Lets talk GEC!

Let's not forget that older Queen knives - Black Box Winchester and the D2 bladed knivers were very decent items and Bill Howard is paying homage to his own days there and before :thumbsup:

I certainly like those synthetic Winterbottom examples, looks the tough working knife! But I doubt I'd be able to get one at a price that would be credible.
 
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Not surprisingly many people lament the vanished days of when you could get hold of many GECs without angst & antics. Now they have become prized collector items you certainly don't see many people actually USING their new GECs as much as before either. This, together with the massive inflation of the past 8 years is regrettable, inflation gnaws away at stability and trust in the future :(

Here's a 2008 liner-lock 73 that was put to work on arrival- no doubt it's worthless on the collector radar ( I do have the toob and COA wow!). I certainly count myself lucky as being aware of GEC from their beginning especially since I'm in the EU (Eventually Unobtanium :eek:)

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Will Power said:
Not surprisingly many people lament the vanished days of when you could get hold of many GECs without angst & antics. Now they have become prized collector items you certainly don't see many people actually USING their new GECs as much as before either.
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People often talk about GEC’s being hard to get and whatnot but you make a very good point. What’s not discussed is the frustration of just wanting a good quality user knowing most aren’t used at all.

I don’t try to get every GEC, for that matter I don’t try to get all that many at all but the ones I do want, I want because I want them to use. That’s what they’re made for. There are so many good using knives out there that have only seen the light of day for a photograph or two and that’s it.
The Waynorth ebony Rider is one I wanted as a work knife for its size and blades. No chance of getting one new and the secondary market is far beyond the worth of a work knife.

Maybe I’m just not a good knife collector, but I use all of the ones I’ve ever bought bar one. And I do mean use, not just carry!
 
In the omegaforums, there is a thread called "Learn how to fish" i suppose the concept can be extrapolated. I wont comment about the prices, but sometimes like with fishing, patience pays off. There will occasionally be a deal in the f/s if you are lucky. I do see some things go for pretty decent prices. I like Will Power Will Power was fortunate enough to get in pretty much on the ground floor and experience a good solid period of hunting. Even recently, I was mostly able to get most of the 39s pretty fairly and if I had been more patient, probably wouldve saved myself $50? But then and again, I am also at the point of my journey were perhaps its better to watch and enjoy what I have.
 
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Will Power said:
Not surprisingly many people lament the vanished days of when you could get hold of many GECs without angst & antics. Now they have become prized collector items you certainly don't see many people actually USING their new GECs as much as before either. This, together with the massive inflation of the past 8 years is regrettable, inflation gnaws away at stability and trust in the future :(

Here's a 2008 liner-lock 73 that was put to work on arrival- no doubt it's worthless on the collector radar ( I do have the toob and COA wow!). I certainly count myself lucky as being aware of GEC from their beginning especially since I'm in the EU (Eventually Unobtanium :eek:)

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i appreciate the larger knives and not just single bladed clips,I find that when 15's and 77's come out that people buy multiples and and put them away thus driving up the price on the secondary market,so with the bulkier and lengthier knives being made recently it really opens them up to more people
 
Hatchet_Jack said:
People often talk about GEC’s being hard to get and whatnot but you make a very good point. What’s not discussed is the frustration of just wanting a good quality user knowing most aren’t used at all.

I don’t try to get every GEC, for that matter I don’t try to get all that many at all but the ones I do want, I want because I want them to use. That’s what they’re made for. There are so many good using knives out there that have only seen the light of day for a photograph or two and that’s it.
The Waynorth ebony Rider is one I wanted as a work knife for its size and blades. No chance of getting one new and the secondary market is far beyond the worth of a work knife.

Maybe I’m just not a good knife collector, but I use all of the ones I’ve ever bought bar one. And I do mean use, not just carry!
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I’m definitely part of the problem. Way too many knives. I’m constantly asking myself why I’m collecting and what’s the goal. Outside of GEC I have a few odds and ends, a bunch of Benchmade and the second largest traditional group is a collection of Swiss Army knives issued to the Dutch military. I don’t consider myself a “real” collector. My GEC total is closing in on 150 with a single example of a lot of patterns, an explosion of knives in some patterns I love and voids where I just don’t care for a pattern. I have a handful that I got used and those are the ones I carry. I think the only knife I used from new was my BF Barlow. I’ve heard the only distinction between collecting and hoarding is organization.
 
BDubbs said:
I’m definitely part of the problem. Way too many knives. I’m constantly asking myself why I’m collecting and what’s the goal. Outside of GEC I have a few odds and ends, a bunch of Benchmade and the second largest traditional group is a collection of Swiss Army knives issued to the Dutch military. I don’t consider myself a “real” collector. My GEC total is closing in on 150 with a single example of a lot of patterns, an explosion of knives in some patterns I love and voids where I just don’t care for a pattern. I have a handful that I got used and those are the ones I carry. I think the only knife I used from new was my BF Barlow. I’ve heard the only distinction between collecting and hoarding is organization.
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You’ve got me covered by 140 on the GEC count I reckon!

By your definition I’m a small scale hoarder! 😂
 
By that definition I'm a small-scale hoarder too.

But I see myself as neither hoarder or collector. What is wrong with just being a simple appreciator and enjoyer? And as a pocket knife is a tool, it follows that its fullest appreciation and enjoyment includes carrying and using it as a tool - at least it does to me, so I don't apply a lower price ceiling to a knife intended for use, quite the reverse.

Stamp collecting perhaps illustrates the difference more clearly - I buy a stamp and put it on an envelope (even though I appreciate some of them look pretty); a collector buys a stamp and puts it in an album. There is clearly a particular pleasure which some derive from ownership of these small pieces of printed paper, particularly if it's a small piece of printed paper which one's fellow collectors would sell their grandmother for.

I had a colleague who collected used railway tickets, obtained from the wastebins at railway stations. He estimated he had more than two million bagged up in his garage awaiting sorting and categorising. The permutations afforded by fare structures and possible journeys meant that there was an astronomical number of theoretically different tickets in possible existence. He appeared unconcerned by the certainty that he would go to the great collectors' meeting in the sky long before his task was complete.

Of course there are many dyed-in-the-wool collectors here, and I have absolutely nothing against any of that just because I don't share that approach. On the contrary, collectors are a priceless resource for information and other material, and preserve a legacy and a veritable museum of treasures which might otherwise be lost. They even sell me a knife occasionally!
 
dovidola said:
By that definition I'm a small-scale hoarder too.

But I see myself as neither hoarder or collector. What is wrong with just being a simple appreciator and enjoyer? And as a pocket knife is a tool, it follows that its fullest appreciation and enjoyment includes carrying and using it as a tool - at least it does to me, so I don't apply a lower price ceiling to a knife intended for use, quite the reverse.

Stamp collecting perhaps illustrates the difference more clearly - I buy a stamp and put it on an envelope (even though I appreciate some of them look pretty); a collector buys a stamp and puts it in an album. There is clearly a particular pleasure which some derive from ownership of these small pieces of printed paper, particularly if it's a small piece of printed paper which one's fellow collectors would sell their grandmother for.

I had a colleague who collected used railway tickets, obtained from the wastebins at railway stations. He estimated he had more than two million bagged up in his garage awaiting sorting and categorising. The permutations afforded by fare structures and possible journeys meant that there was an astronomical number of theoretically different tickets in possible existence. He appeared unconcerned by the certainty that he would go to the great collectors' meeting in the sky long before his task was complete.

Of course there are many dyed-in-the-wool collectors here, and I have absolutely nothing against any of that just because I don't share that approach. On the contrary, collectors are a priceless resource for information and other material, and preserve a legacy and a veritable museum of treasures which might otherwise be lost. They even sell me a knife occasionally!
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Sounds like an amazing hobby - no competition and cheap. It can be frustrating if people are trying to get everything right now. It’s a hobby and the research and chase is a huge part of the appeal to me. I get a little too wrapped up and have to remind myself it’s supposed to be fun. I also have a certain amount of guilt because plugged into the community I know I’m part of the reason for scarcity so I try not to complain. It’s like sitting in traffic complaining about “the traffic”, if you’re on the road you are “the traffic”. Posts without photos are no fun so here’s a favorite and one of two 15s that I actually use. I think Mr Howard could do these once a quarter and there still wouldn’t be enough.
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dovidola said:
By that definition I'm a small-scale hoarder too.

But I see myself as neither hoarder or collector. What is wrong with just being a simple appreciator and enjoyer? And as a pocket knife is a tool, it follows that its fullest appreciation and enjoyment includes carrying and using it as a tool - at least it does to me, so I don't apply a lower price ceiling to a knife intended for use, quite the reverse.

Stamp collecting perhaps illustrates the difference more clearly - I buy a stamp and put it on an envelope (even though I appreciate some of them look pretty); a collector buys a stamp and puts it in an album. There is clearly a particular pleasure which some derive from ownership of these small pieces of printed paper, particularly if it's a small piece of printed paper which one's fellow collectors would sell their grandmother for.

I had a colleague who collected used railway tickets, obtained from the wastebins at railway stations. He estimated he had more than two million bagged up in his garage awaiting sorting and categorising. The permutations afforded by fare structures and possible journeys meant that there was an astronomical number of theoretically different tickets in possible existence. He appeared unconcerned by the certainty that he would go to the great collectors' meeting in the sky long before his task was complete.

Of course there are many dyed-in-the-wool collectors here, and I have absolutely nothing against any of that just because I don't share that approach. On the contrary, collectors are a priceless resource for information and other material, and preserve a legacy and a veritable museum of treasures which might otherwise be lost. They even sell me a knife occasionally!
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I Wholeheartedly agree. As annoyed as i can be when failing at getting a knife i admire the collectors. For the time and money they spend, for the knowledge they share here, for their role in the perpetuation of the tradition. How many knife designs and the pleasure of using them would have disappeared without, for example, Charlie Campagna waynorth waynorth in North America and Jack Black Jack Black Jack Black in Great Britain?
About GEC, fortunately, there is no much trend for the Farm & Field lineup but there's not a lot of patterns. Too bad. They are perfect for the user i am.

Dan.
 
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dantzk8 said:
I Wholeheartedly agree. As annoyed as i can be when failing at getting a knife i admire the collectors. For the time and money they spend, for the knowledge they share here, for their role in the perpetuation of the tradition. How many knife designs and the pleasure of using them would have disappeared without, for example, Charlie Campagna waynorth waynorth in North America and Jack Black Jack Black Jack Black Black in Great Britain?
About GEC, fortunately, there is no much trend for the Farm & Field lineup but there's not a lot of patterns. Too bad. They are perfect for the user i am.

Dan.
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I wish they had a farm and field run every time, every pattern. Northfield, Tidioute and F&F.
 
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