GEC and Do You Really Like Them?

Smithhammer said:
and



I think these guiding comments sum things up quite well. Forums like this are essentially democratic - a topic of merit will tend to receive more responses, and stimulate more conversation, and thus float to the top. If it seems that there are a lot of GEC threads, then obviously its because the company is doing many things right, and appealing to many fans of traditional knives. Bemoaning that, if you're a fan of traditional knives and support their resurgence, seems a bit odd to me.



Brad, I don't want to be argumentative, but I'm curious - if GEC is supposedly "bootlegging," than what current manufacturer of traditional patterns isn't? Beyond that, I continue to see a wealth of knowledge being shared on this forum about older, "original" traditional knives - not just those by current manufacturers. It's one of the reasons I enjoy this forum so much. Yes, offerings from GEC get a fair bit of attention, but there is plenty of other information and eye candy and historical examples being shared on here, imo.
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I had a thought I was trying to express when I used the word bootlegging. It is highly inaccurate and I retract that comment. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
 
Anybody that has read any of my posts, knows I expect f&f to be good on a pocket knife I am spending $50 - $75 -$100 or more on. Maybe not perfection... but I do want and expect good f&f. Of the two Gec/Tidioute brand knives I own, my favorite is my French Kate for it's look and f&f. The other, a #12 Toothpick, is a nice knife as well. Just like the French Kate, it has a centered blade and a good walk and talk. It does show a little bit of chattering in the bone's finish (minor)... and it does show some gap in holding it up to light, but minor as well, imo. Both knives have no wobble in blade. Perfect?... no... but I do feel with my limited sampling, that they are a bit more careful than the other remaining trad knife firms in their attempt to keep flaws only on the minor and acceptable range (imo). Even a perfect diamond is not perfect... but it is on the closer end of that. That is Gec, I believe... they seem to have that "eye of the tiger" attitude... they want your business, they want to be the best, so they are trying their best to get that. They know it's a tough and maybe even dying market, and they want to keep in the game, and seem to have that fire within them. I see this in their work, their marketing, their service reputation. I agree with others here that have said that as long as they continue with their current attitude, they will likely continue as a hot item. But, just like Rocky, once he lost that eye of the tiger, he lost. I do not see that eye of the tiger diminishing any time soon ;-)
Btw, the above comes from a guy that actually prefers my limited sampling of Queen/Schatt & Morgan knives over my GEC made knives.... so I am not one to be a GEC only fan... but credit is due where it is due... Gec deserves credit :-)
 
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I like GEC because they make a good knife in a few patterns that I like.
 
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Hey, I don't mind buying knives from a large country on the other side of the planet! ;) :D
 
kdstrick said:
I'm a fan of many brands of knives, traditional and otherwise. But the one thing they all have in common is quality.

GEC is a great blend of form and function. Although not inexpensive, I consider them to be a value based on the quality of their knives.

But the popularity is beyond just those factors I believe. They update their website 'what's happening' daily, keeping their customers interested and engaged. Also, listing 'what's coming up next?' including interesting photos of the next knives to be made and photos of the manufacturing process. I find it all pretty interesting. One last factor I'll mention that adds to the popularity of the brand is that one can easily go to their website find just about any information a 'collector' could ask for including productions schedules and totals.

In short, they make being a customer very easy, interesting and even fun (for me anyway). But it deserves repeating that none of that would mean anything if the production quality of the knives were not held to high standards of quality by GEC.

.
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Absolutely, I go look at the websites for Case, Queen, Buck, Boker, Canal Street..... etc and I don't expect it to change. GEC it's always something new. I look at their site too much to be honest.
 
So... what other companies should I look for to match or beat GEC's quality, value,and selection? I've got a couple now and they're great. I just don't want to saturate my collection with a single company. The few Case and Queen knives I've seen seem to be a step down. Unless you're going to jump up to customs, where else can we go for premium slipjoints?
 
cheesemaster said:
So... what other companies should I look for to match or beat GEC's quality, value,and selection? I've got a couple now and they're great. I just don't want to saturate my collection with a single company. The few Case and Queen knives I've seen seem to be a step down. Unless you're going to jump up to customs, where else can we go for premium slipjoints?
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Both Case and Queen make knives as good as GEC. The Queens I have are as good. Case may let a few more that aren't finished as well get through. To be honest though, right now, my favorite knives are Case. This one being my favorite.

 
cheesemaster said:
So... what other companies should I look for to match or beat GEC's quality, value,and selection? I've got a couple now and they're great. I just don't want to saturate my collection with a single company. The few Case and Queen knives I've seen seem to be a step down. Unless you're going to jump up to customs, where else can we go for premium slipjoints?
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I guess Canal Street really is an underdog then......

IMGK1523_DxO.jpg
 
Woodrow F Call said:
Both Case and Queen make knives as good as GEC. The Queens I have are as good. Case may let a few more that aren't finished as well get through. To be honest though, right now, my favorite knives are Case.
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I've been very pleased with the quality of all my Case knives, and they've all come sharp and well ground, really can't fault them in that department. I only have one Queen in the Utility range, but it's a decent enough knife for the price. For a relatively small (compared to Case) company though, GEC produce lots of interesting-looking patterns, many of which appeal to me.
 
coaltrain said:
I guess Canal Street really is an underdog then......

IMGK1523_DxO.jpg
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If the poorly fit scales in that picture are par for the Canal Street course, I would say yes, they really are.
Nicely centered blade though, if your into that kind of thing.
 
cheesemaster said:
So... what other companies should I look for to match or beat GEC's quality, value,and selection? I've got a couple now and they're great. I just don't want to saturate my collection with a single company. The few Case and Queen knives I've seen seem to be a step down. Unless you're going to jump up to customs, where else can we go for premium slipjoints?
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Queen makes knives every bit the equal of GEC.

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The problem is their inconsistent QC. I fully expect them to improve in this area now that the company is owned by the knife enthusiastic Daniels family.

- Christian
 
kamagong said:
The problem is their inconsistent QC. I fully expect them to improve in this area now that the company is owned by the knife enthusiastic Daniels family.

- Christian
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Agreed. This issue isn't much different with a number of other traditional manufacturers, and it is one way in which GEC has really come to the forefront. While not every knife from GEC is flawless, their consistency is much higher than I've seen with current production elsewhere (custom makers aside, of course).

There is much promise for Queen to 'bounce back' under new ownership and direction.
 
Jack Black said:
I've been very pleased with the quality of all my Case knives, and they've all come sharp and well ground, really can't fault them in that department. I only have one Queen in the Utility range, but it's a decent enough knife for the price. For a relatively small (compared to Case) company though, GEC produce lots of interesting-looking patterns, many of which appeal to me.
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I've passed on a few new Case knives due to F&F issues. I've sent a couple of Case knives in. I just got back a Medium Stockman that had the pen blade so tight, I felt it was unsafe. It was also off-center and had gaps in the liners.

I've sent back one GEC too.

Both companies have been great in addressing issues.

IMO, they (Case, Queen, GEC, Buck, Canal Street, etc) are like Baskin Robbins Ice Cream..... a whole bunch of different flavors, but they are all ICE CREAM!!!! :)
 
Woodrow F Call said:
......IMO, they (Case, Queen, GEC, Buck, Canal Street, etc) are like Baskin Robbins Ice Cream..... a whole bunch of different flavors, but they are all ICE CREAM!!!! :)
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Okay, best quote of the day! Probably the best response yet! Thanks for that, you have probably boiled it down to its most salient point. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
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