All About Pocket Knives

If you like traditional style pocket knives the knives made by GEC can become a bit addictive. I bought my first GEC in either late 2006 or at the start of 2007, a stag #73 from the first run and marked 2006. I was thrilled with it and still am. Since then i have tried to show some restraint and not buy every new GEC that speaks to me. But i have not kept track and only counted my GEC made knives today.
The result: 52 GEC and 9 Northwoods for a total of 61 GEC made knives
How many do you have ?
Note i am asking about GEC made knives so include the GEC made Cripple Creek knives, the NKCA knife, etc.
With a total of 61 GEC knives am i about average for a GEC collector ? I really don't know, so please post your total GEC made count and then we will all know.
kj

I probably have around 5, including the 86 pattern I just picked up. So you're waaaaaaaaay ahead of me.

I appear to have 40 or 41 but have not purchased any in quite some time and some of these will probably be sold.

over 100 who's counting

Looks like about 30...I've just been collecting them in the last 2 years. Probably will slow down, in retirement.

I think I currently own 4 but I've had about 30 pass through my hands.

I have 10 or so currently. Have had maybe a dozen others, but only keep the ones I actually carry and use. First one was a 23 from their early years that was almost impossible to open, and therefore pretty useless to me, so I sold it. Was a little gun shy about them after that, but eventually waded back into the water, now have a nice solid bunch of users that I very much enjoy.

I’m embarrassed to say that I only started collecting GEC knives a year and a half and already have 62 GEC and 12 Waynorth. Honestly I don’t think that is all of them. That was just counting the tubes and sheaths for the Waynorth Knives. I though it was less than that, then I found a drawer with 11 more I forgot about. There maybe some that didn’t come with tubes that would make that even more.

I count 39 as of now and it used to be a little higher. That's a lot of money spent, come to think of it.

Most of us have the tendency to be approximate when estimating how many knives we have and i think we more often under estimate than over estimate. To be accurate it is best to actually count how many knives you have and this requires making sure all are included. My first counting gave a lower number but then i remembered that a few are stored separately including in my pocket and in the truck.
Some GEC collectors like to have one of every handle variation for every pattern they buy. I thought that some of these collectors must have at least 100 or more GEC's but so far no one has posted a number this high. If you have a big GEC collection don't be shy, let us know how many you have.
kj

Not enough!!!!

I really don't know, maybe 100 or so, put some of my GEC's in this case which has a couple more drawers and still have plenty of knives in tubes.

None.
I just can't justify to myself buying a knife for such an overinflated price that will get locked up in a safe.
I'm more of a knife user than collector.
Except for the different handle material used most of their patterns all look the same to me.

I'm not a collector but I do have seven, all bought new, all now used & I may sell one or two of those. The only issues I've seen on these are nail-breaking springs on one & another, more recent, that I wish had springs that are a little stronger. I've been happy lately finding an old knife now & then, maybe one with a trademark I've never had. There seem to be enough of those out there, with similar quality, at a half or a third the cost of a new GEC & so I'm trying to not look at GECs, if I can help it. But it's hard sometimes. GEC really wants more of my money.

Beavertail wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 1:55 pm None.
I just can't justify to myself buying a knife for such an overinflated price that will get locked up in a safe.
I'm more of a knife user than collector.
Except for the different handle material used most of their patterns all look the same to me.

The patterns GEC has made are all established traditional style pocket knives. Nearly all the patterns have been made for more than 100 years.
If they all look the same to you then you are not a collector of traditional style knives. Collecting vintage knives teaches you how each named pattern is unique and add in some reading and you can learn something about why each pattern was created and it's intended use.
And "over inflated prices" ? I don't think so. GEC knives are largely hand made by American workers who are being paid a decent living wage. It would be interesting to know how much profit the owner of GEC is making. My guess is that the net profit after all expenses is not very much. If prices are 'over inflated' the profit margin would be large.
kj

kootenay joe wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 3:11 pm

Beavertail wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 1:55 pm None.
I just can't justify to myself buying a knife for such an overinflated price that will get locked up in a safe.
I'm more of a knife user than collector.
Except for the different handle material used most of their patterns all look the same to me.

The patterns GEC has made are all established traditional style pocket knives. Nearly all the patterns have been made for more than 100 years.
If they all look the same to you then you are not a collector of traditional style knives. Collecting vintage knives teaches you how each named pattern is unique and add in some reading and you can learn something about why each pattern was created and it's intended use.
kj

I guess what I should have said instead of them all looking alike is that they have very few patterns.
I love the old traditional pocket knives and many in my collection.

After reading the previous posts, I am almost embarrassed to say that my GEC knife count is now at UNO. The only one I have is this 811217 Moose, but it is a nice one. I guess I have a lot of catching up to do!

bt, thanks for responding to my reply. I am surprised that as a traditional style knife collector, GEC has not captured your attention. The consistency of top quality in traditional knives was in decline for decades. For example, buying a new Case or Queen meant a 1 in 4 or so chance of disappointment because the knife received would have 'issue' that should not have been there. Then in late 2006 GEC comes along and within a year are turning out reliably fine knives. Now the risk of receiving a knife with a defect is very low so you don't risk the disappointment felt upon receiving a 'bad' knife.
This is why GEC is so popular with us old traditional collectors. After years of relative 'starvation' we are now feasting on a continual supply of great knives. I am surprised that you have not been similarly enthralled.
However there is an upside to not being a GEC fan. You are not sending GEC a couple of hundred dollars every month for new knives while the rest of us are spending far more than we should to acquire more GEC's.
kj

I love the quality and appearance of GEC knives so when I saw this thread I thought I had better count them up . I count 60 GEC's and 28 GECmade Northwoods knives. I love every one of them.

Right now the ones I have are those made as AAPK knives. I've had a several other GEC knives and have traded them for other knives. The GEC knives are very nice but I don't find them as interesting as HOKs and the scramble for each and every new pattern doesn't ring my bell.
Treefarmer

Greg, your post helps lift my spirits. I think of you as a sensible, fair, level headed person and you have more GEC knives than i do. Therefore i am not as greedy and excessive as i was judging myself to be. This really is why i started this thread: am i off the deep end (again) with my 61 GEC made knives ?, or am i about average for those afflicted with 'GEC-ophilia' ?
I am still hoping to hear from more in the 100+ club. This might help me feel like i am actually a responsible type collector.
kj

kootenay joe wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 7:35 pm Greg, your post helps lift my spirits. I think of you as a sensible, fair, level headed person and you have more GEC knives than i do. Therefore i am not as greedy and excessive as i was judging myself to be. This really is why i started this thread: am i off the deep end (again) with my 61 GEC made knives ?, or am i about average for those afflicted with 'GEC-ophilia' ?
I am still hoping to hear from more in the 100+ club. This might help me feel like i am actually a responsible type collector.
kj

Roland I don't think you are excessive. These knives are most collectable knives out there as far as future value is concerned.

My only reason for buying 61 GEC made knives is that i like them. I have not thought about future collectibility when purchasing.
Right now many of the GEC knives made in the last 14 years can be sold for a price 2 or 3 times the original. 300% gain over say average of 10 years is what investors dream about. I am not sure this high demand will continue. GEC now makes a lot of knives, many patterns now do not run out even months after release. Will there be enough knife collectors in say 20 years time to maintain the demand and the resulting high prices ?
Answer: nobody knows, the future is always unpredictable.
My guess: i think there will be fewer knife collectors in 20 years time.
Note: every one of my financial predictions over the last 50 years has been wrong and is why my investments are long gone. (but i do have a pile of knives)
kj

TripleF wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:45 am Not enough!!!!

Too many. After the holidays I will post a few for sale. And they won't be scalper prices, according to what I see elsewhere. I don't understand the comment about them all being about the same, except for the handles. If that is true, then one could say the same about CASE or Schrade. Odd? I haven't bought any GEC knives for awhile, as the prices have gotten a little out of hand, but they sure do have some knice knives.