It's the little things! GEC tube designs, etches, and other quirks...

philllll

philllll

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May 23, 2013
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I'm a huge fan of Great Eastern Cutlery's knives. They just do it right. It's not just that they make some of the best quality traditional pocket knives around. They also make collecting their knives fun! The different tube designs, etches, pins, shield types, etc. I am always excited to look for all the little quirks when I get a new one.

Here are some of my favorite "little things" from my GEC collection. Please post yours, too! :thumbup:
 
I'll start with the tube art. The TC barlow tubes are always fun. Some of the differences are very obvious, many not so much.
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I agree. They do make it interesting.

This is one of my favorites. As if the knife itself isn't enough, Charlies comments help increase the pride of ownership that much more.



And the only other tube pic I have.

 
Nice Phil, I feel the same way, subtle and some glaring differences make GEC so interesting. First and foremost is their quality to me. Then the art work and additional touches.

I'll work on posting pictures later but very neat thread:cool::thumbup:
 
Nice Thread Philllll

I agree, I honestly think that GEC are making the better quality knives. The price in comparison to the quality is outweighed in my opinion.

I also agree about the artwork- there is so much behind that, I enjoy looking at each new label, but I must admit I love the Rear Labels with Charlies thoughts, this nails down the true Traditional feel, its not hard to read between the lines and see the passion that has gone into the creation of each amazing pattern that has been re-awakened.
 
Thanks everyone!

Yes the quality is most definitely first and foremost. All the great marketing in the world won't get me to collect junk. It might get me to buy one, but the quality is what keeps me coming back for more.

I agree very much on the back labels. Charlie's (and with Sarah's help) stories and musings on the back of the TCs really add a touch of class. As do the other stories on the regular production runs. It's exciting to read the backstory to the designs, patterns, and materials. I will need to do a line-up of those.

Cool pins Dean!

I will add more to this thread as I find time to take the pics. Stay tuned for more from me and please continue to share your own!
 
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that reminds me, i still didnt find Christine Tucker at GEC yet about that tube for my TC!
 
Great thread Phil: Thank you for sharing stuff I, at least, have not seen yet. I agree with your thoughts about GEC.

This is an insignificant question and probably dumb. Did all of Charlie's SFO's come with pins? I have four of them and only the two Barlows had pins in the tubes.

I have the Rope (Anchors Aweigh) knife and the Washington Jack in addition to the Barlows.
 
AShearer said:
Great thread Phil: Thank you for sharing stuff I, at least, have not seen yet. I agree with your thoughts about GEC.

This is an insignificant question and probably dumb. Did all of Charlie's SFO's come with pins? I have four of them and only the two Barlows had pins in the tubes.

I have the Rope (Anchors Aweigh) knife and the Washington Jack in addition to the Barlows.
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Thanks Alan!

The pins are hit-or-miss. The earlier runs did not have them. I think they started throwing them in the tubes some time in 2014? On top of that some runs had a pin with every knife, and some didn't.
 
philllll said:
Thanks Alan!

The pins are hit-or-miss. The earlier runs did not have them. I think they started throwing them in the tubes some time in 2014? On top of that some runs had a pin with every knife, and some didn't.
Click to expand...

Thank you Phil. I was curious and suspected it might be something like that.
 
Here's a couple more tubes.

The backside of the Diamond Jack tube... you don't see this one too often. The first knife from Charlie's "Diamond" series.
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The backside of Lyle's Lick Creek #38 SFO. Probably my favorite back label out of all I have. Next to the Lick Creek is an interesting Tidioute "Good as Gold" label on a #48 PPP knife from 2010. There is a little PPP symbol in the top left corner.
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It rather dumb I know but I love the use of the brown wax paper... I've been meaning to find out, can you order new wax paper directly from GEC?
 
The tubes, the wax paper, the labels, the pins, all of these "little things" -- they're my second favorite thing about GEC (second to the knives themselves, of course) and one of the things that really hooked me on the brand. To me, it speaks to the care and attention to detail that the folks at GEC put into their product, and it makes receiving each new GEC knife just a little more exciting.

One thing that I really enjoyed from the run of #14 Boy's Knives this past summer was Lyle's stories printed and rolled up inside the tubes.

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I agree wholeheartedly about the 14s, Barrett! Lyle's stories are just fantastic.
 
Inspired me to look a little closer at some of my tubes... Thank you!

There's some interesting things to look at on the ancient tube. Anybody else see shoes that resemble the Nike swoosh? Huck is holding something in his hand.. looks like a horse switch? With a magnifying glass it looks like he is eating something - an apple? I also never noticed the signature in the bottom right corner.
 
There was much debate about what the animal sitting next to the rocking chair is. I think it's a giant otter of some sort.
 
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