Gerber quality going down?

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yepimonfire

Joined
Nov 7, 2013
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I used to love gerber knives, they were relatively affordable and were built well, last two knives I've owned from them the steel just doesn't seem up to par with everything else I own (mainly cold steel and sog) hard to resharpen and doesn't take or hold a very impressive edge, I own both the icon tanto and a paraframe.

Anyone else had this problem?
 
two of the local knife shops near me in Ontario Canada have stopped carrying Gerber knives because of quality issues. Personally I am not a fan of Gerber anymore. especially since they started the Bear Grylls line!!
 
Gerber has more or less been owned by China for many years now, and the quality has stunk for at least the last decade. There's no way for their quality to get any lower than its current point. The only think of lower quality than today's Gerbers are usually made by inmates in prisons.
 
Charlie_K said:
Gerber has more or less been owned by China for many years now, and the quality has stunk for at least the last decade. There's no way for their quality to get any lower than its current point. The only think of lower quality than today's Gerbers are usually made by inmates in prisons.
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I don't know... the inmates can take a roll of toilet paper and turn it into a pretty good shank. Gerber has trouble with steel. Seems like the inmates would make something better than Gerber :rolleyes:
 
yepimonfire said:
I used to love gerber knives, they were relatively affordable and were built well, last two knives I've owned from them the steel just doesn't seem up to par with everything else I own (mainly cold steel and sog) hard to resharpen and doesn't take or hold a very impressive edge, I own both the icon tanto and a paraframe.

Anyone else had this problem?
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Even though I just ordered a couple for a lark, I'd say the only ones they make that are still okay are Gators. The ones I just ordered are an EZ Out and an EVO, but I'm not expecting much.
 
How can something go down when it hasn't been up in 20 years?:confused:

I was checking out knives at the local store and this guy comes in wanting a folder with a really strong lock for his eight year old. I wanted to meet him halfway and truly point out the strongest rated lock at the best price so I pointed out the Cold Steel stuff. He's like that's nice, and asks the dealer if he has any Gerber paraframes. I'm just sorta left shaking my head, wondering why he prefers buying a high-grade pot metal knife that is likely going to fail and hurt his son.

I tried to like em. They just won't stay sharp, you have to fight to put an edge on half of them cause it seems like contact with AIR dulls the blade, and they invariably get loose or wobbly with blade play, handles breaking etc. And their only excuse is "well they're cheap and people buy them like crazy".
 
Gerber's quality has gone down because the Fiskars Corporation knows it can fool people with sales propaganda and still sell knives.

The corporate interests running Gerber today are counting on the company's past reputation to sell products. In noticing a drop in quality, you are proving my point. You knew Gerber knives were good in the past, so you bought one, only to find out that the new blades are junk (with a few exceptions). In theory, Gerber will be able to dupe customers as long as the general public percieves Gerber to be a quality brand.
 
I refuse to buy anything from Gerber because I have seen nothing but disasters come from their knives, personally. I'm sure there may be a good one or two out there, but I wouldn't trust them.
 
I don't think Gerber has ever made anything quality, except maybe baby food.
 
K.O.D. said:
I don't think Gerber has ever made anything quality, except maybe baby food.
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lol :D Back in the day they were the real deal, but they have been in steep decline at least since Fiskars bought them. The decline may have leveled off.

But hey, if they weren't selling them like hotcakes, they wouldn't be making them at that quality point.
 
Gerber's are straight up junk, which is a pity because they have some interesting looking knives...not alot, but some. The only quality Gerbers that I've heard are decent are the Gators and their USA-made autos with S30v.
 
PaulTR said:
Gerber's are straight up junk, which is a pity because they have some interesting looking knives...not alot, but some. The only quality Gerbers that I've heard are decent are the Gators and their USA-made autos with S30v.
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The Emerson designed auto looks pretty sweet.
 
EDCanAdamas said:
Gerber's quality has gone down because the Fiskars Corporation knows it can fool people with sales propaganda and still sell knives.

The corporate interests running Gerber today are counting on the company's past reputation to sell products. In noticing a drop in quality, you are proving my point. You knew Gerber knives were good in the past, so you bought one, only to find out that the new blades are junk (with a few exceptions). In theory, Gerber will be able to dupe customers as long as the general public percieves Gerber to be a quality brand.
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Many of the larger older name cutlery companies are doing exactly that.
In the culinary world, 20 years ago, Henckels was the benchmark of quality. No so anymore.
They are made in China, Taiwan Spain and some still in Germany. The best product made with the name Henckels on it today is made in Japan under license. I believe Miyabi is the MFG.
The stuff made in Spain it sometimes superior to what is currently made in Germany.

The older Gerber stuff made in the Pacific Northwest and Japan was a quality product.
 
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