Thinning Out GEC Collection

Modoc ED · Jun 9, 2013

I've recently decided to thin out my GEC knife collection. I sold some to a dealer and I put seventeen (17) of them on consignment at a local sporting goods/gun store a couple of towns over from me. That has worked out well as I placed them on consignment last Wednesday and they've already sold four (4). I've also given several to a couple of nephews and good friends.

Anyway, these are all the GEC knives I have left with the exception of one duplicate Farm & Field Bullnose with black delrin covers and one Red Neck Bullnose with orange delrin covers (both not pictured) giving me a total of thirteen (13) GEC knives.

The orange Bull Nose Work Knife pictured is the SFO knife for Mike Latham that started the Work Knife/Redneck/Farm & Field craze for this style of knife from GEC.

I have no plans for buying any more GEC knives for myself but there's that old saying; "Never say never".

jwren · Jun 9, 2013

Still quite a nice collection, Ed! :thumbup:

TLARbb · Jun 9, 2013

I need to do the same thing with my whole collection, not limited to my GECs. I've been thinking about it, but I'm not sure I can pull it off yet. It seems that you have put a lot of thought into what to keep.

Ed J

Will Power · Jun 9, 2013

Well, there's an appreciative, captive audience waiting in this thread....

Modoc ED · Jun 9, 2013

Yes Ed J, I did put a lot of thought into it. The knives I put on consignment are all uncarried, unused, never sharpened. That gives them a much better chance of selling and so far it's working out well.

As to the ones I kept, they cover a fairly wide spectrum of what GEC has to offer as to size, use, and pattern. Four are fancy (3 jigged bone and 1 perylic) and the rest, while nice looking, are totally utilitarian in their looks and usefulness. ALL are capable knives.

rockgolfer · Jun 9, 2013

I like what you have kept ED, great selection indeed. Can I ask if the thinning was related to the knives themselves i.e. GEC in general? I do not wish to intrude into private matters and a simple none of your business will certainly suffice.

quattromori · Jun 9, 2013

Ed,
I'm quite a fan of the "thinning out strategy". Anyone does with his knives and collection what he wants, but if this is working for you, and making you feel fine, then it means you're on the right track.
In my opinion, you have enough GEC knives left not to miss anything else, and clearly they weren't chosen randomly.
Obviously, sooner or later you will get others (it's just our fate), but why hurry?

Fausto

Modoc ED · Jun 9, 2013

rockgolfer said:
I like what you have kept ED, great selection indeed. Can I ask if the thinning was related to the knives themselves i.e. GEC in general? I do not wish to intrude into private matters and a simple none of your business will certainly suffice.

Truth be told, I'll be 70-years old in August and I decided to thin out my entire collection so that my wife doesn't have to deal with it when the time comes. I've already got a buyer for my entire Case collection although I won't be letting those go just now. Arrangements have also been made for the stragglers, and modern, one-hand openers, etc..

quattromori said:
Ed,
I'm quite a fan of the "thinning out strategy". Anyone does with his knives and collection what he wants, but if this is working for you, and making you feel fine, then it means you're on the right track.
In my opinion, you have enough GEC knives left not to miss anything else, and clearly they weren't chosen randomly.
Obviously, sooner or later you will get others (it's just our fate), but why hurry?

Fausto

Nope, I have no plans for getting anymore GEC knives. I may buy one or two as presents for others (birthday, etc.) but no more for me.

I did keep my three Schrade Fire & Ice knives made by GEC but those too have a future home already lined up.

Don't count me out yet. I just wanted to get rid of the GECs while I could.

quattromori · Jun 9, 2013

Ed,
I own one GEC knife at the moment, and I'm not sure whether I will get anymore, so I understand you pretty well

Also, if you're able to sell your knives decently, then everything is fine. And I'm not counting you out at all

Fausto

jkulysses · Jun 9, 2013

Just out of curiosity would you mind putting up a list of the ones you have sold or have on consignment? Give us a better idea of what you had and how much you have downsized

. I would have a hard time selling any of my GEC knives. I have a hard time selling any knife or gun I own. I can sell most things and even lose money on them and not give it much thought but even selling a gun or knife for profit is hard for me to do.

Modoc ED · Jun 9, 2013

Too, too, numerous to list.

Turk88 · Jun 9, 2013

Oh, oooonly 13. Looks like a mighty fine collection even with only that few. I'm just kidding about the number, I don't have any yet but will certainly change eventually. It's probably easier to choose one to carry with less options.

akadave2 · Jun 9, 2013

Modoc ED said:
Truth be told, I'll be 70-years old in August and I decided to thin out my entire collection so that my wife doesn't have to deal with it when the time comes. I've already got a buyer for my entire Case collection although I won't be letting those go just now. Arrangements have also been made for the stragglers, and modern, one-hand openers, etc..

Nope, I have no plans for getting anymore GEC knives. I may buy one or two as presents for others (birthday, etc.) but no more for me.

I did keep my three Schrade Fire & Ice knives made by GEC but those too have a future home already lined up.

Don't count me out yet. I just wanted to get rid of the GECs while I could.

You are only 70!? And you are thinking of leaving so soon!? Come on man! 70 is the new 50!!!! You got a lot of time to play with sharp things!

jackknife · Jun 9, 2013

Modoc ED said:
Truth be told, I'll be 70-years old in August and I decided to thin out my entire collection so that my wife doesn't have to deal with it when the time comes. I've already got a buyer for my entire Case collection although I won't be letting those go just now. Arrangements have also been made for the stragglers, and modern, one-hand openers, etc..
.

I'm glad I'm not alone in that feeling. I did a lot of downsizing because of that very thought. When you get much closer to the end than the beginning, you find that you don't need as much stuff as you did 'before'. Knives, guns, other stuff.

Carl.

kamagong · Jun 9, 2013

You still have a good sized bunch there Ed. I only have two myself, a stag #73 and an ebony Charlow.

- Christian

richstag · Jun 9, 2013

Good for you, Ed! But hey, could you stop thinking about dying on us???

CoffeeCat2112 · Jun 9, 2013

Carl and Ed, I'm just now hitting 40 and I've been going through the same thing over the past year or so. I've been getting rid of a lot of stuff so that others won't have to.

To keep this somewhat on topic - that included a lot of knives. Granted, I have bought some more, but what I have is a lot more focused on what makes me smile vs. what I "should have" in a collection. And I'm not afraid to use any of them.

jackknife said:
I'm glad I'm not alone in that feeling. I did a lot of downsizing because of that very thought. When you get much closer to the end than the beginning, you find that you don't need as much stuff as you did 'before'. Knives, guns, other stuff.

Carl.

midnight flyer · Jun 10, 2013

It's tough to get rid of your favorite goodies, but I am now looking at that myself.

My Dad passed last year and left everything in disarray as he could never sort it all out himself. Guns, knives, tools, all the momentos he hung onto became an albatross for my mother.

I am hanging onto most of the knives as I want my nephew to have some that belonged to his grandfather, but even at 12, he isn't really interested in knives. So the knives and other prized possessions will be sold as needed to pay for Mom's bills, probably at a fraction of their worth (as shame in itself) but will also find their way out of our family.

He didn't want to find any buyers for his knife and gun collections himself, and quit selling them on consignment after the local gun/knife store charged him 40% to sell them. As for his tools, I am a contractor and have all heavy duty tools that do all I need. I would have broken his heart in two to see what I sold some of his tools for to get the house cleared out. But I could never get him moving to sell any of that stuff. I think that in some cases the effort it took to acquire his knives and tools far outweighed any money he would have gotten for them and he just couldn't deal with it.

For me, I am blessed now with more knives than I could ever use to their capability. I would rather see them go to someone that would appreciate them or at least get a fair price for them, so a few are getting ready to go on the block. I am pushing 57, and I just don't want my loved ones to have to deal with my "stuff".

Robert

Bigfattyt · Jun 10, 2013

Some great knives left there in the traditional stable.

I bought a small and large fire and ice scharade, and two small ones for my two boys.

I need to get some long pull ebony's

Omega Leather Works · Jun 10, 2013

Modoc ED said:
Truth be told, I'll be 70-years old in August and I decided to thin out my entire collection so that my wife doesn't have to deal with it when the time comes. I've already got a buyer for my entire Case collection although I won't be letting those go just now. Arrangements have also been made for the stragglers, and modern, one-hand openers, etc..

What an honorable and thoughtful gesture. I applaud you for your foresight. :thumbup:

I'm still very much learning about GEC knives, but I know that they are the ones that interest me most. You have a fine collection. One to be proud of for sure.