2020 GEC #33 Conductor Thread

When something sells out in 37 seconds... there’s bound to be a feeling of exultation if you actually manage to get one, and this place is the natural outlet to celebrate it. It does detract from the knives themselves and discussion of them to a small extent, but so does the fact that there’s 400 knives and seemingly a thousand folks who want one. Which means the whole question for the majority of interested parties isn’t “Do I like the fact that there are no half stops,” but rather “Do I have a slight chance of actually getting one of these myself to try, and if so, how?”

The usual solution when a product sells so fast is to raise the prices. This allows everyone who wants one to get one, if they’re willing to pay. For whatever reason this hasn’t happened (for which a part of me is grateful because they currently aren’t cheap but are priced “fairly” in my opinion), and so the company and to a lesser extent the dealers get to benefit from the hype. It’s undoubtedly good for GEC to have such interest in their products that most of them sell very quickly, and the scarcity factor helps too.

If someone knew that there would be Conductors on store shelves for the next year, they probably wouldn’t buy one now. They’d wait for the pictures, reviews, comparisons, save some money and pay for a bathroom remodel now, and pick one up in 6 months or so. Maybe that slow selling knife might even get put on discount! But as it stands, there is high demand, so our hypothetical knife connoisseur must either participate in the pig trough now, or resign himself to never having one, or pay double retail later on at his leisure in the secondhand market. Certainly more laid back, but certainly more expensive too.

The rules on the forum exist for good reasons and should not be changed, but I’m grateful that the mods don’t enforce them in such a draconian fashion as to ignore the reality that these knives can be challenging to get right now.
 
My opinion is that the purchasing process is now married to a GEC knife. The demand has created that reality. So it shouldn't be surprising when folks come here to share their experiences (good or bad). I try not to partake in this too much, and try and save it for other social media.
 
Maybe the Porch needs it's own sub-forum to talk about the purchasing process of Traditional Knives, rather than having to go mingle with the General Population. I'm like a loyal dog and I don't venture far from the Porch. ;)
 
Maybe the Porch needs it's own sub-forum to talk about the purchasing process of Traditional Knives, rather than having to go mingle with the General Population. I'm like a loyal dog and I don't venture far from the Porch. ;)
The lounge is the ideal and safe place for that! :)
 
I didn’t realize how small these are. Who’s going to be the first to post a photo next to a 23? :)

I didn't either, I'm not sure how I'll feel about it as I usually don't like really small knives.

Hahaha, I almost did that last night when I took the comparison pictures next to the 62.

You should've done it! That would be fun! Kinda like this:
I0zO9bW.jpg
 
I didn't either, I'm not sure how I'll feel about it as I usually don't like really small knives.



You should've done it! That would be fun! Kinda like this:
I0zO9bW.jpg
I’ll compare it tonight if anyone doesn’t do it before then :D.
Back to the 33, I’m loving this little guy. It sure is a slicer! And now that I can see it better in the sunlight and looking closely, the blades do not appear to be as close to the liners as I previously thought. GEC really executed this one well. The pulls are damn perfect for a knife this size too.
 
I’ll compare it tonight if anyone doesn’t do it before then :D.
Back to the 33, I’m loving this little guy. It sure is a slicer! And now that I can see it better in the sunlight and looking closely, the blades do not appear to be as close to the liners as I previously thought. GEC really executed this one well. The pulls are damn perfect for a knife this size too.
They really nailed the looks on these, in my opinion. Glad to hear the rest is on point as well!
 
I agree with everything you said GaiusJulius. And believe it or not this particular run was not that popular when it came out. At least no more than average. They were on sites for months and months. The run of whittlers was a bit more in demand but still nowhere near what we had this time. But who would have known that it would take 9 years for it to appear again?

Anyway I know how you feel so here is a little old time knife porn to cheer you up. A side by side of the 33 Conductor from 2011 with a D2 Whittler from Queen in 2nd cut stag (2005 or thereabouts). The Queen knife was one of two series that I feel were forerunners of the GEC brand. The other being the Queen 1095 run shipped in wax paper. These are two of my absolute favorites in my collection.





Gads.... sorry about that. The images are now showing up on the preview. Let's try that again.

Will
 
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The 3-3/8" closed length is just about the same as a Case Barlow. The clip main being at least as long as the 62's Wharnie main - as pointed out by Murphjd25 Murphjd25 - tells me that this knife is gonna be just about right. I'll know for sure in a few days, though...got my shipping notice this morning. :thumbsup::D

331220-Antique-Autumn-Jigged-Bone.jpg
 
I would think these would be relatively similar in size to the Case pen knife. I have one of the yeller pens... nice knife! It's a little in the small side, very slender, so maybe the bone or stag on these will give them a bit more of a hand fill.
 
Those of you that want to discuss the ordering process, dealer availability etc, this is not the sub-forum to do it in.
Take it to Feedback.
I don't want to have to close the thread, and I don't want to spend half my day moving inappropriate posts offline.
Bottom line, discuss the knives, please!
 
One interesting thing about this 2020 jigged bone version is the missing blade etch.

I was under the impression that all GEC knives were to receive a blade etch.

Fun fact to ponder while we wait at the mailbox.
 
I was under the impression that all GEC knives were to receive a blade etch.
All SFO's receive an etch...
But we don't have to worry about that any more.
Regular production knives may or may not have an etch.
 
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