Unpopular Patterns

[Dinadan]

Well, that Texas Cattle Knife is bigger than I usually carry. But I question just how many folks actually buy a GEC to carry. Too expensive, really. I carry a GEC at times, but I seriously doubt that I will ever make another new GEC an EDC. The one I carry is a 38 whittler, and I have looked at those 38 toothpicks like Mike posted, but they just do not appeal to me. I guess they do not appeal to a lot of other folks, too. And I suspect that is the problem with KJ's Cattle Knife too. It looks tough and functional anyone could want (assuming that you can open the blades without breaking a thumbnail) but when I picture it in my display case it is about as sexy as a boxcar. Sorry KJ, but you asked!

[Tsar Bomba]

I have an EDC box that contains duplicates of knives I already have. In that box are two 35s, an 81, a 74, a 54, a 43, and a 14.

I bought two (different) 38 Specials and both have been toted fairly regularly. Same with the 48 Improved Trapper and 77 American jack.

I missed out on the 98 but not for lack of trying to get a whittler, which I had every intention of putting into the rotation.

I also don't own any knife display cases (yet).

[markpreston]

The GEC rope knife or Navy knife seemed to have languished for quite a while especially with the wood handles.
I'm not into GEC overall because its a pain in the ass to try to get one and no way I'm paying a huge mark up on a brand that may or may not be around in another 10 years or so. I've seen WAY too many US knife companies go belly up or get bought and move overseas in the last 20 years or so.

[kootenay joe]

I have a good friend who is a good friend of Bill Howard, owner of GEC. The word is that GEC is not primarily a business to Mr. Howard. It is a passion and it gives him the opportunity to do what he really loves: make 'perfect' knives. I believe he would not sell for any amount of money because knives mean more than money.
When Mr. Howard finally assumes room temperature, the 'Hey-Day' of GEC will likely have passed. It would take a very dedicated special person to be able to continue making knives every one of which is 'right on' and so pleasing.
Yes, the 15 Rope knife i still see at dealer sites. This is exactly why i started this thread, so that we could have a list of those patterns that have not sold well.
Are there any others ?
There is a Pemberton # 06 coming up. I think it might be one that ends up on this list unless the handles are great. i.e. people will buy for the handles, not the pattern.
kj

[kootenay joe]

A bit more on the 98 pattern: it is a big knife, but not overly large like a 6" folder is. If you have had one in hand you know that it is quite impressive, big but with easy smooth blade action and sharp edges, it is a tool you can use with confidence. I carry my Texas Camp Knife in a belt sheath. But even for the collector, it's size makes it unique and the fit & finish is as good as any GEC, so why are they being over-looked ?
kj

[akarangerbluedog]

How did you find these prices ? I checked a few websites and all i saw was "Out Of Stock", no prices shown. Have you got a time machine for going back ?

kj,
For stuff on the internet, you can use the "wayback machine"

https://archive.org/web/

You can type in any url that existed in the past, and it will show you what was there. I had some old websites back in the 1990s and I was able to recall them last week.

[kootenay joe]

There IS a Time Machine ! Wow !
Thank you. i had no idea this was possible. What a huge amount of stored data.
kj

[Tsar Bomba]

One thing to remember about the 98 is that they were a Campagna SFO and the whittler variant in particular seems to have gone totally scarce. Aftermarket prices for the other patterns aside, the whittler is almost impossible to find mint in tube for under $200.

[kootenay joe]

Were all 98 pattern knives a Charlie SFO ? I thought the Charlie SFO are the ones with "Burnt Orange Jigged Bone" handles.
kj

[JohnR]

Were all 98 pattern knives a Charlie SFO ? I thought the Charlie SFO are the ones with "Burnt Orange Jigged Bone" handles.
kj

Kj, you are right, there is also a Northfield version, Charlies are the Texas Camp Knife,I have both and a whittler, I don't know if I would call 98's unpopular, I've been offered crazy money for these but I'm not much of a seller. Don't know if we will ever see another GEC camp knife as the pattern gave GEC fits assembling to their standards.

[wlf]

Roland's right about Bill Howard. He wanted to make this pattern and enjoys the same aspects of knives we do , except more mechanical than most.

Here's your other thread about this Roland.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=49572&hilit=Tom+Crites

[kootenay joe]

Earlier in this thread the # 81 Moose pattern, made in 2017 is noted to be still available at most GEC dealers and in fairly large numbers. There are still handle choices: Stag, Gabon Ebony, Antique Amber Jigged Bone, Moose Green Jigged Bone, Appaloosa Bone, Osage Orange Wood, Natural Canvas Micarta and Red Linen Micarta.
This might be The Least Popular GEC pattern: available at the dealers for over 1 year, maybe almost 2 years. This is drastically different from patterns that sell out in under 5 minutes.
The Moose pattern has always been very collectible. Find an old Case 6275 in good condition and you will see a high price.
Based on how poorly these GEC #81 are selling i doubt GEC will ever do another run.
I think once these are all finally sold, those who don't have one will wish they had bought one while the supply was plenty.
This is a long way of saying: I just bought a GEC 811217. It was a toss up between the Ebony or the Antique Amber Jigged Bone. I have perhaps more Ebony than jigged bone so i chose the Antique Amber Jigged Bone. I feel good for having made this decision to buy one.
This would also make for an excellent user knife. It is well suited for field dressing deer.
kj

[Tsar Bomba]

You won't be disappointed, Roland. You'll find that the 81 makes for one heck of a carry knife. My Appaloosa bone version has served me very well for the last year. I figure eventually the rest of the knife collecting world will figure this out.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Earlier in this thread the # 81 Moose pattern, made in 2017 is noted to be still available at most GEC dealers and in fairly large numbers. There are still handle choices: Stag, Gabon Ebony, Antique Amber Jigged Bone, Moose Green Jigged Bone, Appaloosa Bone, Osage Orange Wood, Natural Canvas Micarta and Red Linen Micarta.
This might be The Least Popular GEC pattern: available at the dealers for over 1 year, maybe almost 2 years. This is drastically different from patterns that sell out in under 5 minutes.
The Moose pattern has always been very collectible. Find an old Case 6275 in good condition and you will see a high price.
Based on how poorly these GEC #81 are selling i doubt GEC will ever do another run.
I think once these are all finally sold, those who don't have one will wish they had bought one while the supply was plenty.
This is a long way of saying: I just bought a GEC 811217. It was a toss up between the Ebony or the Antique Amber Jigged Bone. I have perhaps more Ebony than jigged bone so i chose the Antique Amber Jigged Bone. I feel good for having made this decision to buy one.
This would also make for an excellent user knife. It is well suited for field dressing deer.
kj

Roland, I think the Moose and Muskrat patterns would be useful for the right tasks and the right person. I tried to carry one of each at one time and just didn’t take to either of them. I much prefer a long blade and a short blade. Having two blades the same length is just not useful to me. I can see how each one would be good in certain situations. The Moose is more appealing and I can see it for field dressing just about any animal since it has two different long blades. But for me in most situations, I will stick to my EDC that has two different size and types of blades.
In the past year of so I sold off the few Muskrats and Moose knives that I had and it didn’t matter who made either of them, they took awhile to sell. I think these are just two unpopular patterns in general.
Just my opinion.
SSk

[kootenay joe]

"I think these are just two unpopular patterns in general."
Perhaps they are when it comes to buying new knives but vintage ones do get good prices, more so than some other patterns.
The advantage of 2 big blades on Moose or Muskrat is that when one gets dull you switch to the other blade. No need to stop and re-sharpen blade. This applies to the dedicated trapper or hunter and very few people run a trap line now and hunters often use a fixed blade with new super edge holding steel.
kj

[FarSide]

Lots of good discussion here. I have a #98 Whittler only because I like GEC's split backs, and want to have an example of each. Probably won't ever carry it. It is definitely a belt sheath kind of knife.
As far as the #81 Moose - I have been itching to try one in the green. It seems it would be be the perfect knife with both a large clip & spear. There are a couple of well respected dealers that have said that GEC did a superb job on these. But, with a #82 Dixie stockman coming, I may not ever pull the lever.
I'm surprised the #82 Dixie Stockman's are not selling faster also. I don't think GEC made a very large batch of each of these.

[m0nk]

Lots of good discussion here. I have a #98 Whittler only because I like GEC's split backs, and want to have an example of each. Probably won't ever carry it. It is definitely a belt sheath kind of knife.
As far as the #81 Moose - I have been itching to try one in the green. It seems it would be be the perfect knife with both a large clip & spear. There are a couple of well respected dealers that have said that GEC did a superb job on these. But, with a #82 Dixie stockman coming, I may not ever pull the lever.
I'm surprised the #82 Dixie Stockman's are not selling faster also. I don't think GEC made a very large batch of each of these.

Light Side 98 A.jpg

Ha! That pic was so weird, and funny. Totally appropriate for your screen name and avatar. Well done. What are the two secondary blades on that 98 Whittler. I'll never pass up a chance to lament the fact that I didn't buy the lone remaining 98 Cattle Knife from GSJ early this year while I had the chance.

As for the large clip/spear combo, I have a 54 Big Jack that has the large clip/spear, and I really like it. I just wish that the spear was a sheepsfoot... which is why I'm so excited about the new #86 with the large clip and large sheepsfoot. If you like the serpentine pattern and squarish corner bolsters, then you should give the 81 a shot. I don't have one, but I've looked at the red micarta examples many times and thought, "hmmm..."

-Lee

[FarSide]

Lee - the #98 Whittler has a large pen & coping blade that could be called a wharncliffe too I guess. GEC did an amazing job on the split-backs as usual.

[XX Case XX]

Maybe some day.
I've always admired the looks of most of the GEC offerings.

It's a new year Steve. Perhaps your luck is about to change...

__________
Mike

[Steve Warden]

Only our good Lord knows!

[Ajd3530]

Concerning the #81 Bull Moose, I was for a while among the folks who wouldn't have one. I finally came across an osage orange Tidioute at a really good price, figured I'd try it out. Turns out I'm quite fond of it. Yes the pulls are light (too light) but the action is just so incredibly silky smooth. After working the blades enough, they've developed a fairly satisfying snap upon opening as well. I especially find it handy around the kitchen..

Then a few weeks ago, I came across a NIT ebony Northfiled at like 65% retail. Snatched it without a second thought. This one has the same smooth action, but the clip has so little snap that I almost push it to full stop. No amount of working It has helped either. Very disappointed.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Concerning the #81 Bull Moose, I was for a while among the folks who wouldn't have one. I finally came across an osage orange Tidioute at a really good price, figured I'd try it out. Turns out I'm quite fond of it. Yes the pulls are light (too light) but the action is just so incredibly silky smooth. After working the blades enough, they've developed a fairly satisfying snap upon opening as well. I especially find it handy around the kitchen..

Then a few weeks ago, I came across a NIT ebony Northfiled at like 65% retail. Snatched it without a second thought. This one has the same smooth action, but the clip has so little snap that I almost push it to full stop. No amount of working It has helped either. Very disappointed.

Sorry to hear you got a bad one.

I will join in the confusion as to why the 81 moose is not popular. I like the pattern and have two, it's historic, looks good and is well made. I did really want another run of 81 stockmans but the moose is a nice knife.

[Tsar Bomba]

Am I the only one who thinks that the 06 pattern was remarkably popular considering the relative flop of the 18 pattern from a couple years ago? Considering how similar the stag 06 is to the natural stag 18 (same length, identical blade, etc ) I am really surprised that the 06s sold out as fast as they did. Meanwhile, you can still find 18s from first-run dealers all over the internet.

Is the coke bottle frame really that much more popular than the dogleg?

[kootenay joe]

T.B. i too am surprised that the Pemberton at 2 3/4" is selling well. I have one, very nice but at this size i prefer a pen knife set up.
The #18 is the same size and came out in 2016. I think there now are more people on the 'GEC Bandwagon' and there is a fear of 'loosing out'. You need to snap one up right away in case it turns out to be popular and quickly gets sold out. Even if a GEC collector does not really like it, i think there is a feeling of competition to get one of every new pattern.
I think this degree of GEC collector compulsiveness was not as strong in 2016 as it is now.
kj

[robbobus]

Am I the only one who thinks that the 06 pattern was remarkably popular considering the relative flop of the 18 pattern from a couple years ago? Considering how similar the stag 06 is to the natural stag 18 (same length, identical blade, etc ) I am really surprised that the 06s sold out as fast as they did. Meanwhile, you can still find 18s from first-run dealers all over the internet.

Is the coke bottle frame really that much more popular than the dogleg?

Both are great little knives. Where are you seeing these 18s all over the internet?