Gerber Quality

chiral.grolim said:
The one BG knife I own was bought for throwing, but it too appears well-made./QUOTE]
I have personally never seen a BG knife made in China that was “too good” for throwing. Other than that, I think that your post is excellent and I appeciate your input! :)
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zfJames said:
I have personally never seen a BG knife made in China that was “too good” for throwing. Other than that, I think that your post is excellent and I appeciate your input! :)
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Oh, I didn't mean to imply that ANY knife is "too good for throwing", only that this particular knife looked like a good candidate, though I still haven't got around to it just yet. I am happy to throw any knife that seems like it should be able to handle it, from Bussekin and Survive! to ESEE, Buck, or Gerber. I am not out to destroy a knife and, so far, have never had a knife experience significant failure from being thrown, though again I pick knives that look like they can handle it. I have no more concern about throwing the BG Gerber than about throwing the Strongarm. But that BG just looks like a thrower, y'know?
 
chiral.grolim said:
Oh, I didn't mean to imply that ANY knife is "too good for throwing", only that this particular knife looked like a good candidate, though I still haven't got around to it just yet. I am happy to throw any knife that seems like it should be able to handle it, from Bussekin and Survive! to ESEE, Buck, or Gerber. I am not out to destroy a knife and, so far, have never had a knife experience significant failure from being thrown, though again I pick knives that look like they can handle it. I have no more concern about throwing the BG Gerber than about throwing the Strongarm. But that BG just looks like a thrower, y'know?
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Ok, now I've gotten your message! :D I thought you were saying that the BG knife looks too good to be used for throwing! Thanks for the clarification! XD Personally, I think they look like excellent throwing knives—some models genuinely would fit that usage and others, from the quality reports I have heard, may be effectively thrown in the trash (!). Sorry, I don't mean anything by that... Well, I am really glad that you've had a good experience with your knives, and I will definitely consider an LMF II in the future once I collect enough Beckers (or probably before then since that will never happen).
 
zfJames said:
Ok, now I've gotten your message! :D I thought you were saying that the BG knife looks too good to be used for throwing! Thanks for the clarification! XD Personally, I think they look like excellent throwing knives—some models genuinely would fit that usage and others, from the quality reports I have heard, may be effectively thrown in the trash (!). Sorry, I don't mean anything by that... Well, I am really glad that you've had a good experience with your knives, and I will definitely consider an LMF II in the future once I collect enough Beckers (or probably before then since that will never happen).
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I would advise you away from the LMFII unless you really feel the need for what it offers, particularly that hammer pommel. The LMFII is pretty specific with regard to its design elements and awfully heavy compared to other knives without that pommel (including the Gerber Prodigy and Strongarm). I don't mean to knock it, I own one and am generally happy with it, but it only goes with me in situations where I think that pommel will be used a lot. Besides, there are PLENTY of other good knives that might suit your needs/wants.

I have handled plenty of Gerbers that I wouldn't care to handle again. That, again, is a nice thing about B&M stores. Our local Walmart has a decent selection of inexpensive knives. I've handled a number of the china-gerber folders and have not been willing to pay money for a single one beyond the Dime, and even that one I will not buy again. The fixed blades seemed solid enough, but if I bust this one then I won't be buying another.

My only Becker is the BK-16 - THERE is a knife with nice cutting geometry! And it can handle a beating as well :thumbsup: (Start at 2:00 in the video below if it doesn't take you there automatically, the BK16 only features until 10:13)

 
chiral.grolim said:
I would advise you away from the LMFII unless you really feel the need for what it offers, particularly that hammer pommel. The LMFII is pretty specific with regard to its design elements and awfully heavy compared to other knives without that pommel (including the Gerber Prodigy and Strongarm). I don't mean to knock it, I own one and am generally happy with it, but it only goes with me in situations where I think that pommel will be used a lot. Besides, there are PLENTY of other good knives that might suit your needs/wants.

I have handled plenty of Gerbers that I wouldn't care to handle again. That, again, is a nice thing about B&M stores. Our local Walmart has a decent selection of inexpensive knives. I've handled a number of the china-gerber folders and have not been willing to pay money for a single one beyond the Dime, and even that one I will not buy again. The fixed blades seemed solid enough, but if I bust this one then I won't be buying another.

My only Becker is the BK-16 - THERE is a knife with nice cutting geometry! And it can handle a beating as well :thumbsup: (Start at 2:00 in the video below if it doesn't take you there automatically, the BK16 only features until 10:13)

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Thanks for the advice (and the video)! I want the LMF II mainly as a BOB accessory. Knowing that I could use it to cut electrical cables in a house or something else in an emergency is actually part of the reason that I have kept looking at them. There's a great photo on Wikipedia purporting to show an LMF II after cutting an electrical line. Don't think I want to do that sort of thing with a Becker... :[]
 
zfJames said:
Thanks for the advice (and the video)! I want the LMF II mainly as a BOB accessory. Knowing that I could use it to cut electrical cables in a house or something else in an emergency is actually part of the reason that I have kept looking at them. There's a great photo on Wikipedia purporting to show an LMF II after cutting an electrical line. Don't think I want to do that sort of thing with a Becker... :[]
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That face was my idea of a sickly grin...
 
I find the USA stuff to be worth the money I pay.

Multi-Plier with the slide out pliers is good. I like the pliers that slide in and out. Can't remember how much it was.

Ultralight LST is an easy carry, just over half an ounce, and it's like $10-$15 to get one.

Strongarm is fine. I don't know about the new steel, as I've never tried it.

Bought my son a BG Compact Fixed Blade, pretty much for a toy, something he could tie to a stick and throw at fish in the creek if he wanted. I'm not a fan of the Chinese stuff in the Grylls portfolio, but the boy has yet to break this thing, much to my surprise. I wouldn't buy one for myself, as it won't take much of an edge, and won't hold it at all.

Had an old Mark II way back when. I wish I had it back.

Going to get a Ghostrike next. Don't really know why, but what the hell.
 
I have really taking a liking to the ez-out 450 plain edge ,I have the ats34 and the 420hc and have failed to find an s30v at a decent price...they are super easy to carry and deploy and take a good edge, not super robust but have handled everything I use it for,I wish they still made these.
 
Chinese-made: Not worth buying, you can get so much better elsewhere. My examples are the Mini Paraframe and the Dime. Badly-made, lousy materials.

US-made: Inconsistent quality control, check before you buy. My example - L.S.T., which I bought in a blister pack. Big mistake. Not very well-made, though it's just cosmetic issues, fortunately. Good materials, pleasantly surprised with the 420HC steel.

IMO. (Just bought a Strongarm today. Not the new steel, the old 420HC one. I think I'm in love, and all I've done so far was sharpen it).
 
Ive bought a bunch of old Gerbers and they are mostly all nice.

MK1s and MKIIs amongst them.

Sadly Gerber in recent times have decided to churn out mostly mass produced junk.

The BG range is beyond contempt IMO.

I guess, they sell well though and that is what would matter to the current owners of Gerber.
 
I have 4-5 Gerber LST folders and an LST 2(no longer made) that a Made in the USA. They are great basic blades that hold a nice edge and I keep them stashed in kits, packs and consoles. I have always been happy with the QC on these until the last one I bought about 2 years ago. While the blade itself was fine, the pivot pin was a little loose (didn't take much to fix) and they changed the checking to a much finer pattern that I do not like as much. The oldest one I own I bought in 1982-83 and still carry and use it often. Great little knife. I also have a tiny LST (1.75 ? blade) that rides on my key chain.
 
I have an LST somewhere. Dang nice blade.

One of my favorite Bowie blades is a Gerber as well.

Ironically made by Fox years ago.
 
Gerbers from the 1970's & 80's were outstanding knives. I'm talking about the brass, stainless and wood models. They were beautifully made and razor sharp right out of the box. After Gerber was sold to Fiskars quality took a nose dive.
 
Bigbobg said:
Gerbers from the 1970's & 80's were outstanding knives. I'm talking about the brass, stainless and wood models. They were beautifully made and razor sharp right out of the box. After Gerber was sold to Fiskars quality took a nose dive.
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I think you mentioned the key right there when you said that the quality went down after Gerber was sold to Fiskars. That definitely seems to have hurt them.
 
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