Gerber quality

S

Sinkolen

Joined
Aug 15, 2006
Messages
124
When reading the "What knife you won't ever have" forum, alot of people say gerber, i always thought gerber was nice. Whats wrong with it I've recently ordered a brand new pack with a gerber paraframe II and a gerber paraframe mini for 24 bucks. Is that a good deal? Are those particular knives nice?

I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to knives because i just started getting into it.
 
Gerbers' quality has gone down hill big time, and they are theives.They like to steal other companies designs. I will not buy a Gerber!
 
well, are anyo f their knives good? like the paraframes i mentioned? and i was thinking abot a truss 2.0
 
Gerber's been coasting on their past reputation lately, ever since they were purchased by Fiskars, quality has declined, they're relying on name recognition and their past history to hook unsuspecting consumers....

and as TKC asserted, they're also "borrowing" more reputable knifemakers designs, Gerber *used* to be good, not so anymore, sorry to be the bearer of bad news
 
Sinkolen said:
well, are anyo f their knives good? like the paraframes i mentioned? and i was thinking abot a truss 2.0
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avoid the Truss 2.0, i had one and it wouldn't take an edge worth crap (what else do you expect for "400 series Stainless"), the Paraframes also seem to be less than rugged

if you want a good, inexpensive, reliable knife, some good starting points are;

Buck 110; a classic, timeless design, yes it uses low end 420HC steel, but Paul Bos does an exceptional job heat treating this steel, it also sharpens up quick and easy

Benchmade's Red Class knives, the Pika/Mini Pika are great starter blades

KaBar's Dozier Design folder, good steel (AUS-8) and a decent FRN/Zytel handle, a nice solid beater knife

Spyderco's Byrd line, excellent values, their 8Cr13Mov steel is in the AUS-8 range for durability and edge retention, and they're 90% Spyderco quality on average

Spyderco Endura 4 or Delica 4, excellent workhorses, maybe a little outside your price range, but built to last, exceptional sharpness and cutting ability

Spyderco Native, sold at wally-world, $40 for a made-in-USA hardworking knife with solid, meaty FRN scales and a CPM S30V blade is the sleeper deal of the century
 
MacTech said:
avoid the Truss 2.0, i had one and it wouldn't take an edge worth crap (what else do you expect for "400 series Stainless"), the Paraframes also seem to be less than rugged

if you want a good, inexpensive, reliable knife, some good starting points are;

Buck 110; a classic, timeless design, yes it uses low end 420HC steel, but Paul Bos does an exceptional job heat treating this steel, it also sharpens up quick and easy

Benchmade's Red Class knives, the Pika/Mini Pika are great starter blades

KaBar's Dozier Design folder, good steel (AUS-8) and a decent FRN/Zytel handle, a nice solid beater knife

Spyderco's Byrd line, excellent values, their 8Cr13Mov steel is in the AUS-8 range for durability and edge retention, and they're 90% Spyderco quality on average

Spyderco Endura 4 or Delica 4, excellent workhorses, maybe a little outside your price range, but built to last, exceptional sharpness and cutting ability

Spyderco Native, sold at wally-world, $40 for a made-in-USA hardworking knife with solid, meaty FRN scales and a CPM S30V blade is the sleeper deal of the century
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Thanks guys, I'm pretty much devastated at the moment. I was under the impression that gerber was a good brand. Ah well. Thanks, any more suggestions?
 
I have just started this great hobby about a year and a half ago...I have quite a few knives, and I too, bit on a Gerber Paraframe II a year ago or so...it is without a doubt, absolutely the biggest piece of crap in my knife collection...(other than the gerber ridge moneyclip I also foolishly spent money on). There are a lot nicer knives in the under $50 price range than Gerber. I really doubt I will ever buy another one.
 
Kestrel64 said:
I have just started this great hobby about a year and a half ago...I have quite a few knives, and I too, bit on a Gerber Paraframe II a year ago or so...it is without a doubt, absolutely the biggest piece of crap in my knife collection...(other than the gerber ridge moneyclip I also foolishly spent money on). There are a lot nicer knives in the under $50 price range than Gerber. I really doubt I will ever buy another one.
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So what was the problem with it? What made it a piece of crap. I mean I don't doubt you I'd just like to know the prblems.
 
i had a Paraframe I, it was awful, tons of bladeplay, etc... i ended up returning it to wherever it was i bought it. i also have a Vector that the liner lock failed on me, in relatively light duty, i never use it anymore

the Gators with better steel are still probably great knives though (ATS34 and 154CM)

for suggestions, it depends on what you want to spend, for about $20 it's hard to beat the Kabar Dozier folding hunters, although i do hear a lot of love for the Opinels
 
I once asked the guys at Wal-Mart what they sold the most of in the way of knives and the unanimous reply from three guys at the same time was Gerber so obviously someone likes them. My opinion of Gerber is that they have been crap ever since the day Fiskars associated with them. I don't recall if Fiskars bought out Gerber or the other way around but I don't think it was Gerber buying out anyone. Fiskars was the bigger company as I recall. Before that union of the two companies back when Gerber still made some truly nice very well designed trend setting knives in their Sportsman slimline folders and other fixed blades they were my favorite company. Today they are but a shadow of the quality company they once were though. Just my opinion.

STR
 
yermom said:
i had a Paraframe I, it was awful, tons of bladeplay, etc... i ended up returning it to wherever it was i bought it. i also have a Vector that the liner lock failed on me, in relatively light duty, i never use it anymore

the Gators with better steel are still probably great knives though (ATS34 and 154CM)

for suggestions, it depends on what you want to spend, for about $20 it's hard to beat the Kabar Dozier folding hunters, although i do hear a lot of love for the Opinels
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eh, well this might sound dumb but what is bladeplay?
 
when the blade was open and in the locked position, it could still move (in relatively small amounts) in all directions

basically it felt loose, and the screws would work themselves loose, even with tightening to beyond useful the blade would still move around
 
I have not owned a gerber in a really long time...Back then I did not really like the quality of knives, they were just better knives that were at the same price. My friends still own a few gerbers and it seems like they get REALLY dull really quickly. Infact about a week ago a friend gave me his gerber to sharpen. It has been 1 month since it was sharpend last, but was so dull that I could not even cut newsprint. No matter how hard I tried it would not cut it, just tear it.

The plus news is that they sharpen really quickly :-)
 
Gerber has some good knives, you just have to watch what models you buy. The LST's are a decent little knife, as is the Gator series. Don't buy thier made in Tiawan junk.

Gerber was bought out by Fiskars because Gerber was going down. They would not modernize their production methods, or the designs. Fiskars has been in the knife buisness since the 1600's. You don't last that long without knowing what you are doing. The die hard Gerber fans were upset because Fiskars dumped all the old designs like the folding sportsman, because they were an expencive knife to produce.

Think about this-Pete Kershaw and Al Mar both were long term designers at Gerber, but quit because Pete Gerber would not modernize. If you don't change with the times you go out of buisness.

For a moderately priced factory knife the Gerbers are a decent value.Just be carefull to buy the ones that are still made in the U.S.A., like the LST's and the Gators. I toured the Portland plant in 2000, and I saw alot of modern manufactoring equiptment, and workers that were trying to do a good job.

Unfortunatly there are knife snobs around that if its not the latest hundred dollar an inch steel, and a catchy name, they bad mouth it.
 
Sinkolen, I'm sorry to hear you got suckered by Gerber's past reputation, can you at least return the knives to the shop you purchased them from, and go with something more reputable? the crew here on BF are a good group, they won't steer you wrong.

current Gerbers generally tend to be looked down on for many reasons, lack of QC, poor quality steel, poor reliability, "borrowing" other knifemaker designs....

then again, it really depends on what *you* are going to be using the knife for, what cutting duties do you see it performing, most of us Knife Knuts here are overly concerned (some may say "obsessed/obsessive") with getting the latest, greatest steels, there's freindly inter-brand rivalry between the fans of different knives, we're an unusual lot (actually, we're *normal*, it's the rest of the world that's crazy, right??), but one thing is common here, we don't tolerate crappy knives....

if all you're looking for is a blade to cut cardboard boxes, and other mundane tasks, the Gerbers may work for you, they just may need to be sharpened more often than better steels, but if you want the latest high-tech construction and Unobtanium steels, you won't be happy with the Gerbers

it'd be like going onto a high-performance car forum dedicated to sports cars, and asking them how a ford focus/Dodge Neon/Chevy Cavalier/Honda Civic/Toyota Echo/Yaris/Corrola stacks up, of course the inexpensive verhicle will be insulted and verbally maligned, it's a different consumer market, after all, plenty of NKP (Non Knife People) happily use Gerbers, Gerber just isn't made to cater to the Knife Knut market

and since you posted on this forum, there's a good chance the seeds of Knife Knuttery are within you, don't feel too bad about your choice, it's a learning experience, we all had to start somewhere, give it a few weeks and soon you'll be trash-talking Gerbers (and Frost Cutlery, Dork Ops/Cold Steel/etc... with the rest of us Knuts

Welcome aboard, hold on to your wallet, it can get expensive in here... ;)
 
Sinkolen said:
When reading the "What knife you won't ever have" forum, alot of people say gerber, i always thought gerber was nice. Whats wrong with it I've recently ordered a brand new pack with a gerber paraframe II and a gerber paraframe mini for 24 bucks. Is that a good deal? Are those particular knives nice?

I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to knives because i just started getting into it.
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My advice is, if you are happy with your Gerbers, keep using and carrying them, and just consider picking up some of the other brands being recommended for comparison next time you have the urge. It's really what you think of a knife that matters, even if other people usually don't care for them.

Almost any knife is better than no knife at all.
 
My advice is if you got a Paraframe, either send it back or throw it away. The knife uses just about the worst steel in the industry and is only a modicum above sharpened plastic.

If you want a truly great price on a decent knife, try spending about $16 for this one. It's the best deal on a knife I've seen anywhere.

http://www.bladematrix.tv/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=47712

I've had Paraframes before and they're junk. You could hurt yourself trying to cut some things or, at the best, just ruin the knife.
 
The paraframe problems I have: The lock is horrible, it sticks all the time...the blade has alot of play in it, and the knife doesn't open or close well at all with one hand. It doesn't feel good in my hand, and it doesn't hold an edge particularly well either. I am learning to spot quality, and thanks to this forum, I learn something new every day...this knife just doesn't cut it. In all honesty, it is no better than my silly Okapi knife...which I know is a piece of crap...lol. The gerber moneyclip...same story...and the black finish on the knife came off with just a week or so of carrying it. I am not just into higher end knives...I love my CRKT's which get some bad press here as well...but the Gerbers...I am sorry I bought them.
 
Confederate said:
My advice is if you got a Paraframe, either send it back or throw it away. The knife uses just about the worst steel in the industry and is only a modicum above sharpened plastic.

If you want a truly great price on a decent knife, try spending about $16 for this one. It's the best deal on a knife I've seen anywhere.

http://www.bladematrix.tv/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=47712

I've had Paraframes before and they're junk. You could hurt yourself trying to cut some things or, at the best, just ruin the knife.
Click to expand...

wow that ones nice, but i'd rather buy things from stores, for now anyway. I'm waaay to impatient to wait for the items to ship.
 
One thing I noticed about Gerber is that no mater where I look, I just don't find any good designs from from them. I heard a lot of good things about Gerber Knives back In the 1980's but I just dont see it today.
 
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