Availibility of GEC.

DrRollinstein

DrRollinstein

Feedback: +63 / =0 / -0
Joined
Feb 20, 2018
Messages
1,440
Hey there, not sure how discussed this topic might be or if there is an easy answer somewhere, but why are GEC's so hard to come by for the most part? Wouldnt it make more business sense to continually produce? They dont really gain anything by keeping the releases so limited.


I am no expert on the topic of traditionals, so this could be something obvious.
 
It can be frustrating for us customers but GEC is thriving. I know next to nothing about marketing products but many of their knives are spoken for long before they even hit the production line. That can be nothing but good for GEC.

GEC does continually produce, just not the same patterns. In the past couple of years GEC has tried to saturate the market with a few of their patterns. The Calf Ropers and the Churchills from last year are pretty good examples but there have been a few more.

I sometimes get frustrated too but on the other hand, I'm all for whatever keeps them in business.
 
Great Eastern Cutlery is a relatively small cutlery firm. They have upped production in recent years, but with their continued popularity the knives get snatched up quickly.

They release multiple patterns a year and each pattern takes a couple months from start to finish. I think more knives are available from recent releases then in years passed.

I think if their focus was to have stocked shelves of single patterns it would limit thier reach on new pattern production.
 
Yeah, I agree with what has been said so far. They keep gaining popularity as word or mouth spreads and more and more people strive to acquire them. The buffalo Jacks were relatively easy to get. The stags went pretty quick but stags in any pattern do. Although, the churches and calfs might still be around. It can be frustrating I know but like you guys have basically said, better than not having much business and we lose them like others(Never happen). Plus, the fit and finish and creativity that GEC puts out is better than what we have seen in any other traditional knife company. In my opinion. Also, I think the dealer are kind of in a pickle with all this too. They are trying to figure out fairness to customers who want to acquire. Look at the 14s go!
 
quality vs quantity. they have massively increased their productions. years ago, the hottest models had production numbers of about 50-60 per option, and after qc maybe 55-57 were sold, and the ones that didn't pass the very scrutinizing eyes of the staff, were sold as store models. take a look at the 15 huckleberry boys knives. easily one of their best sellers. every august for three years running I pester them for 15 clips because of how difficult they were to find. but now most recently, look at the runs, over 100s. more folks were able to get their hands on some.
 
They make 100 knives a day - every day. That is fairly continuous.

Their counterpart down the road should have taught them a good lesson about choosing quantity over quality; so I applaud them over not hiring a bunch of political science majors just to fill capacity. (Not that there is anything wrong with political science majors, just not an obvious work pool for cutlers)

Also, the market ebbs and flows; no owner wants to have to fire a bunch of employees with every economic hiccup.

They could contract out a bunch of work to Case, if you feel more knives is the key... ;)
 
I think it is remarkable they still produce such high quality knives considering how much production has been ramped up in the last few years. In 2017, there were a little over 30,000 knives produced. That is an average of ~120 knives per work day.
I appreciate GEC's pace and output. I think it all adds to the allure of the knives and really keeps this whole hobby thriving. As Mike stated, look at what happens to others who compromise quality.
 
Last edited:
There are more buyers who want a knife than GEC is capable of producing. This is one of the issues that everyone has to put up with to get a good product. Or just plan on spending double what the list price is, and buy one in the secondary market about 5-10 days after the release date.
 
Heaven forbid they pass some production to Case, I probably think the comment was tongue in cheek though. I haven't bought a Case knife since 2008, because of the GEC product.
 
Since this is a discussion on purchasing knives I'm moving it to GB&U.
 
I used to like Case, never even owned a GEC, but Case seems to want to rush blades out the door so GECs quality and F&F are superior. Id rather buy one knife occasionally and have it be well done than a nearly production knife that is less so. JMO.
 
Rusty1 said:
Heaven forbid they pass some production to Case, I probably think the comment was tongue in cheek though. I haven't bought a Case knife since 2008, because of the GEC product.
Click to expand...

I haven't bought a GEC yet due to 1095 steel, the high quality of Case-Bose knives and the reasonable prices of European traditional knives and some customs :) GEC still isn't producing a knife as sophisticated as a Case/Bose, but that's not their schtick.
 
Particular GEC models are hard to come by because they don't make many and for the table price I don't think there is a better knife. Now if you're buying that one special Whaler from an eBay flipper then the case for a custom knife will start to look more viable. For the normal MSRP you're not going to find a better choice.

The best thing to do is put away a wedge of cash. Then put your ear to the ground and start looking out for the SFOs. At the same time really try to figure out what you want. That way you can concentrate your search. The sales section here turns up a pretty good variety of these at decent prices. You can also consider posting a WTB if you have something in mind.
 
brownshoe said:
GEC still isn't producing a knife as sophisticated as a Case/Bose, but that's not their schtick.
Click to expand...
GEC does well because not everybody wants to spend $500 on a knife with gaps in the liners :D
But seriously, I've switched to buying more Case knives recently. As long as I can handle the knife before purchase or the seller can show me pics of a decently centered blade and no huge liner gaps, I'd gladly buy 3 Case knives for the price of 1 GEC. Besides, all my Case knives cut better than my GECs. But I still buy GEC knives because their build quality is right at the top for a production knife. They just plain feel good and look good. But I am done with racing for a drop or paying flipper prices. Them days is over.
 
I have found that this is a topic that comes up with some regularity. It usually descends into somewhat of an argument between GEC's fans and detractors.

Like with any cutlery firm, GEC offers their dealers the opportunity to arrange SFOs. This makes certain runs smaller and in most cases, more desirable. The same principles behind a Spyderco sprint run are at work here where a dealer announces their exclusive SFO, the SFO "drops", and a mad scramble ensues to gobble up every last one of them. The predictable results being that several immediately end up on the Exchange or the big auction site for absurd markups and the rest of those who were fortunate enough to obtain one, will post on Instagram, here on the Forums, etc.

GEC has their main production runs, differentiated by the various trims/lines: GEC, Northfield, Tidioute, and Farm & Field. Usually (not always), these runs are larger as there aren't any SFOs attached to them. As has been mentioned already, some patterns are far more popular than others, the regular jacks (boys knives) and Barlows being amongst the most sought after (particularly if they are single blade variants). Other patterns do not have the same following, yet they were produced in large numbers; the recent run of #66s being an excellent example of this (you can still find available SFOs on shelves for this pattern).

GEC produces enough knives these days to satisfy everyone, from the ever diligent collector to the most casual of users. They make a robust knife with quality materials and beautifully executed patterns for a price point that is beyond reasonable.

My advice would be to go to GEC's sites (keep in mind, there are two of them), find their dealers, get in touch with said dealers, get on their mailing lists and/or take advantage of their early reserve programs (if available).

I have been involved with GEC knives since I was introduced to them when joining these forums. There are a number of things that I have discovered about myself and my own personal tastes/needs:
  1. I have developed my interests and tastes and purchase accordingly.
  2. It isn't worth getting flustered at missing out on a "drop" or an "early reserve". Lots of fantastic knives out there, I have realized it is pointless to get hung up on the missed ones.
  3. I have had great success in acquiring knives that I otherwise missed out on by being patient and developing good relationships with members here on the forums.
  4. Part of GEC's appeal to me is the quality that I get for my dollar. That value goes out the window when I see a knife being sold for double and triple what it sold at retail. It is my personal preference and opinion but I refuse to purchase a GEC at such a markup (I might as well look at getting a custom at that point). Hence why patience is a necessity...
  5. Knife collecting is supposed to be fun and the hunt for a specific knife, the discussion of certain patterns, and the eventual acquisition are all part of what can be a very rewarding experience.
So with that said, I wish thee the best of luck! Have fun!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top