Buying a GEC should I get a serialized knife?

[Bastid]

:thumbup:

Get nonserialized and buy a 6 pack or cigar.

Especially if you are going to use the knife.

About the only time I have ever seen it make a difference has been a marked prototype or the number 1 or maybe 0 indicating a proto.

Otherwise I would spend the extra cash elsewhere or put it up and be a few bucks ahead of the next purchase.

For the most part other than mentioned above, serialization is just a gimmick to get a few extra bucks at issue time. It seldom has much of an effect secondarily speaking unless you put together a set of knives with the same number or the person buying it put stock in them. Most do not.

 

[Modoc ED]

Don't consider just serial numbers. Here's a knife with an interesting blade marking. It certainly has nothing to do with exclusitiveity as far as GEC is concerned as there is more than one knife in this series marked exactly the same. How many I don't know but this is at least one of them. The dealer has others just like this and marked just like this for sale.

I happened to like the color of the perylic covers so I bought it. In the long run, I don't think the blade marking will have anything to do with the value of this knife. It is serialized too but that won't add to it's value either. I just like the looks of it so I bought it.

 

[DrPenguin]

One of the few things I find gimmicky on GEC knives. I avoid if possible and ignore if I buy one with serial numbers. That's just me though.

Willie

 

[brandonc]

It look like if GEC wants to listen to fans then they can discontinue serializing all together.

 

[Rick]

While I have something like half a dozen GEC users, the majority of my Great Eastern knives are safe queens, and I have absolutely no interest in serial numbers, certificates of authenticity, so called prototypes or any other collector bait. All that stuff is meaningless, IMO. A knife should stand on its fit 'n' finish, walk 'n' talk, material selection, geometry, heat-treatment and ergos. The rest is just Case XX/Beanie Baby gimmickry. I've always felt that anything made specifically for collectors isn't worth collecting. Fortunately, GEC's collector-kitsch affectations are subtle and don't interfere with their desirability as no nonsense quality cutlery.

 

[markpmc]

Get the one you like best. I own no safe queens, so if I buy it, it's gonna be used. I have some unserialized and some numbered. I don't keep the tube/box or the coa if one of my knives come w/ one.

Mark

 

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

I have an interest in the #26, so I will pay a bit more or trade a bit more for that number, because I am weird, but it seems rare to have more than 25 so i am out if luck. Otherwise I try to buy what I like regardless is serial numbers. I believe I have 3 serial numbered GEC, but I use all of them so it won't matter in the long run.

 

[richstag]

I would prefer no serial number but for the most part the knives that I have liked the scales on the best have been serialized. So I don't let the number bother me.

 

[snippy]

I just purchased my first GEC -(it isn't here yet)- and it is serialized. I was thinking that it would be "selected" from the full lot to be numbered - one last inspection before the best go off to be branded. I should have searched first!

If it is just a marketing gimmick, well it sure got me. Once bitten!

Eric

 

[Cory Hess]

Thanks for bringing this thread back up. Lately I have been wondering if others were into the numbers or not. I personally just buy the knife I like best, whether it's got a number or not. My first GEC I did like you and went SN, but since then it's probably been close to a 50/50 mix. I don't believe there's any difference. I've gotten some non-serialized knives that were close to flawless and some serialized ones that had issues. Nothing bad enough to send them in, mind you. Just little quirks that would indicate to me that they weren't selected for serialization based on being excellent specimen.

Either way, I'm sure you'll find that the GEC is still a heck of a bargain at it's price even if you paid the extra cash for the serial number. Most people that dive into these waters end up with more GECs than they know what to do with, so you'll have plenty of opportunity to get serialized and non-serialized as you see fit. Welcome to the madness. :witless:

 

[draggat]

While I have something like half a dozen GEC users, the majority of my Great Eastern knives are safe queens, and I have absolutely no interest in serial numbers, certificates of authenticity, so called prototypes or any other collector bait. All that stuff is meaningless, IMO. A knife should stand on its fit 'n' finish, walk 'n' talk, material selection, geometry, heat-treatment and ergos. The rest is just Case XX/Beanie Baby gimmickry. I've always felt that anything made specifically for collectors isn't worth collecting. Fortunately, GEC's collector-kitsch affectations are subtle and don't interfere with their desirability as no nonsense quality cutlery.

I have to agree with absolutely everything here, including the fact that the majority of my GEC's are safe queens as well. I get really annoyed by the 150% markup on the 'prototypes'. Looking through the yearly totals, there is no special designation for the prototypes.... they are lumped into the 1 of 50 or whatever. Of course, I've broken down and bought said prototypes more than once because it was either the only version I could find of a particular model/handle configuration, or the covers were really outstanding. One of those prototypes is a user too! When the handle material doesn't vary much from knife to knife I always go with un serialized because they're cheaper. Quality wise, there is absolutely no difference.

GEC's serialization method is very curious and it often doesn't have any meaning in regards to rarity of a particular knife. All of the very limited knives I have from them do not have a serial number.

 

[black mamba]

In the early days of GEC, they sometimes had a run with a hundred or more serialized knives, and then they made maybe 5 without serial numbers, which was completely backwards. It made the ones without serial numbers more valuable for collectors. I believe around 2010 or '11 they started only serializing the first 25 of each knife, then making maybe another 25-50 without serials, which improved the situation in my mind, but still not the way it should be for collectors. They also sometimes do short runs (less than 10 total knives) all without serials.

Now with or without serial numbers, and including the prototypes, they are all just willy-nilly from the same production run, no difference in the knives. If they only make 1 or 2 prototypes, usually carrying a 40+% markup over the regular run, then I'd like to see them only make 10 with serial numbers out of a run of 50, or maybe 25 serialized out of 100, at the roughly 10% markup over an unserialized knife. Then if you really wanted one, the extra money would mean more value down the line. Some people on the forums "poo-poo" safe queens, but if you have several hundred knives or more, then reality dictates you are not gonna carry them all. And the more rare they are, the more important it is to keep them pristine for later generations. Don't we all ooh and aah when we see a hundred year old knife in like new condition? They don't stay that way if they get used.

 

[Primble]

While I am sure that the serialized knives gets the company a few sales, I cannot help but wonder how many other sales they lose with the serialized knives?

I avoid them completely and have passed on more than a few otherwise beautiful knives that had the serial numbers. I notice that the dealers will have the serialized knives in stock many times, when all of the non-serialized have been sold.

To me - a gimmick that does not work on me. I don't care for pinched bolsters either - it makes the bolsters look dented or smashed to me.

I rarely see an old knife with pinched bolsters, so I see that as a modern gimmick.

I do love threaded and fluted (rat-tail) bolsters though. The old knives used those techniques very often.

To each their own, I suppose.

 

[Primble]

Don't we all ooh and aah when we see a hundred year old knife in like new condition? They don't stay that way if they get used.

I agree, however, it is almost never that wee ooh and aah over a hundred year old knife in like new condition, which has a serial number.

 

[KBA]

I buy serialized knives, well I used to, for one reason. I like to match the numbers to dates.

Married on the tenth - I carry a 66 serialized #10
Daughter born on the fourth - I carry an 85 serialized #4

I will try to find a pattern I like with the serial # for my second daughter's birthdate that is this July.

I was working on a display of #10s in each pattern but decided to stop collectong all together.

 

[blademan 13]

I agree with the "buy what you like" philosophy. I do not search out the #'s and actually find they mar the beauty of the knife. It is really too bad the Natural Stag all get marked in that sense as I have an affinity for them. It is kind of odd that I have 3 users that all happen to be #11! It would be cool if I could only find some personal significance in that number?

 

[black mamba]

Primble, you are absolutely correct that it is a complete artifice and does nothing for the knife, only the collector, and only if the number serialized is kept low. The other thing that bothers me is that they used to use a nice cursive looking font for the numbers and they switched to plain block characters, which look cheap to me. I really don't care for the new serial numbers at all.

Old cursive style

New block style

 

[draggat]

To me - a gimmick that does not work on me. I don't care for pinched bolsters either - it makes the bolsters look dented or smashed to me.

I rarely see an old knife with pinched bolsters, so I see that as a modern gimmick.

I do love threaded and fluted (rat-tail) bolsters though. The old knives used those techniques very often.

To each their own, I suppose.

I personally really like the looks of the pinched bolsters and don't find them gimmicky. Luckily both styles are usually made so we have a choice. Pulling out random knives in a run and putting an etch on the blade or engraving a number on the bolster saying its special or different is a gimmick that doesn't interest me. It truly is to each their own, which is a very good thing!

BTW, I don't think I've ever mentioned it, but I appreciate your excellent photography, and of course the knowledge you share here. :thumbup:

 

[Primble]

I personally really like the looks of the pinched bolsters and don't find them gimmicky. Luckily both styles are usually made so we have a choice. Pulling out random knives in a run and putting an etch on the blade or engraving a number on the bolster saying its special or different is a gimmick that doesn't interest me. It truly is to each their own, which is a very good thing!

BTW, I don't think I've ever mentioned it, but I appreciate your excellent photography, and of course the knowledge you share here. :thumbup:

Yes sir - that is why I added the "to each their own" and I don't want others to feel slighted with their serialized or pinched bolster knives.

I respect everyone's opinion here, differing or not. My opinion should count for one person - me.

Thank you for your differing opinion and the kind remarks, as well. :thumbup:

 

[Kiteman72]

I just started collecting GEC knives in January so I have been recently interested in this very topic. Most of the examples I've accumulated thus far have been non-serialized.

In the "big picture" of collecting, I really don't think it matters very much. The reason I say this, is because of the extremely limited numbers of total knives produced. Of course, in the collectable market, a knife that is 1 of 10 non-serialized examples will bring more than a serialized knife (of the same model) that is #33 of 50. But the fact is that the 1 of 50 knife is very rare too, in the larger scheme of things.

Also, it is my impression that a BUNCH of folks buy GECs as users, further diminishing the pool of pristine examples for future collectors. So I think it will eventually be tough to find any of these early GECs, as there are sure to be more collectors entering the market as the years go by. As a new GEC fan, I've already been able to score a knife that is 1 of 4. That is very cool to me.

Most other pocket knife companies (I'm looking at you, Case) have watered down their lines so much that any real "collectability" has been largely eliminated. I'm not dogging on them, I still buy and enjoy their knives. GECs short runs and limited production numbers keep folks excited, and, serialized or not, that will keep this segment of the hobby plenty exciting. And expensive.