Daniels Family Knives

     The Daniels family has been trading knives since the 1940's. Our founder , Norman Daniels, tought his grandson Ken Daniels about his first knives not on the internet or knife shows as we know today but at old fashion traders markets and gun swaps. The most famous was Washington Court House near Dayton, OH where at the time this was 6 football field sizes big. Ken Daniels would later teach his son ,Ryan Daniels, the trade.

     I remember growing up at the National Knife Collectors Shows back in thier hay day. I can remember knife icons like Jim Parker, Jim Sergent, Frank Buster, and Pete Cohan (NKM Curaitor) taking the time to teach & trade with me as I grew up. The time anyone has given me credits to our familys devotion to encouraging knife trading to any youth becuase knife trading is dead unless we all do this.

     I can remeber when my Dad decided to do his first Special Factory Order knife. It was with Jim Parkers German Bulldog brand and was a Sunfish with appolosa bone handles. I can remeber thinking how cool my Dad had to be to be able to have his own knife made.

     When I was 11 I had my first opprunity for a knife project. At this time my collection was souly made up of Fight'n Roosters pearls and of course Stags. Frank Buster helped me out with this venture and in 1996 I brought out a 1 of 30 set of "Big Red Ryans" which was a set of canoes with smooth red bone, coke bottle celluliod, & red glitter stripe.

     Once in high school like most I kinda lost track of the knife industry with all the other things going on in a teenagers life. My senior year in high school I met my beautiful wife ,Courtney Daniels, I knew I had to start making money if I was going to keep her so I dusted off the traders guides and went back at it. After I graduadted in 2003, Dad and I decided to start our own line of knives through Queen Cutlery Company. We were very impressed with the old style quality that they procuced and named it The Queen Classics.

     Then when I turned 21 my Dad and I had the oppritunity to start our own knife factory with a man that had worked as the Master Cutler for Queen for years, Bill Howard. In 2006 we offically started Great Eastern Cutlery which we specilazed in making 100% USA made knives made like they used to be back in the early 20th century. I took the postion of National Sales Manager and we went right to our roots for promotion the knife shows. My family and I traveled all across the country for 6 years promoting GEC. During all this time my dughter, Riley Daniels, was born and would grow up into the trade and not know what it was like not to have GEC.

     As all great things have to end,  on Janurary 1, 2012 the Daniels Family sold thier shares of GEC to Bill Howard and also required the old tang stamp Tuna Valley Cutlery. Now we are set off on a new adventure where we will still be offering 100% USA made high quality product and plan on offering several specialty steels with this line. Please check our website in the next few weeks and here at IKC for updates.