Mistwalker
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
- Messages
- 18,966
As always,There are a lot of opinions out there regarding the Bear Grylls fixed blade knife that Gerber recently produced, and lot of them are negative opinions. Some of those opinions will never be swayed regardless of what else is said or done, and that is not my intentions with this post. Some of those negative opinions are due to design issues with the execution of the first generation of the knife, and that is the inspiration behind this post. I like it when companies step up and try to address issues brought up by their customer base, and put forth real effort to right the wrongs. Say what you will about the knife itself, it can not be said that Gerber didn't listen to the input of their customers, and it can not be said that they didn't take action to try to rectify the situation, and produce a better product.
I haven't had a chance to test this knife yet, I've been too busy with work. I will get to it as soon as I can though. The bottom knife is the second generation knife. The re-designed pommel did away with the sharp angle that may have been acting like a wedge to split the handle.
Once again the Gen. II is on the bottom in the picture. The wider striker makes using the firesteel a bit easier, and the swedge at the tip has been extended for a more tapered tip.
The on-boardSharpener has been greatly improved. Originally the diamond steel was attached via flaired plastic pins, that in this particular case, a couple protruded above the sharpener catching on the edge of the knife. The new ones are attached with recessed screws.
While I am still not sure that having the ferro rod inverted on the sheath is a great idea...it's fine for me, I tend to like carrying a fixed blade tip-up on my pack strap, but not everyone does...they have taken steps to improve the retention of the rod. The new model has beefier lugs and they are now tapered for longer durability and improved wear resistance over time. In these pics the new rod is on the bottom in the first photo and on the right in the second one.
I am not exactly Bear Grylls' biggest fan...I'm not a fan of television in general...h#ll, I have never even watched a whole episode of his show. I have seen a few clips on you tube here and there, I have read a lot about him on the net here and in other places, and I hear a lot about the man and his exploits from friends. My take on it is that Hollywood and television are as they have always been, they change everything they get their hands on for the sake of ratings, so no matter what I see on the tube, I'm quite certain I'm not seeing the people as they actually are. At any rate I'm sure even in the cousrse of his entertaining people, given his popularity this is something he obviously does, on the television he still probably does much more to inspire kids to get off their @$$es, get outside, do things, and explore the natural world than any of the "non-reality" shows and bull sh_t cartoons that were so popular when I simply quit watching television some years ago. In my opinion this in and of itself is a good thing. While I am not a big fan of hi-vis orange, as anyone who knows me knows...just ask some of my friends such as Bryan Breeden, I do understand it, and I do like the over-all concept of this knife and I really hope this second generation does well in the field. We probably live in the only country in the world suffering from an obesity epidemic. If this tool is given to young fans of the show, and subsequintly inspires them to get off the couch and out into the woods, and thereby becomes the vehicle that starts the habit of a healthier more active lifestyle, then it is in the end a bargain beyond measure is it not? Could save hundreds of dollars in video games and junk food alone
Here's to hoping.
I haven't had a chance to test this knife yet, I've been too busy with work. I will get to it as soon as I can though. The bottom knife is the second generation knife. The re-designed pommel did away with the sharp angle that may have been acting like a wedge to split the handle.
Once again the Gen. II is on the bottom in the picture. The wider striker makes using the firesteel a bit easier, and the swedge at the tip has been extended for a more tapered tip.
The on-boardSharpener has been greatly improved. Originally the diamond steel was attached via flaired plastic pins, that in this particular case, a couple protruded above the sharpener catching on the edge of the knife. The new ones are attached with recessed screws.
While I am still not sure that having the ferro rod inverted on the sheath is a great idea...it's fine for me, I tend to like carrying a fixed blade tip-up on my pack strap, but not everyone does...they have taken steps to improve the retention of the rod. The new model has beefier lugs and they are now tapered for longer durability and improved wear resistance over time. In these pics the new rod is on the bottom in the first photo and on the right in the second one.
I am not exactly Bear Grylls' biggest fan...I'm not a fan of television in general...h#ll, I have never even watched a whole episode of his show. I have seen a few clips on you tube here and there, I have read a lot about him on the net here and in other places, and I hear a lot about the man and his exploits from friends. My take on it is that Hollywood and television are as they have always been, they change everything they get their hands on for the sake of ratings, so no matter what I see on the tube, I'm quite certain I'm not seeing the people as they actually are. At any rate I'm sure even in the cousrse of his entertaining people, given his popularity this is something he obviously does, on the television he still probably does much more to inspire kids to get off their @$$es, get outside, do things, and explore the natural world than any of the "non-reality" shows and bull sh_t cartoons that were so popular when I simply quit watching television some years ago. In my opinion this in and of itself is a good thing. While I am not a big fan of hi-vis orange, as anyone who knows me knows...just ask some of my friends such as Bryan Breeden, I do understand it, and I do like the over-all concept of this knife and I really hope this second generation does well in the field. We probably live in the only country in the world suffering from an obesity epidemic. If this tool is given to young fans of the show, and subsequintly inspires them to get off the couch and out into the woods, and thereby becomes the vehicle that starts the habit of a healthier more active lifestyle, then it is in the end a bargain beyond measure is it not? Could save hundreds of dollars in video games and junk food alone
Here's to hoping.
