Lets talk GEC!

[RyanDalex]

.....

 

[draggat]

I'll echo the sentiment of a lot of folks here and say that what GEC really needs to make is their own barlow. The 78 frame would be an outstanding choice. It's nearly the exact frame of the 77 but with a much more stout blade and spring. If they stamped the bolster with the acorn and used stainless, I've no doubt it would be every bit as popular as the 77, 15 and possibly 14 barlows.

It really boggles the mind that they haven't done this yet. The barlow knife is THE knife making converts. Why not indulge them?

 

[knarfeng]

I'm unsubscribing from this thread.

All things considered, I think that is a wise move.

As a mod, I have to read all the threads; but when I was a general member, there were a lot of threads I just stayed out of for various reasons, frustration with a brand being one of them.

 

[Buzzbait]

I find that it's just about the smallest size I'm willing to go but I've purchased several mainly due to the interesting variations.

I'm in the same camp with you. So many awesome variations on the 15 pattern, that are all right at my minimum size.

I much prefer GEC's slightly larger and bulkier patterns, like the 2-blade 77. That knife is close to perfect in my hand.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[Cannonball970]

The 15 pattern for me is actually my max size preference. I'm really looking forward to these 14s to create a few more options at a smaller size. I'd also love if they made a smaller 74, about 83 sized. Like GEC's version of the sodbuster jr.

 

[Easyrider]

I saw a number of recommendations for the #83 as a perfect edc in another thread. So I took some photos comparing them with my new 15s.



There isnt a whole lot between them, yet 15s are so much more popular. I wonder whether the rush on 15s is a problem of our own making?

The model 15 and 83 are nearly the same size but the 83 is a lockback which is a huge selling point for me!

I hope GEC does another run of 83 sometime in the not too distant future. It is a great size knife for an EDC/ Like the model 15 it is large enough to do most daily tasks but small enough it disappears in your pocket.

I am curious to see a photo of a model 72 next to an 83 for size comparison.

 

[supratentorial]

I saw Jake/Supraentorial's suggestion and I think that would be a splendid idea, however my money is on the fact that Charlie most likely also owns the barlow tooling for the 14 pattern as well.

That makes sense. Maybe we can convince Charlie to do a run of the knives.

I saw a number of recommendations for the #83 as a perfect edc in another thread. So I took some photos comparing them with my new 15s.



There isnt a whole lot between them, yet 15s are so much more popular. I wonder whether the rush on 15s is a problem of our own making?

The recent 15s were 440C and only made in a small quantity. But the prior runs in 1095 actually sat for quite a while at dealer stores even though the knives are identical to the barlows (except for the bolster) that sell in seconds. The last of the 15s sold out not long ago and some stores still have the Stew's blade. I suspect it will be the same with the 14 pattern boys knives.

 

[rdave]

Well, your point is made and well taken and difficult to defend without sounding like a "homer" but here it is;

GEC has evolved over the years and has not purposely created a frenzy for their knives. The GEC collectors has grown exponentially because of demand for a quality knife. In late 06 we were buying #23s and #73 in stag and Prim bone thinking this was the best pocket knife ever made. But demand and popularity was low and the trajectory for GEC growth was at a slow pace.

Over the years GEC produced interesting, creative and a historic rendering of pocket knives. Production also grew but it is difficult to know what "peak" production really is although we see production numbers by year. And about 2012-14 collectors recognized GEC as the formidable producers of some really nice pocket knives. A little "buzz" began for GEC knives and up until that time collectors could probably buy and afford every knife GEC produced for the year. But things changed because of the demand - GEC as company remained steady and produced what seemed to be pretty much the same quantities and in the same mode. GEC has always built knives based on what they thought they wanted to do and nothing was a matter of "transparency". Transparency was for politicians or big public companies like Ford. Over the years a talking point for GEC was what in the hell is going on here at GEC? Probably only a few people at GEC knew exactly what was going on there - fakers on the forum try to convince you they know what's up, but they really don't know.

Then came the #77s, #15s, #TCs, SFOs and GEC found a sweet spot in the knife collector world. And the average "old time" GEC collector had much pressure getting the knife he or she wanted. A bit of frustration ensued.

So the boom began and the real frustration set in. I used to lament the fact that I wasn't able to get each particular knife I wanted or missed a beauty that I had passed on the first time. I realized I wasn't able to keep up with production and the pressure created by competition was a bit overwhelming.

C'est la vie...frustration has now given way to, "I'll catch one on the next go around". Because over the years I have figured out that GEC will continue to produce an amazing assortment of pocket knives and after a short wait I will eventually get one...Why sweat the small stuff? Through the years GEC has remained relatively the same - they have their heads down creating really good pocket knives and not worrying about the sniping about their business practices

It seems we need to appreciate GEC as a fine company being run by genuine people who are creative and ethical and who tend to run it their way, which is the best way, making knives for which I can own only some of them...so it goes.

I'm familiar. I have posted my Tidioutes and Northfields in the past. If the problem were simply certain ill-advised buyers searching "Great Eastern" instead of "Tidioute Cutlery" there'd be no problem to speak of.

There is one, however, and it's taken up multiple threads in this subforum, GB&U and other places, with how GEC as a company and their chosen dealers go about encouraging the "lolly scramble" model. It's not an either/or proposition -- that's a false dichotomy, and one of the sillier ones I've seen here. People have been asking in droves for there to be a little more transparency, not a wholesale change in production and distribution, and if you'd spent those last couple months reading more you'd see that nobody is asking for it to be.

My boycott is over the selling ethos they've fomented, not the knives. Anyway, before the mods jump in again, I'm done with this. Engage me through email or in GB&U if you're interested in discussing this further. I'm unsubscribing from this thread.

 

[B.F.U]

I saw a number of recommendations for the #83 as a perfect edc in another thread. So I took some photos comparing them with my new 15s.



There isnt a whole lot between them, yet 15s are so much more popular. I wonder whether the rush on 15s is a problem of our own making?

Well it absolutely is, that's how it works.

What's the difference between the #83 and #72? A run of #72s is coming.

#83s have a lock back.

 

[Ratbert]

It seems we need to appreciate GEC as a fine company being run by genuine people who are creative and ethical and who tend to run it their way, which is the best way, making knives for which I can own only some of them...so it goes.

Excellent post, although I only quoted the impact statement at the end. When I realized that I cannot own every knife that I like, I became a much happier person. An obsession with owning every next great GEC (in multiple handles) can ruin the hobby for you. And the answer is not to expect the manufacturer to simply crank out more, so that our wants are satisfied.

 

[supratentorial]

TsarBomba wanted to move that discussion to PM. That's probably for the best.

I can't speak for him but I don't think it's a matter of owning every knife. Sometimes just getting one of the highly desired patterns can be a major problem. Though some people seem to always have multiples of every run, it's not as easy for most folks to respond during a 2 minute ordering window at a random time... often during work hours.

But anyone can order a GEC knife at any time. All of the dealers have stock. Getting the particular knife that you want isn't necessarily as easy. If SFOS are reselling for $300-400 profit (I've seen several barlows sell at those prices), it's not surprising that they're gone from the dealers within 2 minutes of being listed.

 

[draggat]

Well it absolutely is, that's how it works.



#83s have a lock back.

The 72's are lock backs also. The 83 is just a scaled down version of the 72.... I think. I don't have the 83 to compare it to, but the 72 is quite a bit larger.

 

[Txjohn]

Sometimes I miss out on knives too. I also like the low production numbers . One of 25 appeals to me more than 1of 500. It's a trade off that I willingly accept .

 

[5K Qs]

I've asked about this supposed "ragg bone" multiple times, and never gotten a response. It seems everyone has either forgotten it, or it's such a minor and unexciting result that it's not worth talking about. I see some minor inconsistencies on the edges of some of the sawcuts pictured, but nothing I see as worthy of a name. As a matter of fact, I have a 77 red sawcut barlow that for the last couple of years I called "flawed", but is apparently now "ragg bone" based on what I've seen.

But I'm the only one making any noise about it, so I guess everyone else is just excited to have these knives at all.

For what it's worth here's what Charlie had to say about this issue in the "What Makes a Good Traditional Barlow" thread:

I asked about the Ragg Bone. A lot of the raw edges nearly disappeared during finishing. We will have to see more of them, to see how well our experiment worked. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
This is the first attempt to "Ragg 'em" intentionally, as far as anyone knows!
Please post them when you get them my friends!!

Don't know if that gives you useful info regarding your question, tstaut, but it seemed to me to be somewhat relevant.

- GT

 

[tdkfm]

Sometimes I miss out on knives too. I also like the low production numbers . One of 25 appeals to me more than 1of 500. It's a trade off that I willingly accept .

This is strange to me. I'd rather be able to get a knife I want than own a few limited ones. If 62873820263 other people have the same knife as I do that has zero effect on the one I own, to me anyways. I only see how this matters if you are wanting to resell it and make more due to limited numbers.

 

[draggat]

Sometimes I miss out on knives too. I also like the low production numbers . One of 25 appeals to me more than 1of 500. It's a trade off that I willingly accept .

I feel exactly like you. I love the super limited versions. Owning a 1 of 3, or even a 1 of 11 is pretty cool. I've even come to terms that I will probably never own the knives in my sig line and that's okay.

*Forgot to add that I don't buy knives with intent to resell. I buy them because I like them although I do occasionally sell some that don't speak to me.

 

[knifeswapper]

Well, your point is made and well taken and difficult to defend without sounding like a "homer" but here it is;

GEC has evolved over the years and has not purposely created a frenzy for their knives. The GEC collectors has grown exponentially because of demand for a quality knife. In late 06 we were buying #23s and #73 in stag and Prim bone thinking this was the best pocket knife ever made. But demand and popularity was low and the trajectory for GEC growth was at a slow pace.

Over the years GEC produced interesting, creative and a historic rendering of pocket knives. Production also grew but it is difficult to know what "peak" production really is although we see production numbers by year. And about 2012-14 collectors recognized GEC as the formidable producers of some really nice pocket knives. A little "buzz" began for GEC knives and up until that time collectors could probably buy and afford every knife GEC produced for the year. But things changed because of the demand - GEC as company remained steady and produced what seemed to be pretty much the same quantities and in the same mode. GEC has always built knives based on what they thought they wanted to do and nothing was a matter of "transparency". Transparency was for politicians or big public companies like Ford. Over the years a talking point for GEC was what in the hell is going on here at GEC? Probably only a few people at GEC knew exactly what was going on there - fakers on the forum try to convince you they know what's up, but they really don't know.

Then came the #77s, #15s, #TCs, SFOs and GEC found a sweet spot in the knife collector world. And the average "old time" GEC collector had much pressure getting the knife he or she wanted. A bit of frustration ensued.

So the boom began and the real frustration set in. I used to lament the fact that I wasn't able to get each particular knife I wanted or missed a beauty that I had passed on the first time. I realized I wasn't able to keep up with production and the pressure created by competition was a bit overwhelming.

C'est la vie...frustration has now given way to, "I'll catch one on the next go around". Because over the years I have figured out that GEC will continue to produce an amazing assortment of pocket knives and after a short wait I will eventually get one...Why sweat the small stuff? Through the years GEC has remained relatively the same - they have their heads down creating really good pocket knives and not worrying about the sniping about their business practices

It seems we need to appreciate GEC as a fine company being run by genuine people who are creative and ethical and who tend to run it their way, which is the best way, making knives for which I can own only some of them...so it goes.

Very well presented post. Thanks!

 

[supratentorial]

...fakers on the forum try to convince you they know what's up, but they really don't know...

I don't think this comment should have been made, especially since he's describing "what's up" I agree that GEC seems to be a good company doing honest work. I do disagree with particulars of his "what's up". GEC does seem to march to their own drum. Few business would ignore $300-400 profits on the aftermarket and pump out something else instead. Ignoring demand is not good business. That's basically telling customers you don't want their business. I don't really think that's the case. I think the upcoming run of beer scouts indicates that's not the way the company works. Most of the frenzy is over SFOs and aren't really representative of GEC as a whole. That's just my opinion. It's no more or less valid than any other opinions. I did provide an example though.

 

[Camillus]

The whole profit thing is circular. If all GEC knives cost more, the intense demand would dry up. The TC barlows costing $400 would sit on the shelves. Just look at the exchange for proof.

 

[supratentorial]

The whole profit thing is circular. If all GEC knives cost more, the intense demand would dry up. The TC barlows costing $400 would sit on the shelves. Just look at the exchange for proof.

I wouldn't recommend that GEC set prices that high. Making more of knives that have high demand instead of knives that have low or average demand would make sense. But the barlows are a SFO. The beer scouts are GEC's own thing. And this upcoming run makes a lot of sense.

The recent 440C knives seem to be an exception. I don't know why they made so few. Maybe they didn't anticipate demand. Maybe they were just using up extra materials. Maybe they're allergic to 440C