Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Knife

[dialex]

Can’t really blade China. Gerber chose the design. They chose to have a cheap pinned plastic pommel. They chose serrations on some cheap blade steel, they chose the sharpener, fire starter and whistle. A lot of Chinese factories are tooled with the latest machinery. If you give them a good design with good materials they’ll make it as you want it. It’s one thing to have shoddy quality control, but this knife is a case of bad design.

Very well said.

 

[elkins45]

Or maybe I should never have hit that acorn with the pommel.

There's a phrase you don't read every day.

 

[Bruno10]

I looked at the BG knife at the last outdoor retailer's show in my area. Liked the way it felt in hand but wasn't sure about buying an untested survival blade. Now that the facts and reviews are in, I decided on an Oregan made Prodigy in 12c27 instead. Great knife. I'm glad I waited.

 

[SilentJohn]

Same price you can get a bk2 and never turn back

 

[TAH]

If the knife you received did not perform as expected, we will immediately replace it at no cost. We encourage you to contact our customer service team (1-800-950-6161 or 503-403-1166) to arrange for a replacement at our cost.

What good is this when you're in the middle of nowhere?

I just hope Bear never discovers Fallkniven. It will become known as The Bear Grylls Knife and I will have to sell my F1.

 

[SubaruSTi]

Same price you can get a bk2 and never turn back

amen!

 

[Dreka DS 9000]

How does the saying go? Measure twice, cut once. Rushed things are never fully thought through and occasionally we see things going squonky.

 

[M67]

Gerber would like to thank you for testing and posting your review of the new Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Knife. We stand behind every knife we make at Gerber and we take customer feedback very seriously. If the knife you received did not perform as expected, we will immediately replace it at no cost. This is true of all our knives and tools - we call it our "Legendary Lifetime Warranty." The rigorous testing we did on this knife included batoning, but if the particular knife you received did not successfully perform this action, we apologize for your poor experience. We encourage you to contact our customer service team (1-800-950-6161 or 503-403-1166) to arrange for a replacement at our cost.

Thank you again for taking the time to test and review the Ultimate Knife.

Well, besides the word "Ultimate" in the name of the knife (false advertising),

how many knives do you replace until the warrenty is finally over?

Is the limit 10? 5?

If so many fail do you eventually get one autographed by Bear?

 

[crispianranger]

How would one know that the BG knife was a "newer" version, not just one left over from the pre-christmas rush? I have got a "November issue" and so far its been doing well, however I havn't found any acorns in Vietnam, where I'm presently working! Have used an Ontario Pilot survival knife for over 20 yrs, as a cop, game warden and field craft instructor. Got a Gerber LMF 11 last June, but I find it heavy and a bit uncomfortable in the handle. I like the BG 'Ultimate' knife and if the newer one was better made, would get another.

 

[dialex]

I loved Gerber Knives in the old days. They were innovative and put out high quality stuff. Gerber was an extraordinary knife company for the times. They made Case and Schrade look stuck-in-the-mud reactionary. Alas, Gerber was never the same after the Fiskars buyout. They’ve gone down several hills since then. But the Bear knife seems to be a new low for them.

Indeed. For instance, I still wonder why they don't reconsider a rerun of the Parabellum?

 

[SilentJohn]

What did they do to fix the problem

 

[hlee]

I noticed in a promo that Bear will be using the gerber knife in the new season of Man versus Wild. You can see him using it to process a seal carcass to make a "wet suit." At least he appears to be putting his money where his mouth is, so to speak...

 

[Azimsdad]

Very nice review, Horn Dog. It was very well written and to the point. As for the knife, I've heard of weapons falling to the power of the "Mighty Oak", but never while it was still in its acorn state!!!

 

[crispianranger]

RockyNational Co claims they have the newer version, so I ordered one. I guess I'll see if there are any obvious diffs... I like the feel and shape of the handle of the BG knife, better than a Prodigy for example, and so I'm hoping that this time the BG knife is more "Ultimate"!
I wonder if Gerber ever mentioned to Bear about the problems? I'm sure he would never condone such behavior, ie. selling an "unfinished" knife....

 

[TwinStick]

ANY knife that is touted as a survival knife, IMO, should have a full width tang, visable on all 3 sides of the handle. I'm just sayin'.

 

[SilentJohn]

Then I would maybe buy it I would still like to know how they "fixed it"

 

[Tenbeers]

I emailed Gerber asking about the "fix".
They replied stating that the handle and pommel have been modified/improved to insure that it would work as intended.
Not specific at all but maybe we will see better test results now?

I have other blades that fill this niche but I am a sucker for survival knives so I may have to guinea pig it myself.

 

[Samael]

What was the "small print?" Because I still have your original post, and I'm tempted to re-post it because it was a good one.

 

[Tenbeers]

This e-mail transmission and any accompanying attachments may contain confidential information intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. Any dissemination, distribution, copying or action taken in reliance on the contents of this e-mail by anyone other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited and is not intended to, in anyway, waive privilege or confidentiality. If you have received this e-mail in error please immediately delete it and notify sender at the above e-mail address. Thank you


Yeah, I remembered the post notifications too late.
After rereading it again I guess it would have been OK to post it since I am the intended recipient. Paranoid much?
The email was so non-specific that I don't really see the point now.

 

[Samael]

Yeah. Just let it slide. It was only interesting for its lack of specificity anyway. I'd sure love to know what changes they made to the handle/pommel, though. Perhaps you could reply to good ol' Donna and tell her inquiring minds want to know.