Get out the tar and feathers...

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Jakeywax31 said:
Just one point. I can't understand your dislike for the company. So people's actions on the secondary and the demand is GEC's fault?
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Bill makes the best knives he knows how to make!! He's studied the best makers and the market for close to 50 years. He employs over 30 people in a financially depressed town!!
He has trained dozens of cutlery workers - personally!!! He makes a living but he's not rich!!
The picture is clear to me!!
 
What brought my rant on was the bone splinter in my thumb incident. lol
I just got to thinking as I was digging out the little needle that if the knife that stuck me was a Case/Queen/Rough Rider/Pick the brand and I complained about it here on Bladeforums people would be talking about Case/Queen/Rough Rider/Pick the brand just doesnt make them like they used to, QC is slipping, dont buy one without seeing it in person, etc.
Meanwhile, GEC seems to be a sacred cow around here.

My problem is less with the market, and more that the knives are way too overrated to justify such craziness.
 
CVamberbonehead said:
Sure, plenty of people like Case. They just don't seem to have the same craziness around them that GEC does.
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I think this is already honestly addressed though, it may just not be clear..... they don't have the craziness around them because they're more commonplace and easy to get. Plus GEC is typically just a few notches higher in terms of refinement and fit and finish so the hard to obtain factor + the fact that you ARE getting one of the highest quality traditional pocket knives creates more demand for them. It's a more premium product and there are less of them so the market's appetite for them is not as easily satiated. I'd confidently bet that if GEC could just start producing the same amount as Case AND keep their quality level the same as now that the market would certainly cool off. I think they would still do fine and sell very well but they wouldn't be quite as "special" in some regards because they would be commonplace.
 
CVamberbonehead said:
What brought my rant on was the bone splinter in my thumb incident. lol
I just got to thinking as I was digging out the little needle that if the knife that stuck me was a Case/Queen/Rough Rider/Pick the brand and I complained about it here on Bladeforums people would be talking about Case/Queen/Rough Rider/Pick the brand just doesnt make them like they used to, QC is slipping, dont buy one without seeing it in person, etc.
Meanwhile, GEC seems to be a sacred cow around here.

My problem is less with the market, and more that the knives are way too overrated to justify such craziness.
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I mean Case and Queen and Rough Rider in fact do or have had some significant slips in QC whereas GEC very rarely has much issue more than maybe some detailed nitpicks. That is exactly why GEC is the "sacred cow" because they're one of the only games in town where you have a really really low chance of ever getting a dud from them.
 
I've seen prices north of $1K+ lately for some GEC and GEC SFO's ... not to mention the many @$375+ ones
I think it's a good thing they don't make a lot of them. There aren't that many fools to sell more than a small number.
The sad thing is the worker bees back in Titusville aren't seeing it.
 
Heathenhymnal said:
I mean Case and Queen and Rough Rider in fact do or have had some significant slips in QC whereas GEC very rarely has much issue more than maybe some detailed nitpicks. That is exactly why GEC is the "sacred cow" because they're one of the only games in town where you have a really really low chance of ever getting a dud from them.
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I think you meant to say "really low chance of ever getting one of them" lol 😁
 
Heathenhymnal said:
mean Case and Queen and Rough Rider in fact do or have had some significant slips in QC whereas GEC very rarely has much issue more than maybe some detailed nitpicks. That is exactly why GEC is the "sacred cow" because they're one of the only games in town where you have a really really low chance of ever getting a dud from them.
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Agree. They also are one of the few that offer "seconds" for the ones that aren't up to snuff. There S models are even hard to compare to knives that pass QC with other brands.
 
CVamberbonehead said:
I agree that GEC makes some great knives sure, but they had better when they only put out a tiny trickle of them!
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Correct me if I am wrong but they are making more knives now than they ever have. If you look at production numbers you can see that they have come a long way. They are not a very old company in the big scheme of things.
 
GEC knives are well worth the dealer price, and offer a noticeable increase in quality in comparison to Case.

It is the flippers who have driven the demand, and therefore higher prices on the secondary market.

It is what it is, and while unfortunate, unavoidable, as they get bought at this higher price.

I put no blame on GEC. They make a fine slipjoint and the demand is high.
 
No need to apologize for speaking your mind...that is the purpose of a forum.
I would just say that Bill Howard and GEC have been doing, pretty much, the same thing all along...it is the surrounding community that has evolved. It will continue to evolve and, who knows, maybe one day it will be like it once was where a GEC was affordable and accessible to anyone who wanted one :)
 
I really like the few I have. Some get some regular heavy use, some don’t. I don’t have to have every pattern. Even my HJ sfos which are my faves, I don’t have every sfo that Charlie has done either. Haven’t had any F&F issues with any of mine. Haven’t bought any in a few years either tho.
 
It would be nice if the supply would be a little easier to acquire one at original asking price but with a few exceptions I found the patterns I really like at a price I can live with. Every GEC I purchased has been rather perfect in fit and finish to be honest and clearly very well made. Heck, even a few of the case bose collaberations I have had some issues with off center blade or wobble that I was able to fix rather easily. At first I was a bit disappointed that they all come in 1095 but after using and learning more about it, I'm over it.
 
High demand and short supply makes flippers, flippers don't make demand.

Anyway, GEC is a cow, a cash cow for the dealers and flippers. Unfortunately not for the folks at GEC who probably deserve it.

I have had 4 knives returned to GEC for warranty repair or replacement. I have had no issues and am satisfied with the result. Just my experience, I know others have had mixed results.

GEC does get defended on here quite a bit, they also get crapped on quite a bit. They are held to a much higher standard than most of the other companies. They should because of the reputation that they have built and the price. My irritation comes when folks declare a subjective trait on the knife wrong or defective. The sawcut 77's from the last run did not have "deep enough" grooves. Purely subjective and nothing to do with the quality of the knife.

Anyway, if that's how you see it? Cool, there are a lot of interesting knives out there for you to chase that are not GEC.
 
CVamberbonehead said:
No, I just think that GEC isnt helping the matter with the way they run things.
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I used to think the same thing, but GEC is probably doing great as a brand because of how the run. If GEC ran like Case, GEC’s would be like Case. I’m with you on it not being worth it, but I can’t fault Bill Howard for doing things his way. It’s working for everyone but us casual user collectors.
 
I just don’t see the hate directed at GEC, b/c they are hard to buy.

From my admittedly incomplete understanding of their model, they are situatied in a tiny PA town with a limited number of employees. They produce as many knives as they can. They can’t just “create” a new bolus of employees to make the number of knives we the buyers would prefer.

And I undertand that the OP had an issue with a splinter, but I’ve purchased roughly 30 GEC knives with not a single issue. In fact, pretty much any time I buy a knife that’s not GEC-made, I’m usually a bit disappointed that the knife in question doesn’t have the typically high quality of Bill’s knives -the fit and finish, the nice pull, the walk and talk, all of those are easy to take for granted with GEC knives.

I get that people are frustrated with flippers, but that’s not really GEC’s fault. I was pretty overwhlemed with purchasing GECs last year when I got in to traditional slipjoints, but I was able to succesffuly navigate the purchasing system pretty quickly by just asking questions and paying attention.

You can hate the game, w/o hating the player that’s putting everything into being the best.
 
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