Lets talk GEC!

EngrSorenson said:
and... those #92 spear points look like they are cut swedge with the long pulls... yet it says #92 Tidioute in the caption...

Mistake? Or for real?
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Well spotted! Hopefully that's a mistake, and those are really the 77 matchstrike spears! :thumbsup:
 
akaMatt said:
Well spotted! Hopefully that's a mistake, and those are really the 77 matchstrike spears! :thumbsup:
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Hmm... matchstrike, you say? If you look very very carfully, it seems that the bottom part of the long pull has ridges, which I'd previously noticed but didn't fully appreciate that there's a difference between matchstrike and long pulls. Now I think those are for the 77's.

Handsome blades. I'm sorry I missed out on one!
 
akaMatt said:
Well spotted! Hopefully that's a mistake, and those are really the 77 matchstrike spears! :thumbsup:
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I think they could be for both, if you look closely there are long pulls without matchstrikers as well as with.
 
SteveC said:
I think they could be for both, if you look closely there are long pulls without matchstrikers as well as with.
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Maybe this is why Mr. Howard turns down blade ideas... because he knows what blades can be used on similar frames!
 
We’re still talking GEC, right?

Been awhile since I posted. Sometimes it seems the actual pocket users have been forgotten amongst the collectors, which is why I tend to lurk mostly these days.

That said, my biggest gripe with GEC is that it’s hard for a devout user of particular patterns to find more of said pattern(s) in different scale patterns. Instead, you have to sift through their latest queued pattern, which might be worthwhile enough to pocket, but given the cost and knowing what you like and works, might be too much a gamble to test, but it sure keeps the predominately collector party moving forward.

I get it. Maybe this business model is what keeps them in business, but sometimes I feel traditional knife guys have lost their way alienating us tool users. As an early watch guy, same thing happened with most ‘luxury’ watch brands as they’re now called.

Would be nice to see some of the less obscure patterns offered. Would buy half a dozen 66 stockman in various cool-colored acrylics, and especially rotten banana bone. I realize they made a Jack awhile back in rotten banana, but that’s not what I want, so I’ll just wait and wait

Just my .02.
 
Interesting points. To be honest I feel more alienated by the exclusivity of some of the SFO runs than by GECs practices generally.

I remember a lot of scarcity discussions around early 2017 and GEC responded by shifting toward larger runs and doing some of the more sought after patterns. This probably didn’t make the collectors very happy and if you happened to already have a few 66s and 48s then you were also out of luck.

Overall I think GEC is doing ok.
 
For sure they’re doing Ok. I’m not going to fault them for being great at what they do, but a guy can dream! Love their stuff.

I did a run of 65 knives couple years ago for my watch forum. Was good fun and paid them immediately. Snuck-in on their current production run in one type of scale, which just happened to be a pattern all of us could agree on.

The knives were so great that the forum members wanted in the next year in greater numbers, as sort of a potential annual forum tradition, but they didn’t even entertain my inquiry even though I promised more purchasing power.

I guess my point is your point on SFOs... I could have written a personal check for 100 knives just to get what I wanted in one type of scale material (they won’t even talk various material unless it’s 3x that amount), moved 95 of them to my forum members, maybe a few here, and all without an online storefront, just to get two knives a really wanted as users (and a back-up).

Maybe I need to write a website and start doing non-obscure pattern SFOs just to get what I want?
 
I just buy what I like when it comes up, and keep my blade to the stone when its time to get something HOT or reserve SFOs. Like everyone else I find plenty of variety out there meanwhile and if I miss something I like I'd be disappointed, buy or trade on secondary market, or wait for them to come back around again.
 
So the "knife sweat" thing happened again. I got a picture this time, though by the time I took it I had already started to wipe it down before stopping realizing I was being an idiot. This phenomena has happened 3 times now, all on cool humid nights while it sat on my night stand far from the open window while a fan draws outside air in through the house. Again, for those following at home, my theory is that cut burlap micarta wicks moisture out of the air due to the large exposed fibers. You'll see where I indicate with my finger that there is a glossy sheen of standing water. in the middle of the knife you'll see it's bone dry- that's where I wiped it down a little. Then on the bolster end you can see more shine where I missed some water.

3tgyvUU.jpg
 
EngrSorenson said:
So the "knife sweat" thing happened again. I got a picture this time, though by the time I took it I had already started to wipe it down before stopping realizing I was being an idiot. This phenomena has happened 3 times now, all on cool humid nights while it sat on my night stand far from the open window while a fan draws outside air in through the house. Again, for those following at home, my theory is that cut burlap micarta wicks moisture out of the air due to the large exposed fibers. You'll see where I indicate with my finger that there is a glossy sheen of standing water. in the middle of the knife you'll see it's bone dry- that's where I wiped it down a little. Then on the bolster end you can see more shine where I missed some water.

3tgyvUU.jpg
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Interesting. Are other things on the nightstand damp? I think I'd apply some wax to that knife: blade and covers.

p.s. It's August in Texas, and I know not of these "cool humid nights" of which you speak. :p
 
r8shell said:
Interesting. Are other things on the nightstand damp? I think I'd apply some wax to that knife: blade and covers.

p.s. It's August in Texas, and I know not of these "cool humid nights" of which you speak. :p
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Hahahahaha, I’d die in Texas. I’m not built for that.

Interestingly enough, nothing else on my night stand was damp or even moist.
 
sierra11b said:
Sometimes it seems the actual pocket users have been forgotten amongst the collectors, which is why I tend to lurk mostly these days.
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sierra11b said:
Would buy half a dozen 66 stockman in various cool-colored acrylics, and especially rotten banana bone.
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Methinks you're a bit confused. I agree that GEC is largely collector driven, but yours seems an odd gripe given that you are something of a collector yourself. Half a dozen of a pattern in different cover materials? A user would have one knife, with perhaps a second put away as a replacement.

Sounds a bit like sour grapes.​
 
kamagong said:

Methinks you're a bit confused. I agree that GEC is largely collector driven, but yours seems an odd gripe given that you are something of a collector yourself. Half a dozen of a pattern in different cover materials? A user would have one knife, with perhaps a second put away as a replacement.

Sounds a bit like sour grapes.​
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Yes, your argument is self contradictory. I would also note that selling to collectors isn’t GECs “business model” rather that collectors are attracted to GECs variety and, above all, quality.

My “collection” of seven GECs is composed of two non-users. I somehow manage, with patience and luck, to buy what I want.
 
EngrSorenson said:
That makes it very tempting... I just wish they didn’t scribe all over those beautiful blades.
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If it’s as bad as the last run of 15s...I’ll just take some high grit sandpaper to the blade and polish it. I don’t really mind a simple, nice & tasteful etch but you’re right, they go way over the top.
 
The points being touched on here are true, and I’ve been guilty of sour grapes when I couldn’t get a knife I was really interested in.

Really it doesn’t matter if you collect safe queens or if you collect users, I think the point is we’re all collectors in some right. I have a huge collection of users that have more value to me than a buyer on the secondary market, I’m sure. I think in all probability if you belong to this forum, you probably have a collection.

sierra11b sierra11b if it helps you feel better, GEC selling out of these things so quickly is a good sign that throughout your life you’ll have more opportunities to buy knives you really want. The scarcity also makes it more satisfying when you finally land that white whale you’ve been after.

I would guess that the majority of the original (and true) users of these traditional knives in the golden age of pocket cutlery probably didn’t really collect them. I’d bet they wore them out, broke them or lost them and then bought another knife they saw as being particularly useful. We live in good times, for sure.
 
EngrSorenson said:
Really it doesn’t matter if you collect safe queens or if you collect users, I think the point is we’re all collectors in some right...
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I agree. In my opinion, if you own more than one knife--regardless of whether those knives were purchased for using or for admiring or as an "investment"--you're a collector.

I don't find the artificial distinction between "users" and "collectors" to be productive. Lord knows *all* of us have more knives than we need.
 
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