Has Great Eastern Cutlery peaked in popularity?

Will Power said:
If it has 'peaked' when's the crash going to be? I'd like a bargain :cool:

I just prefer the days of yore when even I in far away Europe on a different time zone could mull over a knife from a US dealer, get knives of which only 25 were made (one I have is one of five) nobody cared a damn about my knives except me and a few others with taste . Collectibility means little to me, availability and aesthetics do.

It seems like a Tulip Craze, these knives are very good production knives, often tasteful but made of unremarkable steel called FOMA or Musthave :D
Click to expand...
So it was you creating the buzz around these awesome knives that are also easy to buy. Knew it!
 
I have 3 plain-Jane GECs that I'm happy with (photos below); otherwise, I'm buying customs. Not for resale, but because I like the materials and fitment. Traditional customs are still a bargain compared to production Ti frame lock flippers (Holt, Herman, Koenig) that routinely sell for $900 and up. Used.

IMG_2600.JPG
 
hhmoore said:
I've pretty much lost interest in GEC. The knives became virtually unobtainable for most people, largely due to flippers trying to capitalize on the brand's popularity.
Click to expand...
I was into GEC for a few weeks, until I realized this. At least I didn't spend a ton of time on it. More for you guys I guess.
 
I like and collect their knives, only certain patterns though. The ones I like are the ones that are also the most in demand or ones they don’t produce enough of, which makes them ridiculously expensive on the secondary market. I try to get them in trade when I can. Knife collecting has become very cut-throat in recent years. Aggressive bidding and buying, hurt feelings and hostility from people who missed out on a pattern or knife for sale, passive-aggressive behavior, etc. Its not as fun as it used to be and finding a hidden treasure is a lot more rare these days.

I really wish they had their finger on the pulse and put out more of the patterns every wants and less of the ones that are not moving. This latest Scout 35 knife had way more potential if it had jigged bone covers, a fourth blade and maybe a bale. A large stockman in jigged bone would be nice too.

I have gone back to collecting older Case, Queen, Remington, Camillus, and such which are made just as well and aren’t frenzied upon like a wounded seal in an ocean of hungry sharks.
 
coolhand68 said:
I like and collect their knives, only certain patterns though. The ones I like are the ones that are also the most in demand or ones they don’t produce enough of, which makes them ridiculously expensive on the secondary market. I try to get them in trade when I can. Knife collecting has become very cut-throat in recent years. Aggressive bidding and buying, hurt feelings and hostility from people who missed out on a pattern or knife for sale, passive-aggressive behavior, etc. Its not as fun as it used to be and finding a hidden treasure is a lot more rare these days.

I really wish they had their finger on the pulse and put out more of the patterns every wants and less of the ones that are not moving. This latest Scout 35 knife had way more potential if it had jigged bone covers, a fourth blade and maybe a bale. A large stockman in jigged bone would be nice too.

I have gone back to collecting older Case, Queen, Remington, Camillus, and such which are made just as well and aren’t frenzied upon like a wounded seal in an ocean of hungry sharks.
Click to expand...
right? if people only bought what they actually wanted and not try to grab every released knife just to force trades, we probably wouldnt be so deep in this hole. if the bad eggs didnt try to grab everything just flip on ebay, we probably wouldn't be so deep in this hole. alas i can go on but why bother
 
mrknife said:
right? if people only bought what they actually wanted and not try to grab every released knife just to force trades, we probably wouldnt be so deep in this hole. if the bad eggs didnt try to grab everything just flip on ebay, we probably wouldn't be so deep in this hole. alas i can go on but why bother
Click to expand...
And here we have the real goal of Bill Howard- to slowly force people into embracing nihilism.
 
I like GEC's and have several; all get used. I tend to go for the smaller ones in Bone and don't even bother to try to get most styles or variations. That said if they would make another run of 09's I would be right in the fray trying to snatch up another one or two.
 
View attachment 1906817

I do not know if GEC knives have peaked in popularity, but things have changed. First, GEC has moved in the direction of large runs with little variety. This was obviously an attempt to streamline production and get more knives into the hands of more people. This has dampened the excitement which the nearly constant rapid release of lots of new variations caused in the past. Second, around the same time, dealers began to increase their retail prices. At first it was just one or two but now the majority have followed suit. Some have increased prices dramatically. These two events, increased production and increased prices, have lessened the gap between retail prices and secondary market prices. In fact, some dealers now charge retail prices that are about the same or even greater than secondary market prices. Obviously, higher prices have also dampened enthusiasm to a degree. So, collecting GEC knives has become a bit less exciting and a lot more expensive. To me, that means their popularity might be diminishing a very small amount.

I believe Bill Howard has a tough job. He has decided to get more knives into the hands of more people. On its face, that sounds like an easy decision. However, if the mystique wears off and people no longer feel excited about buying the next new knife, or it they cannot afford to buy the next new knife, overall demand might begin to decrease. There is a bit of the emperor's new clothes phenomena involved in the GEC craze.

Now that the gap between retail and secondary prices has lessened, it is a tiny bit harder to sell knives now. I am not speaking of the classics from the past or a rare SFO, I am referring to the run of the mill current production knives. The ease of selling a GEC has made the hobby much more appealing and accessible to the average collector. You can feel comfortable spending more money and buying more knives than you might otherwise because you can always sell the knifes almost immediately for what you paid or more. Some posters have taken the position that customs are a better choice. Well, I have taken a complete bath on some gorgeous custom knives! The same is true for the vintage Case knives I love so much. They are easy to buy but extremely hard to sell unless you are willing to take a huge hit or have access to an exclusive market. With GEC knives you only need our Knife Exchange, a box, tape, and a few minutes time. GEC knives have been like cash in the bank. If that ever changes, then I guarantee their popularity will decline. We have had the pleasure of buying a product that is worth more than we paid for it immediately after the sale rather than one that might plunge in value like a new car rolling off the show room floor. I believe this has been an important key to the success of GEC. If I was Bill Howard, I would not want to see this dynamic change. Unfortunately, it does seem to be changing to me.

I remember in the past when people were venting on the prices flippers charged, they would often emphatically write that they would gladly pay much more for the knives at retail to choke out the flippers. Well, they have been given their wish. We are now all paying much more, and our own ability to sell knives we no longer want is diminished. I never understood the "let us please pay more" crowd. It is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Nobody is ever forced to buy from a flipper. I have never bought a knife from a flipper. They are easy to avoid, just refrain from buying from them. However, we all have no choice but to buy from dealers, and now we are all paying a lot more. I liked it better before.
 
Last edited:
If a product is worth more than you paid for it the moment it is in your hand, that implies to me that it was underpriced at the point of sale. Also, inflation is a big impactor, with more and more folks having less disposable income, that could also affect the number of customers who line up for the newest release. Bills model has worked for well over a decade and I hope he can keep his ship afloat for the long haul.
 
I have near zero interest in them now. I'm not going to go to that much trouble to obtain a basic factory knife. I'm not going to pay scalper prices either.

I'd rather build my own or pay another maker for a custom slipjoint.
 
Collectable items go up and down over time. Does anyone remember the Hummel craze? now you can't give them away.

I hope GEC raises their prices so they are getting some of the profits from the craze. I think the economy, higher prices and the end of Covid has helped reduce the demand. But as long as there collectors that need to "fill a hole" in their collection and are willing to pay the price, the prices will remain high.

Once more people start wanting to get rid of their collection (or dying off, sorry to say), the prices will really come down.
 
JTB_5 said:
Or only buying single-bladed knives? ;)
Click to expand...

there are few gec at this point id pay for as the prices climb up. the list of grails for me is fairly short. And as prices continue to climb i grow ever more content with what I have and think less of what I lack. For example even if the 1/4 autumn gold jig bone appeared, id would only be curious who had had it for so long.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top