Lets talk GEC!

It's not a 'pet peeve' of mine but a quality demand: if I'm to like and use a knife, it must have flush spring(s) on both open and closed, half-stop OK that doesn't matter but if it is flush then it's really well-finished.

These reports are disturbing and not what I expect from GEC. Let's wait for more reactions though.
 
Will Power said:
It's not a 'pet peeve' of mine but a quality demand: if I'm to like and use a knife, it must have flush spring(s) on both open and closed, half-stop OK that doesn't matter but if it is flush then it's really well-finished.

These reports are disturbing and not what I expect from GEC. Let's wait for more reactions though.
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Yep, I agree with this all the way. I don't need a flush spring at half. But open and closed they SHOULD be flush.

I will admit after I gave it a good flushing with WD40 and blew it out it helped big time. The spring is WAY better than it was when it showed up!

Here's my best fit and finish knife in my opinion. It's great. waynorth waynorth 's Black Jack is probably there too.
HwFCKyx.jpg
 
I don’t find my two examples from this run to be noticeably different from my other TCs. That being said, no GEC should have a proud spring at closed. If it does, they missed the final sanding of that knife and it should be returned to GEC to be finished.
 
I will be glad to do you all a favor. Just send me your poor quality GEC's and I will dispose of them properly ;)
My sepia and glitter gold TC's both have slightly proud springs in the open and half stop position. I dont have a problem with it, but understand why some would. Just got a surprise notice that I am getting a smooth autumn bone TC coming my way next week. I was not expecting to get that one, as I thought I was too far down on the list. My luck continues...
 
black mamba said:
The worst thing about that raised cover is that it looks flush against the bolster, which means it had lifted before they even finished the knife. Not good.
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Yep, the cover to bolster transition is smooth. It just seems that the bone wasn’t flat when it was assembled.
 
Interesting factoid: When they assemble pocket knives, they sand the handle material flat, then "pucker" the liners a couple of thousands of an inch so they will draw together tightly during assembly! Hard to say what might cause a gap in each case. Only micrometers, straight edge rulers and careful disassembly can answer that!!
 
I would like each person to take 2 minutes to do me a favor. Let's take the Glitter Gold as an example. My sales price was $63. So let's just say my cost was shy of $50. What do you think the factory could make this knife for - top to bottom with the little imperfections that seem consistent? If you want to get really knee deep, let's use 120 knives per day and 30 employees for cost basis. I don't know what utilities, components, benefits, etc. cost; so your guess is as good as mine on those. As well as priority shipping costs to dealers and 3% credit card charges. Once you come up with that number subtract it from $50 to find your idea of GEC's profit.

Understood that "if you are going to do a job, you should do it right" and "if they can do it at rough ryder, they can do it here". But, let's say a factory owner wanted to get a basic 5 cent pattern back to its roots. How much did GEC make per knife from your estimation? My guess is less than a ten note; but I could be way off.
 
knifeswapper said:
I would like each person to take 2 minutes to do me a favor. Let's take the Glitter Gold as an example. My sales price was $63. So let's just say my cost was shy of $50. What do you think the factory could make this knife for - top to bottom with the little imperfections that seem consistent? If you want to get really knee deep, let's use 120 knives per day and 30 employees for cost basis. I don't know what utilities, components, benefits, etc. cost; so your guess is as good as mine on those. As well as priority shipping costs to dealers and 3% credit card charges. Once you come up with that number subtract it from $50 to find your idea of GEC's profit.

Understood that "if you are going to do a job, you should do it right" and "if they can do it at rough ryder, they can do it here". But, let's say a factory owner wanted to get a basic 5 cent pattern back to its roots. How much did GEC make per knife from your estimation? My guess is less than a ten note; but I could be way off.
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I don't know their day to day labor and materials costs, but based on the prices their knives are still selling out quickly for, it seems logical that they could improve their QC, raise prices, and still do just as well.
 
If GEC has had to replace and train new workers due to losing some from the COVID shut down one would expect the quality to be less than when they had more experience. I wonder if they had to replace anyone?
 
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JTB_5 said:
If GEC has had to replace and train new workers due to losing some from the COVID shit down one would expect the quality to be less than when they had more experience. I wonder if they had to replace anyone?
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It’s possible. This past year has been difficult for everyone so I’m cutting them some slack for any issues that may have come about. This is the first knife I’ve received from them that is less than stellar, but still perfectly serviceable and functions as it should.
 
knifeswapper said:
I would like each person to take 2 minutes to do me a favor. Let's take the Glitter Gold as an example. My sales price was $63. So let's just say my cost was shy of $50. What do you think the factory could make this knife for - top to bottom with the little imperfections that seem consistent? If you want to get really knee deep, let's use 120 knives per day and 30 employees for cost basis. I don't know what utilities, components, benefits, etc. cost; so your guess is as good as mine on those. As well as priority shipping costs to dealers and 3% credit card charges. Once you come up with that number subtract it from $50 to find your idea of GEC's profit.

Understood that "if you are going to do a job, you should do it right" and "if they can do it at rough ryder, they can do it here". But, let's say a factory owner wanted to get a basic 5 cent pattern back to its roots. How much did GEC make per knife from your estimation? My guess is less than a ten note; but I could be way off.
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I don't know what wages GEC pays. $20 an hour times 30 people times 8 hours per day divided by 120 knives per day comes out to $40 per knife.
I hope the experienced folks at GEC are making at least $20 an hour but I suspect that isn't the case.
 
knifeswapper said:
I would like each person to take 2 minutes to do me a favor. Let's take the Glitter Gold as an example. My sales price was $63. So let's just say my cost was shy of $50. What do you think the factory could make this knife for - top to bottom with the little imperfections that seem consistent? If you want to get really knee deep, let's use 120 knives per day and 30 employees for cost basis. I don't know what utilities, components, benefits, etc. cost; so your guess is as good as mine on those. As well as priority shipping costs to dealers and 3% credit card charges. Once you come up with that number subtract it from $50 to find your idea of GEC's profit.

Understood that "if you are going to do a job, you should do it right" and "if they can do it at rough ryder, they can do it here". But, let's say a factory owner wanted to get a basic 5 cent pattern back to its roots. How much did GEC make per knife from your estimation? My guess is less than a ten note; but I could be way off.
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I got myself in trouble on this thread the last time I posted about this, but since you asked, and, I really am fascinated by GECs business model.

GEC could sell their knives for double (~$150-$175) and still sell out drops in a matter of hours or even minutes. If - as you say - their margins are so low they barely make a profit and can’t afford to address quality issues then they have nobody to blame but themselves.

EDIT: I bear no ill will towards GEC. I worry about the health of the company if they can’t more effectively manage the demand for their products, price appropriately, and resolve the real impact of non-official distributor flippers (at 300%+ markup) being the main avenue for normal people purchasing their products. It’s a fascinating business case playing out in real time.
 
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knifeswapper said:
... let's say a factory owner wanted to get a basic 5 cent pattern back to its roots ...
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I have suspected this to be the case with this recent run of Barlows. The nature of a Barlow and its place in history deem it to be a value oriented cutting tool and I think a $60-$70 price point is a very fitting bracket to place them in - particularly of a GEC make and with the flaws they appear to be leaving the factory with. However, GEC had to have known the pattern's popularity and that the only way to truly lend value to such a knife is to produce it in far greater numbers.

They did not and here we are.

GEC must not have considered the folks out there who think it is perfectly acceptable to pay absurd amounts of money on an otherwise mundane and economical item - or they did and it simply didn't factor into their decision making. Knowing what the price point of this Barlow is (excluding Charlie's SFO), it boggles the mind to see the willingness to pay 500%+ more than retail. There are unprincipled sellers out there in droves but there are plenty of unprincipled buyers as well.

I don't see it as a problem that can be fixed, nor is it a new one - we just seem to be hyper aware of it right now due to the symptoms of a pandemic and such. Frankly, GEC just needs to keep doing what they need to do to keep the machines running and the lights on - losing them would be an immense tragedy. I will buy when it makes sense to do so - if prices become too problematic, then it is a good sign to start getting into customs. Paying custom prices for a non-custom knife is just absurd (my opinion, of course).
 
tmd_87 said:
Sounds like a lot of proud springs on this run...
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Not by any of my observations...... In another write up I read 1/32" when open..... I'd like to see that with my own eyes....... Springs are sanded flush when the blade is closed...... For a non CNC produced, non custom $100.00 knife I think GEC does a bang up job......

I have all versions of this run and I'm very pleased with the quality.......
 
Viper84 said:
I don't know their day to day labor and materials costs, but based on the prices their knives are still selling out quickly for, it seems logical that they could improve their QC, raise prices, and still do just as well.
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skx013k2 said:
GEC could sell their knives for double (~$150-$175) and still sell out drops in a matter of hours or even minutes. If - as you say - their margins are so low they barely make a profit and can’t afford to address quality issues then they have nobody to blame other then themselves.
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You responded at my post, but didn't actually respond to my post. Yes, they could have made them a $200 barlow and they would have been dandy's. But, they didn't. They produced a knife that could sell for $65. Just as the Bullnose is a $60 knife - not a $200 example of sodbuster perfection. They will make you a $100 single blade soon and then we can chastise them for making a $100 knife not worth $100. But is the barlow worth $65? Yes it is.
 
My rough sawn osage got stolen as soon as I opened it tonight! It is a little proud at open, but not much. No complaints here for the price.

leSXiPY.jpg


My glitter gold isn't proud at all when open, so we shall see how the rose gold is when it gets here Monday. I think I'll let him keep it!
 
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