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Has Great Eastern Cutlery peaked in popularity?
- Thread starter Elgatodeacero
- Start date
Why would I care what people in a feed or hardware store think? Also, most hardware big box stores don't sell Case or Buck knives these days anyway.
If you ask online (where your question will be seen by juuuuuust a few more eyeballs than at some small town feed co-op) what GEC is, you're going to get a lot of positive feedback, because they're the most coveted brand of American made slipjoints on the market today.
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2019
- Messages
- 14,782
Two different things- GEC's been around for 16 years, and Buck/Case significantly longer.
Around here, hardware stores don't carry either Case or Buck, and I'm pretty sure only Buck would have name recognition.
I could ask them about Gerber, however, and I'm sure I'd get directed to the latest skeletonized imported folder.
GEC's aren't really made for Joe Blow at the local hardware store; GEC's are produced in much smaller runs and with a bent that favors collectors and enthusiasts.
Yeah we were all standing around the pickle barrel at the feed store licking the pickle juice off our fingers as we et pickle after pickle talking about how high the corn would get this year and I braced all the boys about what a GEC knife was and no one even took a break from their pickle eatin' to answer.
GEC is completely irrelevant now.
GEC is completely irrelevant now.
To answer your question OP
From my experience, they have gotten more "popular" not less.
I used to get the email notification from DLT, KSF, etc and be able to add to cart, checkout, and get a few runs. I then start refreshing just for fun to see how fast the sell out and its usually 6-8min.
Last 2 quarters, not a chance. I get the email, immediately go, add cart, checkout, checkout failed....no stock. You get 2m tops to buy, counting latency.
The first few times, I'd cry silently, but I've grown since then.
Just stop buying it.
From my experience, they have gotten more "popular" not less.
I used to get the email notification from DLT, KSF, etc and be able to add to cart, checkout, and get a few runs. I then start refreshing just for fun to see how fast the sell out and its usually 6-8min.
Last 2 quarters, not a chance. I get the email, immediately go, add cart, checkout, checkout failed....no stock. You get 2m tops to buy, counting latency.
The first few times, I'd cry silently, but I've grown since then.
Just stop buying it.
SimplyMinded
I'm Tolerated!
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2021
- Messages
- 8,585
You would think with all the YT reviewers somebody would have said "wow, this Bullet knife is of top quality" and those knives would have sold based on that. I'm not saying it's bad to have great name recognition, just that it's nice if specific knives are reviewed and wanted based on the quality too. I have no doubt once word got out they were made by GEC there was a stampede, I do hope folks that wanted one for the quality of the knife got one before that. Either way GEC came out ahead, it would just be nice if a few people who wanted a nice knife and not a collectors item did too.
Peaked? doubt it. Maybe more folks are getting tired of the scalpers and force traders. If you are also in the facebook groups, you will likely see a combination of these phrases from many of the new guys "looking for pre 2019 only" or "trading for nothing recent" things like that. There are a lot of people buying knives they dont want to parlay into something they do want. There are people who buy only to resell. There are people who hoard them to flip later. Now, I dont want to speak for all the folks who have been around, but for those of us who have maybe 20+ gec knives, or those with 50+ or more, we already have things we like. It won't be terribly disappointing if we dont get another knife, it may be a little upsetting but c'est la vie. If I can't buy it at lowest fair retail, I won't chase it. And referring to those 86s, I did want a barlow in green micarta, but for retail, not inflated price or flipper premium and I don't believe in trading generally, hence my collection is still missing one. It is what it is, I refuse to feed flippers.
Squidman24
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2015
- Messages
- 1,300
The current atmosphere surrounding GEC knives is exactly what drove me away from traditional knife collecting. The porch used to be a great place….until the new neighbors moved in so to speak. Not to bad mouth Bill or the GEC crew in any way but at the end of the day their job is to manufacture and sell a product. Not sure it matters where the money comes from, as long as it comes, can’t fault them for that. And the online retailers are getting pounded by bots and either they don’t even know it or they may not care. Some folks try their hardest to get one copy of a knife and can’t do it yet there are others who end up with 10+ copies every release. I wonder how they could be so lucky.
I just saw and email with the price on the 88 ironwood for a GEC dealer. It is just over $200. I'd say GECs are pretty popular when you can sell on at that price and it not last more than a few seconds. I've begun to wonder if selling a GEC on the exchange is going to require a random generator for the first 10 or 20 responders to give more than the snipers a chance to get one.
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2019
- Messages
- 14,782
That's part of why it's no longer desirable in my book.
I'm not going to (or really even can) compete to spend exorbitant amounts on a GEC.
I've suspected that, too. I've seen some folks now who will only sell to long-time porch members or those with significant posts in the Traditional Forum. That seems like one good solution.
I'm in the same boat. Why not just save up what it costs for 2-3 GECs and get a custom? Or, on the opposite end, buy 2-3 cheaper slip joints of lesser, but adequate quality.
I've come back to the place where I was when I started with GEC--I'll attempt to get new patterns that I haven't tried before but look interesting, and then resell them at cost + shipping if I don't want to keep it. If I don't win, I don't even try to brave the secondary, but just call it a day.
Candidly speaking, a lot of GEC collectors are GEC collectors due to the extreme mobility of classic GEC models, and are often trading GECs for other GECs (at all spectrums of desirability and rareness). Custom slipjoints couldn't hope in their wildest dreams to be as desirable to a much larger number of people as GECs are, and that's the problem.
Keep an eye on the Traditionals Exchange. People post up a custom slipjoint at a loss and it sits for awhile, especially if it's not a VERY classic pattern and cover combo. People post up GECs that sold for $118 six months ago for $225 and they're gone in minutes. There's a reason for that.