Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn auto folder

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WVHILLS

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Looking at one of these to carry while at work. What can anyone tell me about this knife? durable? cheaply built? yay or nay?
 
I live out wayne now, maybe I should have posted this in the auto sub forum?
 
Gerber fast draw has lasted me a while. Its $30. Lasted for about 6 months. It only broke cause I threw it in the air to catch it, and it landed straight on the concrete :(
 
Which knife are you specifically looking at? I wan't sure if they made an A-F auto. For current manufacture, all of the A-F folders come with the roto-lock. You have the covert knives that are A-F design, but not specifically named as A-F knives. Older versions of them do have the A-F names on the blade, but not newer ones.

I personally have the covert FAST blade and I am not sure I have a firm opinion yet. I am by no means a knife expert, though I am never without one. I use knives frequently and have developed a sense of what I like over the years (I am the old man on my team). I guess what I am saying is, take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

The assisted opening works nice, but the blade seems to work itself loose and I've had to tighten it twice already, and seems to need it again. It did not come all that sharp, and I have yet to try and sharpen it (more on this later). The serrations do not appear to be all that aggressive compared to other blades I've owned. It kinda seems like there is more handle to it than you might expect for the size of the blade. For a 3.70" blade, it doesn't "feel" that long. The G10 scales are nice enough, but the grip is very "flat", no contour to it, but seems normal for G10 scales. Nice tactile feel to them. Decent heft, though the balance is 2 inches back in the handle, so it feels butt heavy. It fits very well in a pocket for regular clothes, but I wear it in a Gerber XL pouch on my uniform (Army). Wears very nice, good weight and the flat feel works well. The "use" of the blade seems to be more of a niche, as could be expected. It is a thinner blade to be used as a fighting blade and not as a GP blade, though I've used it that way.

The last thing I will say about the blade that I didn't really expect is that only one side is sharpened. My understanding of an A-F blade is both sides are sharpened and it seems kinda silly to only have one side sharpened, though I may be wrong. It seems as if they bowed to PC expediency given that someone might cut their hand on the back of the blade while closing it. I broke out my king stones to "fix" this, but haven't got around to it yet.

The best advice I can give is to try and hold one before you buy, if at all possible. I wouldn't say I won't recommend the blade, but it isn't on my "must have" list either.
 
Last edited:
Gault said:
Which knife are you specifically looking at? I wan't sure if they made an A-F auto. For current manufacture, all of the A-F folders come with the roto-lock. You have the covert knives that are A-F design, but not specifically named as A-F knives. Older versions of them do have the A-F names on the blade, but not newer ones.

I personally have the covert FAST blade and I am not sure I have a firm opinion yet. I am by no means a knife expert, though I am never without one. I use knives frequently and have developed a sense of what I like over the years (I am the old man on my team). I guess what I am saying is, take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

The assisted opening works nice, but the blade seems to work itself loose and I've had to tighten it twice already, and seems to need it again. It did not come all that sharp, and I have yet to try and sharpen it (more on this later). The serrations do not appear to be all that aggressive compared to other blades I've owned. It kinda seems like there is more handle to it than you might expect for the size of the blade. For a 3.70" blade, it doesn't "feel" that long. The G10 scales are nice enough, but the grip is very "flat", no contour to it, but seems normal for G10 scales. Nice tactile feel to them. Decent heft, though the balance is 2 inches back in the handle, so it feels butt heavy. It fits very well in a pocket for regular clothes, but I wear it in a Gerber XL pouch on my uniform (Army). Wears very nice, good weight and the flat feel works well. The "use" of the blade seems to be more of a niche, as could be expected. It is a thinner blade to be used as a fighting blade and not as a GP blade, though I've used it that way.

The last thing I will say about the blade that I didn't really expect is that only one side is sharpened. My understanding of an A-F blade is both sides are sharpened and it seems kinda silly to only have one side sharpened, though I may be wrong. It seems as if they bowed to PC expediency given that someone might cut their hand on the back of the blade while closing it. I broke out my king stones to "fix" this, but haven't got around to it yet.

The best advice I can give is to try and hold one before you buy, if at all possible. I wouldn't say I won't recommend the blade, but it isn't on my "must have" list either.
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I'm just looking for a good middle of the road auto that won't cost me a fortune, and wont care if it gets lost or broken. What steel is Gerber using for the auto version? Is it chisel ground?
 
My covert FAST is supposed to be 7Cr17MoV, the auto is listed as S30V.

Not sure what your job is that allows you to buy an auto, but I know there is a place on Ft Carson called ENVISION XPRESS that sells all knids of supplies to GPC holders as well as TA50 type stuff to SMs. I saw where they sell the full range of Gerber auto folders there, G-10, G-06, DMF, etc.

Might be a similar place by other Army posts if you are permitted.
 
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