GEC...Please Make More Patterns Available To Us in 440C...yea or nea ?

Will Power said:
The thread is a very interesting on-going discussion I think.

Now that GEC has no direct competitors offering stainless variants, it could become entrenched and complacent and simply believe there is no point win offering stainless blades at all. This would be unwelcome in my view, it's something of a paradox that 'Traditional' pocket knives have attracted more interest from a fairly broad spectrum of knife enthusiasts and GEC has had a major influence on this. The paradox being that liking for stainless steels on Traditional pocket knives is not some fringe splinter group but a significant and potentially growing segment.

As @traumkommode points out, traditional mindsets can run deep, with the carbon is better mantra,stainless is poor stuff being repeated. But they certainly are not eternal. One reason Modern knives have become the front seller is not just locks or one handed openers but the availability of interesting steels that won't rust/oxidize up, lose edge quite quickly etc. The perception being that Traditionals or 'Grandpa' knives are only available in carbon and that enthusiasts for Traditionals look down on stainless as characterless or unauthentic. By no means always the case!;)

I've never had much time for the nostalgia tinged sentiment of what was good enough for my grandfather was good enough for me, that can correlate to carbon steel on Traditionals. My grandfathers were born in the c19th and died before I was born so I don't have a connexion with them. True, their world was apparently slower paced, likely more courteous and formal, valued education for its own sake. But, it contained two World Wars, revolutions, it also had dentistry without antibiotics or much anaesthetic or pain relief....I have no liking for traditional dentistry I can tell you:eek::D My experiences of say Sandvik steels on French Traditional knives and some Bark Rivers has been very positive, no sweat to edge it and it stays that way longer than 1095 at least, no rust, spotting ,flavour imparted on foods and in satin form looks very good with traditional materials of all kinds, nor is it vastly expensive either.

Nor is this some either/or matrix. Most of us have carbon knives we're very proud of, rightly so. I feel like I have enough 1095 pocket knives and it is beginning to sap my interest in GEC. It's just that GEC should think this one over-I hope they are at least - as there are definite future returns in using some new steels AS WELL.:cool:
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I agree with some of the points you made, especially the growing number of folks who have been drawn to GEC having come from the other side of things traditional, I really think there would be a good demand for knives produced in more modern steels, and looking at the success of some of the " modern traditionals" we have seen here seems to prove that point. On the flip side if Great Eastern is selling most of what they produce almost as fast as it hits the dealers shelves, why would they be too concerned about this at this point in time?
 
True enough, but all is change and the future must be considered.

I just fear they may get completely against stainless because of lack of competition and current demand for 1095, can change very fast. They could offer other carbons too 5200 and 0-1 tool steel e.g.
 
Will Power said:
True enough, but all is change and the future must be considered.

I just fear they may get completely against stainless because of lack of competition and current demand for 1095, can change very fast. They could offer other carbons too 5200 and 0-1 tool steel e.g.
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They have already moved away from using 01 tool steel in the Bullnose/sod buster knife...when I found this out it was a great disappointment to me, that was one of my favorite user knives from GEC.
 
AEBL and Sandvik 12C27 are razor-blade steels. Should be cheap stuff ... I'd be thrilled to see GEC move there from 1095. I'm not excited about the idea of 440C, there are so many better options available.
 
I agree Will and I got a pleasant shock when I bought a couple of Queen knives in D2 recently. I used to be cautious about comments from the internet community about super steels because I was happy enough with the performance I get from 1095 and 440C, and because I was (and remain) very skeptical about the supposed advantages of newer super steels, and of the internet warriors and bushcraft crowd who promote them.

However I do find I like the Queen knives more due to being stainless, and the added steel properties are a bonus (even if they aren’t the latest and greatest).

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As far as GEC goes, interesting to note that their 2006 special factory opening ‘friends and family’ laser engraved 23 was a stainless knife (same as the bottom knife pictured below).

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As we used to say in the army ‘start as you mean to go on’! Would love to see some more stainless runs.

Its also interesting to read that Cyclops Specialty steel works (where GEC is now located) was a pioneer factory that developed new types of American steels https://nwpastories.com/2017/11/13/cyclops-cytemp-a-short-history-of-steelmaking-in-titusville/

Perhaps GEC could produce a line that reflects their factory history, and uses an historic Cyclops specialty steel type or brand?

Tom

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I can't complain about GEC making knives in Carbon Steel, I just keep buying them. I've got a few Stainless GECs to keep me happy too. I like both offerings.
 
I would like to see more GEC stainless offerings. I have an elk sheepsfoot Barlow that I really enjoy. It takes a great edge, too.
 
Camillus said:
I agree Will and I got a pleasant shock when I bought a couple of Queen knives in D2 recently. I used to be cautious about comments from the internet community about super steels because I was happy enough with the performance I get from 1095 and 440C, and because I was (and remain) very skeptical about the supposed advantages of newer super steels, and of the internet warriors and bushcraft crowd who promote them.

However I do find I like the Queen knives more due to being stainless, and the added steel properties are a bonus (even if they aren’t the latest and greatest).

RugdFEA.jpg



As far as GEC goes, interesting to note that their 2006 special factory opening ‘friends and family’ laser engraved 23 was a stainless knife (same as the bottom knife pictured below).

LhB3U3s.jpg



As we used to say in the army ‘start as you mean to go on’! Would love to see some more stainless runs.

Its also interesting to read that Cyclops Specialty steel works (where GEC is now located) was a pioneer factory that developed new types of American steels https://nwpastories.com/2017/11/13/cyclops-cytemp-a-short-history-of-steelmaking-in-titusville/

Perhaps GEC could produce a line that reflects their factory history, and uses an historic Cyclops specialty steel type or brand?

Tom

bXP629m.jpg
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Thanks for this great post, I really enjoyed reading the linked article about Cyclops steel works. I had wondered about why that name was used on their stainless knives and found the company history very interesting. It brought me back in a way to my own childhood, walking past the sheet metal mill in my home town, and hearing the deafening clanking of the twenty ton press hammering out parts for government contracts during the Vietnam Nam war era...
 
sitflyer said:
Thanks for this great post, I really enjoyed reading the linked article about Cyclops steel works. I had wondered about why that name was used on their stainless knives and found the company history very interesting. It brought me back in a way to my own childhood, walking past the sheet metal mill in my home town, and hearing the deafening clanking of the twenty ton press hammering out parts for government contracts during the Vietnam Nam war era...
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Yeah I found the article interesting too.

For those of us that haven’t had the chance to visit, you can zoom in to the front of the factory using Google Earth and get a look at the area.

I think GEC has made really great use of the amazing history and I would like to see them continue doing so - using a stainless metal pioneered by Cyclops/Cytemp Speciality Steel in that post-WW2 period would be one great option.
 
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I'm no knife steel expert, but I wouldn't mind seeing them use something along the lines of D2 and maybe use 440c more. I've lost hope in them brining back 01. Streamlining their steel selection to strictly 1095 has increased the collectibility of their old knives made in steels in which they've discontinued to use. I doubt they care about the collectibility of anything though, given the secondary market doesn't effect their bottom dollar.
 
I don't have any GEC knives but For me 1095 and 440C are good steels and I would be fine with them continuing with them. I would like to see the stainless a little more as well I would like to see the stainless used with some of the nicer knives. I would like to see them with things like long pulls and grooved bolsters I mostly see on the Northfield knives.
 
I am from the camp of preferring stainless in a traditional. I know how to care for carbon steel, I spent a lot of time in the trades using carbon steel tools. But I sweat easily, and carbon steel gets ruined in my pocket. As a result, I've gravitated towards Case/Bose collaborations because they are the only one making a 154cm traditional.

I'd love a GEC in AEB-L or one of the Sandvik blankable razor blade steels. I do have a GEC on order as the pattern strikes my fancy, but I am sure when it's just sitting in the tube I'm going to sell it.
 
My Fontenille Pataud Laguiole is in 14c28n. This seems like an ideal stainless for a traditional knife. An easy to sharpen stainless makes a lot of sense. I no longer carry any of my GECs. I occasionally buy one, but much less often than a couple of years ago. I still mostly carry a modern knife, but when I want a slipjoint, these days my go to are the Lionsteel CK knives in M390 or a Case Bose in 154CM.
 
Camillus said:
Its also interesting to read that Cyclops Specialty steel works (where GEC is now located) was a pioneer factory that developed new types of American steels https://nwpastories.com/2017/11/13/cyclops-cytemp-a-short-history-of-steelmaking-in-titusville/
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Tom, nice article. Don't know if you noticed it, but the article noted that one Carl F. Boker owned the plant for a time. I thought this more than a coincidence, so looked and found this article : https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAbegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw1SIpJmMCHFgp8fUGaq4gKY. Sure enough it's That Boker family. Small world.
 
RE SS GECs, I've been at this for only a short time. While I have some very nice GEC carbon steel knives, I very likely will not buy any more non-stainless contemporary knives. To me, a patina clashes with an otherwise flawless knife, and rust is always lurking in the shadows. (A patina on a vintage knife is another story entirely. )

That said, GEC, being a small shop with their knives flying out the door (now doesn't that conjure up a Willey E. Coyote moment) would be ill advised to branch into powder metallurgy now. Frankly I'm glad to have my 440c GEC 74, and the added exclusivity it brings.
 
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