anything and everything about knives (free talk)

[Boozoo Chavis]

In the 60's, 70's and early 80's Gerber made some of the finest production knives in the world. After they sold to Fiskar's in 1987 knife quality went into the gutter, and almost all of the knives they now make are poor quality & imported from in China. Wouldn't waste my money on a modern day Gerber.

 

[jill jackson]

Price. I think Hinderers run about $480 if bought direct.

They are different prices for the 3 models. My Husband got the list last summer and the 3.5" model I believe was around 385.

Not too bad. I forget who gets direct though, LEO?

EMS and First Responders, law enforcement. My Husband is a prosecutor and they told him they'd sell him a knife direct. But, he has a badge and is considered law enforcement. But, the 24 was what he wanted and they had none. I think it ran about 585. He still plans to buy one in the future though.

 

[orixa]

My southard was made in China, fantastic knife.

By "southard" you mean the Spyderco-Southard? Last I checked Taiwan is NOT China.

 

[jill jackson]

China is copying the Southard, but surely he didn't mean that.

 

[marcinek]

talk about anything knife related. i thought this be a good idea to learn about stuff and to interact with others, so i will start off with one question and it will most likely turn into another subject as time goes on which is a good thing.

Well thanks for opening a thread where we can talk about knives! We have always needed one around here.

Gerber? Do not like. :barf: Sure, you one can cut stuff with them for a while, but if one finds the current Gerber output to be acceptable, then maybe hanging around and chatting with a bunch of rabid knife junkies on a knife-devoted forum seems odd.

 

[Bugout Bill]

Well, since this is a random thread, I might as well post this here:

The Spyderco Battlestation has got to be the most awful knife they have produced. That thing is so hideous and 12 year old mall ninja that I would have expected it from Mantis or Boker Magnum, not spyderco.

 

[chasewatmatters]

In my opinion Gerber makes low end knives, quality and price... With that being said, kershaw makes knives for a similar price but the quality is twice as good (on the USA made ones)

 

[evilgreg]

By "southard" you mean the Spyderco-Southard? Last I checked Taiwan is NOT China.

China is copying the Southard, but surely he didn't mean that.

Three options jump to mind:

1. He's mixed up where it's made
2. He's Chinese and believes the PRC "one China" position that the ROC is BS and that the PRC owns Taiwan, making it therefore part of what we internationally mean when we say China
3. He's talking about a counterfeit

 

[Bugout Bill]

2. He's Chinese and believes the PRC "one China" position that the ROC is BS and that the PRC owns Taiwan, making it therefore part of what we internationally mean when we say China

Or he's from the Republic of China and believes that the communists will eventually fall.

In my opinion Gerber makes low end knives, quality and price... With that being said, kershaw makes knives for a similar price but the quality is twice as good (on the USA made ones)

Gerber's autos are nice, some of their fixed blades are nice.

 

[cchu518]

I had an auto 06 with a tanto blade. It wasn't very practical except for maybe shoving under someone's sternum. The S30 blade was very nice as was its overall quality. That has been to date my only experience with Gerber. The guy that I sold the knife to was ecstatic about getting a real one which I didn't quite understand.

 

[BITEME]

Don't mind the gerber lmf2 but not that big of a fan of serr. edges at least offer the darn thing in plain edge,don't understand their aversion to plain edge?

 

[EDCanAdamas]

I had an auto 06 with a tanto blade. It wasn't very practical except for maybe shoving under someone's sternum. The S30 blade was very nice as was its overall quality. That has been to date my only experience with Gerber. The guy that I sold the knife to was ecstatic about getting a real one which I didn't quite understand.

The guy you sold it to probably had the assisted version which is garbage. He knew the Auto 06 is the real deal version that Gerber won't sell. The only reasons that come to mind as to why Gerber makes one "good" version and one piece of junk is that 1: They would feel bad about putting soldiers at risk with inferior products, products that they don't think twice about selling to civilians. 2: They are trying to fool people into confusing quality 06 Auto with the useless assisted version.

 

[EDCanAdamas]

I have to mention this too, why is it that Gerber won't sell "non-credentialed" people their version of the leatherman?

Yes, Gerber sells the general public mulitools, but those are all imported junk. The made in USA ones are restricted on their website. Why? Could it be that Gerber does not want customers to buy the higher quality model because it would ruin sales of their cheap junk when everyone else found out that they are being duped.

 

[gentry738]

I have a gerber obsidian that i like very much. The push button lock is pretty sweet. No blade play and i can open and close it as fast as my mini grip.

 

[bpeezer]

I have to mention this too, why is it that Gerber won't sell "non-credentialed" people their version of the leatherman?

Yes, Gerber sells the general public mulitools, but those are all imported junk. The made in USA ones are restricted on their website. Why? Could it be that Gerber does not want customers to buy the higher quality model because it would ruin sales of their cheap junk when everyone else found out that they are being duped.

If I had to guess, I would say because they have a NSN for that tool. You can buy the exact same tool unrestricted from various online dealers though, and probably for cheaper than Gerber would charge anyways.

 

[Blades&Bullets]

Three options jump to mind:

1. He's mixed up where it's made
2. He's Chinese and believes the PRC "one China" position that the ROC is BS and that the PRC owns Taiwan, making it therefore part of what we internationally mean when we say China
3. He's talking about a counterfeit

The China/Taiwan relationship could take up an entire forum on its' own! The Chinese I have known will quickly tell you Taiwan is a part of China (a territory). The Taiwanese would tell you they are not.
The member Orixa is in Hong Kong, which is a special administrative region (which is governed differently than mainland). I have no idea how most of the people in Hong Kong view Taiwan.
I'm not sure if he was implying was that Taiwan was an independent state or that as a territory it isn't technically a part of 'China'.

Isn't international politics fun?

 

[singularity35]

Three options jump to mind:

1. He's mixed up where it's made
2. He's Chinese and believes the PRC "one China" position that the ROC is BS and that the PRC owns Taiwan, making it therefore part of what we internationally mean when we say China
3. He's talking about a counterfeit

The bottom line is that Taiwan spydies are great.

 

[Blades&Bullets]

I had a Gerber Paraframe that I carried for some time. It was a gift and when I was working cutting lawns, home improvement, & odd job it did what I needed. I wish I hadn't lost it.

I will admit that when I was checking out a A/O Gerber knife I was a little disappointed. It seemed kind of weak/slow opening. If I get another Gerber it will hopefully be a USA model. These days I try to avoid cheaper massed produced imports if I can. I haven't bought a carry knife for myself in over a year so that hasn't been an issue though.

I am looking at getting a another EDC (current is Kershaw Storm II). I really like the ZT030x and ZT056x series, but haven't had the opportunity to handle any of them so I hesitant to order one. Also there is the fact that they are around $200 each!

 

[jc57]

Ooh, cool, a thread to freely talk about knives.

I have two Gerber knives. The Mark II Survival knife, made in 1978, made from L6 tool steel. Also one of the first models of the Bolt Action Hunter, made somewhere around 1982-4, I don't recall exactly when. I bought both of them brand new.

I liked the Bolt-Action. Nice light weight knife with a great drop point blade. I haven't used or carried it in decades but it's still a great knife.

The Mark II is utterly useless to me. It's a double-edged dagger, useful only in genuine military combat if then. I suppose it might have some value to a collector.

I have no experience with current Gerber products. In the market segment that they occupy, I think Kershaw has the lower end sewn up pretty well and Spyderco / Benchmade cover the mid to upper range.

 

[WRGreen]

I still have my old Gerber "Folding Sportsman II" model (actually 2 of 'em, the droppoint & the swept-point) from my Boy Scout days back in the late '70s. Great knives. Still have some others from that time period hiding somewhere... They performed as well and even bettter than some of their contemporary competition. The bolt-action and 'Paul' rotary-lock were ahead of their time for production models. Hopefully they can rise again.