Love of knives and GEC

C

Cricketycrack

Joined
Oct 6, 2022
Messages
5
Hey, I am new to this, in fact this is my first discussion or post so forgive me if I don't sound like a knife expert, I'm not......I have just always loved knives, since I was a kid, fascinated with them. I've had a bunch since I was probably thirteen or so. And over time I collected some great ones. Every year my parents would get me one for Christmas that I was most admiring at the cutlery store in the mall. I think my first really nice one was the Gerber LMF, I believe that's correct, forgive me if its not. Anyway, it was an awesome survival type knife, very big. And then I got the 'Trailblazer' which was a high quality bowie style knife. I forget the exact name of the maker, maybe Coldsteel. The one I always wanted and never got was a true 'Rambo knife' . I had some knock offs but they were horrible quality. I was never smart with my knives. I was the the type to store all the survival gear I had in my truck and I never thought about my truck getting stolen. Everything I collected, gone. Except the Gerber but I lost that one when I flipped a canoe, woops. I was having a great day on the river until that point. As I moved into my twenties I lost interest in knives. Then when I was in my early forties I began remembering how fascinated I was with them and I began looking at all kinds of knives I loved on ebay. And I quickly found that the knives I most love and admire or the older traditional folders with the bone handles, etc. I became really impressed with the Great Eastern Cutlery knives just based on the looks, I had never owned one. This was about four years ago. I ended up buying a 'Beer Scout' . I also bought a vintage knife I loved by Case called a rail splitter, its about a 4" long closed jack knife with two blades, one large spear and one small. Rough black worm groove handles. Its pretty awesome. There are several of the GEC knives I want or wanted. I say 'wanted' because my idea of collecting knives has become more of just something I wish I could do, because I can no longer afford these knives. When I bought mine just four years ago I paid around $180 for it. The same knife today, four years later, can't be found for under $600 and most of the ones I admired are more than that. Can anyone explain this to me? This kinda blows my mind. How does anyone afford to pay over $1000 for a folder? Thanks in advance.
 
I think there's a lot to be said for intentionally bucking the trend and seeking out less popular, less well known makers and manufacturers. GEC is just really overhyped at the moment, and for no particular reason, much like the Tulip mania of the 17th century.

Some of my favorite places to look for older, more obscure, less trendy knives are Nordic Knives and Cutting Edge (A.G. Russell's consignment site). Happy hunting!
 
By having enough money in the bank to pay for it?? 😆 +GEC are like super inflated atm..

I would never spend $2k on a bag to carry all my trash around in, but my wife loves her Louis Vuitton purse..

Everybody prioritizes spending money differently. As long as the bills are paid you know...
 
So your saying these prices reflect the fact that GEC just happens to be a really trendy brand at the moment? I can understand that. I guess what blows my mind is that these knives seem to be made for use, that's what I like about them. And I guess this was the first knife brand I ever witnessed this happening with. For example, Case knives, if you want one, you get one. They are more or less the same price within reason unless you wanT a vintage one. But these GEC knives, your lucky if you Can even buy one that hasn't already been bought by someone and marked up to such a high price. And then it makes me wonder......are there really tons of people out there shelling out over a grand for a folder knife? Its just very interesting to me. That they can have buyers at that price point. After a few hundred, I'm out for a knife. That's past my comfort zone. I guess some folks just have much more disposable income than I do. I knew I shouldn't have had kids!
 
I like GEC knives but the feeding frenzy to score one isn’t usually worth it to me.

Honestly, Rough Rider Reserve is making traditional patterns that give GEC a real run on the quality side for 1/3 the price.

So far RRR hasn’t gotten into wood or bone covers, which is really a must have in the traditional world.

RRR also seem to always have a design element that seems “off”. Their closest run at a solid traditional win is their Barlow.

Of course, POO will be an issue for some.
View attachment 1950480
 
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Yea, kids certainly dont help with disposable income. Certain brands tend to get like this from time to time, GEC especially, some of it is hype, some of it is scalpers lol...

Take sprint run type knives from Spederco for example, go on sale for $200 on BHQ, sell out in 2 minutes, and all end up listed on Ebay a week later for $500. Hinderer, TRM, are other examples of the same...
 
That's a nice looking knife. Thanks for sharing! I get what your saying about the feeding frenzy.....that kinda turned me off as well.....plus the fact that if you want one you have to buy it from someone who has marked it up 5x the original price. After that its just not as much fun. I lost interest.
 
But I do have one. And I love it. I guess its just unfortunately the only one I will have. But its nice to know that if I ever need a quick grand that I can just post it on ebay. That's kinda nice. But what sucks is that four years ago, I had actually bought four GEC knives for around $200 each and I felt so guilty about it, I turned around and sold three of them right away for what I paid. I wish I hadn't bc in the past few years the price of those knives has jumped several hundred bucks. That's a lot.
 
I find it funny that people will be pissed at someone asking such high prices, yet no mention of said buyer 🤣
 
Hackenslash said:
I like GEC knives but the feeding frenzy to score one isn’t usually worth it to me.

Honestly, Rough Rider Reserve is making traditional patterns that give GEC a real run on the quality side for 1/3 the price.

So far RRR hasn’t gotten into wood or bone covers, which is really a must have in the traditional world.

RRR also seem to always have a design element that seems “off”. Their closest run at a solid traditional win is their Barlow.

Of course, POO will be an issue for some.
View attachment 1950480
Click to expand...
I sas going to say the same thing. Rough Ryder will do anything a GEC will do for quite a bit less.
 
I wouldn't pay crazy prices just to get a GEC for the sake of having one, but there are a couple I'd shell out for. I'd pay an inflated price for a stag or wood 29 for instance. It has little to do with the brand and more to do with them being what I'd like in a knife as a whole. Don't know if that makes sense, but it is what it is...
 
Knife exchange here...traditionals and slipjoints is another place to search.
Welcome aboard.
 
well see this in the traditionals section probably? well itll be moved to the feedback area, theres plenty of explanations why GEC is so over priced there.
 
Yes the good old days..... I started buying GEC knives when the company got started, I'd browse dealer's sites and buy one every few weeks.

I've gone back to buying Case knives and anything else available..

CASE_TRAPPER.jpg
 
Cricketycrack said:
Hey, I am new to this, in fact this is my first discussion or post so forgive me if I don't sound like a knife expert, I'm not......I have just always loved knives, since I was a kid, fascinated with them. I've had a bunch since I was probably thirteen or so. And over time I collected some great ones. Every year my parents would get me one for Christmas that I was most admiring at the cutlery store in the mall. I think my first really nice one was the Gerber LMF, I believe that's correct, forgive me if its not. Anyway, it was an awesome survival type knife, very big. And then I got the 'Trailblazer' which was a high quality bowie style knife. I forget the exact name of the maker, maybe Coldsteel. The one I always wanted and never got was a true 'Rambo knife' . I had some knock offs but they were horrible quality. I was never smart with my knives. I was the the type to store all the survival gear I had in my truck and I never thought about my truck getting stolen. Everything I collected, gone. Except the Gerber but I lost that one when I flipped a canoe, woops. I was having a great day on the river until that point. As I moved into my twenties I lost interest in knives. Then when I was in my early forties I began remembering how fascinated I was with them and I began looking at all kinds of knives I loved on ebay. And I quickly found that the knives I most love and admire or the older traditional folders with the bone handles, etc. I became really impressed with the Great Eastern Cutlery knives just based on the looks, I had never owned one. This was about four years ago. I ended up buying a 'Beer Scout' . I also bought a vintage knife I loved by Case called a rail splitter, its about a 4" long closed jack knife with two blades, one large spear and one small. Rough black worm groove handles. Its pretty awesome. There are several of the GEC knives I want or wanted. I say 'wanted' because my idea of collecting knives has become more of just something I wish I could do, because I can no longer afford these knives. When I bought mine just four years ago I paid around $180 for it. The same knife today, four years later, can't be found for under $600 and most of the ones I admired are more than that. Can anyone explain this to me? This kinda blows my mind. How does anyone afford to pay over $1000 for a folder? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
If you don't use paragraph breaks to make your text easier to read, people may think you are ranting. FYI.
 
JPD1998 said:
Yes the good old days..... I started buying GEC knives when the company got started, I'd browse dealer's sites and buy one every few weeks.

I've gone back to buying Case knives and anything else available..

View attachment 1950690
Click to expand...

Love that two blade Jack / trapper at the top...4-1/8" closed? One of my all time favorite patterns of knife whether US or German made.........


20221001_130814.jpggen made.
 
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