What happened to GEC?

waynorth said:
Funny joke, but a kernel of truth in that;
In the small town of Titusville, finding workers has always been a problem. And most have to be trained - there is no formal apprenticeship in the cutlery industry - a niche market at best!! We all love knives but face it, we are a small percentage of the general population!!

I know Bill has an ongoing problem keeping workers! It seems people don't want to 'stick to it', or find the skillsets too onerous to acquire!! I certainly don't know the answers, but admire Bill for his tenaciousness, and dedication to sometimes thankless training, which is needed on a continuous basis!! Certainly, someone off the street is not able to make these beautiful objects we love without consistent, skillful instruction!!

Part of the reason I participate, is in admiration of what GEC has done!!
Complain if you must, but keep a view of the big picture!!
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Have they thought about paying the staff in GEC knives instead of cash? Those things are like gold!
 
I must admit that It was frustrating at first getting into GEC knives. Beautiful knives that I thought were impossible to get. A little effort and I was more successful. Honestly I have not bought a new release in a while. I have made great friends with about 5 guys here and we just exchange each others knives 😆 🤣 😂. I do not sell knives for profit. If it is brand new I sell for what I paid. If it is used I mark it down. I rarely have to sell on the exchange because I would rather trade, sell, or gift to a friend.

As far as the question of what happened to GEC? They are cranking out knives faster then ever. Look at their production totals. As far as I'm concerned that place is an American treasure. No knife company in the USA churns out that level of high quality knives at those numbers. If there is one, I don't know of them. We are just in a time of extremely high demand.

Nothing wrong with a vent session but this topic is brought up at nauseum. I hope your luck turns for the better.

Paul
 
Maybe we need to seal that or similar thread and stick it to the top, so when someone else comes up with those questions, again, they'll be just pointed in the right direction.

Don't get me wrong, I myself was asking same questions way back. Every once in a while somebody raises them again, and again, and again. Groundhog day it is.
 
7stitches said:
Titusville has a population of, 5024 compared to 7715 in Bradford, Pa. That's a small difference in numbers, and when you look at the number of knives that Case put out. With 71.6 miles between them, It's not like Case is pulling workers from the Titusville area. Low production runs for EDC means more set-ups and downtime too. All of this adds to the escalation of retail and resale of their knives. The question is, is it worth it?
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City population has nothing to do with output of a product so comparing populations to the amount of knives that Case produces doesn’t fit into the same equation. It’s glaringly obvious why Case can make more knives vs. GEC if you’ve ever been to both factories. You could fit 4-5 of GEC’s factories into the Case/Zippo manufacturing plant without an issue and Case runs 7 days a week with evening and night shifts.

Do you live in or have you been to this area before? Your thought on there being ~70 miles between the factories meaning Case wouldn’t be pulling workers from Titusville is an unsubstantiated statement. I can say for a fact that people in this region of PA/NY will travel hours for a “good” job (people’s definition of a good job is changing also, it’s not just the $) and a 70 mile commute isn’t out of the question, especially when a good chunk of the counties are National and State Forest, essentially you HAVE to drive a long way to work. It’s not just Case/Zippo potentially taking workers away, but every other facility or job opportunity within an hour or so drive which includes Erie, PA that has a lot of options.

Two employees of the facility that I work in recently left for jobs at Case because they were hired on the spot after a short interview, neither having experience at all in a manufacturing plant or experienced with knife making. Case is struggling to find help also and it’s evident by the 12 hour shifts, open enrollment job postings and the direct hire positions I’ve been seeing advertisements for.
 
waverave said:
I get it and it is definitely hard to get a GEC from a dealer drop unless you are in tight with a dealer. However, they are generally available, without flipper markup, if you have a little patience and know where to look 👍
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True. That's how I got most of mine. (about a dozen)
 
birdsbeaks said:
Respectfully disagree. It completely matters what you pay. When I find good and reliable talent, I pay them absolutely stupid money. It works. I keep the solid employees and the competition deals with high turnover and ends up training people for a single position perpetually -- well, perpetually until they go belly up, and then they say "nobody wants to work anymore."

Here's my formula for getting people to show up for work: Take the average rent in the area you plan to operate a business in, multiply it by 3, and that's what you should be paying good help per month. If you can't afford to pay them that, you can't afford to be in that business in that locality. easy-peasy. In an economy with unchecked inflation and wages staying flat for nigh on 40 years, if a business doesn't want to compensate employees adequately of their own volition then they get what they get - usually in the form of substandard help.
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Are you dealing with white collar or blue collar employees, although in my experience it hasn't really mattered?
 
Since this is not a discussion on the knives, but on the purchasing process, it's getting moved to Feedback.
 
I always find these threads interesting, because economics of knives are neat, and everyone here has a different background and perspective.

GEC prices have definitely risen over the years, whether that is driven by inflation or rising payroll expenses or need for new equipment or whatever…. Or dealer greed, or flippers.

Back in the day most of these knives were under $100. Tidioute more so than Northfields. Now it’s notably more. I’m thankful that they haven’t made much in the last year that really trips my trigger. That said, prices on everything are up and as an outsider it’s easy to say “with absolute and constant demand, they should clearly jack up prices, pay their employees more to aid retention, and institute shifts.”

But it’s a small factory in a small town, and that involves a certain amount of risk and a large amount of effort. And if the current system works for the factory…. If I were the owner I might well be completely uninterested in changing it. At the end of the day for them, having more people interested in their knives than knives available is not a bad thing.
 
GEC is a sure a hard one to get in today's market, similar to other big maker's backlogs. Some dealers are able to get them so they probably are top producers for them IMO. Anyhoo, I want to spread some love to the smaller US makers, but some of them too are getting quite popular and also have their own backlog of 2+ months. I stalked them at Blade shows, but that's where my outstanding warrant get in the way. lol.

So if you have any suggestions for domestic makers with less than 2 months wait, I appreciate a reply as I want to spend my hard earned money somewhere else (quality knives of course).

Thank you.
 
waverave said:
I get it and it is definitely hard to get a GEC from a dealer drop unless you are in tight with a dealer. However, they are generally available, without flipper markup, if you have a little patience and know where to look 👍
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I normally don't join in these GEC threads as it's the same song and dance each time, but ...

A handful of people keep saying this. You are in the lucky few if this is the case. I tried for a good long while to find a way to be able to get one now and then with absolutely zero luck buying new. So unless I wanted to pay crazy markups, which I don't so as many have I gave up on trying.

I'm sure for some it seems easy, but for the mass majority it's almost impossible.

I'm not trying to complain as they are just knives and it isn't like I must have another. But it sure was nice when if one caught your attention you could buy it at a fair price.

They are really nice knives that have become too much trouble to try to get an "in" to buy new ... or too much money if you aren't one of the luck few to have an "in" or bots to snatch them up. I don't believe it's GECs fault, but that's what it's gotten to for most.

I'm happy to have the handful that I do and I enjoy carrying them. I just don't see being able to add more without being very lucky.

Even on here if one is listed the same people that stalk to exchange daily post an abrupt "take" and then read to see if they got a steal and if not they simply type "withdrawn".
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
I normally don't join in these GEC threads as it's the same song and dance each time, but ...

A handful of people keep saying this. You are in the lucky few if this is the case. I tried for a good long while to find a way to be able to get one now and then with absolutely zero luck buying new. So unless I wanted to pay crazy markups, which I don't so as many have I gave up on trying.

I'm sure for some it seems easy, but for the mass majority it's almost impossible.

I'm not trying to complain as they are just knives and it isn't like I must have another. But it sure was nice when if one caught your attention you could buy it at a fair price.

They are really nice knives that have become too much trouble to try to get an "in" to buy new ... or too much money if you aren't one of the luck few to have an "in" or bots to snatch them up. I don't believe it's GECs fault, but that's what it's gotten to for most.

I'm happy to have the handful that I do and I enjoy carrying them. I just don't see being able to add more without being very lucky.

Even on here if one is listed the same people that stalk to exchange daily post an abrupt "take" and then read to see if they got a steal and if not they simply type "withdrawn".
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There was a time when you could get whatever you wanted in the exchange here but I gave up on that a long time ago. There are other places to look though. Reach out if you’d like more info.
 
waverave said:
There was a time when you could get whatever you wanted in the exchange here but I gave up on that a long time ago. There are other places to look though. Reach out if you’d like more info.
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There was a time you could order any Beer Scout you wanted from a dealer and have it shipped out that day without getting gouged on the price.
 
Alex.Y. said:
I wonder just why. They are not some kind of special government or military contractor, why would they work like that...
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They’re no different than any other manufacturing facility making thousands of a product in short periods of time across multiple lines.
 
Jsega51 said:
City population has nothing to do with output of a product so comparing populations to the amount of knives that Case produces doesn’t fit into the same equation. It’s glaringly obvious why Case can make more knives vs. GEC if you’ve ever been to both factories. You could fit 4-5 of GEC’s factories into the Case/Zippo manufacturing plant without an issue and Case runs 7 days a week with evening and night shifts.

Do you live in or have you been to this area before? Your thought on there being ~70 miles between the factories meaning Case wouldn’t be pulling workers from Titusville is an unsubstantiated statement. I can say for a fact that people in this region of PA/NY will travel hours for a “good” job (people’s definition of a good job is changing also, it’s not just the $) and a 70 mile commute isn’t out of the question, especially when a good chunk of the counties are National and State Forest, essentially you HAVE to drive a long way to work. It’s not just Case/Zippo potentially taking workers away, but every other facility or job opportunity within an hour or so drive which includes Erie, PA that has a lot of options.

Two employees of the facility that I work in recently left for jobs at Case because they were hired on the spot after a short interview, neither having experience at all in a manufacturing plant or experienced with knife making. Case is struggling to find help also and it’s evident by the 12 hour shifts, open enrollment job postings and the direct hire positions I’ve been seeing advertisements for.
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I say. Did you read what I quoted?
 
7stitches said:
I say. Did you read what I quoted?
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I did. Charlie explained that GEC is having a hard time finding, training and keeping workers. You brought up a Bradford/Case factory comparison and I stated that you can’t compare GEC and Case production capabilities, city population is irrelevant.
 
I find lurking on DLT to be the best solution in getting a GEC. I came across available knives 3 times already, but only bought once. If I had to keep one slipjoint, it would definitely be my black micarta sodbuster. Very impressed with the ergos and the fit and finish.
 
waynorth said:
In the small town of Titusville, finding workers has always been a problem. And most have to be trained - there is no formal apprenticeship in the cutlery industry ::::::::::

I know Bill has an ongoing problem keeping workers! It seems people don't want to 'stick to it', or find the skillsets too onerous to acquire!! I certainly don't know the answers, but admire Bill for his tenaciousness, :::::::
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Thank you. I have certainly noticed many more “help wanted”, or “hiring” signs posted by businesses, than was normal prior to a few short years ago. The major part of my frustration results from a combination of my appreciation for GEC’s pocketknives, and a ”recent” & apparently ongoing, lack of inventory. Overall, the GEC’s I own are really enjoyable and I’m sure the company would like to sell more.

My original post was meant to be a question, not a complaint. And, thinking a bit, I finally remember similar changes of inventory & pricing for other products - some of which are more necessary than these slipjoints I like so much.

Again, thank you for the reply, and for all the time & efforts you’ve put into bringing out some incredible pocketknives.
 
I do like GECs as compared to other big brand names. Their tubes and tubes and logo sets them apart from the rest as classics where time stood still. Quality of the knives are very good from what I have held so far. If I cannot get one, I would love to support smaller or individual makers to get them startedin their business.
 
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