How Does a Great Eastern Cutlery Knife Compare to a Benchmade?

Great Eastern Cutlery is one of the most popular traditional pocket knives we sell.  How do GEC Knives compare to a Benchmade?  What about a Zero Tolerance?  What a bout a Chris Reeve?

A lot of people are buying traditional knives, but are disappointed with what are perceived as flaws. I am not sure it is a fair comparison.

Let me explain.  Well, Let me do it in a video.  :)

You can’t judge traditionals by the same standards you judge a modern folder because they are completely different knives.

When you are used to carrying a Sebenza, you love the bank vault feel, the precise machining, the dead centering of the blade, the flawless s35vn grind--You love that stuff. I love that stuff.

But when you pick up a traditional folder, sometimes the grinds are different, the blades don’t flip in and out, there are visible asymmetric imperfections, the jigging in the bone is not perfectly even--There might be a slight bit of movement in the lock up.

All of those things I mentioned above are just part of traditional slipjoints.

Modern slipjoints are made by humans with the same tools they used 100 years ago. They nest a number of blades into a very small space and they do it masterfully. The point is to get them in there for use, not to look pretty. So sometimes they even design the grinds to be off center to let one blade pass by another

The handle scales are hand shaped out of natural materials. The natural materials and hand work are the part of traditional pocket knives that give them soul

You have to appreciate each knife differently. I like both kinds of knives.