GEC inflation

Boker and Viper make very nice slipjoints which can be obtained for considerably less than GEC knives on the secondary market - which I suggest is where the majority of folks are forced to obtain theirs. Rough Ryder Reserves are a step up from the regular line, and IMO it's hard to justify paying $200 more in the secondary market for a GEC from a practicality standpoint.

At some level, even SAK pocket knives can be considered as alternatives - if we are just talking about user knives.

When you get into a discussion of knives as collectibles . . . if you collect GEC knives, nothing is ever going to be an alternative for you . . . kind of by definition.

I read folks posting about GEC knives being custom quality . . . uh, no - unless we're talking one of the many crappy custom makers out there. I own and have owned many custom slipjoints by many top custom makers . . . Tony Bose, Reese Bose, Bill Ruple, Joe Chamblin, Ryu Kamamura, Gene Shadley, etc. GEC fit and finish has never approached what these guys regularly achieve. People who post that must have never owned a custom knife from one of these makers. Not denigrating GEC knives - they are amazing at their retail price . . . which I think an increasingly small percentage of buyers pay. But for more than $200 a pop on the secondary market, maybe not as much.

Good news is that GEC secondary prices are now approaching Case Bose knives. I'm sure there are some lemons, but all of the Case Bose knives I own and have owned have exhibited considerably better fit and finish than any of my many GEC knives. They actually are very nearly at the level of the custom makers mentioned above.

The way things are going, one may soon be able to get a custom knife from a maker like Todd Davison for what folks ask for a GEC knife in the secondary market.

So I think we may be reaching a practical ceiling for GEC secondary market prices. However, again, that will have zero bearing on prices which are driven not by practicality, but driven simply by "I collect GECs!"
 
The Amazing Virginian said:
Boker and Viper make very nice slipjoints which can be obtained for considerably less than GEC knives on the secondary market - which I suggest is where the majority of folks are forced to obtain theirs. Rough Ryder Reserves are a step up from the regular line, and IMO it's hard to justify paying $200 more in the secondary market for a GEC from a practicality standpoint.

At some level, even SAK pocket knives can be considered as alternatives - if we are just talking about user knives.

When you get into a discussion of knives as collectibles . . . if you collect GEC knives, nothing is ever going to be an alternative for you . . . kind of by definition.

I read folks posting about GEC knives being custom quality . . . uh, no - unless we're talking one of the many crappy custom makers out there. I own and have owned many custom slipjoints by many top custom makers . . . Tony Bose, Reese Bose, Bill Ruple, Joe Chamblin, Ryu Kamamura, Gene Shadley, etc. GEC fit and finish has never approached what these guys regularly achieve. People who post that must have never owned a custom knife from one of these makers. Not denigrating GEC knives - they are amazing at their retail price . . . which I think an increasingly small percentage of buyers pay. But for more than $200 a pop on the secondary market, maybe not as much.

Good news is that GEC secondary prices are now approaching Case Bose knives. I'm sure there are some lemons, but all of the Case Bose knives I own and have owned have exhibited considerably better fit and finish than any of my many GEC knives. They actually are very nearly at the level of the custom makers mentioned above.

The way things are going, one may soon be able to get a custom knife from a maker like Todd Davison for what folks ask for a GEC knife in the secondary market.

So I think we may be reaching a practical ceiling for GEC secondary market prices. However, again, that will have zero bearing on prices which are driven not by practicality, but driven simply by "I collect GECs!"
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I understand and agree with some of your mentality, but some of your examples are on a totally different playing field. I own a Tony Bose, a couple Chamblin's, a Shadley, and a few other top makers. A GEC will never be them. That said, I will never put them in my pocket and EDC them. I do with GEC's. You need to be well heeled to build a substantial collection of the aforementioned makers. A person could build a descent collection of GEC's for the cost of one Bose. There are a lot of hand operations that go into GEC's. I feel you get 80-90% of the final quality at 10-20% of the cost of a high quality custom.

GEC continues to consistently produce high quality traditional's with a variety of desirable materials. I think that's why people actively collect them. I agree the secondary market prices are getting wonky, but to each their own.

Try finding a mint Tony Bose in a popular pattern for under 3-4K nowadays. Just my own take on it.
 
The Amazing Virginian said:
I read folks posting about GEC knives being custom quality . . . uh, no - unless we're talking one of the many crappy custom makers out there. I own and have owned many custom slipjoints by many top custom makers . . . Tony Bose, Reese Bose, Bill Ruple, Joe Chamblin, Ryu Kamamura, Gene Shadley, etc. GEC fit and finish has never approached what these guys regularly achieve. People who post that must have never owned a custom knife from one of these makers. Not denigrating GEC knives - they are amazing at their retail price . . . which I think an increasingly small percentage of buyers pay. But for more than $200 a pop on the secondary market, maybe not as much.
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These are excellent points. I've never handled a custom slipjoint but even I can tell, strictly from pictures, that it is a whole separate level from GEC. Plus, one can follow a few of the custom makers on Instagram and see some of their processes - the work and attention to detail are worlds beyond that of a GEC.

Now, I love GECs, I've been collecting and using them for a number of years now but I've never fooled myself into thinking that these are custom made knives. Very well made with lots of hand work, yes, but custom level, no. I've long contended that the closer GEC pricing gets to that ceiling you mentioned, the less sense it makes for me to continue buying them - the cost to value ratio is becoming increasingly skewed in a less favorable fashion. At that point, it will be time to start seriously seeking knives from the number of notable makers out there instead.

Actually, I might already be at that point...
 
Pàdruig said:
These are excellent points. I've never handled a custom slipjoint but even I can tell, strictly from pictures, that it is a whole separate level from GEC. Plus, one can follow a few of the custom makers on Instagram and see some of their processes - the work and attention to detail are worlds beyond that of a GEC.

Now, I love GECs, I've been collecting and using them for a number of years now but I've never fooled myself into thinking that these are custom made knives. Very well made with lots of hand work, yes, but custom level, no. I've long contended that the closer GEC pricing gets to that ceiling you mentioned, the less sense it makes for me to continue buying them - the cost to value ratio is becoming increasingly skewed in a less favorable fashion. At that point, it will be time to start seriously seeking knives from the number of notable makers out there instead.

Actually, I might already be at that point...
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Honestly, A good custom will exude a feel and quality no production knife can match, at least in the traditional genre. I just can't let a 5 figure knife get buggered up from use. I have a couple I bought 20 years ago from a maker I really liked and got close to for far less than they should have cost. I still edc them in the mix. ATS-34, stag, file work on the spring, all the right ingredients for me. I sent them back a couple times over the years and had them spruced up at no cost.

Just do your research and find a makers work you really like. It hurts a lot worse when you make a mistake on a 5 figure knife. Aside from the pride of ownership, the right makers works will increase in value over the years.
 
The Amazing Virginian said:
I read folks posting about GEC knives being custom quality . . . uh, no - unless we're talking one of the many crappy custom makers out there. I own and have owned many custom slipjoints by many top custom makers . . . Tony Bose, Reese Bose, Bill Ruple, Joe Chamblin, Ryu Kamamura, Gene Shadley, etc. GEC fit and finish has never approached what these guys regularly achieve. People who post that must have never owned a custom knife from one of these makers. Not denigrating GEC knives - they are amazing at their retail price . . . which I think an increasingly small percentage of buyers pay. But for more than $200 a pop on the secondary market, maybe not as much.
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Absolute nonsense, and I call "codswallop" when I see it. GEC has excellent quality and at retail prices their knives are an unbeatable value. But they aren't at the level of the better custom makers. I don't even own knives from the masters like Bose or Shadley, just a few pieces from folks I'd describe as expert cutlers (i.e., Bret Dowell, Kerry Hampton, Hiroaki Ohta) and GECs aren't in the same league.
 
I suppose maybe we shouldn't compare GEC's with custom knives in this forum. Bill Howard and GEC aren't trying to rival customs, but re-create the patterns and quality of the pocket knives from the golden age of cutlery. This they do very well.

A 20's or 30's Case or Remington won't compare with many modern traditional customs of today either.
 
stagmeister said:
A 20's or 30's Case or Remington won't compare with many modern traditional customs of today either.
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The folks who appreciate a 20s or 30s Case or Remington know enough to enjoy and accept it for what it is rather than claiming something it isn't.
 
So, not all of this, but definitely some of it is fueled by false eBay completed sales data.
I thought this was happening and I tested it myself like 6 months or more ago.
It's kind of hilarious, but GEC eBay trolls are actually causing the price inflation, to a degree.

Here's how it goes:
I put up a linen 71 at a stupid price ($399) ala other GECs I saw priced similarly on clear flipper profiles (KnifeShopUSA for example).
I get a number of insulting messages and/or low ball (even for a reasonably priced 71) offers from a group of eBay buyers.
From some of the messages, I gathered they were big enough knife enthusiasts that some have to be either members here or the FB groups.
Eventually, the knife "sells" to one of those lovely folks trolling the post.
They, of course, don't pay, and there is the requisite pain the a$$ stuff to deal with over the course of a week or so with eBay to get that squared away.
But... it records and shows up in the recently SOLD filter as having been sold as if it was a real sale.
Even weeks and months later.
(I've had others since confirm to me that they've also had issue with non payment trolls on eBay for GEC, even on not insanely inflated priced ones.)

So, the trolling of the ridiculously priced posts, and the purchase with no intent to pay in order to show up the flippers, is basically a self own.
Because the data is causes LOOKS like a real sale to people on the outside.
And the prices go up.
And the trolls wonder how this all is happening.
And I'd bet my GEC collection that some of these trolls causing this are members here that think they are very clever boys.
 
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Jake Dudley said:
Hopefully it’s not the same guy that runs up auctions and never pays. That is one of the reasons why people think they can get $500+ for a GEC. People look at sold auction prices and think that’s the current value of the knife. Not realizing no one actually paid that price.
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Coyja said:
So, not all of this, but definitely some of it is fueled by false eBay completed sales data.
I thought this was happening and I tested it myself like 6 months or more ago.
It's kind of hilarious, but GEC eBay trolls are actually causing the price inflation, to a degree.

Here's how it goes:
I put up a linen 71 at a stupid price ($399) ala other GECs I saw priced similarly on clear flipper profiles (KnifeShopUSA for example).
I get a number of insulting messages and/or low ball (even for a reasonably priced 71) offers from a group of eBay buyers.
From some of the messages, I gathers they were big enough knife enthusiasts that some have to be either members here or the FB groups.
Eventually, the knife "sells" to one of those lovely folks trolling the post.
They, of course, don't pay, and there is the requisite pain the a$$ stuff to deal with over the course of a week or two with eBay to get that squared away.
But... it records and shows up in the recently SOLD filter as having been sold as if it was a real sale.
Even weeks and months later.

So, the trolling of the ridiculously priced posts, and the purchase with no intent to pay in order to show up the flippers, is basically a self own.
Because the data is causes LOOKS like a real sale to people on the outside.
And the prices go up.
And the trolls wonder how this all is happening.
And I'd bet my GEC collection that some of these trolls causing this are members here that think they are very clever boys.
Click to expand...
Exactly! I mentioned this in the BF knife thread. Someone said they knew a person with a fake eBay account who was planning on “buying” all the forum knives that show up. 🤦🏻‍♂️
 
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Jake Dudley said:
Exactly! I mentioned this in the BF knife thread. Someone said they knew a person with a fake eBay account who was planning on “buying” all the forum knives that show up. 🤦🏻‍♂️
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Yep, and I've had 3-4 other people with Ebay profiles and sales (that weren't necessarily crazy inflated) also say they've had issues with non payments from trolls, too.
It's probably some guys that think they are white knights for the GEC cause, but actually shooting everyone in the foot.
It's so ironically perfect.
 
Coyja said:
So, not all of this, but definitely some of it is fueled by false eBay completed sales data.
I thought this was happening and I tested it myself like 6 months or more ago.
It's kind of hilarious, but GEC eBay trolls are actually causing the price inflation, to a degree.

Here's how it goes:
I put up a linen 71 at a stupid price ($399) ala other GECs I saw priced similarly on clear flipper profiles (KnifeShopUSA for example).
I get a number of insulting messages and/or low ball (even for a reasonably priced 71) offers from a group of eBay buyers.
From some of the messages, I gathered they were big enough knife enthusiasts that some have to be either members here or the FB groups.
Eventually, the knife "sells" to one of those lovely folks trolling the post.
They, of course, don't pay, and there is the requisite pain the a$$ stuff to deal with over the course of a week or so with eBay to get that squared away.
But... it records and shows up in the recently SOLD filter as having been sold as if it was a real sale.
Even weeks and months later.
(I've had others since confirm to me that they've also had issue with non payment trolls on eBay for GEC, even on not insanely inflated priced ones.)

So, the trolling of the ridiculously priced posts, and the purchase with no intent to pay in order to show up the flippers, is basically a self own.
Because the data is causes LOOKS like a real sale to people on the outside.
And the prices go up.
And the trolls wonder how this all is happening.
And I'd bet my GEC collection that some of these trolls causing this are members here that think they are very clever boys.
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I am pretty sure KnifeShopUsa browses the traditional sale forum. Just the other day I noticed a sangria coyote listed on their shop and knew I saw one sell here not too long ago. Decide to dig up the post and, what do you know, the other two knives that were on the sales thread are also on the eBay shop, one of the other knives being a bit rare like the coyote.
Maybe chance, but it’s also odd there is no public claim of those knives.
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KnifeandEasy KnifeandEasy No doubt.
I had an 85 salmon up on eBay recently (eventually traded with someone on FB) and I got some offers on it from him, that were reasonable, but once I saw who it was I just declined lol. I already have him blocked on FB and here.
 
Jake Dudley said:
mrknife mrknife do you disagree?
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there are certain bad actors at play here thats ruining gec collecting for every one. Ive been around for some years and have observed the market for some time. It seems now that there are folks whod buy everything and just to force trades and if they cant force trades, theyll flip it. For example, the 71 is generally around maybe $60-69 from dealers. But suddenly, its always $95-100 after they cant trade it for any thing. I remember seeing this for the 89 fruit knife, which practically didnt do well, then the 83s which folks snagged up, and now looking to dump back. Now it has happened to the 86s, some folks end up with many multiples while others can't even get their hands on one. Its in the for sale section for everyone to see, and its no secret who sold what at what price. Some folks just grabbed them and tack on a $80-$100 sale price for profit changing the "going rate" for these knives. I know I can't do anything individually to stop this, but if folks stop paying the inflated prices, then hopefully the practice will slow down. All of this happens in the facebook knife groups and even here.
 
I sold the 3 that are on the listing for a lump sum price for much less than that. This is not my eBay listing though FYI I’d be a bit surprised if those really sell for that. They didn’t sell for nearly a week at the lower price I had them listed.
 
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