Is there a market for more GEC traditional knives with extra features?

Well just to clarify I like in fact love the design, yes bottle caps are antiquated, although here in Texas we drink a good bit of Topo Chico and Mexican sodas like Jarritos but in truth the screwdriver tip has more every day use, but look how popular SAK's are and many/most still include bottle openers

Point is this knife is spot on an antique Boy Scout pattern from the 1920's and that's what I like is the timeless antiquity

Add "beer" to it and takes away from the nostalgia of the scout knife, as posters above echo my point crosses into Case territory by doing gimmicky themes.

So you want a knife with scissors and various tools or themes, heck Case even made a zombie series how Eros is that ??? there are 100's of knives out there, made by Case, Victornox, Leatherman and so on and all fine products to meet those needs.

But what makes GEC so unique is the revival of old patterns where you feel like you took a time machine back to 1923 and picked one up at the general store and bought a crafted American product made by tradesman when in today's world such products are increasingly rare.

So I am just saying be careful what you wish for right ? Think about why you were attracted to the brand and what their vision was getting started.

Successful branding is a very hard thing to nail and when you deviate outside your core identity that established you it can be dangerous territory many many of companies have made mistakes like this and often damaged the brand beyond repair.

The same argument can be made when a company fails to innovate, look at IBM or Nokia, but that's not the case here the beauty of GEC is anti-innovation, they are bringing back products and craftsman ship that are nearly extinct.

Filson walking this fine line now where their timeless antiquation was flat in sales and brought in a new CEO Alan Kirk from Eddie Bauer, so far keeping to their roots has reinstated the brand

End on this here is a quote from Seattle Times on Filsons new face

" One of, if not the oldest surviving local brands, Filson has always been respected but never, until now, sexy. Long ago falling out of family hands, the brand nevertheless survived, and, perhaps thanks to a lack of destructive imagination, has not changed significantly. Despite many owners over the years, it remained what it had always been, a bit stuck in time — and that is a large part of its appeal."
 
Different features are going to appeal to different customers. Regarding the knives mentioned a lot in this thread, I would never want a Beer Scout or Mako, but there are others who would and I can appreciate that. I would like a four blader traditional scout, but with a clip cutting blade instead of the typical spear. What would really be great would be the option of choosing your own combination of blades or tools on a certain frame, but that would get into the realm of the custom makers and out of reach quickly.
 
I'm just confused on how making this one knife, means Gec is becoming like Case. And what's even more silly to me, is that it's about the shield, not the pattern or build quality. For me, they are not even close because I am comparing the build quality. If build quality suffers that's when we have a problem. Although I wish they could get some more colors and jigging patterns.
 
Seems like some are having moral issues over beer mixing with their traditional values, which they projected on GEC (maker of traditional pocket knives). Doesn't matter to me. That said, I will be a bit surprised if GEC comes up with a joint shaped shield to address the marijuana smoker potential demand for pocket knives. If we want to make value judgments, these days, it might be wise to take issue with soda: too much sugar causes obesity and disease.
 
r8shell said:
I encounter bottles that need an opener pretty often.
Click to expand...

Me too. Hic! :D They're still pretty ubiquitous on bottled beer in Europe, much less so on soft drinks ('pop' in England).

r8shell said:
In truth, I probably use the caplifter/screwdriver most often to pry open split rings. You know, those things on keychains and the cat's collar tags that she's always losing? Also, opening pistachios. It's another of those tools you can use instead of messing up your good blade edge or breaking a thumbnail.
Click to expand...

When I got my Radio Jack, I was surprised how it was actually the screwdriver part of the tool I used rather than the cap-lifter (or bottle-opener here ;) ), I've used it for all manner of things, including both opening split rings and awkward pistachios! :D :thumbup:
 
texasshipagent said:
Well just to clarify I like in fact love the design, yes bottle caps are antiquated, although here in Texas we drink a good bit of Topo Chico and Mexican sodas like Jarritos but in truth the screwdriver tip has more every day use, but look how popular SAK's are and many/most still include bottle openers

Point is this knife is spot on an antique Boy Scout pattern from the 1920's and that's what I like is the timeless antiquity

Add "beer" to it and takes away from the nostalgia of the scout knife, as posters above echo my point crosses into Case territory by doing gimmicky themes.

So you want a knife with scissors and various tools or themes, heck Case even made a zombie series how Eros is that ??? there are 100's of knives out there, made by Case, Victornox, Leatherman and so on and all fine products to meet those needs.

But what makes GEC so unique is the revival of old patterns where you feel like you took a time machine back to 1923 and picked one up at the general store and bought a crafted American product made by tradesman when in today's world such products are increasingly rare.

So I am just saying be careful what you wish for right ? Think about why you were attracted to the brand and what their vision was getting started.

Successful branding is a very hard thing to nail and when you deviate outside your core identity that established you it can be dangerous territory many many of companies have made mistakes like this and often damaged the brand beyond repair.

The same argument can be made when a company fails to innovate, look at IBM or Nokia, but that's not the case here the beauty of GEC is anti-innovation, they are bringing back products and craftsman ship that are nearly extinct.

Filson walking this fine line now where their timeless antiquation was flat in sales and brought in a new CEO Alan Kirk from Eddie Bauer, so far keeping to their roots has reinstated the brand

End on this here is a quote from Seattle Times on Filsons new face

" One of, if not the oldest surviving local brands, Filson has always been respected but never, until now, sexy. Long ago falling out of family hands, the brand nevertheless survived, and, perhaps thanks to a lack of destructive imagination, has not changed significantly. Despite many owners over the years, it remained what it had always been, a bit stuck in time — and that is a large part of its appeal."
Click to expand...

What kind of knives does Filson make?
 
Obviously Filson does not make knives the comparison is branding and what made them unique, sticking to what they do best and resisting influence of fads and gimmicks
 
Lighten up y'all, it just a knife and just a knife company.

Of course GEC has changed, every company does as it gets successful. Vote with your money, if it doesn't float your boat, don't buy.

Having a problem with the word "beer" on a knife, and then beating the poor dead nag is hilarious, yet sad. The company is based in PA, a state with a long and rich history of beer production. You should not step on someone's pleasures just due to cultural differences.
 
Agree Brownshoe I just though it was an interesting debate. Branding and product development is part of what I do for a living, so just interesting topic to me
 
On that note after a weeks vacation back to the grind today would like to thank everyone for the engaging conversation and hope my liberal use of words did not step on too many toes :) I love pocket knives and most of all love GEC's and appreciate you guys letting me be part of your community.
 
I believe the OP's question was "Is there a market for more GEC traditional knives with extra features?". :rolleyes:

To that original question: I say yes! Lanyards are great for keeping the dirt on my hands outta my pockets. Punches and drivers are always handy for poking around. Saws are super for outdoors knives. EZ opens or pinchable patterns are especially appreciated by the women in my life who don't want to bust a nail.

What about things GEC hasn't tried yet though, like sneaky one handed opening? Mr. Bohn, I'd love to see a new Northwoods with a Scagel hole. If that isn't possible, how about those nice extra deep nail nicks A.G. Russel puts on some of his lockbacks? Better yet, maybe A.G. could bring back American production and start producing his designs through GEC!

Whew, I'd better lie down.

Edited because I sounded far snarkier than I intended.
 
Last edited:
I can't believe that I'm reading a thread devoted to anger over the script on a shield of one particular sub-model of one manufactuer's knife. We should be better than this.
 
Buzzbait said:
I can't believe that I'm reading a thread devoted to anger over the script on a shield of one particular sub-model of one manufactuer's knife. We should be better than this.
Click to expand...

I think you misunderstood the OP's post. I don't think he is angry about the script. I do prefer the original "scout" shield but I'm not angry. Maybe texasshipagent is angry about it having the word "beer" on it. I don't know. He's not the OP.

Small differences in knives can make a very large difference in demand. For example, red alox Victorinox Farmer knives are selling for a lot more money than the silver alox version even though they are the same knives and only the color is different. I'm not referring to vintage knives. I'm just referring to different colors.

Some GEC knives fly off the shelves while the same knives with different handle materials and embellishments sit in stock. As an example, there's plenty of the red bone and the micarta 82 still available but the Osage orange 82 is sold out everywhere. They're all the same knife. Only the handle material and embellishments are different. There are many other examples. The copperhead bone 81 was an especially good seller. I think they should have made a LOT more of those knives. They could sell them all day and every day. But GEC marches to their own drum.

As I said previously, I don't think shields and etches are "extra" features. Most of their knives have them. And some "extra" features are typical of certain patterns. I do think GEC should pay more attention to the details. For example, throwing hot dog shields on everything was already getting old years ago. I think it's interesting that GEC used a much more appropriate shield on their proposal for the 2015 forum knife. If they had used the same shield on some of their production knives, I think they'd probably be sold out rather than still sitting in inventory.

The Beer Scouts seem to be selling well. Texasshipagent can agree. He sold his. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the knives roll out and I'm anxiously awaiting the SFOs.
 
Last edited:
Hi.

For me, I'm always in favour of more variety. It gives you an excuse to colect them and have different knives for different tasks/ocasions.

:)
 
I think there is a market for GEC knives with "different" features than their current line. For example, a really slim 4" toothpick with swedge similar to the S&M 2000 F&W offering. Their knives have a design continuity, which is good, but not everyone likes the GEC design philosophy. As they get older they need to offer different things to pull in new or sometimes customers. Maybe they should have some knife maker collaborations. Do they now?
 
brownshoe said:
I think there is a market for GEC knives with "different" features than their current line. For example, a really slim 4" toothpick with swedge similar to the S&M 2000 F&W offering. Their knives have a design continuity, which is good, but not everyone likes the GEC design philosophy. As they get older they need to offer different things to pull in new or sometimes customers. Maybe they should have some knife maker collaborations. Do they now?
Click to expand...

GEC is in a unique position compared to most other US companies making traditional knives. They started from scratch. A lot of their early knives resembled sausages :D And over the years, they've really refined their pattern making. It doesn't get much more refined than the 38 pattern, for example. :thumbup:

Collaborations would be cool :cool: but Bill's doing a great job with the patterns and they still have a lot of traditional patterns to add to their line. Wasn't Bill's expertise pattern design? I vaguely remember reading that somewhere.

I would definitely like more SFOs. They seem to get all the details right.

 
Last edited:
jc57 said:
GEC makes what they make. I doubt they care at all whether I am interested in their knives. They seem to have no shortage of willing customers for whatever they turn out. When they happen to produce a knife that hits all of my buttons, I buy one. If not, I leave them for others who like those features.
Click to expand...
Well said!

I've become a huge GEC fan but there are a limited number of patterns that appeal to me. Many of their recent releases have been of no interest to me but that's OK. A pattern will come along that speaks to me.
 
I'm actually happy that they make patterns that don't interest me. I would be broke if I loved all of them. Though the other problem is that when they do come out with something I like, there are usually several variations plus a couple of SFOs on that pattern that I also like, all being released at the same time, so I have to pick one out of a number that I would like.

Some examples where I had to pick just one out of several I wanted at the same time. #48 Improved Trapper and Diamond Jack coming out at the same time. Same with the 77s. I had bought the single-blade forum knife on that pattern but had to pass on the Washington Jack and NF Barlow SFOs which I also would have liked, because they came out on the heels of that one I had just purchased.

If they had come out with the current 15 model EO "Beer Scout" with the same blades, in jigged bone, bolsters on each end, no bail, and a blank or normal branded shield, I would have bought one. Lucky for me, they didn't, so I can save up for both the forum knife and one of the next run of NF Barlow SFOs.

For what it is worth, I have no particular objection to the word beer. I drink beer once in a while, though I never need a caplifter on a pocket knife - I have one in my kitchen at home and in bars they usually open them for you. If they had called it the "Screwdriver Scout" I still would not have liked it ON THE SHIELD. I didn't buy the original "Scout" knife because of the word "Scout" on it. I was not in Scouting, so I have no particular affinity for the word. I like either plain shields (pretty much any shape), no shield, or one with the manufacturer's name or logo on it.

It's not a GEC thing for me, it's an overall preference. I don't buy Case knives that have the Ford, John Deere, Carhartt, Harley Davidson, Duck's Unlimited, or any other logo or co-branding on them other than Case's standard brand names. I have nothing against those brands, but I don't have any affiliation to them so no interest in owning their logo'ed products. I drink Coke products and I love the Case 6225 pattern but I hate that they used the Coca-Cola logo on so many of that model that it is hard to find one without it. I drive a Nissan car but if Case came out with a Nissan co-branded knife, I would not be interested.

I once paid a car dealership extra to pry off their logo from the back of my new car. I was stuck with "Toyota" but I'll be hanged if I was going to advertise their car dealership for them. I don't like to wear polo shirts with brand emblems, or T-shirts with pictures or logos on them.

So it's a personal preference on how I like my knives (and everything else). I vote with my wallet and buy those that I like and pass on those I don't like. I have no actual need for any more knives other than for the enjoyment of collecting, admiring, and using them so I am at a point where something needs to be right up my alley. The current run of bailed and "cute name" shields is enough of a turnoff. I have two other #15s that I love.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top