Gerber LMF II

S

Steeliestalker

Joined
Mar 14, 2007
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hey folks, i'm planning on picking up a Gerber LMF II ASEK. seems to be a pretty good knife. anyone have any experience with these knives? also, how's the steel? (12C27 Stainless Steel) thanks. :)
 
Yeah I agree with Gerberblades, its a great knife. You can find it cheaper than $100 if you look around
 
I also have a LMF II. I just wonder WHY?
It has two straps for the handle. I had to cut one off to use it properly.
The material in the handle and the sheath makes it look really used even before I take it outdoors.
It has the serrations where I want to cut with precision.
The retaining clip thing is so strong that I would probably cut something or someone soon just by taking the knife out of the sheath.
Is this really supposed to be a knife people carry around everywhere?
Cut off the lower strap around the handle. Then grind off the part around the sheath with all the holes in it. Then it might be a decent knife. If the pommel had been flatter and a real protruding tang it would have been much better.

It is so huge. Yes it is a badass knife, but I would anyway chosse a Fallkniven F1 instead. It solves what the LMF II does and more. If I want a bigger knife I get the S1.
 
I have one and I don't like it. Pretty much for the same reasons as nodh pointed out.
 
My LMF II ended up at a pry and destroy knife in my car. However I also bring at least three Fallkniven knives in the car too.

By the way. In the advertising they show that you can smash a window by holding on to the sheated knife and smash it butt first. Hello. You fancy sheath is attached to your molle west with a billion straps. Doooooh!
 
The Gerber LMF II is a rugged purpose-built military survival knife. All of the criticisms posted so far are valid. The sheath must have been designed by the people who put automatic door locks on my new jeep. Well, it wont lose the knife in a parachute jump, I guess. Triple retention is required for a knife sheath used in airborne operations. At least the sharpener works. I don't care for the serrations near the back of the blade, either. But soldiers are more likely to need to cut straps or webbing that do wood craft. The steel seems to hold an edge well and it doesn't rust easily. The handle is insulated from the blade, so you can safely cut electrical power lines, if the voltage isn't too high. The hammer butt is useful. The knife is ugly, heavy, and downright brutish. Just what a soldier needs. It is not a fighter. Soldiers use rifles, machine guns, and pistols for that.
 
It's well made, from a quality standpoint, but I have to agree about the faults listed in its design. I have moved it over to an old Busse nylon sheath which retains it just fine without tearing up the handle like the factory sheath does. The factory edge geometry is needlessly thick (as the knife isn't balanced for chopping) and benefits a lot from some reprofiling. As to the sawteeth...

 
That is exactly what I am planning to do with my LMF II as well. I am not planning to jump out of fully functional aircrafts, exit a helo through a window or cut power lines.
Maybe with some modification to the locking thinghy, removing the lower strap and some more, then the LMF II might be a good knife. But it still feels twice the size of an F1.
 
t1mpani said:
It's well made, from a quality standpoint, but I have to agree about the faults listed in its design. I have moved it over to an old Busse nylon sheath which retains it just fine without tearing up the handle like the factory sheath does. The factory edge geometry is needlessly thick (as the knife isn't balanced for chopping) and benefits a lot from some reprofiling. As to the sawteeth...

Click to expand...

How'd you go about reprofiling it ?
 
Put on a belt sander and ground back through the serrations until I was about half way through the chisel-grind bevel, then set my new bevel angle on the front of the edge and maintained it as I pulled back through from tip to plunge line, letting the belt round the transition between the front and back, turning the sharp angle into a recurve. Every second or third pass along the belt, I'd dunk the blade in cool water, but I also kept a finger down towards the edge on the opposite side of the belt, so I could feel the heat rising. If I can stand to have my finger on it, it's not hot enough to affect the heat treat. :)

Once the angle was set, I did fine shaping with DMT stones and then stropped on 3M paper tacked to a rubber sanding block.

Actual stock removal/setting of the new bevel took about ten minutes, the obsessive compulsive, nitpicking touch-up work about a half hour.

Here's the flip side:
 
hmmm, as i haven't picked one up yet, this input has really made me reconsider. what do you guys suggest for a general purpose fixed blade. i want it worn down on my thigh, out of the way of bow and gun. it'll be carried as a survival knife, for misc jobs around camp ranging from light to heavy duty. it may also serve as a gutting knife for wild game. i've looked at this Gerber and Ka-bar. the Ka-bar seems a little big to be packing around all the time. i have a Buck 119 but it doesn't seem to hold an edge or be quite rugged enough for a survival knife. my budget is 200 bucks max. what do you foks think?
 
In that money range, take a look at Swamp Rat (currently have the Swamp Mojo available, I believe), Bark River, Fallkniven, Ranger Knives...lots of good options to take a look at. If you're willing to kick just a few bucks more onto your limit, I think the Fehrman Shadow Scout starts at $210.00, and might be a good option given the size/type of knives you've been looking at.
 
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