GEC question....

[arizonaranchman]

Thanks, I am sending an email to the vendor first to see what they say. I watched a youtube video that went over a guy's experience with gec customer service. While they went above and beyond to solve the issue it took a long time so I'm going to see what the vendor says first.

Yes it takes a few weeks usually, but they'll get it fixed for you.

 

[akadave2]

This run of 72's were only 25 knives in each handle material. None serialized. GEC only serializes knives in runs of 50 or more. If it's a 50 knife run, they generally serialize 25 knives. Only the Serialized knives have a Certificate of Authenticity.

As a side note, isnt it amazing that they can do so small a run and not make a big deal out of it but if another manufacturer does a 250 knife up to a 3000 knife run they fall all over themselves with advertising about how "exclusive" the knife is.

Sorry for the tangent.

 

[knifeswapper]

As a side note, isnt it amazing that they can do so small a run and not make a big deal out of it but if another manufacturer does a 250 knife up to a 3000 knife run they fall all over themselves with advertising about how "exclusive" the knife is.

Sorry for the tangent.

Better yet, the Case annual "Limited Edition" is one of the bigger runs they make all year.

 

[rma100]

Better yet, the Case annual "Limited Edition" is one of the bigger runs they make all year.

I was thinking about that the other day. I wonder how long and how many different patterns and handles it takes GEC to make 3000 knives?

 

[knifeswapper]

I have an interesting 1 of 5 non-serialized Cuban muskrats in antique green jigged bone from 2007,
of which they made 125 serialized knives.

Only time will tell if it commands a higher price.

And if it does we'll all buff off our serial numbers and etch

I have seen some that would advertise the non-serialized in a run of 50 serialized + 5 non-serialized as "Only 5 made". Simply an ethics issue.

Many times the factory uses parts on hand to decide how many they will make, and many times they gauge distributor demand. Unless they are making 50 or more of a variant, they will not serialize them. And generally they serialize the first 25. So, as a rule, there are at least as many non-serialized as serialized in a run. Also, the serial number has somewhat lost its glimmer and most will just pocket the extra money. Stag and some other special situations change this a little; but this has been a factory policy for a while.

Now, the one exception to the value of non-serialized was the 2006 models. In 2006 they did not start the serialization over when they changed slabs. So, if they made 400 Tidioute #73 models, they may have been (don't have the actual breakdown) serial #2-60 = Bocote, #61-130 = Chestnut bone, etc. And once they finished all 400 planned knives if there were more Tidioute blades and frames they would finish them out. But this number was very small and generally only one slab choice as they would go on the first ones until out. So, out of 1400+ knives, there were probably less than 2 dozen non-serialized (and no difference in price). So, very quickly some of the savvy collectors picked these up along with a copy of the factory invoice showing non-serialized delivered to that distributor. So in 2006 models you had only the #73 and #23 frames, in each the Northfield and Tidioute brands. So only 4 distinct serialized runs.

In 2007 they planned to serialize them all as well, but they had overruns sometime in more than one slab. So the non-serialized in 2007 were a bit more common. But without a factory invoice to a distributor and your invoice from the distributor both stating a non-serialized it seems somewhat useless. As someone with a little experience with a buffer could turn a serialized into a non-serialized relatively quickly. The high dollar writings of Chris Tucker on the label then would be the only tale-tell sign.

 

[knifeswapper]

I was thinking about that the other day. I wonder how long and how many different patterns and handles it takes GEC to make 3000 knives?

These days I bet the capacity is way more than the actual production

If you figure they generally have 8 patterns in the limited edition and they make 3000 of each; they are moving 24,000 knives just in limited edition. But something tells me they probably make 500-1000 sets and then wait to insure demand will require another run or two or three. On top of that they usually make 250 "Mint" sets with fancy bolsters and serial numbers.

Either way, they move a lot of knives.

 

[338375]

This run of 72's were only 25 knives in each handle material. None serialized. GEC only serializes knives in runs of 50 or more. If it's a 50 knife run, they generally serialize 25 knives. Only the Serialized knives have a Certificate of Authenticity.

Some of the earlier serialized knives were made in larger quantities. Typically what they do is make the serialized first, and run the non-serialized with the materials remaining. Very often there is not enough handle material to make the full run of non-serialized knives. Therefore, typically, the non-serialized are actually less in quantity produced.

Thanks for the info. It is interesting to learn how much different GEC is, compared to the bigger companies. Besides the obvious quality of the knives, I like the fact that they aren't pumping out hundreds of thousands of a pattern.

 

[black mamba]

Even among 2007 knives, I have a Cuban with serial #186, and you look up their production numbers on the website and they only made 71 of them.
It's because of the consecutive serial numbers throughout the whole 250 piece run.

On run sizes, when visiting the "big blue roof" they have certificates on the wall of their sales being the largest of any Case dealer. If I recall correctly, back in the 80s or 90s they regularly reached 8 or 900,000 knives sold, and now the number is way less than half of that.