Case vs GEC and why?

Leslie Tomville Leslie Tomville
Thanks for the response, and you are definetly right that those case knives are not easy to find anymore. I spent some time searching online to find one and came up short. I'm surprised case made that run so limited. It seems to be a very popular configuration.

I do like the 85s, but I tend to only get GECs if I get lucky enough to get on a pre-order which is tougher and tougher these days. I stay away from the secondary markets.
 
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I can certainly understand AZCoyote AZCoyote , I try to only buy retail, but sometimes I just cannot help it!! There are certain knives that I find irresistible. You might want to make an exception on the 85 Crownlifter. It is a dinger! And not too badly overpriced.

Although current production Case knives are nowhere near as valuable as GEC knives, I have noticed the nicer ones hold their value and can be hard to find once the dealers sell out their stock. I have also noticed that the excellent Case/Bose collaboration knives have been inching up in value with some patterns being very difficult to find. I guess this is mostly due to Tony’s passing. However, they are certainly exceptional knives in their own right and should stand the test of time.

Primble Primble , to answer your question, the Northfield Trapper is a 72 pattern. The second Northfield in my later post is a 78. Both are about 3.75 inches closed.
 
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These Crown Lifters were never as popular as the Beer Scout and were easy to get hold of back then. They may still be much cheaper and easier to get than the Scouts or 85s

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There's often too much EITHER/OR in the world and sometimes it should be NEITHER/NOR....;). Happily in this instance it's very desirable to have both CASE and GEC as they compliment each other in the Traditional realm.

I actually feel that CASE is the more robust knife in terms of using it regularly as a work-knife, they just seem to stand up to rigours more than GEC. However, CASE usually lacks the consistency in finish that GEC can offer. CASE doesn't offer enough Spear blades for my liking- and I'm no fan of the Canoe pattern. GEC also offers more in the way of blade variety particularly in single-blades where it trumps CASE no question in my book. Nice Sheepfoot, Drop-Point, Lambfoot, Spear, Wharncliffe on a variety of single blade frames. One area GEC is still lacking is in small/smaller patterns, they just don't work too well for me Conductor excepted. Somehow the proportions on small GECs don't convince. I don't like Peanuts but they do work and CASE has vastly superior small or medium Stockman knives to GEC. also, its Lockbacks are more solid I'd say. I like CASE because you can get a very satisfying working-knife that is pleasant to carry and handle and often not insanely frustrating to order. GEC has introduced some wonderful patterns the 15, 33,38,73,82, 92,93 and others it has also made many Forum Knives 2011, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21 which has also cemented its popularity.

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Will Power Will Power
My friend, that first paragraph above couldn’t be more true this day and age… for just about everything I’m afraid!!
Great post & pics of some sweet blades of course
:D:thumbsup::thumbsup:

They both have their respective places and
I like them both, have many of both, neither are perfect (what is?) and don’t sweat any purchases anymore because as I used to say in the car world…
There’s always a better 🚘 to be had
:cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:

An attempt to entice you with this number…
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@ Un_Chained - that deep etched red bone Canoe might make him a convert ! ☺️:thumbsup:


Well said Will. :thumbsup::thumbsup:☺️

I thought you said somewhere else that you did not care for the Swayback design because it felt upside down to you, or something like that ? 🤔🤔🤔

Maybe someone else said that, but, I sometimes think the very same. 😇

That Case over your eggs is very attractive - can't say I have ever noticed that shield on a Case before and I like it. :thumbsup:

Of course I had to turn it over to make it right side up and get a better look, if you will.🤣 Wonderful scales on that one too !

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The way I look at Case vs GEC is Case cares about pleasing customers. The gamut of knife buyers. GEC doesn't care about buyers who want stainless and available, affordable knives. GEC cares about pleasing themselves and a small select group of dealers and flippers.
 
brownshoe said:
The way I look at Case vs GEC is Case cares about pleasing customers. The gamut of knife buyers. GEC doesn't care about buyers who want stainless and available, affordable knives. GEC cares about pleasing themselves and a small select group of dealers and flippers.
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Case is a much bigger outfit, and has the capacity to mass produce knives, making them much easier to obtain (supply/demand). GEC produces what they can at a much smaller scale. I don’t think that means they don’t care about the consumer. It doesn’t sound like there are cutlers standing in line to get jobs in Titusville. I would love it if they were able to scale up one day, so long as QC stays at the level it is now or better.
 
4 years later I now currently own 10 Case knives having gifted / passed along 7 others, and I own 1 GEC.
I really love the 1 GEC knife which I am able to own thanks to a generous member here, but that is still the thing with GEC vs Case for me.

GEC makes some beautiful knives that really harken back to the golden era of pre war American pocket knives and those long gone New York cutlers, but the availability / purchasing situation just doesn't work for me.
Case has some things to like in their own right, and the worst their buying situation gets is the Vault knife which they produce for almost a whole calendar year.

It's all about what I can actually get vs what I can't.
 
Un-Chained Un-Chained Thanks for the comment, as regards THAT Canoe it's a good looker but still......;)

Primble Primble The Canoe still doesn't do it for me...😄I love lakes, rivers the sea but I cannot swim.... so maybe that's why I have little faith in Canoes....it's aesthetic, don't like Copperhead bolster with Spear, they look right with Clip and it never feels good in my tiny paw :D

I MIGHT have said that about Swaybacks a thousand years ago who knows? But, must've changed my mind and only the dead don't change their minds....In fact, I carry a Lloyd Stag Swayback a lot and always liked the CASE Swayback Gent as a small companion.

The CASE Half Whittler on the eggs: confession time, the scales are very attractive but the colour was not on arrival. Meant to be grilled salmon or something, but was PINK and white edges, uh uh so I gave it a tea dye bath and it looks very much better for it. These knives are now 2 spring, the Crandall Cutlery and Stag ones I have were single-spring.

Commiserations about a stroke of insanity that saw you let that Galvanic Eureka go :eek::eek: Commander Catt must've been out of his tree that dayo_O I dithered (yes you COULD in them days even from afar in Europe) about taking up a Stag one...what was I thinking?????:D:poop:

Both these cutlery firms produce wonderful knives with genuine American heritage, I'm thankful I've been able to access a few.

Regards to all, Will
 
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Will Power said:
The CASE Half Whittler on the eggs: confession time, the scales are very attractive but the colour was not on arrival. Meant to be grilled salmon or something, but was PINK and white edges, uh uh so I gave it a tea dye bath and it looks very much better for it. These knives are now 2 spring, the Crandall Cutlery and Stag ones I have were single-spring.

Commiserations about a stroke of insanity that saw you let that Galvanic Eureka go :eek::eek: Commander Catt must've been out of his tree that dayo_O I dithered (yes you COULD in them days even from afar in Europe) about taking up a Stag one...what was I thinking?????:D:poop:
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Good call on the tea bath - it looks great ! :thumbsup:☺️ I have been known to do such things.😇 Out of my tree that day sums it up very nicely my friend !🤣
 
I would call this trio robust. 😊 The copperhead survived a near three foot drop onto a stone tile flooring, long ago, when one of my two cats decided to swat it off the kitchen counter. I was afraid to pick it up and look, but, after finding more courage, to my delight the bone did not crack and a bolster ding was easy enough to fix pretty easy.

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Primble said:
I would call this trio robust. 😊 The copperhead survived a near three foot drop onto a stone tile flooring, long ago, when one of my two cats decided to swat it off the kitchen counter. I was afraid to pick it up and look, but, after finding more courage, to my delight the bone did not crack and a bolster ding was easy enough to fix pretty easy.

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Those are beautiful! Mind if I ask how you go about repairing the bolster dings? I’ve got a couple that have dings. Dropped one trying to take a pic for BF 😂 the other fell out of my pocket getting out of my truck.
 
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mcc850 said:
Mind if I ask how you go about repairing the bolster dings? I’ve got a couple that have dings. Dropped one trying to take a pic for BF 😂 the other fell out of my pocket getting out of my truck.
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You can use 400 or 600 grit sandpaper and finish with a finer abrasive and/or Flitz metal polish, on a shiny bolster. I cut the paper in narrow strips and wrap it around a knife eraser block or small wooden block and follow the contour of the bolster. Don't just hand rub the spot or you'll get a flat spot. Forget any thoughts of using a Dremel type tool to save time, you will ruin your knife. ☺️ If the ding is really deep in the metal, you might just leave it alone and call it character.😊
 
Leslie Tomville said:
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AZCoyote AZCoyote , the caplifter works okay. It does slip a bit, but certainly gets the job done. I believe you could use it as a screw driver, but I have not tried it. I don’t know if it will be easy finding one however. Case did not seem to make a lot of them. I was lucky to find mine here on the Exchange, but it took me a while. The good news is that if you can find one, it will certainly cost a fraction of what a Beer Scout would cost. Have you considered one of the recent GEC 85 Crownlifters? I like that one every bit as much as the Beer Scout. They cost more than the Case but less than a Beer Scout, and they seem to be offered for sale quite often. My favorite is the Cherry Bone.
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Great advice. I really like my 85 crown lifters. 1CD1634C-EAE9-4F4D-B4C7-DF952DD31D77.jpeg
 
The dye job on that 6208 looks great.
The half whittler is currently my favorite pattern from Case.
The 62025-1/2 could change that, but it looks like theres only going to be 2 Carbon options.

Unless the pocket worn grey bone can be dyed to something more attractive, I expect I'll probably only own the 1 dark red 25-1/2.
 
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