Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

GEC specializes in highly collectable and premium quality usable pocket knives. The company's USA manufactured knives have quickly proven to be a big hit with both collectors and users who seek quality American craftsmanship.
robbobus
Bronze Tier
Bronze Tier
Posts: 343
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 3:30 am

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by robbobus »

Yes I did. I wouldn't pay anywhere near that much myself. However, if someone contacts me with a similar offer they will still be looking. I am that way with most of my collection. That make me Gollum I wonder?
User avatar
gsmith7158
Gold Tier
Gold Tier
Posts: 8548
Joined: Fri Dec 25, 2015 7:25 pm
Location: Canton, Ga. 100% of the time
Contact:

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by gsmith7158 »

robbobus wrote:Yes I did. I wouldn't pay anywhere near that much myself. However, if someone contacts me with a similar offer they will still be looking. I am that way with most of my collection. That make me Gollum I wonder?
I have one on the way that I traded for. It's not going anywhere either. Gollum we shall be. :D
------------------

Greg

IF YOU AIN'T BUYING OR LOOKING AT A KNIFE THEN YOU AIN'T LIVING.
Always looking to buy good quality Empire knives.

PROUD MEMBER AAPK, NRA.
Ivoryman
Posts: 8653
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2015 4:20 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Ivoryman »

35 Churchill for a knife liking girl
Attachments
WP_20180416_049.jpg
WP_20180416_053.jpg
"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes them afraid." -No Name, High Plains Drifter
kootenay joe
Posts: 13373
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:36 pm
Location: West Kootenays, B.C.

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by kootenay joe »

I like that Churchill and i am not a girl.
kj
User avatar
gsmith7158
Gold Tier
Gold Tier
Posts: 8548
Joined: Fri Dec 25, 2015 7:25 pm
Location: Canton, Ga. 100% of the time
Contact:

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by gsmith7158 »

This one came in today. The receiving end of a swap I made with Kj. Some bodacious stag on this 43. ::super_happy::
Attachments
011.JPG
010.JPG
008.JPG
012.JPG
------------------

Greg

IF YOU AIN'T BUYING OR LOOKING AT A KNIFE THEN YOU AIN'T LIVING.
Always looking to buy good quality Empire knives.

PROUD MEMBER AAPK, NRA.
User avatar
m0nk
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2017 1:31 am
Location: Central Texas

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by m0nk »

Wow, Greg, I'm not really a stag guy, but that's some nice stag! KJ must be a very generous man indeed! Did he throw in that leather lanyard or did you tie that on just to dress up the knife for the photo?
kootenay joe
Posts: 13373
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:36 pm
Location: West Kootenays, B.C.

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by kootenay joe »

Greg, great pictures. I'm glad you are pleased with it.
I am very happy with the Schrade-Walden BONE 863 with "Kon Kav" etch that i received in trade. The saber ground clip blade and bone handle make this the BEST of all 863 versions.
kj
User avatar
gsmith7158
Gold Tier
Gold Tier
Posts: 8548
Joined: Fri Dec 25, 2015 7:25 pm
Location: Canton, Ga. 100% of the time
Contact:

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by gsmith7158 »

m0nk wrote:Wow, Greg, I'm not really a stag guy, but that's some nice stag! KJ must be a very generous man indeed! Did he throw in that leather lanyard or did you tie that on just to dress up the knife for the photo?
Thanks m0nk! Yeah that's just some leather I had laying around. :D
kootenay joe wrote:Greg, great pictures. I'm glad you are pleased with it.
I am very happy with the Schrade-Walden BONE 863 with "Kon Kav" etch that i received in trade. The saber ground clip blade and bone handle make this the BEST of all 863 versions.
kj
Oh looks like that swap worked out well for all involved. I'm very happy as well. ::handshake::
------------------

Greg

IF YOU AIN'T BUYING OR LOOKING AT A KNIFE THEN YOU AIN'T LIVING.
Always looking to buy good quality Empire knives.

PROUD MEMBER AAPK, NRA.
User avatar
Gunstock Jack
Posts: 1626
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:59 pm
Location: The "other" Washington

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Gunstock Jack »

Really excellent stag on your 43 Greg; probably the best I've seen. The stag 43's were in short supply so congrats on your acquisition! ::tu::

I got a couple of these really unique small fixed blades to try out, but they don't come with a sheath so I suppose kitchen duty or leather craft might be more appropriate for the model H20018.
IMG_6772.JPG
Barry

Great Eastern Cutlery distributor: http://www.gunstockjacksknives.com
Contact me: info@gunstockjacksknives.com
User avatar
Tsar Bomba
Posts: 3622
Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 5:14 am
Contact:

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Tsar Bomba »

Received another 43 in orange camel bone this morning. This knife was intended to be a safe queen. For only the second time with a GEC knife, my excitement quickly turned to disappointment when I got the knife in hand.

The knife is the first mainline GEC (non-SFO/rebrand) that I've ever handled with blade play. There is a slight but definitely noticeable wobble when the knife is opened. What is doubly-vexing is that the owner of the dealership, with whom I've communicated before, hand-wrote a note on the receipt indicating that he himself checked the mechanics and handle of the knife (which is beautiful, easily as nice as the one I personally picked out). I don't like to think of people as dishonest especially when they go above and beyond, but I can see no way anyone could physically inspect the open knife and not realize that the blade pivot isn't solid.

Even more perplexing, given how recently these knives were finished, there are also spots of corrosion within the nail nick. It's almost as if the polishing process just sorta glossed over one side of the blade and never managed to clean up the nick itself, which seems almost rough and unfinished inside (which, as you know, is a great way for carbon steel to start rusting and corroding).

This knife will not work as a safe queen. I have already contacted the dealer but their site now shows "out of stock" (when I bought it, there were 2 left) and I suspect they do not have any knives held back for replacements. No direct response today; I'm hoping to hear back tomorrow so I know what my options are.

What I am coming to see is that the level of GEC's QC does appear to be slipping as its production totals increase year after year. In the last year we've had complaints about weak/lazy snap, gritty pivots, uneven grinds and in a couple cases poorly-hafted handles. These are all complaints normally levelled at the midline mass-manufacturers, Queen and Case most prominently coming to mind. It might be time to start a letter-writing campaign to protest the "quantity over quality" direction where I perceive GEC is going.

I'm not really sure what to do at this point. I really don't feel like taking a bath on the secondary market just to unload it, but I absolutely want to make one of the 43s an EDC.
Tony
ImageImageImageImage
Everything's better with a Barlow
Ivoryman
Posts: 8653
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2015 4:20 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Ivoryman »

Sorry to hear that Bomba. Love to see a photo of that orange bone. If it's any consolation every one of my GEC lock backs have wobbled. One so bad I sent it back to the factory and they couldn't fix it. They improved it, they did not fix. I have had or still have about 7 GEC lock backs, 83s and 72s mostly, but every one wobbles a bit. That's the way GEC does LBs to me. But a more sympatric ear I don't know how you're going to find. It's sad. My Case LBs and Mokis and AGRs are all so much better. GECs to me are notorious, I expect it when I get one, now it doesn't even bug me because it's like part of the defining characteristics that make it what it is, like a design limitation. But I still buy them. Still like them. They still work with a bit of wobble whether LB or any folder to me. Many knives out there with loose lock up. Oh well. I have no choice but to live with it when I buy 72s. Part of the pattern I guess.
"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes them afraid." -No Name, High Plains Drifter
User avatar
Gunstock Jack
Posts: 1626
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:59 pm
Location: The "other" Washington

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Gunstock Jack »

Tony, scale inside the nail nick is so common on GEC as to be ubiquitous, in other words, that is the way the product is; the scale is left over from tempering and GEC doesn't mind seeing it in their nail nicks.

GEC is a small company, and Bill Howard is constantly having to train new people; cutlers are not easy to find in this day and age where everything is done by machines and robots. Their QC makes mistakes like any other human endeavor, so I would suggest either returning it to the dealer from whom you purchased, or returning it to GEC for warranty repair. ::tu::

I don't think comparing GEC to CASE is a fair comparison, as Case is far larger and owned by a giant int'l corporation, and I also don't think Bill wants to go the way that Queen went, which is out of business.... permanently, it seems. :(

And just as an aside, I recently had a customer that was really upset with his new 43 because he could close it with thumb pressure on the spine and because the blade was slightly under the spring when opened, and he could feel the spring/blade joint with his thumb when he had the knife open. He had some other complaints, like the knife was scuffed, and the action stiff (from being new). He is returning the knife to me and I will take care of him, but my point is this: GEC knives are not perfect, and some knives may have better F&F, walk & talk, etc., and some will need a little attention from the buyer to improve the overall action.

If you want a US made lockback that has no movement when opened, buy a BUCK or a Zero Tolerance knife, because apples are not oranges and there is not a fair comparison between CNC machining and production by hand on 80 year old machines. Maybe because GEC gets glorified exaltations about their product by some, sometimes they get picked apart by folks that are much more particular than I am.

JMHDAO ::handshake::
Barry

Great Eastern Cutlery distributor: http://www.gunstockjacksknives.com
Contact me: info@gunstockjacksknives.com
User avatar
Tsar Bomba
Posts: 3622
Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 5:14 am
Contact:

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Tsar Bomba »

Ivoryman wrote:Sorry to hear that Bomba. Love to see a photo of that orange bone. If it's any consolation every one of my GEC lock backs have wobbled. One so bad I sent it back to the factory and they couldn't fix it. They improved it, they did not fix. I have had or still have about 7 GEC lock backs, 83s and 72s mostly, but every one wobbles a bit. That's the way GEC does LBs to me. But a more sympatric ear I don't know how you're going to find. It's sad. My Case LBs and Mokis and AGRs are all so much better. GECs to me are notorious, I expect it when I get one, now it doesn't even bug me because it's like part of the defining characteristics that make it what it is, like a design limitation. But I still buy them. Still like them. They still work with a bit of wobble whether LB or any folder to me. Many knives out there with loose lock up. Oh well. I have no choice but to live with it when I buy 72s. Part of the pattern I guess.
Funny how the Case LBs don't seem to have this problem much. I just picked up a Buck 501 and it has the same issue (still trying to figure out if I should request a refund or pay Buck to fix it up). My only 72 is the 2016 AAPK slipjoint which is perfectly tight with great fit, I don't have any experience with the LBs of that pattern. My 72 is tight in all directions. I guess you've been getting all the loose-bladed GECs, I-Man! Stil haven't heard back from the dealer. If there's a no-go on an exchange there, I may reach out to GEC directly and see what it would cost me to get the knife tightened up by their people. I'm no knife mechanic but my engineering background tells me it should be much simpler to build a tight single-blade/single-spring slipjoint than a multi-blade/multi-spring, yet all of my multi-blade GECs are tighter than a sore back. I'm not going to mess with a vice on this knife since I had every intention of locking it away for posterity. I guess I'm at the wait-and-see point now.

I do worry that the larger production runs will necessarily lead to a drop in quality across the line, something the Daniels famiy couldn't get Queen to come back from in the end.

And if I do manage to score one of the upcoming Ancient TCs, it had BETTER not have any problems because there is zero chance of ever obtaining a replacement for less than double the retail price. ::disgust::
Gunstock Jack wrote:Tony, scale inside the nail nick is so common on GEC as to be ubiquitous, in other words, that is the way the product is; the scale is left over from tempering and GEC doesn't mind seeing it in their nail nicks.

GEC is a small company, and Bill Howard is constantly having to train new people; cutlers are not easy to find in this day and age where everything is done by machines and robots. Their QC makes mistakes like any other human endeavor, so I would suggest either returning it to the dealer from whom you purchased, or returning it to GEC for warranty repair. ::tu::

I don't think comparing GEC to CASE is a fair comparison, as Case is far larger and owned by a giant int'l corporation, and I also don't think Bill wants to go the way that Queen went, which is out of business.... permanently, it seems. :(

And just as an aside, I recently had a customer that was really upset with his new 43 because he could close it with thumb pressure on the spine and because the blade was slightly under the spring when opened, and he could feel the spring/blade joint with his thumb when he had the knife open. He had some other complaints, like the knife was scuffed, and the action stiff (from being new). He is returning the knife to me and I will take care of him, but my point is this: GEC knives are not perfect, and some knives may have better F&F, walk & talk, etc., and some will need a little attention from the buyer to improve the overall action.

If you want a US made lockback that has no movement when opened, buy a BUCK or a Zero Tolerance knife, because apples are not oranges and there is not a fair comparison between CNC machining and production by hand on 80 year old machines. Maybe because GEC gets glorified exaltations about their product by some, sometimes they get picked apart by folks that are much more particular than I am.

JMHDAO ::handshake::
Barry, I agree that a handmade knife manufacturer using 100 year old techniques will occasionally have imperfections. I don't expect GECs to be perfect, I just prefer them to be. :lol: To be honest, the inside of the nail nick is more or less a non-issue for me. I included it out of a desire for offering a more complete review and because I know that some AAPK folks are sticklers about a knife in the $100 range (or at least so they say when a Schatt & Morgan ships with a gritty pivot or dull blade 8) ).

I'm a little OCD when it comes to blade wobble, though when it's nearly imperceptible I'm usually pretty forgiving. In this case, you can feel the blade shift inside the pivot to the point where it's not dangerous but it will likely move slightly when making cuts, and if I give the knife to someone or end up selling it down the road I'd prefer not to have to worry about that defect.

Depending on the dealer's response I'm either going to exchange it or send it to GEC to see if they can tighten the pivot more professionally than I can. I'm not down on the 43s or GEC as a whole, but I'm also realistic that increased production pressures can lead to slippages in QC and such things are somewhat inconsistent with the culture of enforced rarity (and therefore increased prices) that we are seeing in the SFO, Waynorth, CK SFOs, etc.

As a dealer, Barry, did you ever have any issues with low-number SFOs having defects which caused you to have to exchange or otherwise warrant them more than usual? I think the feedback on the Ancient TCs will go a long way towards settling the question of GEC's general quality trajectory.

I'll try to find a decent setting with good lighting to take a pic of the camel bone handles of this 43. They really are the star of the show.
kootenay joe
Posts: 13373
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:36 pm
Location: West Kootenays, B.C.

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by kootenay joe »

People who have gotten into folding knives because of GEC might expect every knife to be right on because the vast majority of them are. However if you have also been buying other USA made folders for the past 50 years you know you need to be lucky to get a 'right on' knife if you do not get to examine them first.
Thus us 'old timers' are grateful for GEC's high standards and can accept that 1 knife in 50, or 100, or whatever it is, has a significant issue. But for the 'new timers' who have always received a 'right on' GEC it then seems most unacceptable to receive one with an issue. "Hey, these things are supposed to be right on", but really it should be "Hey, i'm lucky, this is a great knife" knowing that no matter how good there will be some knives not quite 'right on'.
I am grateful to GEC for aiming so high, getting there and now staying there.
kj
User avatar
Gunstock Jack
Posts: 1626
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:59 pm
Location: The "other" Washington

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Gunstock Jack »

Complaints about 'blade wobble' caused Bill at GEC to produce the 15 pattern Radio Jack and Harness Jack 7 more tightly fitted than earlier models, and the downside was that the blades were hard to open and had no walk & talk. I ended up sending a dozen or so back for slackening (and adding a teensy bit of blade wobble, 'cause if the blade don't move at all, it don't open or close neither!) ::uc::

It is a fine line for GEC to walk trying to please everyone. Slip joints must have some room to move, or buy a fixed blade for zero movement. Personally, I've never had a problem with wobble on any slip joint, antique or modern, unless the knife was so badly worn that the blade becomes sloppy in it's travel. Same with a tiny bit of movement on the LBs, although manufacturers that have made literally thousands of the same pattern have it pretty much dialed in. A tiny bit of movement is just not noticeable in use, and one has to literally 'wiggle' the blade to have any notice.

The subjects of spring tension and blade wobble on GEC product has been discussed extensively on another forum.

Just My Humble Dumb A** Opinion. ::super_happy::
Barry

Great Eastern Cutlery distributor: http://www.gunstockjacksknives.com
Contact me: info@gunstockjacksknives.com
Ivoryman
Posts: 8653
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2015 4:20 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Ivoryman »

As luck would have it I have a new to me LB that came a few days ago that I haven't had time to photograph yet. Although it's 5 years old. It's a 2013 #72, just the kind of thing that has been discussed here. Not a good example of a recent run but great example of what I have been saying and will still say. In my limited experience EVERY GEC LB I've ever had, seen, handled, bought and sold or whatever, have all wobbled, This one isn't bad, but very noticeable, probably won't bother me in most cutting, but it's a huge let down because I've had Queens and Cases for much longer than I"ve had GECs. Majority of my Cases and Queens had no wobble and they were not nail breakers. It can easily be done. Hey Moki does it ALL the time, check them out if you want a tight LB. I've had Cases that were many decades old and used and still didn't wobble like ALL my GECs have new out of the tube from current releases even. They wobble. Cost of doing business with that maker. Nothing I can do but live with it because you can't send back new GEC LB in camel bone and swap it for another. Too bad, too late, their all sold out and you take what you get, if you're lucky, and you live with it because you're not getting another. Maybe if you hunt and find one on the secondary market from a gouger looking to double or triple his money, but forget about swapping for another one from dealers, every one I buy sells out lately so you don't get a second chance. Won't happen. Same with this one, it's a 2013 so I must take whatever they give me period. No swapping for another. If I want the GEC LB, I live with whatever wobble it comes with or I'm SOL!
Attachments
WP_20180502_005.jpg
WP_20180502_011.jpg
"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes them afraid." -No Name, High Plains Drifter
User avatar
Tsar Bomba
Posts: 3622
Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 5:14 am
Contact:

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Tsar Bomba »

I-Man, you've got me feeling even more grateful that my first camel bone 43 was rock-solid, smooth, and beautiful (the latter because the dealer put every remaining knife on the site and let customers choose their own handles). My other 43s (frontier bone and jigged green bone) are also "perfect" in my eye as I've come to expect from GEC.

If there isn't an easy exchange for this last one then I'll decide at that time if I want to toss the new one into the safe, tube and all, or contact GEC and see if they'd be able to tighten it up some.

I don't want to be "that guy" if I end up selling it down the road, the one who says "Fresh in tube just as it arrived from the factory!" instead of disclosing any issues a collector might be interested in. Neither do I want to take a bath on a knife I paid full retail for and which had an "undesirability" through no fault of my own.. ::hmm::

Your posts do have me seriously reconsidering the idea of getting a lockback from GEC should they run one in a pattern I like...
Ivoryman
Posts: 8653
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2015 4:20 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Ivoryman »

Well hey, I've seen a few others still for sale. You can buy another and sell your flawed one. Just a thought. I accept some wobble on these. I don't like it but I live with it. I still buy LBs that tickle my fancy and as you can see, that hasn't changed or will. I have a few that wobble in other patterns so they are what they are. Some great knives still have a bit of wobble. Oh well.
"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes them afraid." -No Name, High Plains Drifter
kootenay joe
Posts: 13373
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:36 pm
Location: West Kootenays, B.C.

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by kootenay joe »

GEC Northwoods Esky Zulu.
kj
Attachments
mammoth zulu 003.jpg
mammoth zulu 001.jpg
mammoth zulu 002.jpg
User avatar
Gunstock Jack
Posts: 1626
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:59 pm
Location: The "other" Washington

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Gunstock Jack »

Gorgeous knife there Roland.

::undecided:: ::mdm:: ::tear:: ::handshake::
Barry

Great Eastern Cutlery distributor: http://www.gunstockjacksknives.com
Contact me: info@gunstockjacksknives.com
kootenay joe
Posts: 13373
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:36 pm
Location: West Kootenays, B.C.

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by kootenay joe »

Thank you Barry. Of all the Northwoods i think this is one of the best patterns which is a copy of an old Schrade Cut. Co. knife. But it is the very fine mammoth handles that make this Esky one of the best of the 'bunch'.
kj
User avatar
Gunstock Jack
Posts: 1626
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:59 pm
Location: The "other" Washington

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by Gunstock Jack »

Not quite as pretty ivory, but I think the Madison Barlow pattern (based on the 43 frame that was just released, BTW) is a beautiful knife:
IMG_6808.JPG
IMG_6809.JPG
Barry

Great Eastern Cutlery distributor: http://www.gunstockjacksknives.com
Contact me: info@gunstockjacksknives.com
kootenay joe
Posts: 13373
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:36 pm
Location: West Kootenays, B.C.

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by kootenay joe »

The Madison is Every Bit as beautiful. Barry, somehow you seem to get some of the most attractive handles on your GEC made knives. Do you hand pick them or luck of the draw ?
kj
robbobus
Bronze Tier
Bronze Tier
Posts: 343
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 3:30 am

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by robbobus »

Gorgeous knives gentlemen. Haven't had the pleasure of the Madison, but the Esky is one of the best GEC knives available.
doglegg
Gold Tier
Gold Tier
Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2017 2:35 am
Location: Grand Prairie, Texas

Re: Mail Call, Post Your New GECs.

Post by doglegg »

Roland and Barry, those are both lovely.
Post Reply

Return to “Great Eastern Cutlery (GEC) Collector's Forum”