GEC is fantastic in all areas except pull. This has been a topic here many times, but some of the knives are so hard to open, like my Ben Hogan,
as to make them uncomfortable to use.
This is what I love about them!!! A little oil, on the joint, and a lot of opening and closing, and they are just right.
I am no expert, but the other traditional brands I have tried are a are lighter pulls than I like for the most part (the exception was the Grandad Barlow from Queen. Nice solid pull). The other queen I have is a pardue/queen canoe. The pull on that one is way way too light, so much so, that I am afraid of how it will be after years carrying and using it. It might be perfect for some one else, but not for me.
I much prefer a very strong pull to a so so pull. I can sit and work the action and get the pull to loosen up, but I sure have no idea how to firm up the pull on knives with too weak of a pull.
I recently bought a Tideoute barlow for my father (pattern #25). The pull was too light for me. I bought another (the all steel and stag barlow) for my self, and the pull is much firmer, and perfect.
All the GEC I have held have been tops for fit and finish!
Some one mentioned, the blade geometry on the GEC are spot on! They slice! Exactly what I want in traditional. Even Stout models like the Sunfish have a nice keen edge. They also use a decent angle to sharpen. The two Queen I have came with an super obtuse edges. The Schatt and Morgan edges were not bad. And seem to be ground thinner behind the edges than the Queen (which I found a bit odd, because the same company makes them).
I would like to see GEC keep making "firm" pulls, but not every one is in my boat.
For full disclosure, I have a large two bladed Scharade pioneer (made by GEC, #23 pattern), which did have what I consider to be an manufacturing defect. The clip blade was proud of the handle by a tiny bit at the tip. I have cut and poked my finger a bit on that blade (enough to draw blood on more than one occasion) by sticking my hand in my pocket to fish it out. I hit the kick with my sander a bit, and a bit more by hand to address this. For me, it is not a difficult fix, so on a user I am not bothered by it (the other three Scharade I bought in the same pattern do not have this same issue). But that is one of my favorite knives. The bone scales are great, the fit to the bolsters is great. The liners have no gaps at all, and the blades are both tight and snappy (tight side to side also, which is very important).
In short, I can't say enough good things about all the GEC I have owned and held!
(I can't say the same for Queen, or Schatt and Morgan.....as the three I have have issues, but I still like them overall).
Some one else mentioned the Case/Bose collaboration knives. I had a chance to hold and play with several, and the fit and finish were excellent! I feel they were worth the money, especially considering premium stainless steels (I always like variety). I would not hesitate to buy them for my self. The only thing that has stopped me so far, is the fact that I don't own all the patterns I want from GEC, and I can buy two GEC for the price of some of the Bose/Case models.
The Ben Hogan might just be next on my list.
The Furtaker also looks excellent.
I also really would like the Cattle Barron. The Stamped bolster 1/2 congress is stellar looking to my eye, and I hope they release a brown bone version, or stag.
. So it became my Church knife. 
