Gerber Fans

BladeScout said:
Well, if that place is on the top of a dung heap, then yes!:D
The above tongue in cheek of course.
Seriously; Schrade used to make GREAT knives and Im a huge fan of the old Sharpfinger and the old Schrade Woodsman.
But the old Schrade company name was bought and is now used as a front to sell crappy low quality knives.
Schrade knives of today are NOTHING like they once were.
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I think they are, in general, bad knives but for the average Joe who isn't into knives they probably work fine. I think when you are exposed to good quality knives you then realize the issue with the Gerbers of today. I'm old enough to remember the good old Gerbers and Schrades, pretty sad what has happened to those two companies, though I think Schrade does make a few good knives.
 
The last Gerber I got my hands on was a gift from a friend, and essentially (to me) showcases everything wrong with Gerber's products. I received this knife from a friend, a Gerber Armor. Where do I begin? Micarta scales that were so poorly finished, there were sharp, rough edges to the scales. The "flipper" was hilariously bad, because it only sticks out of the back of the knife about two millimeters, entirely too small to actually used as a flipper. Amusingly enough, I can't seem to locate what steel this crap knife is made from (none of the sites selling it seem to list it). Oh well. It was a gift, so it just sits in a shoebox. I haven't even considered a Gerber product since, especially given how most of their lineup is made in China now.

Edit: finally found one mention of it being 440 stainless.
 
mcrow said:
I think they are, in general, bad knives but for the average Joe who isn't into knives they probably work fine. I think when you are exposed to good quality knives you then realize the issue with the Gerbers of today. I'm old enough to remember the good old Gerbers and Schrades, pretty sad what has happened to those two companies, though I think Schrade does make a few good knives.
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I see the average joe use his keys for most knife related tasks. The only thing gerber has going for it is name recognition. There are too many better options in the same price bracket for anyone here to be recommending gerbers.
 
The old Gerbers were quality knives, I carried a Mk2 in the army 30 years ago wish I still had it. The current knives not so much, the USA made ones are pretty decent the BG and most of their folders are junk. The multi tools are pretty decent and I have several of those and they have held up well. I see them all the time in the BX on base still along with SOG's occasionally a Benchmade Griptilian.
 
jimmyd1982 said:
I see the average joe use his keys for most knife related tasks. The only thing gerber has going for it is name recognition. There are too many better options in the same price bracket for anyone here to be recommending gerbers.
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I'm not recommending Gerber knives to anyone, just so we're clear. I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole when I can buy a Kershaw for around the same price. I'm just saying that they are functional knives (they do cut things) and that the average joe probably has no idea they are a piece of crap. Yeah, they are living on their name and even the average Joe probably recognizes the Gerber name and looks at the price and buys them.

Funny thing is I bought a piece of crap Sheffield knife and another cheap one with a Viking on it at walmart and compared it to the Gerber Myth. The Sheffield sold for like $6 the Viking one for $4 and they were both just as good (which is to say useless) as the Myth.

Really sad state of affairs.
 
I have like I said Kershaws, Cases, Ka-Bars, CRKTs, SAKS, Bucks, and others from the last 30 years of collecting. Most of those I will say are easier to sharpen than a Gerber. But when I get my Gerbers sharp they hold it. I guess it is just personal preference but I like the build and design of my Gerbers best. It's clear I am in the minority on the forum with this opinion.
 
Gerber is a sad case to me not just because of the cheap knives in their line now but in my opinion even sadder is how far they have fallen. They established some of the things we now take for granted. What we now call "sprint runs" in "super steels" which we typically, and for good reason think of Spyderco had it's roots in the early 80's or earlier in Gerber. Knives ahead of their time like the Sportsman 2 version in "V" steel ( Vascowear, now called Cruwear, PD#1, Z wear, amongst others) was a tool steel upgrade to their normal premium steel 440C Sportsman line in different sizes and blade shapes. 3V is a nephew of Vascowear in a fashion. Back then even more than today it was a PITA to grind ( wear resistance, stubborn and susceptible to work hardening during grinding and polishing especially without the better cutting belts available today. Most companies did a stainless model and a carbon steel model which is usually 1095 or a variant of. Cruwear is tougher than D2, more wear resistant than D2, but less than CPM M4 if you want a yardstick. Good stuff and well ahead of any production steel wear resistance wise until Spyderco brought CPM T440V/S60V and then ZDP into the production world.

M2 High speed steel is one hell of a performer too and was another Gerber hallmark in both fixed blades and one of their high end folders, a folding hunter in walnut grips with ni visible rivets. Great stuff and in like new condition it goes for pretty large dollars now. The M2 high speed steels were mostly chrome plated for corrosion resistance including the fixed blades with cast aluminum grips.

The L6 tool steel Mk ! and Mk 2 were another example of non traditional production blades and steel. They went to war, were and still are highly sought after by collectors. The newer versions of the old knives in even good stainless like S30V just don't inspire bidding wars like the old Gerbers that were well before their time. Gerber has an occasional well made knife but they certainly aren't one of the innovators and leaders in the cutlery industry and haven't been for quite some time.

Joe
 
I used to have a Rick Hinderer Gerber Torch that I LOVED (Purely because of the design aesthetics), but now that the Kershaw Cryo is available I probably wouldn't even get a Gerber again.
 
What it is, is that a lot of us remember when gerber was a quality brand. Now they are made in china and just dont compare to what they used to be. There are still some gems to be had but the majority is just not up to the quality of some other similarly priced knives. Try out spyderco, cold steel, and benchmade.
 
When did Gerber get bought by Fiskars? I'm just getting into knives and remember being really into my Gerber Gator as a kid. Also have a First Production Run Applegate Fairbairn that seems nice though I'm having trouble finding information about it. Both knives are from the early-mid 90s.
 
I have a couple 154CM Gators that are decent knives and blow away my early 90's mystery metal Gator.

Do have a MkII and Silver Knight from the 80's that are pretty good.
 
Not a huge fan of Gerber, but I do have two that I have used extensively with no failures or disappointment: The Harsey Air Ranger II (large blade, thumb activated safety switch) has been an EDC for me since I got it almost ten years ago; the Back Paxe short handled hatchet with the overmolded handle/head configuation which has got me out of some wilderness scrapes and is a great quartering tool. I have some other Gerber products, but they date back to the 70s and 80s and are daggers and just sit in the knife bag.

Zieg
 
The ONLY Gerber I have is one that actually might be pretty collectables. Now before you fall over laughing, it is a 1974 Gerber Sportsman Folder with genuine bone handles. I have it in the original box, original sheath, and the original paperwork in said box. Also, this knife has never cut a thing. Stayed in the box since 1974. My Dad bought it for my Mom in Alaska when he worked on the Trans Alaska Pipeline for Bechtel. He thought she needed a good knife living up there. Well, she didn't, and in the box it stayed for 40 years!!! I have had it for a good while. Oh, BTW, it was made in Oregon way back then. :) I will never sell it, due to sentimental reasons, but I bet it's worth something.

As far as the new stuff.......I'll pass.
 
Most people (myself included) hate on Gerber because about 98% of their products are garbage. Yes, there are some quality made Gerbers, the current US made ones and ones made prior to the first Bush administration mostly. Some of their current models are just plain sad, like the Paraframe...facepalm...
 
I keep seeing people mentioning "mystery steel". That may have been the case for a while, but now they list the steel each model is made with on their website. Just click on the model, and it'll be listed on the right.

As for all the "it ain't made in 'Merica"... quite a few of the knives you people are listing as superior, are made overseas. (someone even mentioned Cold Steel haha)

I just see a lot of snobbery/bashing going on, when the OP had asked if there were any other Gerber fans on the forum. They didn't ask, "how many of you can tell me how great Gerber was back in the day, but how they're pretty much useless crap now, and imply how I've wasted my money because [current hipster knife of the moment] is so much better?"
(If you aren't guilty of that, you shouldn't be offended.)

As for my answer to blueridgemountain's question... I like some of their current lineup. I bought a Freeman fixed blade a few years ago for $20 brand new, and it's outlasted (even with that "mystery steel") quite a few of my other knives.

Every single company has good & bad products. It's all about finding what you like, at a price you're willing to pay, and enjoying it.
 
hfrog355 said:
When did Gerber get bought by Fiskars? I'm just getting into knives and remember being really into my Gerber Gator as a kid. Also have a First Production Run Applegate Fairbairn that seems nice though I'm having trouble finding information about it. Both knives are from the early-mid 90s.
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I wanna say it was 1988, or thereabouts.
 
Gerber still makes many solid well made knives in the USA. Besides those already mentioned, they still make the LST and the EZ Out among others. As for Schrade, they went out of business in 2004 and all knives up till then were US made. Taylor Brands bought the name and now they are made in China. They are not Schrade, they just use the name.
 
mcrow said:
Well, sometimes we get to be knife snobs around here.

Gerber and Schrade both have done things to deserve some heat. That doesn't mean that they don't make a knife or two that good quality.
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For me, that one worthy choice is the Gerber LST. Great little user for the money. :thumbup:
 
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