thoughts on GEC knives.I find there knives to be some of the best manufactured knives out there,but I only have 2 made buy them so fair and one buy Queen in which,as you may know, they own now.I wonder are they going to be up there with Case in the future of collecting.Post your thoughts and your GEC knives for us to hear and see.
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Hard to tell what people in the future will like, but GEC makes a good production knive with variations between production runs in patterns not seen by anyone else as of late. They hold their value well too. They are also made with collectibility in mind. I imagine they will be good collector knives, but time can only tell.
 
I don't buy gec's (I couldn't bare to scratch one honestly) but I think for a collector there perfect, limited run's, exotic handle materals, countless patterns, and a larg market of buyer's. I think most models would only increase in value over time.....just my 0.02 on the subject!

-niner
 
Define what "collector knife" means to you, if you would.

Does it mean "investment"? Then no...they aren't a good investment. No new knife is. If you are extraordinarily lucky, in decade or so, you might break even on them (if you don't use them).

Does it mean "high quality knives that I will look at, use, and enjoy for years"....then, yes, if you like them, they are great for that. Very nice knives.
 
I sure hope they become valuable because i have plenty and don't plan on selling them anytime soon.
I doubt they will be as collectable as Case, but they are off to a good start and god knows they'll last long enough.
 
I would think the serialized ones would be the most collectable with rare scales. I wouldn't expect to make anything for a long time unless they go out of business or start cutting corners on quality.
 
A hundred years from now, when your great grand kids find your stash of unused knives, they might get lucky and sell them to someone for a good profit. Now, carry them and use them. Maybe the Northfields, or a popular pattern, or a popular scale material, would be a good short term investment. Unless you find a collector that is hot for that one, obscure pattern that GEC only made 25 or 50 pieces of, or someone wants that specific handle material, I'd say it is a bad investment choice. You will have a lot of fun using them though.

By the way, Ken and Ryan Daniels, the new owners of Queen, don't own any part of GEC anymore. Completely different entities now. Ryan sold all of his GEC pieces last year as well. Sad, he was my hookup at the Mason Dixon and Chesapeake knife shows.
 
I got ya,I never buy a knife thinking I am going to make a dime on it but I do like to no that a knife I buy is going to hold it's value for years to come.Thanks for you reply.
 
Ironmage said:
I got ya,I never buy a knife thinking I am going to make a dime on it but I do like to no that a knife I buy is going to hold it's value for years to come.Thanks for you reply.
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It's not going to hold value. It's going to lose value over the years. Almost every knife does.

Is that a reason not to buy them or any other knife? I think that we are all here answers that question.
 
I don't totally agree with that thinking just because of inflation alone brings value up.You buy a Case knife today and in 3 years that same models cost more from inflation.
I do believe your right for most knives but I don't see that with all brands.
 
I collect 'em! Not as an investment but for my own enjoyment... nice knives with excellent build quality! :thumbup:

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Left to right: Scagel Fruitport Wharnie (made by GEC), #55 Hound Tooth, #15 Huckleberry Boys Knife, #25 Easy Open Jack, #56 Dogleg Jack, #25 Strawberry Jack, #85 Bullet End Jack, #61 Congress

-Timber
 
Ironmage said:
I don't totally agree with that thinking just because of inflation alone brings value up.You buy a Case knife today and in 3 years that same models cost more from inflation.
I do believe your right for most knives but I don't see that with all brands.
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No. That is not true. Think "cars." If I buy a new Corolla, its value doesn't go up becuase of inflation. It goes down. Similarly with knives. If I buy a Case, seal it in a vacuum bag, then lock in a safe deposit box for three years, and inflation continues over that three years....that Case ain't worth more after three years. It just doesn't work that way.
 
Thats apples to oranges.I would like to have some of the old cars I have owned over the years. A 69 Camaro sells for 10 times what it did in 69.
I never bought a corolla and thought about keeping it for a collector but If had kept that 69 I would have made some cash on it.
 
I think the best advice I ever read on collecting for investment purposes is to make sure you collect the things you love. That way they will always be valuable to you. Maybe not so much to others, but you will still be happy.

I have a friend that has collected CASE knives as displays only for some time. If he could sell his collection for anything close to what he has in it, he would. But he has found collectors of CASE knives to be picky, and when the overall economy is not so good, neither is the value of his collection. Apparently there are plenty of Johnny Cash, Dale Earnhart, John Deere, and dead presidents on knives out there.

I would think collecting GECs would be even more tricky. Yes, everyone here knows them and respects them. But on the other hand, if this forum shut down, where would you sell your GECs? I am in the middle of a knife culture and no one I know has a knife from the GEC group or its sisters, nor have they ever heard of them. Unless you found that one person that just had to have a certain pattern with a certain set of covers, you might be hanging onto your collection for a while.

Also, think about this. A friend of mine bought a really nice COLT .45 auto back in '72 for $125. Light use, excellent care, shoots like a dream. He was going to sell it and thought he had made a killing on the pistol as he was going to get about $650 for the gun, including a Bianchi holster he paid about $75 for back then. Yup, he was real excited until another friend of ours in the financial business pointed out the cost of other things back then. After running the numbers, his "investment" didn't even keep up with inflation. That was after all, 40 years ago.

Couldn't sell it locally after about 6-8 months of trying. The variant he bought was cutting edge at the time, but no one cares now. Other guns have come out that are more popular now, and even though .45 autos are quite popular, his isn't.

Now he wishes he had just shot the dickens out of that gun when ammo was affordable. Now he has a nice gun he can't sell, and due to ammo prices (again) he has a gun he can't afford to shoot.

I like the advice you got above in earlier posts. Invest in your GECs to use as tools, ones that will probably outlast you. Buy 'em, use 'em, and enjoy 'em.

Robert
 
I collect the occasional GEC rarity, not for monetary gain, but because I enjoy accumulating quality knives. GECs are just about ideal collectables as far as modern traditional-styled factory knives go. Their consistently excellent fit and above average finish, pattern and material quality and diversity, hands-on fabrication, and unusually short production runs keep things interesting without resorting to Case's quantity-over-quality production shortcuts and silly Beanie Baby kitsch.

As far as investments go, very few knives qualify. Without a tremendous amount of experience, ongoing market research and money to burn, it's highly unlikely that you'll ever do more than break even (if that) on your investment. OTOH, breaking even is a viable goal for me, as I've been a knife collector for over thirty years, and I often change direction in my collecting tastes with the passage of time. By sticking to mint condition GEC short runs, factory tests, unusually high quality stag handle covers, and other desirable rarities, I'm fairly confident that I won't take a big hit if/when I decide to move on.

midnight flyer said:
I like the advice you got above in earlier posts. Invest in your GECs to use as tools, ones that will probably outlast you. Buy 'em, use 'em, and enjoy 'em.
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This is sound advice, and GEC makes solid real world cutting tools (they wouldn't be worth collecting, otherwise), but the last thing a collector needs is a huge pile of used redundant tools that are no longer viable as collectables. I have around a dozen GEC EDCs--more than I need by any realistic stretch of the imagination--but I still buy them when an interesting variation catches my eye. It's a good idea to decide upfront whether you're a collector, user, or both, and partition your knives accordingly before you end up with dozens (or hundreds) of expensive banged up tools that all do the same job.
 
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Well Rick sounds like some very good real world advice,
I would say I'm a bit of both " collector, user, "some knives I buy to keep and sum to use.I like to buy the best but not with the goal of making money I just love knives,the sound they make win they open,a nice set of stag scale's,the shiny nickle silver and brass,I find all this appealing and much more about knives.I think it is a great way to spend your extra time an I must say I do take some pride in my knives as they all have a story,from were the parts all come from to how they where put together.
 
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