Has low supply or over demand killed your interest in a brand or model?

[silvershade255]

Recently was pointed towards GEC. But when I saw places doing things like lotteries just to have a spot to buy one, my interest bottomed out. Has anyone else had this happen for a brand, or specific model?

[RustyIron]

Sort of...
Sometimes when new knives are announced, my impulsive side takes over, and I place a pre-order. If the knife spends too much time as vaporware rather than becoming a tangible product, my enthusiasm sometimes wanes and I cancel the order. I could rattle off a number of knives I've ordered, cancelled, and they STILL haven't hit the shelves. There's a fine line between leveraging a customer's enthusiasm, and pushing them away.

[Pokey]

I've seen GEC knives on their website that I like and done searches for them. When I've come up with zero, (over and over,) in the color I'd want I'd be disappointed. I'm now content with just looking at pictures of them online.

[vivi]

Love Scrapyard, Swamprat and Busse knives but trying to buy them is a joke. Been over ten years since I bought one for that reason.

edit: on a whim I checked out scrapyard and swamprats site. nothing on scrapyards but swamprat has some cool things up. Maybe I'll get a swamp warden or something.

[JRinFL]

Yes, that happened to me with GECs as well. I can add any BladeHQ M4 exclusive and any St Nicks 4V exclusive to that list.

[Naperville]

To me, all brands and bladesmiths suffer shortages. Maybe what satisfies me is in high demand. Definitely more money to throw at the problem would work for most of the items as I could commission the work rather than wait for an announcement of limited supply.

I've never given up hope. Plus I look at it realistically. I do not need everything that I want.

[mikey177]

The Protech Malibu wharncliffe and the Koenig Mini Goblin come to mind for me. However, I see the waning interest as a good thing. Like Naperville, it makes me realize that I may want something for a certain time, but I don't actually need it.

[ChrisinHove]

It’s heading that way with Spyderco in the U.K.

Limited stock imported by the official distributor at exorbitant prices and now excessive charges on import purchases.

[p_atrick]

Socom Elite Manual. I've pre-ordered one from KC. I get the weekly email that my knife coming. The longer this goes on, the more I wonder if I should keep my pre-order. I have no real practical use for the knife. ****, I could sell everything but my Sage 2 and be fine. My day-to-day life doesn't require a pocket knife. I made the order as a total impulse buy; sometimes those are really fun. But, I've been doing just fine in the two months since I reserved the knife. Do I really need it? Besides, Sal mentioned a P4 in SPY27. I'd much rather have that.

[murphjd25]

Yeah I hear ya, I’m totally done with GEC. It’s more work then my full time job. To many other great knives to be had anyways.

[TkoK83Spy]

Yeah I hear ya, I’m totally done with GEC. It’s more work then my full time job. To many other great knives to be had anyways.

Interested in where your knife journey takes you now, if you're truly done with GEC's. Microtech's are fun for sure, have you found yours very practical in use though?

I love mine, but just can't get down with using it as an edc. The double edge had almost got me a couple times, being used to a choil or ricasso, that double edge tricks me when trying to choke up on mine haha.

[bearfacedkiller]

Why is it so hard to buy a Protech Whiskers?

I almost gave up on trying to get a TRM Atom at one point but did eventually get one.

[Mike Slayer]

I use to really want a few GEC's myself and for the same reason plus crazy prices on the second hand market I won't own one anytime soon. If I can't buy the model and configuration I want for a fair price I lose interest. Paying $200-300 for a $100 slipjoint is crazy in my opinion. One model I wanted goes for over $300 on the second hand market. Others might be willing to pay it but for me that is getting close to custom slipjoint territory. I would add funds to the $300 and get the exact model and options I want. Overall a custom from the right knifemaker could be a huge upgrade in materials and quality over a GEC. I am hoping this year to get a custom slipjoint to join my Spydiechef everyday.

[vivi]

speaking of gec at one point I planned to buy some fixed blades from them but after not being able to find one in stock for over half a year I gave up

https://www.smkw.com/gec-h20818-hunter- ... as-micarta

Wanted that in green micarta.

[JD Spydo]

Love Scrapyard, Swamprat and Busse knives but trying to buy them is a joke. Been over ten years since I bought one for that reason.

edit: on a whim I checked out scrapyard and swamprats site. nothing on scrapyards but swamprat has some cool things up. Maybe I'll get a swamp warden or something.

Of all the knife shows I've been to over the years there are two brands of knives that I think borderline on cult type activity. The people that are big fans of Busse and Microtech both seem to think that they are on a much higher plateau than fans of any other knives. The absolute arrogance of some of these Busse and Microtech fans is just off the charts in my past experiences. Even trying have a conversation with any of them is difficult. Because the fans of both of those brands of knives truly think they're Royalty or something of that ilk.

I know that both brands are high quality and I won't argue that. But I've not seen anything out of either one of them I couldn't match with a given Spyderco model. But those guys that like those particular brands are truly a like a cult in a lot of ways :confused:

This may not be exactly the answer you wanted as a response ot this thread >> but I do think it's similar to the dilema you've described with the "supply & demand" issue>> it's as though you've got to be in a private club to even be a customer.

[StuntZombie]

Same with me and GEC. I'm done even bothering to look for them. See a pattern I like, look everywhere, and it's all sold out. People complain about Spyderco's sprint runs, well at least they have regular production models. Everything GEC makes is a sprint.

[murphjd25]

Yeah I hear ya, I’m totally done with GEC. It’s more work then my full time job. To many other great knives to be had anyways.

Interested in where your knife journey takes you now, if you're truly done with GEC's. Microtech's are fun for sure, have you found yours very practical in use though?

I love mine, but just can't get down with using it as an edc. The double edge had almost got me a couple times, being used to a choil or ricasso, that double edge tricks me when trying to choke up on mine haha.

I’ve actually been using the combat troodon a fair bit, with the wider blade it’s not as blocky and a poor slicer like the Ultratech. It definitely takes some getting use to with that double edge if you don’t want a nasty cut, because trust me, I have never seen a sharper edge on any knife then I have seen on my two Microtechs. I just have to remember to wipe/clean the blade off before I retract it. Other then that it’s a solid knife.

As far as where my collection goes now, who knows. I’m not looking at anymore knives for the time being, however I would like to pick up a Mnandi sometime..

[GarageBoy]

Yeah, I wish gec kept some core models with mass appeal around. I just want a case with better finish! Seems like it's case, or custom, when it comes to traditionals, and if I'm going to pay secondary market rates, I'll save my money and get a full blown custom

Chris Reeve of late worries me a bit. Part of me goes "yes, Chris is gone, but the company is still good" - then the sebenza comes out with teething issues (rock lock) - and now there's a new mnandi, which apparently has more bead blasted finished parts than before...

[kennethsime]

Yup, absolutely. All of the River's Edge Cutlery Spyderco exclusives are a great example. I have zero interest in waking up extra early, smashing the refresh button, or paying 4x the original price to purchase a knife.

Bark River Knives is another example. They have so many different combinations, but it's pretty rare to find the one I model, steel, and handle scales I want so I just stopped looking.

Chris Reeve Knives is another - it's frustrating that you can't just go buy a Plain Jane Sebenza, you have to pre-order it 18 months out.

I realize that for some folks, the limited supply & exclusivity adds to the knives' value. For me though, it kills my interest.

[The Meat man]

Yup, absolutely. All of the River's Edge Cutlery Spyderco exclusives are a great example. I have zero interest in waking up extra early, smashing the refresh button, or paying 4x the original price to purchase a knife.

Bark River Knives is another example. They have so many different combinations, but it's pretty rare to find the one I model, steel, and handle scales I want so I just stopped looking.

Chris Reeve Knives is another - it's frustrating that you can't just go buy a Plain Jane Sebenza, you have to pre-order it 18 months out.

I realize that for some folks, the limited supply & exclusivity adds to the knives' value. For me though, it kills my interest.

Just in case you really wanted to order one...
https://agrussell.com/knife/Chris-Reeve ... RK-TI311-L