Great Eastern #86

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.
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Doc B
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Great Eastern #86

Post by Doc B »

Reservations are open, for the 86, on Collectorknives
https://www.collectorknives.net/posts/e ... H5oM2dPX0Q
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tongueriver
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by tongueriver »

Thanks for the heads-up. I have tried to get on Latham's site in innumerable ways without success. Pretty much locked out with bizarre notices. I used to go there years ago and bought a couple thousand dollars worth of GEC knives from him-- great guy. Doesn't seem to work anymore. I don't have any idea what a #86 is anyway, so I guess I will move on. The Great Eastern knives are clearly wonderful quality knives, none better this side of full custom. But the whole phenomenon has gotten a bit disgusting in my view. $150 knives are selling for $300. Predator/flippers have moved in, and so on. Bladeforums traditional subforum has gotten to the point where it should be called GEC subforum... folk have just gone gaga and at this point I am out of there. I understand that I am in the minority here and an obscure outlier, as it were, but I am comfortable with that. I can get better value for my money searching out pre-war dainties.
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Doc B »

For reference...
86.png
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Onearmbladejunkie »

I just put in my pre-order with my Great Eastern Cutlery Dealer. #86 Oil Field Jack natural oily creek bone
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Cletus Awreetus »

"I have tried to get on Latham's site in innumerable ways without success. Pretty much locked out with bizarre notices."

I know exactly what you mean Mr River. after having bought several knives there, including early reserves I was advised I hadn't ever set up an acct. I recently got straightened out and am now able to access all areas of his site but during the cluster***k I was less than thrilled with the assistance I (hadn't) received.
-the problem with society today is, no one drinks from the skulls of their dead enemies anymore..-
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Tsar Bomba »

Oil sucker rod. Let the lolly scramble begin... ::facepalm::
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by kootenay joe »

Mr. T. River, i agree with your sentiments completely. GEC buying has become a competitive activity with participants getting a rush if they score. For many it is about the rush more than the knife. And many of the winners win again by selling on ebay for a quick double. Mobile technology allows for instant messaging and super fast checkout. People on regular computers get notifications after a delay and by then all knives are gone. Mike Latham talks about an early reserve being all spoken for in 45 seconds. This is not knife collecting. It is competitive buying.
We old time knife collectors are not fast enough to compete. I am lucky that i got a fair number of GEC knives from January 2007 until about 2015 when the competition began to build.
Fortunately there are many great old knives out there waiting to be discovered by an appreciative collector.
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Onearmbladejunkie »

4/12/2019 was 65years "Rock Around the Clock" ! I tried to get GEC to put a guitar shield on the #93 oily creek bone knives. I started asking them to do that on the #86 first. Oily Creek bone, because the 50s rockers oiled their hair and the guitar is the symbol of "Rock N Roll". I freaked out yesterday , seeing "Oily Creek bone" on the #86 schedule ! Guitar shield or not , I am so thankful for an Oily Creek bone #86 knife.
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Sharpnshinyknives »

Onearmbladejunkie wrote:4/12/2019 was 65years "Rock Around the Clock" ! I tried to get GEC to put a guitar shield on the #93 oily creek bone knives. I started asking them to do that on the #86 first. Oily Creek bone, because the 50s rockers oiled their hair and the guitar is the symbol of "Rock N Roll". I freaked out yesterday , seeing "Oily Creek bone" on the #86 schedule ! Guitar shield or not , I am so thankful for an Oily Creek bone #86 knife. GEC-SHIELDS-768x1033.jpg4556673223123.jpg

I reserved an oily creek bone myself. I was so impressed with the last one. I was surprised it remained open as long as it did. I got to the site 12 minutes after the reserves started and only 3 were still open, Micarta, Oily Creek and Tortoise Acrylic. Hope I can score some of the others I was hoping to get.
SSk Mark “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” Ronald Reagan
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by kootenay joe »

I know GEC makes a super fine knife but i don't feel any excitement for the 86 pattern. It is a 3 7/8" Regular jack which is one step 'up' from a Barehead jack which has no caps (hence "bare head"). It is a basic knife, albeit in this case a very well made basic knife. The 77 Jack at 3 3/4" is the same pattern but 1/8" smaller.
I think it is because the GEC's are so well made and so pleasing to own that even a 'basic' pattern will get snapped up.
I will get one if i can but i will not partake in any of the mad rushes.
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by gsmith7158 »

Well I missed out on this reserve but since it isn't an SFO perhaps I'll still get a shot at one from another dealer.They look fairly similar to the 92's.
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by kootenay joe »

"similar to the 92's." ? The 92 is a Eureka pattern similar to the 29. 86 is a Regular jack.
Maybe you meant "77's" ?
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by gsmith7158 »

kootenay joe wrote:"similar to the 92's." ? The 92 is a Eureka pattern similar to the 29. 86 is a Regular jack.
Maybe you meant "77's" ?
kj
Roland you are correct. I was confused all the way around. When the 92's came up for reserves I thought I was reserving the 86. I just went to CK and checked my account But I only got a stand by for the Tidioute 92 so I'll have to hope for good luck at another dealer.You are correct they don't look anything like each other. ::cb::
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by kootenay joe »

But the 92's look great and i think more interesting than the 86. I just bought a 92 from the first run, with Rosewood handles and it is a GREAT knife. I posted it in 'your newest GEC' thread (or whatever actual thread title is).
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Onearmbladejunkie »

Latest update on the #86 Oil Jack schedule .
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Onearmbladejunkie »

I found this rare knife photo of a #81 oil sucker rod wood knife. The GEC#86 Oil Field Jack oil sucker rod wood with wrench shield will be a great knife.
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by cudgee »

:lol: :lol: :lol: ::tu:: ::tu:: ::tu::
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Onearmbladejunkie »

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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Onearmbladejunkie »

More #86 oil jack pictures !
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Onearmbladejunkie »

tongueriver wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2019 7:32 pm Thanks for the heads-up. I have tried to get on Latham's site in innumerable ways without success. Pretty much locked out with bizarre notices. I used to go there years ago and bought a couple thousand dollars worth of GEC knives from him-- great guy. Doesn't seem to work anymore. I don't have any idea what a #86 is anyway, so I guess I will move on. The Great Eastern knives are clearly wonderful quality knives, none better this side of full custom. But the whole phenomenon has gotten a bit disgusting in my view. $150 knives are selling for $300. Predator/flippers have moved in, and so on. Bladeforums traditional subforum has gotten to the point where it should be called GEC subforum... folk have just gone gaga and at this point I am out of there. I understand that I am in the minority here and an obscure outlier, as it were, but I am comfortable with that. I can get better value for my money searching out pre-war dainties.
I bought 16 knives from Latham this year. He would not reserve me a #77 black African wood Barlow. Latham is "knifeswapper" on EVIL-BAY. Latham holds back knives 6 months to 3 years+ and sells them on EVIL-BAY. There is one GEC Barlow collector that has bought every Barlow GEC knife from Latham since 2007. You know that guy gets all 4 GEC SFO Barlows and everybody else gets to choose 1 of 4. Latham has closed reserves on Charley GEC SFO knives. I need nothing from Mike Latham.
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Sharpnshinyknives »

I think that’s a pretty strong statement to make. My experience with Mike has all been above board and fair. I know that’s a lot of knives to buy but Mike has to treat people fairly, regardless of number of knives purchased. There are probably many who buy as many or more and from him and to single out people for special treatment would get out and others would not be happy to hear this.
Mike has explained why he sells on eBay, these are knives that have been returned to him from buyers. These knives just didn’t live up to someone’s expectations and not that they are defective. If he holds them back for a better time to sell ,well that’s good business.
I don’t know how you know who is buying all of these on EBay, that information is not available unless you have a different source than I have. The only person who can see the buyer is the seller, unless I’m wrong and haven’t discovered this.
I appreciate your posts and they way you keep people informed of what’s coming out. I think you might have wanted to cool down before you posted this.
SSk Mark “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” Ronald Reagan
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by kootenay joe »

I think Mike Latham prefers the 'old days' when there was less demand for GEC knives. Now he is under continual pressure from customers who want one of the most recent releases and he could sell every knife 5-10 times over. I think he tries hard to be fair to all, but with such overwhelming demand there will be about 10 disappointed potential buyers for every one successful buyer. Not Mike's fault what-so-ever.
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by Onearmbladejunkie »

I just received a notice on the Sambar Stag #92 Eureka Jacks. CKs had some left overs at the cheapest price yet. I guess I am full of bologna , I snag one. I aint bought a knife from Mike Latham in 3 months. CKs has more #92 Eureka Jack Sambar Stag knives right now. Heads Up ! Many hours later , these #92 Sambar Stag knife/knives are still up for sale.
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by knifeswapper »

Onearmbladejunkie wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2019 11:06 pm
tongueriver wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2019 7:32 pm Thanks for the heads-up. I have tried to get on Latham's site in innumerable ways without success. Pretty much locked out with bizarre notices. I used to go there years ago and bought a couple thousand dollars worth of GEC knives from him-- great guy. Doesn't seem to work anymore. I don't have any idea what a #86 is anyway, so I guess I will move on. The Great Eastern knives are clearly wonderful quality knives, none better this side of full custom. But the whole phenomenon has gotten a bit disgusting in my view. $150 knives are selling for $300. Predator/flippers have moved in, and so on. Bladeforums traditional subforum has gotten to the point where it should be called GEC subforum... folk have just gone gaga and at this point I am out of there. I understand that I am in the minority here and an obscure outlier, as it were, but I am comfortable with that. I can get better value for my money searching out pre-war dainties.
I bought 16 knives from Latham this year. He would not reserve me a #77 black African wood Barlow. Latham is "knifeswapper" on EVIL-BAY. Latham holds back knives 6 months to 3 years+ and sells them on EVIL-BAY. There is one GEC Barlow collector that has bought every Barlow GEC knife from Latham since 2007. You know that guy gets all 4 GEC SFO Barlows and everybody else gets to choose 1 of 4. Latham has closed reserves on Charley GEC SFO knives. I need nothing from Mike Latham.
First, tongueriver - I guarantee we can figure out the issue if you contact me. We have made many changes and you may have gotten caught up in one of the security issues. Even if you have no interest in the GEC's any more; I would like to figure out your issue to make sure it isn't affecting anyone else.

Secondly, Kenneth Hill - In my opinion it is very concerning that you would come over and make statements such as these. But if you want it discussed here, that is fine. 1) You got mad because I would not put you in front of others that had reservations, because you had been promoting CollectorKnives on your own in posts, etc. I don't do that. And you use my ethics against me in your statement. That does not speak well to yours. I never impeded or touched your reservations, as you just noted you received your notification on the #92 stag; just as you submitted it. 2) If I need to defend my eBay sales I will - I have NEVER held back a knife for ANY amount of time. When you sell 500 at a time there are always knives that come back or even ship from the factory a month later, etc. etc. And when this happens and I have exhausted the reservation list - I put them in either my collection or my kids for a rainy day. Each kid has asked me to raise some money on eBay for them when expenses came up (vehicles, insurance, etc.) and I have used it periodically to try and catch up with insurance deductibles, etc. for myself. I actually have two eBay accounts; a personal one (knifeswapper) and a business one (collectorknives) to separate any sales. I publicly addressed this in the past (3/30/19) if you want to know the facts. But, me and my kids still have one of the largest GEC collections around. 3) Up until the last couple runs, customers could reserve one of each variation. Since then those customers that wanted more, went and found them on the open market. Simple as that. None of these were listed on eBay by me. You don't say that, but the way it is phrased it seems insinuated. 4) As to Charlie's knives, most of the time we get 10-30 of each; if I send out a notification on that I get 10-30 folks happy about getting one and 600 pissed off. Not to mention the griping about the website tanking when everyone hits it. This has also been repeatedly discussed.

So, if you want to have an opinion - you are welcome to it. If you want to come on a public forum and lie - I have a problem with that. If you need to discuss this further you can go back to airing it out right here or you can call my phone number.
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Re: Great Eastern #86

Post by RalphAlsip »

My experience with Collector Knives as a company, and with Mr. Latham directly, has been outstanding. All of my transactions and interactions have been conducted with integrity, transparency, and fast turnaround time. I had one snafu with a password and Mike fixed that immediately and late in the evening no less.
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