Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

[kootenay joe]

If i manage to list my Red Stag 23 i will post back here for all to know.
kj

[jerryd6818]

Roland, it's not difficult (even I've done it a few times). Just go slow and pay attention to detail. Until you hit that final "post" button (or what ever they call it) you have the option of just exiting out by closing the window and abandoning your new listing. No harm, no foul. That said, as a brand new seller you will be introduced to a whole new breed of idiot, Buyers. Best of luck on that front.

[QTCut5]

If you can take a decent picture and post it on AAPK, you can sell on eBay...it's really no different. Setting up a seller account is probably the scariest part since you have to provide certain personal information like a bank account and/or credit card number in order to get a PayPal account. God forbid eBay or PayPal ever get hacked and everyone's personal identity is compromised...a risk you're just going to have to accept. And, once you have your account set up, listing items to sell is very easy as they walk you through it step-by-step. The hardest part for you as the seller is making decisions such as Auction or Fixed Price, if auction--Duration of listing (3, 5, 7 or 10 days), Starting bid, Add buy it now (BIN) option, Shipping service (1st Class, Priority), Whether or not to allow international bidders (which I personally do not recommend) and Scheduling the start time.

Although doing your own listing and selling also means you have to do your own packaging & shipping. But, if you can handle all that by yourself, at least you'll get to keep a bit more of the money from the items you sell instead of having to pay someone else a commission. EBay charges a small insertion fee and final sale value fee which is 10% of the final selling price (including the cost of shipping) which they keep track of and send you an invoice for every month. PayPal charges a flat fee on each transaction (approx. 3%) unless, of course, you can get your buyers to pay some other way such as personal check or postal money order.

Yesterday I sold a knife on eBay for $40 + $3.00 shipping...so the total gross was $43. By the time all the fees and shipping charge had been deducted, I ended up with a net of $34.54, which is about 80% of the gross amount. If I had also had to pay a commission to someone for selling it for me, it would have been even less, obviously, and, depending on the percentage of the commission, almost not even worth the hassle.

Another knife selling site (that is owned and operated by AG Russell) is The Cutting Edge.com. The nice thing about them is that they do all the listing, selling and shipping work for you for a flat rate of 25% of the final sale price. You just send them the knife and after it sells they send you a check. Much less hassle for you, but also much less exposure for your knife than listing it on eBay. But, TheCuttingEdge.com does seem to deal more with high end production knives and customs.

If/When you list your red stag GEC #23 for auction, be sure to post a notice & link here on AAPK. Even if I don't end up winning it, I would certainly bid on it and help run up the price.

~Q~

[kootenay joe]

You guys are great. I very much appreciate all of these 'tips' & advice.
I am already registered with ebay & PP so i think this covers me as a seller as well as a buyer.
The main problem i have is living in Canada and 99% of knife buyers are in USA. I need to ship Canada Post which is slow and about twice the cost of USPS. Buyers can think you are trying to make money on shipping and thus move on without reading the reasons for high shipping charge.
If i do manage to figure it out i will only list my higher value knives, then the expensive shipping does not seem so out of line.
kj

[jerryd6818]

You guys are great. I very much appreciate all of these 'tips' & advice.
I am already registered with ebay & PP so i think this covers me as a seller as well as a buyer.
The main problem i have is living in Canada and 99% of knife buyers are in USA. I need to ship Canada Post which is slow and about twice the cost of USPS. Buyers can think you are trying to make money on shipping and thus move on without reading the reasons for high shipping charge.
If i do manage to figure it out i will only list my higher value knives, then the expensive shipping does not seem so out of line.
kj

What about that P.O. Box you have in Northport, WA ? What's stopping you from shipping from there?

[bestgear]

you have the option of just exiting out by closing the window and abandoning your new listing. No harm, no foul

I often will setup eBay auctions with a scheduled start date 2-weeks from the date I set it up so that I can review and edit the auction during those 2-weeks before it actually gets launched.

[Railsplitter]

you have the option of just exiting out by closing the window and abandoning your new listing. No harm, no foul

I often will setup eBay auctions with a scheduled start date 2-weeks from the date I set it up so that I can review and edit the auction during those 2-weeks before it actually gets launched.

I do basically the same thing but a little different. I'll use the "Save and Return Later" button 5 or 6 times for several hours before I finally hit submit. If I want my listing to start at 6:00pm for example, I'll start composing it that morning. Then after tweaking it several times throughout the day if necessary, I'll submit it at 6:00pm using the "List When Submitted" option.

[jerryd6818]

I think one of the secrets to a good listing is a good accurate header for the listing (name it's listed under, i.e. "Camillus 72 Delrin Handles - Like New - Free Shipping") Something that will make it pop up when folks search. Not "Three blade knife"

[gsmith7158]

I got these two in. I'm very pleased with fit and finish on both particularly the Ebony Tidoute. The snap is about the same as the club knife, acceptable. I would give the action about a 5.

[kootenay joe]

Nice ones Greg. It is a pattern worthy of getting more than one example.
kj

[Railsplitter]

Those look good, Greg. I'm fighting the urge to get another Churchill before they're all gone. I'm leaning toward Ebony but I've had bad luck in the past getting brown instead of black. Yours looks jet black on both sides. Nice!

Anybody know of a dealer that provides pictures of the actual knife being purchased?

[gsmith7158]

Those look good, Greg. I'm fighting the urge to get another Churchill before they're all gone. I'm leaning toward Ebony but I've had bad luck in the past getting brown instead of black. Yours looks jet black on both sides. Nice!

Anybody know of a dealer that provides pictures of the actual knife being purchased?

Rick those are from knives ship free and are the exact ones I picked.

[Railsplitter]

Those look good, Greg. I'm fighting the urge to get another Churchill before they're all gone. I'm leaning toward Ebony but I've had bad luck in the past getting brown instead of black. Yours looks jet black on both sides. Nice!

Anybody know of a dealer that provides pictures of the actual knife being purchased?

Rick those are from knives ship free and are the exact ones I picked.

Thanks, Greg. I'm sending you a PM.

[kootenay joe]

Do you think there will be a Northwoods Churchill in mammoth & giraffe bone, and a different blade set up ? (spearpoint with center line saber grind & scissors) and make blade a liner lock = "Stabber Jack". Or a stout manicure blade secondary like the WW I Navy Jacks.
kj

[Ivoryman]

Those look good, Greg. I'm fighting the urge to get another Churchill before they're all gone. I'm leaning toward Ebony but I've had bad luck in the past getting brown instead of black. Yours looks jet black on both sides. Nice!

Anybody know of a dealer that provides pictures of the actual knife being purchased?

Check the list of dealers at GEC.com. They have many who put individual pictures in there. Too many for me to list them all. And just about every one of them beats KSF prices.
http://www.greateasterncutlery.com/grea ... tributors/

[Tsar Bomba]

Those look good, Greg. I'm fighting the urge to get another Churchill before they're all gone. I'm leaning toward Ebony but I've had bad luck in the past getting brown instead of black. Yours looks jet black on both sides. Nice!

I purchased two ebony Churchills with the intention of keeping one in the safe and having a user. Both came jet black, and I ultimately decided to make the one with the more porous, grainier finish my EDC because it just looks like "old ebony" to me. The safe queen is visibly ebony as well but it is much "smoother", almost like a couple slabs of onyx were used.

I also bought a yellow rose and a couple AAPK forum knives, plus I had my eye on a green banana bone before they sold out. Since the AAPK thread is full of questions about snap and QC, I'll post my experiences here:

Ebony EDC: Good closing snap on clip ~4-5 from about 35 degrees closed. Snaps open ~5, sheepsfoot snaps and W&T both ways. Grainy all-black ebony, hafted perfectly.

Ebony safe queen: Decent closing snap on clip ~3-4 from about 35 degrees closed. Snaps open ~4-5, sheepsfoot snaps/W&T both ways. Nearly polished-looking all-black ebony, hafted perfectly.

Smooth yellow rose: Softer but acceptable closing snap on clip ~2-3 from about 30 degrees closed. Snaps open ~5, sheepsfoot lighter snap both ways (3-4) than the others but still walks and talks. Beautiful bone on both sides as expected from the yellow rose knives.

AAPK EDC: Acceptable clip closing snap ~3 from about 35 degrees closed. Snaps open ~5, sheepsfoot snaps/W&T both ways. Slight grit in the master pivot but I think like others have said a flush and lube will eliminate that. Darker red dye, hafted mostly perfectly (jigging extends beyond end of bone into bolsters in a few small places -- this is why I chose this one for EDC).

AAPK safe queen: Decent-to-good closing snap ~3-4 @ 35 deg closed, snaps open ~4, sheepsfoot snaps/W&T both ways. Darker red dye, hafted perfectly, excellent jigging.

F&F is up to snuff on all of them. I was frankly surprised to hear that people had issues with the sheepsfoot blade -- most of mine are perfectly fine. I figured the more acute closing snap angle on the master was in response to people who might have complained about some of the nailbuster single-springs GEC (and others) have produced in the past. The knives are all perfectly, usably safe and I think some of the backlash over closing snap comes from a purely collector "OCD" standpoint. I have no problem with EDC use of either my AAPK knife or the ebony version, and I would not hesitate to carry the smooth rose or any other variant.

I have noted GEC's more variable quality control in the past which could be a reason some folks are getting super-gritty knives with weak snap but I think overall there's no real design problem with this pattern.

And since it's technically my newest GEC, here's what everybody wants -- the picture:

[Railsplitter]

Those look good, Greg. I'm fighting the urge to get another Churchill before they're all gone. I'm leaning toward Ebony but I've had bad luck in the past getting brown instead of black. Yours looks jet black on both sides. Nice!

Anybody know of a dealer that provides pictures of the actual knife being purchased?

Check the list of dealers at GEC.com. They have many who put individual pictures in there. Too many for me to list them all. And just about every one of them beats KSF prices.
http://www.greateasterncutlery.com/grea ... tributors/

Thanks Ivoryman. I posted a Wanted To Buy thread, got some similar advice, and made a purchase earlier today.

[Railsplitter]

Thanks for the detailed analysis Tony. I thought about getting another AAPK knife for a safe queen but decided to get an Ebony Churchill instead. That pretty much dried up my knife funds for awhile.

I would still like to get another AAPK knife but they will almost surely be sold out by the time my funds are replenished.

[Sabercat]

My two Churchills. I love the Yellow Rose, but it can't compete with the AAPK. Dang near perfect...

[Ivoryman]

Great pic Sabercat. Took me back to the '70s when we used to get these green soaps in the shape of the dinosaur from Sinclair stations if you got a fill up. Loved those in the tub. Great shot on the dino sign. Nice knives too by the way.

[Railsplitter]

An excellent pair, Ryan! I have those two also and I'm inclined to agree. The Rust Red AAPK is the best looking Churchill of the entire run in my opinion. Bryan and GEC did a real nice job on those. I might get a second one for a safe queen if I can pull it off before they're all gone.

I remember those dinosaur soaps too.

[Sabercat]

Thanks! I've always loved the Sinclair signage (Grandpa was an admirer, and I was a big brontosaurus fan growing up), but unfortunately can only afford the reproductions.

Rick, I thought all of the AAPKs were sold - but in fairness, I have not mastered my way through this forum yet, so am probably wrong. I would consider the same idea of picking up a spare if I could sell another knife or two first. This time of year requires a knife sold to fund a knife bought.

[jerryd6818]

As of right now -- 9:25 AM CST on 11/9/17 there are four (4) still in stock. https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... eel-blades

[Railsplitter]

Thanks! I've always loved the Sinclair signage (Grandpa was an admirer, and I was a big brontosaurus fan growing up), but unfortunately can only afford the reproductions.

Rick, I thought all of the AAPKs were sold - but in fairness, I have not mastered my way through this forum yet, so am probably wrong. I would consider the same idea of picking up a spare if I could sell another knife or two first. This time of year requires a knife sold to fund a knife bought.

Yeah, with Christmas right around the corner and my health insurance premium increase in January I have to keep a close watch on my funds too.

There have been 4 left for about a week or so. Maybe we could still get us each one of they hold out a little longer.(see link below)
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... eel-blades

[Grump01]

3 in stock now. I thought these were all sold out long ago by preorders before I had even known about the preorders. Got one coming now though.