GEC - too many choices!

I would love to see someone have a guide assembled that showed the various closed lengths of the GEC models. For me it was trial and error. A picture doesn't really provide the perspective I was looking for. I have a number of GEC's now that I have purchased in the last couple of years. Bought more of them than any other knife brand since discovering them. To think, I told GEC at a show that they were just expensive "case slippies".... I still chuckle about that, but I have made up for it with purchases.

Last year's Forum knife would be a great one to collect. GEC made some shortly after the forum knife came out using the same pattern but with different scales. Wish I would have bought one in stag, but such is life...

I was quite captivated with the Sunfish pattern. I like it a lot and it is quite the pocketful. Better in a belt pouch.

With GEC, I started with Trappers..... still going mostly with Trappers which are medium to large. Have a few smaller ones... generally spontaneous buys at knife shops just because they were there and I had money to spend.

Buy what grabs you.... then buy another one that grabs you when you're ready.
 
Stan, as a recent addict myself, my only suggestion is to pace yourself a bit. I know that's hard when you see only one left of a discontinued pattern and you're worried you'll never have a chance at it again. But you know, there's always something new coming out too, plus there's some pretty good bargains for both still-new and gently-used knives in the Exchange forum here.

One thing I have noticed is that as I look through the GEC patterns and handle styles that there are many that on first look just don't appeal to me. But then I'll come back and look at them again in a month and there will be knives I didn't like that have started to grow on me.

One thing to consider as you start collecting knives is a big one - are you buying for display and/or later resale, in which case you would be going more for looks, rarity, and perceived future demand? Or do you want to spend some time with them in your pocket, sharpening, carrying, and using them? In which case you'll need to think about the functionality, pocketability, and suitability to your tasks.

There's always a blend of that - sometimes what was going to be a safe queen becomes a carry knife, or vice versa. It's up to you to decide how you want to go with this, and to some extent your budget (actual or self-imposed) will be a factor. I know if I won the lottery and could afford to buy out everything in a dealer's store, that would take the fun out of planning for that next purchase and weighing whether I should jump on something now or wait in case there's something even better that comes out later.

My personal suggestion is to start out with knives you think you might want to carry and use. With an eye to different sizes or patterns that fit with your lifestyle options. For me that means at a minimum, something under 3" for that "drop in the jeans watch pocket and forget about it" daily carry. Just to always have something there. Then there's the middle-sized, 3.5" - 3.75" daily workhorse, usually a 2 or 3 blade model. That's what pretty much goes in my back pocket along side my wallet (today its a Victorinox Electrician, usually it's a Case Small Texas Jack). Then the third area is the bigger knife, for bigger jobs, outdoor hiking, or times when you just don't mind carrying a bigger folder. 4" to 5" range. Maybe in your back pocket, or a pocket sheath, or even a belt sheath. Choice is yours.

So that's my "starter 3" recommendation: small, medium, and large. Yours might be totally different. You might want to stay in a particular size range (like 3.5") and try out different patterns (equal ended, swell-ended, serpentine, dogleg, gunstock). Maybe you like an equal-ended frame but want to try out 1, 2, and 3 blade combos in the same frame. Or maybe you want ONLY 3-blade knives, but want one in each offered pattern.

The good thing about all the choices is that none of them are wrong, and they are all yours to make.
 
I started looking for a whittling knife with a wharncliffe blade so I bought a case Sway back Jack. Love it but wanted something a little longer as I started googling I came across the GEC courthouse whittler. It is a split back design three blades and just a little wider than a single blade knife. Once I decided I wanted that style I started looking for it on all the dealers sites I found only two and went with one on collector knives. What I found there was tons of pics of knives and could compare. checking out the forums leaded a lot from these guys. I then bought two spear point barlow's Gec's of course. mosty because these where the first barlows I ever liked the looks of. Buying those two because I couldn't decide between one or two blades started my slipper slope of collecting / using. After stepping back and looking at my collection I decided I like knives between 3" to 3-3/4" blades mostly sunken in the handles and unique color, and of course high carbon blades. I've since baought a Geppetto Whittler in Ivory and a conductor whittler both split backs. I like the extra craftsmanship. You might see if there are any dealers nearby and see if they'll let you come by and look. I did that. But I've found With Gec If it looks good go for it the craftsmanship is there.
 
22-rimfire - While looking at all the pics is great, like you say it's hard to get an actual perspective. While on the pics subject, I've found cruising through the "What Traditional are you totin' today?" thread and the like really give me a better perspective as a lot of times the poster is including the knife with some other familiar objects. Also as a quick note as photography has been my main hobby most of my life, I am really impressed with the overall quality of the images and how folks "pose" their knives for their pics.

John (jc57) - an excellent post which really is helping me put everything in perspective. And you are correct in saying I need to slow down a little. Of course I am kind of infatuated with all this right now as it is all new but I do hold myself back some and walk away from it all.

JSCHENK - no dealers around here, but I am planning to visit the GEC factory next week if everything holds out for me. I really need to see all these knives in person to get a handle of what I really like.

~Stan~
 
I started as a dealer right from the very beginning, but I wasn't a fan. They were obviously built very well, but I just couldn't get past the springs (because I use them, not collect them). About a year later, when they started with some softer springs, I started falling in love. Now they are, hands down, my favorite traditionals. :)
 
Welcome. I'm also new to the traditional game, although I have a decent assortment of more modern knives. My first (and thus far only) GEC is a #48 "slim dog leg" trapper with crushed sea-shell handle covers. I'd recommend a #48 of some type -- very elegant and both the skinner and spey blades are quite useful and complementary.

You may find out that being limited to one knife a month or so is not such a bad thing. In my experience, I've been less able to appreciate my knives when they are acquired in rapid succession... my mind can only seem to fixate on one thing at a time. YMMV
 
22-rimfire said:
Last year's Forum knife would be a great one to collect. GEC made some shortly after the forum knife came out using the same pattern but with different scales. Wish I would have bought one in stag, but such is life...
Click to expand...

Like this one?

IMAG04892.jpg
 
Since I have finally recieved my first GEC today - actually my first traditional knife - I am now trying to zero in a little bit more on what I like.

I now have a #21 Toothpick (single blade) in baracote wood. As I've said before, I tend to learn toward the woods as far as handle materials.

Now comes the opening/closing of these knives with my weak fingers and hands (RA). The first thing I did was work the opening and closing of the knife to see if I could do it without too much effort. I have been looking at single blade knives since I feel it will be much easier to get a grip on both sides of the blade to open it. I would find that having to actually use my thumbnail would be very difficult (working with a multi-tool). So far so good! The knife is stiff, but within my ability to use it. I have some days that are much worse than others as far as my fingers working, and today is a middle-of-the-road day.

So, with that said, I would not want any knives with a pull any harder than the #21 for sure. And, as I said, I can actually grab the blade with my thumb and forefinger (pinch) to open it. So besides the #85 easy open liner lock which was suggested to me in another thread (on my wish list!), I am now going to look for other models that are single blade, have enough blade exposed when closed to pinch to open, and no more pull than this #21. Any suggestions of models to look at with this criteria would be most helpful - I need to zone in on a couple models since as my thread title says - "too many choices"!

Oh and by the way - I just love the toothpick! So classy and also like the nice slim blade.
 
To this day, I can hardly open my first GEC knife. I sometimes want to reach for a needle nosed pliers to open it... It's a real nail braker. Keeping to my usual buying approach, my first was a Trapper pattern... now I have four or five that are essentially trappers. I prefer the larger patterns. I have a Ben Hogan (#65) in burnt stag that is really a nice elegant pocket knife. Some might consider it a bit long for the pocket at 4.5" closed length, but it is very slim.
 
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