Bear & Son Gander Mtn.

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kodiak

Joined
Dec 24, 2002
Messages
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I went to Gander Mtn. today and was pleasantly suprised to find 6 differnt Bear & Son slippys. They had Yellow delrin and Bone handles. Stockmans, small toothpick, small and large trappers, single blade peanut. I bought the small Trapper, 3 inch closed. It is a great size for me. Has exelant snap and ZERO BLADE PLAY!!!!!!!!! What a nicely made slipjoint. I am very impressed.
This will be EDC for sure. Made in the USA and 1095 Carbon Steel! Perfect. Well worth $24.00

I put a Case Medium Stockman in the picture for size comparison.

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Glad you are pleased with it. I recently picked up one of their stockmans and was less than pleased. The snap was fantastic but the grinds were terrible and the clip point hit the spring on closing. Check for this on yours.

At that price, I might have to give them a second chance. Please post back with your experiences with the knife when you get the chance.
 
Hey. I agree with you that the blades do need to be reprofiled, but I expect that with all knives that I buy. So I wasn't set back by this. The clip point DID NOT hit the spring when closing on mine. I did however notice a big differnce with the ten packages (knives) I looked at. There were a lot of them that had notacable gaps on the spines, I found one with no gaps. It's nice the blister packs let you see that.
 
Hi,

Nice ones you got there. I've got 2 Bears and I'm not impressed by mine. Yours are much nicer than mine. I really would like to buy more from Bear, but the QC issues tend to make me leary of them since I have to order them in.

I'd be interested in your opinion on how well their 1095 holds up.

dalee
 
Knife Crazied said:
It looks nice but I would still have my doubts :confused:
Click to expand...

What are your doubts? I understand them whatever they may be (it's a crap shoot IMO with most slipjoints, no matter what the maker), but the fit and finish on the one I picked is just as good as as a few Cases I've bought. I love the nail nicks also! The walk and talk is really great on this small slippy.
 
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I really hope they are raising the quaility of their fit and finish, 1095 is a plus if the heat treat is good, I live in the same town they are made so I would like to support them more.
 
I bought a Bear and Son a couple years ago, and it is really not a great knife. I'm happy to see their quality so far improved! And carbon steel as an option is also nice. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
I have never bought or handled a Bear that I thought was of very high quality. I would rate them somewhere a couple of steps below the old USA made Schrades. I think that just because they are American Made, some buyers are overlooking a lot.
 
kodiak said:
What are your doubts? I understand them whatever they may be (it's a crap shoot IMO with most slipjoints, no matter what the maker), but the fit and finish on the one I picked is just as good as as a few Cases I've bought.
Click to expand...

Like others, I purchased a couple, a few years ago. Besides F&F issues, the steel was soft like a butter knife. I could make an edge, but it would not hold at all.

If they've turned things around, I'd be willing to try them again. Is it too early for you to report on the steel performance?
 
reviews on them, would be nice to have another US maker though, love the long pulls just wish the would utilize a swedge too, for me it helps the blade look finished... that being said they are yeller and thats always:thumbup::D
when ya get a chance you should give us a review on usage, etc.
congrats
ivan
 
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