anybody else think GEC is losing it?

[bestgear]

... knives are not better in anyway, in fact for collectors of the 15 pattern, the general opinion is that they've gotten worse especially the walk and talk.

great post from a decade old collector, thank you!

GEC has it's challenges for sure and last year they produced approximately 100 finished knives/day. (23,000 knives / ~230 workdays = 100 knives/day). While that may sound like a small number, it's 100 finished every working day of the entire year, it's not a small feat to get done with the skeletal workforce that they have. Couple with that their locale and the availability of qualified personnel to hire capable of running wire machines, CNC machines, and grinding and polishing machines, it's almost amazing that they can produce 23,000 knives in 2024.

I'd rather see GEC reduce production numbers, increase finished quality and raise the unit price so they can maintain the same infrastructure and produce a better product. I believe some of the finished quality issue arise from being driven by the dealers to produce more and more knives at the expense of quality.

[justonemore]

correct, limited qualified personnel is definitely a major factor. I remember visiting from rendezvous to rendezvous staff would be different. Given also the population of titusville, selection is not a simple matter. It is good to hear Randy is back at the factory on a limited basis even though he retired