Great Eastern Cutlery and the Internet

willgoy said:
As a European I would doubt that I would have ANY GEC knives at all without the internet as a buying and importantly, evaluating medium. I would have very few American traditionals at all for that matter! France seems to be one of the few European countries left that has much of a knife shop/brick&mortar selling infrastructure- due to their artisan knife makers.

We may nostalgize about the 'old days' somewhat but now is a good time to be a knife enthusiast on a global scale.
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I'm in the same boat.
I'm visiting England later this year.I'd like to get a souvenir of the trip. I asked on Britishblade forum If there are any knife shops in London Or Devon.
The replies came quick and were most helpful yet totally uninspiring.
I'm actually thinking of a trip to France to Le Thiers.That or Sheffield.
yeah right-"sweetie,lets go to ....France/Sheffield" hmmm.I'd probably get there quicker too.
That being said I could get any of it off the internet.
 
I don't think I'd have been introduced to GEC if not for the internet and Bladeforums. I remember going with my dad to Sears (I think) when I was a kid and seeing and drooling for a Buck 119 and 110 but he got a Wenger, which made sense for him as he worked with and built servers. I haven't really seen or noticed too many other knives other than the cheap overseas stuff sold at some local stores. I think there's a Case Silver dealer in Manhattan but I've yet to visit him. Every single knife I bought was over the net.
 
Jug Johnson said:
They are certainly available in Texas. I still order them from websites from time to time (just ordered the bull-nose) when it is something hard to find or exclusive. I strongly prefer to buy in person and that's what I normally do. Luckily one of the best internet distributors of GEC's appears at many of the big gun shows around the Lone Star State. He's a great guy too.
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I first heard of GEC via the Internet, but I would have run into them sooner or later regardless.
 
Nice thread for sure.
Personally, it's not just GEC (and I assume it's more or less the same for other Euro forumites). If it hadn't been for the internet, I wouldn't have known about GEC, nor Schatt & Morgan, nor Queen, and so on...probably just Buck and Case would have eventually entered my radar.
The fact with GEC (or so it seems to me) is that the internet has allowed the word to spread about their quality. It's not really their website, or the vendors. It's the amount of people who write on the net (like most of you guys here on BF) about the quality of their products.
The base, is their quality.
The tree, is the facility of word spreading.
The first one has nothing to do with internet.
But, of course, the web has alot to do with the second one.

Fausto
:cool:
 
quattromori said:
Nice thread for sure.
Personally, it's not just GEC (and I assume it's more or less the same for other Euro forumites). If it hadn't been for the internet, I wouldn't have known about GEC, nor Schatt & Morgan, nor Queen, and so on...probably just Buck and Case would have eventually entered my radar.
The fact with GEC (or so it seems to me) is that the internet has allowed the word to spread about their quality. It's not really their website, or the vendors. It's the amount of people who write on the net (like most of you guys here on BF) about the quality of their products.
The base, is their quality.
The tree, is the facility of word spreading.
The first one has nothing to do with internet.
But, of course, the web has alot to do with the second one.

Fausto
:cool:
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Hi Fausto!

Just one question - How did you get in my mind?! ;) This was just what I was thinking before reading your post :)
But the question could also be returned to the knife-guys on the other side of the ocean; would you have known of any french Le Thiers or any spanish or german traditional without the internet? I think this can be placed to any microcosmos we are living, when we are doing our hobby. It´s nothing you can see on commercials on TV or the printmedia at all the times. Sometimes, for sure, there a reports. But they are just facts and any interessted man (or woman) doesn´t get a discussion forum like this. With people from all over the world.

But GEC is propably one of the best examples for this trend.

I like that thread. I think this let us all get a little bit closer together, although there are thousands of kilometres between each other.

Thank you!

Kind regards
Andi
 
Andi,
well, you know, I can read minds... :D
Sharing is often a very important factor in a hobby. Just like friends meet at a bar to talk about sports, women meet to talk about fashion, and so on. We talk about knives, which is a pretty uncommon hobby, and I'm sure it would be very hard for any of us to know personally even five or ten people to talk about it...but the internet gives us the opportunity to extend our "circle of knifenuts" hugely. If it hadn't been for that, I'd probably just chat about Sardinian traditionals. We're lucky to have this chance and to make part of this endlessly passionate circle.
And, of course, GEC (and other brands) can just say "thanks" :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
Fausto! You´re completelly right...

But what I would prefer... we should all meet for a few days making good ol' america bbq and drinking fine bavarian beer or italian whine and have a fine discussion! :) ;) :D

Kind regards
Andi
 
Humppa said:
Fausto! You´re completelly right...

But what I would prefer... we should all meet for a few days making good ol' america bbq and drinking fine bavarian beer or italian whine and have a fine discussion! :) ;) :D

Kind regards
Andi
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you forgot the cheese and sausages we could eat and use our knives on ;)
 
Kevin, I hear you. :)
I will be happy to provide cheese and possibly bread and sausages for the gathering.
If a bunch of you guys decide to gather and come over here, we'll kill a suckling pig and roast it (even underground, so you can see a cooking style you're not familiar with), then we'll all have the chance to use our knives extensively.
Meanwhile, I'm glad the internet made us know each other. And learn so much about knives too.

Fausto
:cool:
 
The internet and this very sub forum introduced me to GEC. I also attend knife shows around this area and I get to hold and fondle many GEC knives. One of there distributors attends the shows so I'm always bugging him to play with the newest GEC's. :D

Sent from Ash forum mobile
 
waterford said:
What is the overall quality of Great Eastern Cutlery? Similar to a Buck or Case?
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Well, I can just talk to myself... the quality of GEC (like F&F and the used materials) is much higher than Buck or Case. The handles are thicker like on similar Bucks and Cases. GEC is making great knives on a high production level. You can´t go wrong with a GEC :)

Kind regards
Andi
 
If it weren't for the internet,
I wouldn't have heard of any of the knives that I now own,
and I would still have some money. :)
 
waterford said:
What is the overall quality of Great Eastern Cutlery? Similar to a Buck or Case?
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I agree with what Andi said. Generally speaking, you will get mostly positive comments on GEC from the folks on this forum. Just about any forum for that matter, and rightfully so.

I own and have owned several GEC's and I think they are the best U.S.A. made production slip joints on the market today.

You really need to get one. Seriously.
 
I think the first ones I saw were in Scott Gossman's shop, and I later saw a few at a certain knife shop in Amish country, Lancaster. Other than shows, I haven't really seen many. Lots of dealers out there with them though. Great knives, glad they are here. Glad those pulls even out over time too!
 
Personally I would have never heard of GEC without the internet, and especially, because of Bladeforums!
 
There are several GEC Distibutors who work very hard traveling to Gun and Knife Shows to display,show and ,yes,sell Great Eastern Cutlery. Check your local area to see what shows are happening. The GEC Website also has information on what Shows Distributors will be attending.
 
rma100 said:
The GEC Website also has information on what Shows Distributors will be attending.
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Could you be more specific about where this information is posted on their site?

(PM me if more appropriate; GEC's main site is informational, not a storefront, but does link to their online store...?)

Thanks!

~ P.
 
Main page, under "information" tab.
 
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