Get out the tar and feathers...

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birdsbeaks said:
It seems that the national treasure has demonstrated that, if done correctly, it could be a "profitable venture eventually" -- as I stated.

I didn't imply that anyone would be getting "rich."

With the proper desire, strategy, and funding - anything is possible.

Like most things, community revitalization has to start somewhere but that origin point need not be the entire solution.

I understand that my off-the-cuff business proposal has issues. If you're so inclined, please feel free to offer solutions! 👍
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I have no solution. Bill is literally one of the last people in this country who understands not only the processes it takes to pull off a pocket knife build from a factory setting but who understands the extremely limited and quite old machines it takes to make it happen. He knows them inside and out. Now, let's say someone who works for GEC or Case gains the knowledge to start their own venture. Where will they get the machines required to do the work at that scale and with that sort of efficiency? Maybe someone from the inside just outright takes over once Bill hangs it up? I think What you may see going forward is makers who have micro companies making very small batches like Eric Albers. But I fear once Case and GEC are gone. So too is the modern factory scale USA made traditional pocket knife. I hope I'm wrong but I honestly don't think anyone in their right sane mind would take the risk to start a large scale company from scratch. They would never turn a profit I don't think. I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm just saying it is extremely unlikely.
 
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Heathenhymnal said:
While I agree to an extent, I also think their approach here is a big part of what has made them successful; they offer a lot of patterns other manufacturers don't, especially when it comes to historic patterns... and historic unique patterns cater pretty hard to the long time hardcore traditional community/collectors.
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Yeah, that's cool and all, but I still scratch my head over it. Knives like the beer & sausage and the new beerlow are novelties in my opinion. I don't want to see GEC go down that road. I would have rather seen a regular 35 and 25 pattern instead of those. I may be in the minority on that, but I doubt it....
 
JD Bear said:
Yeah, that's cool and all, but I still scratch my head over it. Knives like the beer & sausage and the new beerlow are novelties in my opinion. I don't want to see GEC go down that road. I would have rather seen a regular 35 and 25 pattern instead of those. I may be in the minority on that, but I doubt it....
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The 35 beer and sausage was originally scheduled to be a full run of 35 cattle knives. Coming out of the covid lock down there was a steel shortage preventing them from that. So the comb was fashioned from spring steel as a stop gap. I give them a pass on that one. Everything made after that, that you deem a novelty? Fire at will.👍
 
I hate the secondary markup and flippers, there are many I would love to have but can’t get for a reasonable price. However, I managed to get a 39 off the exchange here last month, it is a factory second, an S model, and it’s the most perfect knife I have .
The blade grinds and finish are flawless, the pull on the blades is a perfect 6, and equal between the small and large blades, the bone is outstanding, the liners and springs have no gaps at all, the action is smooth, springs flush, ect. It’s just a gem, and I find myself fondling it everyday.
The only flaw I can find to make it an S model is a slight crack in the cover side bone near the front pin, but I don’t mind in the least. The pen blade could have been sharper if I nitpick, but again I don’t mind.

I bought it to use, and it’s a gem, I wish I could own more.

Now I’m also a Case fan and feel they get a bad rap here undeservedly, but my last purchase from them wasn’t so good, a sodbuster Jr. I hand picked it out of the case, it was one of two had the better fit and finish, however it still had many flaws.
A gritty action that wasn’t just buffing compound, but instead the blade digging into the brass liners, the typical rounded tip, a little blade wobble, and the scales weren’t flush with the liners.
I resolved to fix those myself and did, but what I thought was dirt/compound in the plunge grind area, upon closer examination, turned out to be a crack in the blade, I’m assuming it happened when they stamped the tang stamp in, but for how little the knife costs, I’m reluctant to pay shipping to case to have it replaced, it’s disappointing, but it happens and it won’t turn me from buying case.
A case trapper is one of my favorite go to carry knives and it has perfectly acceptable fit and finish, but even my very best Case is not as well made as that factory second GEC I have.
 
Signalprick said:
I have no solution. Bill is literally one of the last people in this country who understands not only the processes it takes to pull off a pocket knife build from a factory setting but who understands the extremely limited and quite old machines it takes to make it happen. He knows them inside and out. Now, let's say someone who works for GEC or Case gains the knowledge to start their own venture. Where will they get the machines required to do the work at that scale and with that sort of efficiency? Maybe someone from the inside just outright takes over once Bill hangs it up? I think What you may see going forward is makers who have micro companies making very small batches like Eric Albers. But I fear once Case and GEC are gone. So too is the modern factory scale USA made traditional pocket knife. I hope I'm wrong but I honestly don't think anyone in their right sane mind would take the risk to start a large scale company from scratch. They would never turn a profit I don't think. I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm just saying it is extremely unlikely.
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Im pretty sure the keys to the kingdom will be handed down to William when the time is right.
 
A lot of people don't understand that while Bill Howard is a businessman, he is also one of us, a knife nut of the first order. He loves knives as much as anyone here. Some think that he should simply stick with the favorites and make runs of 10,000 knives. Why should he? He is in the enviable position of being able to do as he pleases. If that means making whimsical knives with beer combs and cap lifters, then that is his prerogative.
 
kamagong said:
A lot of people don't understand that while Bill Howard is a businessman, he is also one of us, a knife nut of the first order. He loves knives as much as anyone here. Some think that he should simply stick with the favorites and make runs of 10,000 knives. Why should he? He is in the enviable position of being able to do as he pleases. If that means making whimsical knives with beer combs and cap lifters, then that is his prerogative.
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yeah after that stunt with the 25s, im hoping for a little less whimsy
 
Alex.Y. said:
Overall, reading this thread made me hope that Mr. Howard doesn't read BF. I can image what mood it might take him into, man.

Also, it really smells like a "hate" kind of thread. The initial tone is a bit trolling-like, you know. "My GEC knife is of a bad quality". Okay, it happens, we understand. Let's discuss the flaw, if you wish. "It was an expensive one and I am really frustrated!". Alright, we feel ya. "I am tired of people praising GEC!". Dude, just don't read those praisings.

And yes, people tend to repeat the same things over and over again. New people come and say "it's so unobtainable", people who can't get them for a long time say "they ain't worth it, there are many other traditional knafs manufacturers around", people who receive those rare bad examples... well, they start threads like this one out of frustration. Nothing changes.
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I chose this post to quote but it’s honestly just more general musings so Alex Y. I’m not trying to single you out :)

—-

I don’t see any reason why we have to blindly cheerlead for anyone. I could write an empassioned defense of GEC just as easily by the way… I like their knives a lot. Some of their patterns I love. But I do agree that some healthy criticism is a good thing. It’s a fine line though… this hobby is fun because these are pocketknives not “investments” per se.

To be honest though, I think 95% of the frustration with GEC is not the knives themselves it’s the difficulty in procurement combined with the general hype. They feed each other. If you don’t get it you might be missing out on the best knife ever, and good luck ever finding one again at a non-sky-high price. Most of us happily put up with it to some degree just because they do make nice knives and there’s no alternative really. If you want a knife like grandpas or great grandpas it’s basically GEC or Case now, and Case is kind of a non-starter for many due to QC + limited selection in carbon steel. And collecting/trying different patterns is fun so it’s unrealistic to castigate the “collector” who wants every version, too. We’re all collectors to some extent because in the modern world you barely need a knife at all. (A depressing other subject.)

And since on this forum we try to keep discussion to the knives and not the market… and in general we’re all positive, happy folks I think, this leads to a lot of praise, because there’s a lot to praise. Which in turn does lead to a bit of an echo chamber because if you point out a flaw (the first dozen GECs I bought seriously all had a medium to major fit n finish issue of some kind, I was beginning to think I had made a leprechaun mad somehow…) a lot of folks are apt to write it off as sour grapes.

IMO today the issues (aside from hype/supply issues/price/possibly they’re overrated-not the value they used to be) —so, the real issues with the knives themselves, are:

1. Jigging -I agree it’s not always the best, I’ve had mine chip and stab me too.
2. Dyeing - some people like the splotchy uneven look, I don’t. Personal preference.
3. Patterns - both that they do seem to make odd pattern choices and that unquestionably their patterns sometimes seem chunkier than they need to be.
4. Sometimes the design details can seem a little kitschy for what’s now a relatively pricey pocketknife. (not a fan of wrench shields etc personally.)
5. …can’t think of any but I’m sure there’s something lol.

Anyway, just saying I don’t think it’s wrong to have a thread where the emperor gets called out for being sparsely dressed now and again. Even if it might seem to be picking nits.
 
BJE said:
I hate the secondary markup and flippers, there are many I would love to have but can’t get for a reasonable price. However, I managed to get a 39 off the exchange here last month, it is a factory second, an S model, and it’s the most perfect knife I have .
The blade grinds and finish are flawless, the pull on the blades is a perfect 6, and equal between the small and large blades, the bone is outstanding, the liners and springs have no gaps at all, the action is smooth, springs flush, ect. It’s just a gem, and I find myself fondling it everyday.
The only flaw I can find to make it an S model is a slight crack in the cover side bone near the front pin, but I don’t mind in the least. The pen blade could have been sharper if I nitpick, but again I don’t mind.

I bought it to use, and it’s a gem, I wish I could own more.

Now I’m also a Case fan and feel they get a bad rap here undeservedly, but my last purchase from them wasn’t so good, a sodbuster Jr. I hand picked it out of the case, it was one of two had the better fit and finish, however it still had many flaws.
A gritty action that wasn’t just buffing compound, but instead the blade digging into the brass liners, the typical rounded tip, a little blade wobble, and the scales weren’t flush with the liners.
I resolved to fix those myself and did, but what I thought was dirt/compound in the plunge grind area, upon closer examination, turned out to be a crack in the blade, I’m assuming it happened when they stamped the tang stamp in, but for how little the knife costs, I’m reluctant to pay shipping to case to have it replaced, it’s disappointing, but it happens and it won’t turn me from buying case.
A case trapper is one of my favorite go to carry knives and it has perfectly acceptable fit and finish, but even my very best Case is not as well made as that factory second GEC I have.
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Wow, just call Case. They have an actual warranty and should make it right. Lol
Last time I had an issue with a Case, it was an ancient delrin jack knife with bad blade wobble. I sent it to them and they gave me $75 to their store (WAY more than the knife was worth) and I upgraded to a new Panama trapper for practically nothing. That is how a company should stand by their stuff. Maybe just call and see what they say?
 
JD Bear said:
Yeah, that's cool and all, but I still scratch my head over it. Knives like the beer & sausage and the new beerlow are novelties in my opinion. I don't want to see GEC go down that road. I would have rather seen a regular 35 and 25 pattern instead of those. I may be in the minority on that, but I doubt it....
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And I'm just the opposite. There are tons of other "regular" knives out there already, I find it a complete breath of fresh air to see something new and quirky and unique once in a while.
 
I also agree with those who think that they are wasting runs on silly knives at times, when demand is so high for patterns that people want, why use up a run for cotton samplers and the like? I do like that they try different things no one else does, but I would rather see them exercise their creativity once regular patterns are accessible again. I don’t run the place though and it certainly seems to be working for them, so I’m not qualified to judge, merely to scratch my head in wonder.
 
CVamberbonehead said:
Wow, just call Case. They have an actual warranty and should make it right. Lol
Last time I had an issue with a Case, it was an ancient delrin jack knife with bad blade wobble. I sent it to them and they gave me $75 to their store (WAY more than the knife was worth) and I upgraded to a new Panama trapper for practically nothing. That is how a company should stand by their stuff. Maybe just call and see what they say?
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Oh I know Case would replace it, but for a $30 knife, do I really wanna take time to go to the post office, pay $10-15 and wait several weeks?

I really do like Case and I’m a supporter of them, and I’m not mad about the crack, things happen, I’m just not sure I wanna pay half the value of the knife to have it fixed at this time, maybe if I have another knife that needs sent it at the same time I’ll include it.
 
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