Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Knife

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crispianranger said:
I got one of the "Mark II" versions of the BG Ultimate knife from RockyNational. From the outside I noticed the following differences. On the back of the blade, the cleared portion for using with the fire starter is ground 2 1/2 x longer. The pommel is a different shape where it joins the handle, with a wider orange bit and the pin appears to be about 3 cm in from the end.
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Mine too, although I can't discern where any pins might be. Pommel is smaller, orange insert is bigger. The plastic/rubber part of handle holds a fairly weak magnet anywhere along it's length. I would trust this knife in the woods, admittedly I'm not and never will be a baton-er.
 
I had a closer look at my "Mark I" (November issue) from Amazon. I rolled back the rubber and pushed the pin out, removed the pommel, and much to my surprise, the tang was right there under a thin piece of plastic! So, the tang does go the whole length of the handle, and is separated/insulated from the pommel by a thin layer of plastc.
On the "Mark II" at the place where the pin goes through (I can see a slight indentation on the grey rubber, both sides) is where the tang is on the "Mark I"...If I put the blade next to my ear (carefully!) and tap the pommel the sound comes through to the blade, while it doesn't on the "Mark I" (obviously, as they are insulated apart) ....So....as I havn't got a ohm meter to see if they are connected and other than taking it apart, or chatting up an X-ray nurse, to find out the inner re-build, I'm going to try it out. I'm taking it with me down south for a few weeks in the jungle....we'll see what happens....
 
Thanks for the info crispianranger.
Maybe the tang and pommel are connected now.
From the various reports I read the handle material also needed improvement to be less brittle. The email Gerber sent me indicated that the handle had been modified for more durability.
Let us know how it fares.
 
I used my meter to check continuity from the pommel to the blade but didn't get any. I figured the coating may have insulated the metal bits if they do mesh.
 
I also managed to get my hands on an ohm meter....no continuity, so the pommel may also have a thin plastic layer between it and the tang. Well, I'll try it on this jungle training ex, and see what happens....
 
OK, even I can't believe I did, but I bought the large folder in this series.

I admit, when I first saw a picture online, I liked the design, even with the BG stuff on it, but wasn't gonna buy one unless I could hold it first.

My local Dick's Sporting Goods got them in, and even cut one out of the packaging so I check it out.

BG-1.jpg


BG-2.jpg


Out of the package, the blade is actually "arm shaving" sharp, both the plain and serrated sections.

Lockup is solid, no play in any direction.

Handle is all synthetic, the orange is a hard plastic and the gray is non-slip rubber. No liners inside, so I'd be REAL reluctant to baton this thing! Ergonomics are great, they actually did a good job there. (adding steel liners, even if it added weight, would be one thing I'd change.)

Sheath is typical Gerber, fairly thick nylon, with a Velcro closure (another thing I would change on an outdoors knife, I want a strong metal snap), carries vertical & horizontal, and in my experience, lasts about 2-3 years before you have to buy a new sheath.

Will try to get out and bang it around a little and see how it performs...to some degree, it is what it is, and keep within sane usage and not to extreme, I can see it being a decent camp knife for the price.
 
Bear Claw Chris Lappe said:
OK, even I can't believe I did, but I bought the large folder in this series.

I admit, when I first saw a picture online, I liked the design, even with the BG stuff on it, but wasn't gonna buy one unless I could hold it first.

My local Dick's Sporting Goods got them in, and even cut one out of the packaging so I check it out.

BG-1.jpg


BG-2.jpg


Out of the package, the blade is actually "arm shaving" sharp, both the plain and serrated sections.

Lockup is solid, no play in any direction.

Handle is all synthetic, the orange is a hard plastic and the gray is non-slip rubber. No liners inside, so I'd be REAL reluctant to baton this thing! Ergonomics are great, they actually did a good job there. (adding steel liners, even if it added weight, would be one thing I'd change.)

Sheath is typical Gerber, fairly thick nylon, with a Velcro closure (another thing I would change on an outdoors knife, I want a strong metal snap), carries vertical & horizontal, and in my experience, lasts about 2-3 years before you have to buy a new sheath.

Will try to get out and bang it around a little and see how it performs...to some degree, it is what it is, and keep within sane usage and not to extreme, I can see it being a decent camp knife for the price.
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this is the same one my 14 yr old son just bought (saved his chore money) actually so far so good, he's whittled sticks, general cutting stuff and run around in the woods type stuff, no complaints... not my thing but he loves it
gene
 
The thumb stud on the folder caused me some trouble. The blade is loose on mine after the initial spring tension is overcome until it is 2/3 deployed. And it had a tendency to come back on my thumb. It did bite me so I can attest it is sharp.

I removed the stud and use it like a Gator. Much better.

It fits my hand well and seems like it should be a good user.
 
Stopped in my local Wally World today, and they got in a cardboard display just in the last 2 days, with the entire Bear Grylls line of knives.
 
Silverdagger said:
Buy him a Buck Vanguard and get over it.
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or spend a few bucks more and go with a scrapyard 6 which the kid will not, cannot break ever...

I would never buy a buck knife these days....their quality has diminished over time (much like gerber :( )
 
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