- Joined
- Feb 11, 2003
- Messages
- 1,862
This weekend my wife and I had the good fortune to find ourselves near Titusville, PA. We were heading to Pennsylvania for the weekend to attend a friend's wedding, and once I found out that Titusville was a mere 40 minute side trip, it was added to the itinerary immediately!
We arrived in town right around 10:30 Friday morning. GEC is definitely tucked in an out of the way industrial park; you'd never find it without a good set of directions.
It's a very unassuming front, and when you walk inside you are immediately struck with the smell of machine oil and bone. We were very quickly greeted by Mr. Bill Howard himself the President of Great Eastern. He was running down the hallway and took time to stop and say hello, and told us to check in at the nearest office and someone would give us a tour. I was able to snap a couple pictures of the display case near the entryway, but I didn't have time to photograph the entire thing, unfortunately.
This case has serial number 1 of every pattern GEC has made since they started operations. It's a very, very impressive sight. It made my wallet cry out in pain!
Christine Tucker, Great Eastern's Inside sales manager, gave us a very warm welcome and took nearly 40 minutes out of her day to take us on an excellent tour of the facility and explain every step of the manufacturing process. The only area that guests are not allowed to see is the bone processing/dying/jigging room, due to closely guarded trade secrets. She did tell us that they receive their cow bone in whole pieces shipped in 55 gallon drums. From there, every piece is individually cut down, jigged, and dyed on site. The same process applies to their stag.
I had previously watched the online tour of GEC's facility, but once you see it for yourself, it really lends a new appreciation to how much care and effort is put in to each and every step of the build. It's really an amazing thing to witness. I even got to hold and check out the first Northwoods #54 to pass the final inspection! Alas, though, they wouldn't let me put it in my pocket... Suffice it to say, they're gorgeous. I can't wait to order one!
Christine ended the tour by opening up the factory store for us. Things were slightly in a state of confusion since so many things were being boxed up to take to the Blade show, but she took even more of her time to open up the display cases and show me knife after knife. After much hemming and hawing, I wound up purchasing two blade keys, and this little gem:
It's a Northfield 85 Bullet End Jack in green briar jig bone. It's happily riding in my pocket as I type this. It's my first example of this pattern, and I'm quite pleased with it. I really love the feel of the handle shape.
All in all, we had a wonderful time. My wife, who normally only has a mild interest in my knife hobby, even was impressed, and has started to peruse GEC's various patterns for a new purse knife. We are planning on heading back to Titusville the last weekend in July to visit GEC's rendezvous, which coincides with the Queen Cutlery Collector's show. I HIGHLY recommend you visit if you ever find yourself in the area. The employees of GEC are really great people who not only take great pride in their wares, but also take great care of their customers.
Oh, and speaking of Queen Cutlery, guess what else is in Titusville!
Approximately three minutes away from GEC lies the Queen Cutlery Company factory and store! We stopped by and spoke with a very nice young lady who is in charge of their final inspections. They don't currently offer factory tours, but have a very nice display of vintage Queens for your viewing pleasure. I couldn't leave empty handed, though, so I wound up picking up this guy:
It's a #11 Utility in D2 tool steel and African curly zebrawood. It was a very reasonable price, and will make a nice slim back pocket carry piece.
We had a wonderful weekend overall. The wedding wasn't even that bad either...
Thanks for reading,
-Dan
We arrived in town right around 10:30 Friday morning. GEC is definitely tucked in an out of the way industrial park; you'd never find it without a good set of directions.
It's a very unassuming front, and when you walk inside you are immediately struck with the smell of machine oil and bone. We were very quickly greeted by Mr. Bill Howard himself the President of Great Eastern. He was running down the hallway and took time to stop and say hello, and told us to check in at the nearest office and someone would give us a tour. I was able to snap a couple pictures of the display case near the entryway, but I didn't have time to photograph the entire thing, unfortunately.
This case has serial number 1 of every pattern GEC has made since they started operations. It's a very, very impressive sight. It made my wallet cry out in pain!
Christine Tucker, Great Eastern's Inside sales manager, gave us a very warm welcome and took nearly 40 minutes out of her day to take us on an excellent tour of the facility and explain every step of the manufacturing process. The only area that guests are not allowed to see is the bone processing/dying/jigging room, due to closely guarded trade secrets. She did tell us that they receive their cow bone in whole pieces shipped in 55 gallon drums. From there, every piece is individually cut down, jigged, and dyed on site. The same process applies to their stag.
I had previously watched the online tour of GEC's facility, but once you see it for yourself, it really lends a new appreciation to how much care and effort is put in to each and every step of the build. It's really an amazing thing to witness. I even got to hold and check out the first Northwoods #54 to pass the final inspection! Alas, though, they wouldn't let me put it in my pocket... Suffice it to say, they're gorgeous. I can't wait to order one!
Christine ended the tour by opening up the factory store for us. Things were slightly in a state of confusion since so many things were being boxed up to take to the Blade show, but she took even more of her time to open up the display cases and show me knife after knife. After much hemming and hawing, I wound up purchasing two blade keys, and this little gem:
It's a Northfield 85 Bullet End Jack in green briar jig bone. It's happily riding in my pocket as I type this. It's my first example of this pattern, and I'm quite pleased with it. I really love the feel of the handle shape.
All in all, we had a wonderful time. My wife, who normally only has a mild interest in my knife hobby, even was impressed, and has started to peruse GEC's various patterns for a new purse knife. We are planning on heading back to Titusville the last weekend in July to visit GEC's rendezvous, which coincides with the Queen Cutlery Collector's show. I HIGHLY recommend you visit if you ever find yourself in the area. The employees of GEC are really great people who not only take great pride in their wares, but also take great care of their customers.
Oh, and speaking of Queen Cutlery, guess what else is in Titusville!
Approximately three minutes away from GEC lies the Queen Cutlery Company factory and store! We stopped by and spoke with a very nice young lady who is in charge of their final inspections. They don't currently offer factory tours, but have a very nice display of vintage Queens for your viewing pleasure. I couldn't leave empty handed, though, so I wound up picking up this guy:
It's a #11 Utility in D2 tool steel and African curly zebrawood. It was a very reasonable price, and will make a nice slim back pocket carry piece.
We had a wonderful weekend overall. The wedding wasn't even that bad either...
Thanks for reading,
-Dan
