Pemberton prototype - is this normal?

ismaris

ismaris

Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
338
I recently bought a sweet TC Pemberton, 1095 clip, Buffalo horn. It has the Prototype etch which wasn't described in the description from the retailer. Did I get a bargain or is it sop for that knife? I paid $68 and change.
 
If you are talking about the "PPP" etch, that is not the prototype etch. That means "Premiere Pattern Production" and signifies it's one of the first made in that pattern.
If that is not what you are referring to, then I don't have an answer.
 
> Did I get a bargain or is it sop for that knife? I paid $68 and change.

Congratulations, post a photo or two :-)
the prototype etch is not common, the price you paid is about $10 less than I gave for my, non prototype
I dont think there is any unique increase in value for having the Prototype etch, at least not to me. If you use the knife, the etch disapears anyway.
as subspace says above, the PPP (Premier Pattern Production) designation is a different etch than the Prototype etch I think you are describing
congrats on your Pemby, enjoy it!
 
Last edited:
ismaris said:
I recently bought a sweet TC Pemberton, 1095 clip, Buffalo horn. It has the Prototype etch which wasn't described in the description from the retailer. Did I get a bargain or is it sop for that knife? I paid $68 and change.
Click to expand...

I think you did alright. There is a dealer I buy GEC's from (he is a nonBF dealer so I cannot name him) who specialises in rare GEC's. Typically the prototypes are more expensive than the ppp's, serialised or continuation's on his site. There are dealers here who will probably chime into this thread who have better knowledge than me.

:)
Paul
 
SubSpace said:
If you are talking about the "PPP" etch, that is not the prototype etch. That means "Premiere Pattern Production" and signifies it's one of the first made in that pattern.
If that is not what you are referring to, then I don't have an answer.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. Thanks for the clarification of the "PPP" etch. I really love this sturdy little knife. Such a great reason to use the coin pocket in my jeans.
 
I love my pemberton. It also has buffalo scales. I use it all the time.
 
Prototypes are for those that want one. GEC knives are not made in the order they are serialized, they are just grabbed off a tray. I have seen one or two real GEC prototypes in 7 years; not that they were made any different, but that there was only one. But in my mind a prototype is made to verify that the engineering is completely correct; and by that definition, I have not seen one from any maker.

Some people want to pay a little premium for a prototype, and that is alright. I generally have one or two made on my SFO's.

But, for those that think you are buying the first one off the line that was made with special attention (over others in same run) to insure the fit / finish / etc. ---- no such luck.

You want something hard to find, get serial #01....
 
just wish they made a single clip point pemberton in the autumn gold jig, although that black olive green color looks nice.
 
knifeswapper said:
Prototypes are for those that want one. GEC knives are not made in the order they are serialized, they are just grabbed off a tray. I have seen one or two real GEC prototypes in 7 years; not that they were made any different, but that there was only one. But in my mind a prototype is made to verify that the engineering is completely correct; and by that definition, I have not seen one from any maker.

Some people want to pay a little premium for a prototype, and that is alright. I generally have one or two made on my SFO's.

But, for those that think you are buying the first one off the line that was made with special attention (over others in same run) to insure the fit / finish / etc. ---- no such luck.

You want something hard to find, get serial #01....
Click to expand...

So you're saying an etch like this is purely in the interest of a marketing ploy to increase exclusivity?

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1379601406.556111.jpg
***borrowed image***
 
pmew said:
So you're saying an etch like this is purely in the interest of a marketing ploy to increase exclusivity?

View attachment 379160
***borrowed image***
Click to expand...

My anecdotal sampling of "one" supports Mike's and others' observations that the knives marked "prototype" are not examples of what is commonly understood by that term-- test models by which to confirm pattern suitability and/or need for improvement before general production-- but are instead knives from the general run, with the blade etch being the sole difference.

From an earlier post o' mine, as the light came on:
pertinux said:
Perhaps of interest only to me, but some minutiae:

1) Dating. The Prototype's certificate is dated 11/25/2008, the "regular run" knife's is 11/18/2008-- a week earlier. I would have guessed it would be the other way around.

Either GEC didn't/doesn't finalize Prototype paperwork until after the regular run is produced, or there be marketing gimmickry afoot in the production and valuation of "prototypes."
sly.gif~original


rma100 said:
It's marketing P. The only difference between Prototype and Regular Run is the blade etch. Oh, and the Price. Just MHO.

Speaking of "gimmickry", that is some very clever photography with the "mirror"!
Click to expand...

pertinux said:
Thanks for the information, and the compliment. I had a lot of fun taking the pictures.

It seems I may have captured more than one sort of trickery with them. ;)

:D
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

~ P.
 
pmew said:
So you're saying an etch like this is purely in the interest of a marketing ploy to increase exclusivity?
Click to expand...

I don't think it is as much a ploy as it is honoring collector desires. As far as I know, GEC does not make a prototype unless someone has requested one from a specific run. Maybe they should etch it "Highly Desired Etching" instead of "Prototype". But I have had customers request one from upcoming runs, at which time I "have the talk" with them and they still insist on getting it.

Personally, I think serialized versions are nearly the same issue. Serializing 25 knives with 1of25 and then making at least 25 non-serialized seems just as much marketing, but many people just want serialized knives. Nothing wrong with it, just a premium for a little different marking.

When you see 5 prototypes with the only difference being the slabs they have used 1000 times before; do people really think they are getting an engineering prototype? And when it has a "born on" card the same day as the rest of the run, is this something you think nobody has noticed before?
 
knifeswapper said:
I don't think it is as much a ploy as it is honoring collector desires. As far as I know, GEC does not make a prototype unless someone has requested one from a specific run. Maybe they should etch it "Highly Desired Etching" instead of "Prototype". But I have had customers request one from upcoming runs, at which time I "have the talk" with them and they still insist on getting it.

Personally, I think serialized versions are nearly the same issue. Serializing 25 knives with 1of25 and then making at least 25 non-serialized seems just as much marketing, but many people just want serialized knives. Nothing wrong with it, just a premium for a little different marking.

When you see 5 prototypes with the only difference being the slabs they have used 1000 times before; do people really think they are getting an engineering prototype? And when it has a "born on" card the same day as the rest of the run, is this something you think nobody has noticed before?
Click to expand...

I've never bought one, I use all my knives and I never saw the point in paying extra for an etch that was going to vanish soon enough anyway. But I can understand why a collector would want a slightly more exclusive edition of a knife.
 
Curious - new to knives but my experience in cars, watches, model trains and about everything else is if its called a Ltd edition its probably not ltd enough to be collectible! Have any of the limited runs from gec, case, queen become collectible?
 
From my experience, the truly collectible things were never originally designed to be collected but used. That is why getting "the thing" in unused or nearly unused state, mint, is what makes it so desireable. Making things to be collected defeats the purpose to some degree.
 
akadave2 said:
From my experience, the truly collectible things were never originally designed to be collected but used. That is why getting "the thing" in unused or nearly unused state, mint, is what makes it so desireable. Making things to be collected defeats the purpose to some degree.
Click to expand...

Premier league stickers. I had tons when I was a kid, (UK equivalent of baseball cards) made to be collected :)

Sorry, just playing devils advocate ;)
 
Kirk1963 said:
Curious - new to knives but my experience in cars, watches, model trains and about everything else is if its called a Ltd edition its probably not ltd enough to be collectible! Have any of the limited runs from gec, case, queen become collectible?
Click to expand...

For your info Kirk, every GEC knife made is a limited edition. They rarely make more than 50 of anything. Most times only 25. As for becoming collectibles, Try to find even A PICTURE of the 2011 Whaler Rendezvous Knife from GEC.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top