Brick and Mortar GEC Knives

JohnDF

JohnDF

Joined
May 14, 2018
Messages
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I want to see your GEC knives that you purchased in an actual Brick and Mortar store.
Not something you ordered on the internet and had shipped to your front door.
You actually walked in, handled the knives, and chose the one you wanted.
The GEC Factory Store counts too.

I bought this one in a knife shop in Solvang, Ca.
They had a half dozen brand new GEC knives on display, all different.
My sons and I decided this #76 was the one I needed to purchase that day.
It has since been recovered in Ebony with a new shield, and it will always be special because of the experience.

 
JohnDF said:
I want to see your GEC knives that you purchased in an actual Brick and Mortar store.
Not something you ordered on the internet and had shipped to your front door.
You actually walked in, handled the knives, and chose the one you wanted.
The GEC Factory Store counts too.

I bought this one in a knife shop in Solvang, Ca.
They had a half dozen brand new GEC knives on display, all different.
My sons and I decided this #76 was the one I needed to purchase that day.
It has since been recovered in Ebony with a new shield, and it will always be special because of the experience.

Click to expand...
Thanks for starting this thread.
 
I'd just be happy to run across a store that sells knives anymore
Around here that would be Tractor Supply Co and Walmart, neither of which have ever sold any GEC's
My guess is I'd have to drive a hundred miles and MAYBE find a store that sells a wide selection of knives
 
I have bought a bunch from GP Knives back in the day. I used to travel past their store a couple times a year. This was back when knives used to sit in dealer inventory for awhile. My memory isn't good enough to remember which in my collection specifically that I bought there, accept for the St. Patty's Day acrylic 😜 Esquire. I won't ever forget that one, because that is what happens when you let your daughter pick out a knife. I will add a picture of it later today.
 
JohnDF said:
This will definitely be an exclusive thread. 🤣
But I know from experience that being able to handle and choose between GEC knives at a store is a memorable experience. So I'll know what these knives mean to their buyers.
Click to expand...

You would think that, sadly, there are folks who line up and camp out at the rendezvous and theyre dumped on ebay before the weekends out.
 
I haven't had the experience, John.
Last time we were in Santa Barbara (pre-pandemic) we met a cousin of my wife's in Solvang. He has a place in Santa Maria. Come to find out he's a knife collector too. He took us to Solvang Knives. I swear, it was a kid in a candy store experience! The only shops I've ever been in that rivaled it were in Italy. If my wife hadn't been with us.......
 
If it's the same folks I'm thinking of JohnDF JohnDF , they have now relocated to Idaho. Not surprising they sold GECs, as the store also carried Randalls, CRKs, and various custom knives. But I think they are very much the exception to the rule. I was in a very pricey knife shop in Napa this weekend, and the highest end springknife brand I saw was Boker.

But I suppose you never know what you'll find, which is why I make it a point to stop in every specialized brick and mortar knife shop I come across. I walked into a primarily kitchen knife shop in San Francisco one time and was surprised to see a selection of Fontenille Pataud knives.
 
Peregrin said:
I haven't had the experience, John.
Last time we were in Santa Barbara (pre-pandemic) we met a cousin of my wife's in Solvang. He has a place in Santa Maria. Come to find out he's a knife collector too. He took us to Solvang Knives. I swear, it was a kid in a candy store experience! The only shops I've ever been in that rivaled it were in Italy. If my wife hadn't been with us.......
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Yes, it was a fantastic store.
I really enjoyed their vast selection of miniature knives.
kamagong said:
If it's the same folks I'm thinking of JohnDF JohnDF JohnDF JohnDF , they have now relocated to Idaho.
Click to expand...
Yes, same one. I was very sad that they moved and I only had one experience there.
 
I have had the chance on several occasions but the selection of GEC's was never very large. I've only had the chance at knife shows and one of the above mentioned dealers but being surrounded by literally thousands of knives, there was always something else that I wanted more.

Interesting topic, John. :thumbsup:
 
Living in the rural West, I've never come across a GEC in a store, even back when they were relatively more plentiful.

However, the store in Solvang has been on my list for a while now, and the next time I find myself truckin' down the Cali coast, I need to stop there.
 
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GEC Tidioute Scout purchased right here in Alturas, Ca at a store called the Belligerent Duck - long since out of business. The owner of the store had a "high end" section where he sold upper end brand guns (Browning), knives, fishing gear(Orvis), etc.. He got GECs from a GEC dealer and sold them at a marked up price. He also sold Queen and Schatt & Morgan along with Moore Maker (made by Queen). He'd order a dozen or so Buck Knives from Buck's custom shop and sell them too. It was a dark day when they had to close for health reasons.
 
Smithhammer said:
However, the store in Solvang has been on my list for a while now, and the next time I find myself truckin' down the Cali coast, I need to stop there.
Click to expand...
That store is no longer in Solvang... they moved to Idaho.
Modoc ED said:
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Great knife, ED. 🤠:thumbsup:
That must have been quite and exciting shopping experience.
 
JohnDF said:
I want to see your GEC knives that you purchased in an actual Brick and Mortar store.
Not something you ordered on the internet and had shipped to your front door.
You actually walked in, handled the knives, and chose the one you wanted.
Click to expand...
What a dream ! The question, for me, is: how do you manage to get a one on the internet nowadays ?
Beautiful 76 John !

Dan.
 
Modoc ED said:
Plaza Cutlery no longer has a store front but back in the day they handled GEC. They were in a shopping center just on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
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Yes they did. They were another high end knife store.

It's a genuine regret that I never took the time to make the trip to either, especially since I lived in LA eight years for school. Alas, being a student on a tight budget what little money I had was spent on wooing the fairer sex.
 
JohnDF said:
That store is no longer in Solvang... they moved to Idaho.

Great knife, ED. 🤠:thumbsup:
That must have been quite and exciting shopping experience.
Click to expand...

We'd go there once or twice a week as our favorite (only) Italian Restaurant (sadly, carry-out only now a days) was next door to it.
 
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