Munk, I am in no way expert of any knife brand.
I own only one Carl Schlieper knife, and it was definitely produced during the last several years, because it looks exactly like the catalog pictures in the most recent knife catalogs.
My stockman also has the "Carl Schlieper, Hammered Forged, Solingen Germany + the Eye image" etched on the master blade. I think this is a standard feature of all the Eye brand knives.
The newest Eye brand knives might have less collector value than the oldest ("original") ones, but I doubt they have less (or significantly less) user value.
As I know, the old Solingen factories used to great extent the out-factory work of many individual small masters, who were manufacturing the different parts (scales, liners etc. of the knives). I dont know if this system still existed in post WW2 Germany, or still exists now.
I also doubt there is a decline in the quality of the steel, brass, nickel silver and handle materials used today, compared to the ones used at the time of the original Carl Schlieper factory.
I also doubt that the assembly quality, the heat treatment, the strength of the springs, pivots, pins, liners, scales or bolsters in our knives are significantly lesser, than the one of those times.
Sodbusters were never the high end products of the cutlery industry, but they were produced to be strong, dependable folders. Sodbusters are originally a German pattern, so I doubt that a German factory would produce a poor quality sodbuster.
Many German knives might look uglier than some pleasing American ones (right now I think about the Case knives of the last 10 years), but still can be of much greater user value.
German Eye knives are not of the same quality in terms of fit & finish as some of the Queen, Schatt & Morgan or Moore Maker knives, but I am sure they are as strong if not stronger than any of the afore mentioned ones.
I have a Queen yellow handled (i.e. a user) stockman, a nice Schatt & Morgan stockman, a nice Moore Maker stockman, and stockmans from Schrade (Old Timer), Camillus, Colonial and Case besides my Eye brand one.
The Schatt & Morgan is the nicest one, but the German Eye is the strongest.
As an overall design + user quality + aesthetics wise the Schatt & Morgan and the Moore Maker are on the top, the German Eye and the Camillus are close seconds.
Considering the price effectiveness, the winners are clearly the Camillus and the Schrade Old Timer.
The Colonial is the cheapest and ugliest, but very comfortable and of better user quality than the Case, which I consider an expensive display knife only.
Maybe I had some bad luck with Case, but all 3 knives I have owned from them, had poor fit & finish, oddly positioned blades (looking like partially closed when fully opened), weak springs and spacers, and were quite expensive. Maybe I have too high expectations.
In Europe German still means "quality".
Here on BFC there are many folks, who like very much the Bulldog Brand, the current Hen & Rooster
(which are definitely of lesser quality, than the H & R of the A.G. Russell or the older eras) slipjoints. Steve Dick (the editor of Tactical Knives and the author of the book "The working folding knife") thinks highly about the Buck Creek stockman knives.
All these brands are produced by the same German company, have the same "Solingen steels" (whatever they mean). BTW the stainless "Solingen Steel" IMHO is a better user steel than e.g. the "TruSharp" Case uses in their stainless knives.
The Big Bend Saddlery shop in Texas sells only two brands of working slipjoints: one is the Moore Maker (also from Texas) and the other is ... the Eye brand.
http://www.bigbendsaddlery.com/eknives.html
I think all this speaks a little bit about the quality of those Eye brand knives.
In my opinion your knives are indeed GOOD. They are first and foremost KNIVES, and to lesser extent collector or "display/show off" items. They do ALL what a knife has to do, which is not the case for many of the above mentioned Case knives for example.
So if I was you, I would not throw them in a bucket, but would carry and use them.
