Case vs GEC

Modoc ED said:
Queen is so far down the scuppers these days that I'd have to pinch my nose and put on a pair of rubber gloves before I'd touch their current models. Canal Street is a hit one day and a miss the next.
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The Schatt and Morgan File Wire knives have been good to me, made by Queen. And the Heritage knife I bought was very good, not quite Great Eastern good, but not in a completely different league either. The other Queen I've purchased recently is one of their bone fixed blades, and it's wonderful.
 
What if the Case knife was a high-end Bose Collaboration?

Would that sway things? (I have never handled one)
 
Hey Gov,

I mentioned a collab knife in my first post. They rock IMO. But they you are comparing 200-500$ knives to sub 200 dollar knives.

My collab knife is one of my favorite knives. I could go on and on about little thing I like about it. The only downside I can think of is it seems the stainless for the shields and bolsters is soft. It almost seems to scratch and ding easier than the nickel silver boltsers I'm used to (but I doubt that's possible).

I have no idea and I am NOT criticising the Case. Its one knife I would never let go of.

Kevin
 
Bob W said:
The Schatt and Morgan File Wire knives have been good to me, made by Queen. And the Heritage knife I bought was very good, not quite Great Eastern good, but not in a completely different league either. The other Queen I've purchased recently is one of their bone fixed blades, and it's wonderful.
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I have a couple/three Queen knives that are pre-2007 that are very good knives with good fit and finish. Also, I have several Schatt & Morgan knives pre-2008 that are A-one, great, knives. I even have a couple Schatt & Morgan knives (a stockman and a trapper) that were made in 2009 that are perfect in all areas but they were made as SFOs for a dealer. However, overall, Queen/Schatt & Morgan has for my .02¢ been going down hill for some time.

Glad to hear - errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr read that your experiences of late with Queen have been more positive than mine.
 
Thanks Kevin.

I am only curious because of lack of experience. I have only ever handled a few older Case knives, and never a collaboration knife.

I do have some Case knives that I really like, but if I had to pick absolute favorites, they would probably be GEC as well.

-Max
 
Your welcome Max. I only have one collab but mine is perfect. I hear most are.

I love the grinds Case does on the collab knives as well. Very thin hollow ground primary grinds. I would put them right there with CRK for how impressed I was by the workmanship.
 
If I have $35 to $40 in my pocket, then Case
If I have $80 to $100 in my pocket, then do I want to spend it on one GEC knife?

No question the F&F of GEC is much higher, but are they worth double the price?
 
Neeman, that would require a purely subjective answer.

To offer just that, I will say yes very much worth every penny.
 
Probably a no frills bone handled 73 trapper.

No northfield, no swedges, no fancy bolsters. You can even find EDC rated knives discounted.

Lately I have been leaning towards the no frills GEC's in ebony.
 
neeman said:
If I have $35 to $40 in my pocket, then Case
If I have $80 to $100 in my pocket, then do I want to spend it on one GEC knife?

No question the F&F of GEC is much higher, but are they worth double the price?
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Yes.
And the price difference might not be as much as you think. A bone-handled Case slim trapper runs almost $50, more for some variations. You can buy a Great Eastern Slimline Trapper for only $75.

The question I submit, is a Bose-Case worth $300-$350 when you can get a super-nice Great Eastern for only $100? Not worth it to me.
 
Bob W said:
Yes.
And the price difference might not be as much as you think. A bone-handled Case slim trapper runs almost $50, more for some variations. You can buy a Great Eastern Slimline Trapper for only $75.

The question I submit, is a Bose-Case worth $300-$350 when you can get a super-nice Great Eastern for only $100? Not worth it to me.
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My answer Bob, to this question is a flat no. Alright, I only have one Collab knife, but I'm in no hurry for another one due to issues. Let's compare the Norfolk with a GEC White Owl a Conductor or a 26 Pocket Sunfish. Why? These are all single-spring knives. NONE of the GEC knives have any gaps when shown sunlight or even strong electric light. None of them have a sunken spring on closed giving raised edges, none of them have shields proud of the scales or sharp edged bolsters where the jigging has not been radiused. None of them have slight blade-rub (hard on a single spring) None of them have mismatched scales (inlcuding the Primitive Bone example). None of them cost me 300 USD, in fact, all three cost less than this.

Certainly the GECs have different or 'lesser' steels 1095 as opp to 154 CM. They have brass liners not stainless, they have brass pins- the Norfolk weirdly sports one centre brass pin and 2 stainless ones...

Sure, I've been told I can send it back (from overseas....) but, since they don't make these anymore it would require a replacement or a total re-build. But, can that really be done? Don't know. Yes, it's only one example, it may be a rogue but at that cost it should not be allowed out and I know there are many pleased owners, I'm glad of that. But for me, no contest. Ironically, the CASE SWJ costing far less is a beautifully made knife and goes head to head with GEC.

Thanks, Will
 
I'm just glad I can get both, and from a Pennsylvania company to boot! Overall I like my GEC's a tad better, but my BSA shield Case knives are my favorites. The hard part was finding and affording all of them.

I also like smaller knives, and except for the #25/26, many of the GEC patterns tend to run bigger than I like to carry. The 56/57 and 66 are a great mid size but the 4+ inch models are like a brick in my pocket.

When GEC makes a Scout pattern and a Peanut then maybe they will be the overall winner in my collection :D
 
FarmKid said:
I'd like to put a case yellow trapper in cv against a GEC 73. I've used a case trapper to cut and pry everything. One time I cut barbed wire by hitting the back of the blade with a hammer, scraped battery posts, stripped wire, cut small trees out of fence rows, dug with it, bout anything and the knife is still going.
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I like GEC for overall craftsmanship but will lean harder and put a Case through its paces as a work knife, more than a GEC. Case, Buck and Queen all work harder than any GEC I own. Anyone know of or seen a worn, well worked GEC?

IMHO The fancy knife is a fair weather tool and when the sky's turn gray the lesser knives come out to cut through the storm of unfavorable conditions, dirt, heck and high water/snow/ice.
 
FarmKid said:
Ok guys, what would be GEC basic knife? The equivalent to a case yellow?
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IMO a Schrade Fire & Ice trapper while they last. Cost wise they're actually pretty close.
Actual materials and performance wise a standard 73. Or to toss yet another pattern in there, maybe a Templar.
 
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I think that case is the working mans knife now. Fifty years ago they where a ton of great us knife companies and case then is what GEC is now. It's no excuse now for case to b slacking a lil but I think for under 35$ look what a guy can get for a great working knife. Me personally knives 75$ and up are knives u put up or collect. I wouldn't dare put a GEC through what I put a knife through. There isn't competition in the us knife companies. Buck leans more toward hunting and boker has went tatical, German eyes is up there with GEC on price. A guy wanting to spend 40$ on a knife is going to lean more toward cases. Because of their reputation they are on top. I think these new us knife companies is good competition for case.
 
I agree with the majority here who say the GEC is better from the point of view of build quality, and I appreciate that they provide traditional, partly hand-made knives without any compromises and cost cutting of modern manufacturing. Nevertheless, I find myself often drawn to the look of the case knives, the patterns are sleeker, in comparison, the GEC patterns produced thus far often have a stubby sausage-like aesthetic. I would like to see them trying smaller patterns, mini-trappers, or peanuts etc.
 
The Case Trapper (3207) I bought at Ace Hardware last week is as good as it gets IMO. Blades centered, no gaps etc. $ 37 and I got to pick it out myself as compared to buying off the net. The last two Cases I bought last year were also very good. All CV blades. Don't have a GEC yet but will probably get one of the plain ones later. I tend to rate a knife by how well it sharpens up and then how well does it cut. Maybe my standards aren't that high.
 
I love both Case and GEC. I have much more experience with Case as I only have 5 GEC's. All 5 GEC's were purchased within the last 3 weeks. With that disclaimer out of the way, the blade snap and liner gaps are on a whole better on my Cases than on my few GEC's. Two of my 5 GEC's however are White Owl's, which I understand has about the least amount of blade snap of their models. I love the look and feel however of my GEC's. There is a feel about them that is hard to describe. Perhaps it is as many here have said, they feel like a throwback to 60's era knives. I have about 50 Case knives, so going forward if I expand my slippie collection it will probably be via the GEC route. I do have a GEC snakewood congress on it's way to me as we speak.....
 
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