Great Eastern Cutlery
Great Eastern Cutlery company was established in August of 2006 in Titusville, PA. Since then we have been proud to be at the forefront of a renaissance in the manufacturing of classic traditional pocket knives, the likes of which has not been seen in over 75 years. We blend a mix of hands on manufacturing processes with a few contemporary machine operations to produce high quality classically designed pocket knives. In just a few short years we have achieved a reputation for craftsmanship and dedication to tradition.
Most of our employees have been with us from near the beginning and over the years they have become highly skilled in the performance of their craft. Typically, more than 200 individual processes are required to produce a Great Eastern Cutlery pocket knife. Furthermore, we use only the finest materials to build a knife that will look, feel, and perform like an authentic American pocket knife from the late 19th and early 20th century, the golden age of pocket cutlery.
Our unique company building is not only an excellent facility for the efficient manufacturing of classic pocket knives but is also designed to allow our visitors and customers to come in to tour, view, and watch our craftsmen as they perform many of the hand and machine processes of fabricating, assembling, and finishing of Great Eastern Cutlery knives.
Tidioute Cutlery
Approximately 25 miles east of Titusville, alongside the Allegheny River is located the small town of Tidioute, Pa. Unknown to most folks in the area and even some local residents, is the significant cutlery history of the town in the era from the 1890’s to the 1930’s. Over that short span of years, five separate cutlery manufactories produced knives that today are sought after by collectors who covet the high quality and rare Tidioute brand of these old knives. After 90 years, we have brought back the Tidioute name with our Tidioute Cutlery branded classic pocket knives. Much like the original Tidioute Cutlery Co. of circa 1909 to 1916, our new knives have blades made with high quality American made 1095 carbon steel and handled with a variety of materials that include the traditional materials, North American cattle bone and Ebony wood. Also used is the unique and distinctly colored and figured Acrylic Acetate. A tough synthetic but not to be confused with the cellulose acetate very often used in the original Tidioute Cutlery. Like all Great Eastern Cutlery knives, the Tidioute Cutlery brand knives are classically styled and of exceptional craftsmanship and quality. They are good enough to collect, but our emphasis with this brand is with function and performance rather than cosmetic beauty. We have intentionally manufactured them for those individuals who need a tough and durable pocket knife to carry and use on a day to day basis. Ounce for ounce, we feel they are the best buy of any traditional pocket knife made in the USA today. When you pull out your pocket knife, it should say Tidioute Cutlery.
NORTHFIELD UN-X-LD
The original Northfield Knife Company was incorporated and operated in Connecticut from 1858 to 1926. Their UN-X-LD Branded knives are highly collectable today. In 2006 Great Eastern Cutlery registered the unused Northfield UN-X-LD trademark, strictly to be used on only the most premium GEC traditional pocket knives. These new classic UN-X-LD knives have all the intricate cosmetic tooling and finishing you would expect to see on well made early 1900’s era pocket knives. The back springs and blades are strictly made with 1095 carbon steel, with all the blades stamp marked and finished to a mirror polish. The master blades are fitted with forged straight nail pulls and cut swaging. All the bolsters are coined and typically decorated with dimples, lines and angeled cuts. The handle covers are processed here at the GEC Bone Works and are of exotic materials such as India Stag Antler, Wooly Mammoth Ivory, Cocobolo Wood, Snake Wood, and North American Cattle Shin Bone with intricately cut textured surfaces. The new Northfield UN-X-LD knives rival the orginals in materials and craftsmanship. They are always made in limited quantities with a portion of each run being serialized. Because of their quality and value they have become the most collectable factory knife made today.
Great Eastern Cutlery
With our two other brands, “NORTHFIELD UN-X-LD and TIDIOUTE CUTLERY”, our emphasis is on making knives much like those made during the golden age of pocket knives, the early 1900’s. They are made using mostly very traditional handle materials with blades made from 1095 carbon steel, quite often referred to as “your grand dads steel”. When properly heat treated and ground, 1095 carbon steel will produce a very tough blade of high polish that will easily take and hold an extremely keen edge. But it will always have one drawback. It will stain and rust. That is not a problem for many but to satisfy the need for a knife that will not stain and rust we have our Great Eastern Cutlery line of knives with blades and springs made of stainless steel. This brand, also made in classic pocket knife designs and of exceptional craftsmanship, has blades of 440C stainless Steel. It was not until the 1950’s when stainless steel started catching on with pocket knife manufacturers and consumers. 440C stainless was one of the first stainless blade steels designed for the cutlery market. It is still being used and is still one of the very best stainless cutlery steels. It attains a very high hardness when heat treated. With it’s blend of alloys that make it exceptionally tough, it can be brought to an edge easier that tool steels and can be mirror polished as good as any, and will not rust. We try to keep our Great Eastern Cutlery knives as All American as possible by using American cattle bone, American elk antlers and American hardwood for handle materials. They are easily recognizable with the Great Eastern Cutlery acorn shield.
Farm & Field Tool
All of us here at Great Eastern Cutlery are very proud of the quality products we manufacture.
Our love of traditional pocket knives has influenced our designs and dictated our manufacturing processes. We use some semi-advanced manufacturing methods, but the majority of our processes are old-school hands on labor intensive manufacturing. We feel that is the best way to achieve an authentic traditional pocket knife. Unfortunately, our style of manufacturing results in a somewhat higher price range of products. Any body who has toured the GEC plant will attest to the numerous processes required to produce our quality knives, and will verify that they are well worth the price.
The Farm & Field Tool line is our attempt to make a strictly user knife at a reduced price that is still GEC quality built. We did so by utilizing innovative processes, cost effective materials, and far fewer labor operations. Despite this we are still able to produce a high quality knife which typically features 1095 blades, reinforced pivots, all steel construction and durable handle materials. The Farm & Field Tool branding is a name that we feel exemplifies our intended use for these products. Whether you on the farm or in the field, we hope our knives have earned a place in your pocket.