Gerber Knives...good or bad

My observations apply to only one model so make of that what you will. I collect Gerber Mark 2s & the older ones are well made with pretty accurate grinds. They got the tips centered with the blade's center spine better than some more expensive newer daggers I've bought.

The first newer model I bought had the blade coming out of the handle at a noticeable angle. The blade pointed to the left a bit when I held it logo side up. I exchanged it for a better one, but that crap shouldn't be making it past QC on a $100ish knife.
 
Speaking from personal experience, some of their more recent designs have been ok on paper but poorly executed even when made in the US. I had an lmf2 that I got right when it came out, had 12c27 sandvik steel and a great sheath, it was my first high end fixed blade. After 3 years of light use the rubber handle began to form a gap against the tang. I sent it in for a replacement and what I received back was an abomination, steel downgraded to 420hc, handle went from soft overmolded frn to a cheap plastic, and the sheath was glued instead of bolted together. Even the blade coating was downgraded from a dlc like coating to something more resembling black spray paint. I was so dissapointed that I sold it off within a week of receiving it and wrote Gerber a strongly worded email. Never again.
 
The only Gerber I have, is the Hinderer CLS (Combat Life Saver). I happen to have gotten this as a gift, the person that gave it picked it because she liked the way it looked, and I can say that it's an ok knife, fit and finish is good, blade is pretty much centered, and the edge was ok, the new one I put on didn't last very long so it needs another go. The steel is not all that in my mind. I would rate the edge retention around the same as 8CR. I do like alot of the features and it's a solid knife, so much so that I might pick up a red one to add to the rotation one day.



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They make some with S30V, marked on the blade, robust but anemic when firing.

In general I don't care for their knives, there are exceptions.
 
I think Gerber might be on the way back.
I have their new Auto incoming, made here in the States. I'll be back
 
Lycosa said:
I think Gerber might be on the way back.
I have their new Auto incoming, made here in the States. I'll be back
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I'll try to post some images or a video of my Gerber Propel A/O. It's a great work knife (once you remove the torsion spring) - very robust tip, decent out-of-box edge, blade-centered, grippy well-shaped G-10 handle, very smooth pivot, the button-lock is faster/easier than Benchmade's AXIS, very amenable to gloved-use.

So many good things about it. Downsides - some don't like serrations or tantos, the steel liners are not skeletonized so it's heavier than needed, the pocket-clip is poorly designed, not sure how much abuse the button-lock can take. With all that, I now take this USA-made Gerber over my similarly-priced import Cold Steel Recon 1 every time.
 
I'm generally not a fan of Gerber. Their target audience seems to be people who don't know or care much about knives, who view them as just another tool in the toolbox. For the price of a Gerber knife I'd rather have one of the cheaper Spydercos or a Kershaw, or a Cold Steel Pocket Bushman.

I did see the commercial for their Instant and thought that commercial was really cool. I enjoyed watching it. I think the knife itself is actually one of Gerber's better folders, although I won't pretend to be familiar with Gerber's lineup.

I will say one thing about Gerber. They're way better than BudK.
 
Thank you chiralG.
I have a good feeling about this Gerber, Propel Auto. Yes, the steel liners shud be drilled but at under 5 oz. not bad. At one time I never got the combo blade, serrations, but now I like it. Ernest Emerson educated me.
rolf
 
I think some of the US made knives are good. If they weren't the military wouldn't have contracted them as many years as they did. The Gerber Gator in 154CM is a great tool box folder.

Rolf, you can email me the pics and I'll post them for you.
 
I bought my last Gerber two years ago and helped my High School friend skin-out a cow he had shot. I also had my SRK Cold Steel with me and ued it also. But as for the Gerber I had no problem with it, we used it like a butcher will use his knives ta cut up the meat. Never had a hick-up at any time and as always was well pleased with the knife.
So I guess ya can say 6 of one, half a dozen of another. I still EDC my Gerber and use it daily.
 
I carry a Gerber Paraframe and yes I've lst some of the screws also. When I noticed the screws were gone I checked the screw that holds the blade in and it was loose, way way loose!! So, I got my range box out and retreived the Loc-Tite and my torque bits assortment pouch. I've nevr had problem since, but if I'm cutting cardboard I've got a box cutter for that. I knw some knives aren't intended for other uses and if I was ta fault a knife everytime something went wrong because I didn't do a check of my equipment first, well as my dad would say, "Boy! Ya need ta check ya equipment no matter how small or how big it is. This way if something happens then ya have a reason ta blame something!"
All I'm saying here is I check my equipment and I use the right tool for the job, well most of the time I use right tool. I've cut cardboard with my knife before but it was just a small piece.
 
Joseph Loveland said:
I carry a Gerber Paraframe and yes I've lst some of the screws also. When I noticed the screws were gone I checked the screw that holds the blade in and it was loose, way way loose!! So, I got my range box out and retreived the Loc-Tite and my torque bits assortment pouch. I've nevr had problem since, but if I'm cutting cardboard I've got a box cutter for that. I knw some knives aren't intended for other uses and if I was ta fault a knife everytime something went wrong because I didn't do a check of my equipment first, well as my dad would say, "Boy! Ya need ta check ya equipment no matter how small or how big it is. This way if something happens then ya have a reason ta blame something!"
All I'm saying here is I check my equipment and I use the right tool for the job, well most of the time I use right tool. I've cut cardboard with my knife before but it was just a small piece.
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Great point, and a lesson that was learned but that knife basically fell apart...
 
I've liked many of their designs, but the scales often did not give me a grip I was confident with.
 
I have been carrying a Gerber 06 fast every day for about two years and I have put it thru a lot. Basic stuff like stripping wires and cutting them, cutting cardboard, trimming down kids mouthpieces for football, etc. Heavier stuff like cutting cans in half to make hobo stoves, sawing thru smaller tree limbs, I even cleaned out a second base post that was filled with rock hard dried up mud that I had to stab several times just to loosen it up and pry it out.

I think the biggest thing is the quality control. You may hit and get a good one like I did that will last for a while or a bad one that falls apart. The steel on the Chinese made ones are usually not grand. Mine I have to sharpen quite often. The design is very good in my opinion. I like the look of it, I like tanto blades, and I like the weight of it. The pummel at the end feels like I could beat it to near death and it just keep going.

I am not against getting another Gerber, but after looking around it seems you can get better quality at or around the same price. You may not get all the features you want but everything costs something. Find something with everything you want in a great steel and handle and you may pay a pretty penny for it. If blade steel isn't terribly important then have at a Chinese made. Get american made for better steel like the s30v. It costs more. The 06 fast I have cost me around $60 and the auto version with better quality handle and steel runs around $150.
 
I have some gerbers in my collection because i collect all brands. I have a emerson alliance, lmf and a mp 600 thats been to iraq and afghanastan. All of those have been put thru hell most people cant dream about and they still work perfect. The china made gerbers are what they are, cheap knives.
 
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