Gerber Gator Machete why are so many using it?

S

soapboxpreacher

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Apr 3, 2010
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I have went thru a number of videos on youtube of very well skilled outdoors men as well as bushcrafter. I was shocked at how many use it and even more shocked at how many use the saw with actually decent success. Is this an alright machete? I like the saw back on it, which actually looks like it works better than the machete! It is sooo cheap and seems to have alright specs..I have a condor as well as a marble but always wanted a machete with a saw back on it. The grip looks like it is safer since they redid it. They are also actually very good about warranty claims! I am just shocked and I havent had any Kool-aid!
 
Avoid both the Gerber and the SOG if looking for good machetes.
 
soapboxpreacher said:
.I have a condor as well as a marble
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Sounds to me like you just need a good folding saw. A broken or lost machete/saw combo leaves you with nothing.

If you you have trimming and yard work that might be made easier with something like the Gerber, get one to mess around with. If it proves itself safe, tough, ergonomic and user friendly enough for you, run with it (figuratively speaking of course :D ). I suspect the ergonomic use of the saw will be the toughest.
 
I've got one (Condor Sabertooth) available if interested. I didn't care for the design personally, but it's a well-built machete that's lightyears ahead of the Fiskars in my opinion.
 
I think the popularity of the Gerber Gator is an example of "If you build it, they will come." A Tramontina is better and cheaper, but the Gator is available at Wal*Mart.
 
Ontario makes sawback machetes also. I'm not sure how well the saw works though.

I think the main reason you see a lot of the gerber machete is that it's readily available in a lot of stores. You can walk in and grab one and pay for it rather than track one down online and hope it's as good as it looks in the picture.
 
Storm Crow said:
I think the popularity of the Gerber Gator is an example of "If you build it, they will come." A Tramontina is better and cheaper, but the Gator is available at Wal*Mart.
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bigghoss said:
Ontario makes sawback machetes also. I'm not sure how well the saw works though.

I think the main reason you see a lot of the gerber machete is that it's readily available in a lot of stores. You can walk in and grab one and pay for it rather than track one down online and hope it's as good as it looks in the picture.
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Yup--it's so commonly used for the following reasons, amongst others:

1) It's widely distributed through both big and small box stores.

2) Fiskars has earned a reputation for most of their stuff being "pretty ok" so people presume the machete will be, too (it's not!)

3) Most folks don't know better.

I have yet to find a single saw-backed machete where both the saw AND the machete work well. More often than not, neither do. The saw back is usually just eye candy that chews up the sheath.
 
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