Does anyone like Gerber knives?

The bad? Pretty much everything from my experience. The good? The Dime fits perfectly in my car's ash tray.
 
I like their food that comes in little jars.

My hunting knife in the mid 80's was a Gerber with 3 inter changeable blades. One for dressing one for skinning and a saw. I is a quality knife.
 
Back in the day I carried a Paraframe 2 plain edge. After I got into good knives I gave it to my buddy who liked knives purely for utility. I recently visited him and the knife had broken and he was cussing it, so I gave him my old Tenacious. I think he's hooked on quality now.
 
I never was a fan of their blades, but I had a USA made Gerber multi tool that grew legs and walked away. I was pissed that I lost it, it was a good tool and I liked it alot.
 
I've got a big rock that's pretty great considering it was like $30. :D I don't carry it too much lately just because I'm always trying out new fixed blades but I would never consider it to be a knife that would let me down, whether out in the woods, skinning deer, or just working around the house. :) I'm sure it's the same cheap mystery steel as all their others.

I've got a handful of their multitools that have never let me down either, including one pair of needlenose otf (are those considered OTF?) that could NEVER be replaced as far as I'm concerned.
 
I had a Gerber FAST Draw for about 6 years when I was a kid. I abused it severely and it stood up well throughout the years. I may not have the best steel, but for the average Joe, they perform just fine.
 
One of my first knives was a paraframe. I still use it as I leave it lying around the worktable or in a pocket of a backpack. Good knife, but some of Gerber's other knives really stink up the joint.
 
jimh0220 said:
They're owned by Fiskars, so they don't have the knifey company feel that they used to. They still make great US Made knives for the money, and has a few sleepers in the low end that are good knives. The have good hatchets and saws (surprise, just like Fiskars), used to make great multitools, though they've disco'd most of the good ones. They carry a good lineup of NSN military knives and multitools. Go the most surplus stores and you find used Gerbers. They aim their knives at the mass merchant, non knife nut crowd. Not bad, just what they are. I have several of their US blades, and I love them. None have failed. They have top notch customer service, BTW.
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+1 Best description
 
I've had a couple that I liked, namely a Yari 2 that has served me well and a Big Rock camper. Both are very good knives for the price (50-60$ish for the Yari 2, with S30V steel, aluminium handles, and an oustanding sheath / 30$? If that? for the Big Rock).

I have owned a couple of their 600 model Multitools, and I'm kind of neutral towards them. They work, I guess, but they're not really my cup of tea.

I've had a couple that were junk, namely a Guardian and a Mark 2.

I've got tons of coworkers / buddies who own folders from them and like them, but I stay away from their folders entirely.
 
I only have a US made multi tool and a US made boot knife from them. The boot knife has never really been used just sits in my safe but the multi tool was a xmas gift from my dad while I was in the Army in 99' or 00' and was used every single day. After the army I did a lot of handyman type work and maintenance for apartments and a care center and that multi tool was used and abused every day of the week. I could fix almost anything with that multi tool and a 6 in 1 screw driver but i eventually broke off the small flat head screw driver and a couple other flip out tools in the handle from doing things with them I should have. I dropped it off at the Gerber HQ in Portland last winter and they were just going to give me a brand new one but I said this one had sentimental value and I'd rather pay to have it repaired. They wouldn't take any money and in about a week my repaired multi tool was at my door repaired and the blade sharpened & a brand new nylon belt pouch. Was very happy with their customer service. I told them up front that I caused it to break by doing dumb stuff but they didn't care.
 
I'm a fan of these Gerber knives, the Silver Knight series made in Japan.

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I have a buddy at work who use to work for Fiskars (in Oregon I believe?) anyway, he's far from a knife guy (when I got Kraft to buy us SOG Powerlocks he just shrugged and lost it) so when I asked him about Gerber he told me that they had a "special" area in the factory where they made really nice knives. What he described could only have meant damascus, but aside from that he couldn't tell me anything else. :confused:
 
Gerber were innovators along the order of Spyderco today. The first really high performance steels for the original steel junkies. M2 HSS in fixed blades hard chromed and ran around rc 61. The grips were extremely forward thinking as far as ergonomics over traditional "what a knife is supposed to look like".

The Mk 2 went to Vietnam with many a soldier and gave good company. It wasn't the strongest design but it was made then in L6 steel which gave it the ability to take more damage than one would think.

My first obsession came with the Sportsmen 2 "sprint" in Vascowear tool steel ( now made as Cruwear by Crucible and brought back by Sal and Spyderco with a better heat treat and platforms , the Mule first, then soon to be released Military) which I couldn't find or afford for the 5-6 or so years it was built in relatively small amounts. It took around 20 years for me to find one NIB, OS. The near mirror finish must have given fits to the knifemakers not to mention the grinding on what was the most wear resistant steel used in a production knife until 440V/S60V was released by Spyderco.

The regular non performance folders got 440C, pretty much the high end stainless of the time until replaced by ATS 34/154cm in customs first, then upper tier production companies.

There were quite a few more notables along the way. They are one of the first Production companies to use Ti Frames.

Please note this is not meant to be an accurate timeline and I am going by a memory which could be incorrect about some things. Please correct or add/make changes where appropriate.

IIRC, My last real knife made by Gerber that I had to have was a Lone Wolf T3 Ranger. Still one of the most impressive folders I've seen. I wish they would return with a steel upgrade, not downgrade as we see all too often nowadays. Lone Wolf obviously is no longer owned by Gerber so I'm not holding my breath.

David Murphy and Joseph Gerber aren't often talked about but their contributions should not be taken lightly.

Joe
 
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The Mastiff said:
The first really high performance steels for the original steel junkies. M2 HSS in fixed blades hard chromed and ran around rc 61. The grips were extremely forward thinking as far as ergonomics over traditional "what a knife is supposed to look like".

The Mk 2 went to Vietnam with many a soldier and gave good company. It wasn't the strongest design but it was made then in L6 steel which gave it the ability to take more damage than one would think.
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MK I
MinGerberMarkI2.jpg


MK II, L6
MinGerberMarkII1978L6stl3.jpg


Gators, ATS-34
MinatvGerberGatorATS-34.jpg


Armorhide A475 and A400
MinaGerberA400ochA475denstrre.jpg


MinGerberA400.jpg


MinGerberA475Armorhide2.jpg


~Paul~
 
My first quality knife as a teenager was a guardian (loveless) design with the harness system followed by the command II basically a single edged mark II so they have always held a special place for me since these knives at the time for me were truly awesome, today of course, I only see worthless junk being made by them, unless of course it is a hatchet or saw as already stated. In fact this is the classic sad story of our migration as a nation from being innovators, doers and manufacturers to being just consumers..outsourcing our jobs and being satisfied with crap.
 
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