Gerber Strongarm Heat Treatment

B

Bushcraft-O-Maniac

Joined
Dec 17, 2021
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9
Hello everyone,

I know this is kind of a softer blade compared to other knives beacause it's made with toughness in mind and therefore sacrificing edge retention. This doesn't bother me at all.

But how consinstent is Gerbers heat treatment on their strongarm? Do they produce a lot of lemons? How has your experience been so far? Is the steel reliable?

Have a nice day btw. :)
 
Hey friend, I owned one a long time ago that I got at Walmart for like 30$ in a clamshell. It came dull, but was easy to sharpen, but just as easy to lose its edge.

Is it tough? Not really, woodwork is not its strong suit but it'll baton okay because it's a wedge-shaped object. It'll roll instead of chip more often than not, or just lose its cutting edge entirely.

I gave that one away years ago and bought another at a flea market (5$!) That behaves almost identical...so it's at least consistent in its low-end mediocrity.

If you want something similar and also near the same price range, I'd point you to companies like Kabar Beker TOPs Condor, etc.

I do think it's a good looking knife, I wish I can get my hands on a BD1 version to test, but that one is pretty rare.

Hope this helps!
 
IMO Gerber unfortunately gave up on the notion of producing a quality blade several years ago in the name of cheap manufacturing, and cheap materials. Some of their older stuff was nice, but I’ve tried enough lemons from them in the past few years to never trust one of their knives again.
 
Thx for the replies. The thing is I already own a couple of indestructible carbon steel blades, but I need a stainless emergency option for my camping backpack. It won't be my primary knife anyway. A comparable stainless tops b.o.b. would cost me more than double the price. In addition the spine is rounded off, so I have to modify it myself. Do you know any good strongarm alternitives?
 
For that price range the Mora Garberg is probably the most recommended fixed blade in production that I know of and is about the same price. I’ve never owned one personally, but never heard anything other than great reviews. I own a Mora Companion and it is an awesome, light, tough, super cheap option that will do it all as well. Or for a little more an Esee 4 in S35VN seems like a great choice. Esee does great work and they have an awesome, no questions asked warranty if the blade is not up to snuff.
 
Buck makes a lot of stainless model with industry best heat treats......worth a look


I dont find the gerber heat treats on the American made stuff to be all that bad.
 
Bushcraft-O-Maniac said:
Thx for the replies. The thing is I already own a couple of indestructible carbon steel blades, but I need a stainless emergency option for my camping backpack. It won't be my primary knife anyway. A comparable stainless tops b.o.b. would cost me more than double the price. In addition the spine is rounded off, so I have to modify it myself. Do you know any good strongarm alternitives?
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You can have a look on the Spanish Joker Lynx or Joker Nomad (in Bohler N695 Stainless Steel) ..... Also you have to see the Terava Jaakaripuukko 110 or the bigger Jaakaripuukko 140 (in Stainless Steel).... All of the above mentioned knives are highly recommended.
 
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The Strongarm is still a great knife, it's just that the price has gone from being pretty reasonable to arguably not so great value. It is arguably a bit more versatile (or at least different) than some of the more "bushcraft" focused knives mentioned. Better for some tasks but not as good for others.

I haven't really heard any stories about bad heat treatments, but it is only 420HC. There are a lot of fakes going around as well that are quite good copies, so if you do go for one make sure it is from a reputable seller.
 
RousingRabbles said:
For that price range the Mora Garberg is probably the most recommended fixed blade in production that I know of and is about the same price. I’ve never owned one personally, but never heard anything other than great reviews. I own a Mora Companion and it is an awesome, light, tough, super cheap option that will do it all as well. Or for a little more an Esee 4 in S35VN seems like a great choice. Esee does great work and they have an awesome, no questions asked warranty if the blade is not up to snuff.
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I love that Buck and Esee finally got around to using some super steels and changing things up a bit, but I just wish they'd both gone with CPM 20CV instead of S35VN for rugged use fixed blades that aren't skinners. I'm wondering if it was a case of steel availability or trying to use what was popular?
hunter55 said:
You can have a look on the Spanish Joker Lynx or Joker Nomad (in Bohler N695 Stainless Steel) ..... Also you have to see the Terava Jaakaripuukko 110 or the bigger Jaakaripuukko 140 (in Stainless Steel).... All of the above mentioned knives are highly recommended.
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Solid choices. Joker is a brand that has really grown on me this year.

The Strongarm is Gerber's best knife, but unfortunately that only makes it the best knife that Gerber makes. It's got outstanding toughness and nothing much else going for it. If I got one at a garage sale I might pick one up for a beater around the yard, to do things I wouldn't want to do to a better knife (like loan it to people), but I wouldn't rely on it in the bush.
 
The Joker Nomand looks interesting, I have to say. But I cannot find any info about their reliabiltiy. To be frair, I cannot find broken examples either.

The ESEE 4 in S35VN seems to be pretty much indestructible. There is a german video on youtube where a guy intentionally tries to break it and he fails. He only was able to bend the tip slightly by sticking in into a log an then using almost his entire body weight to pry with it. (because he wanted to destroy the knife) It's still twice as much as the strongarm, consindering the cost. But at least you get a bomb proof warranty.

Mora knives are great too, but I'm not a fan of the Garberg's handle. It's not bad by any means. I just prefer some kind of hand protection.

Does Buck make heavy duty blades as well?
 
Bushcraft-O-Maniac said:
The Joker Nomand looks interesting, I have to say. But I cannot find any info about their reliabiltiy. To be frair, I cannot find broken examples either.

The ESEE 4 in S35VN seems to be pretty much indestructible. There is a german video on youtube where a guy intentionally tries to break it and he fails. He only was able to bend the tip slightly by sticking in into a log an then using almost his entire body weight to pry with it. (because he wanted to destroy the knife) It's still twice as much as the strongarm, consindering the cost. But at least you get a bomb proof warranty.

Mora knives are great too, but I'm not a fan of the Garberg's handle. It's not bad by any means. I just prefer some kind of hand protection.

Does Buck make heavy duty blades as well?
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The Nomad is a beast. The only recent problem they've had is they made some of the leather sheaths for that monster slightly too small, so the very sharp factory edge cuts through them when they get sheathed. I just bought a large Ottoza leather sheath and it works fine now. If you're doing more than a short hike with a pack, you might want a lighter Joker, like the Ember or Trampero.

ESEE broke their own S35VN knife and wanted to let people know that it's not the same toughness as the 1095 steel. The super steel version is not as durable.

We Broke Our S35V

We broke our S35VN ESEE 3...and you might too if you don't u
www.eseeknives.com www.eseeknives.com

For most of what people actually do, a Morakniv Heavy Duty Companion is more than good enough. I mostly just keep my Moras around for yard work.

I bought my Buck 119 twenty years ago, on the recommendation of a trapper in Northern Ontario who used one for a year and said it was solid. I have no complaints at all about it and still have it. I just like using a lot of my other knives more.
 
The Grendels said:
.... but I wouldn't rely on it in the bush.
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Why not? There are probably better choices for the money depending on what is the intended purpose of the knife, but IMO there aren't any more reliable knives out there. Sure, the edge retention won't be great but it will do just about anything. Admittedly, you will damage the edge if you baton through metal frypans and chop house bricks and such.
 
C chalby
Agreed, but having owned one I can say that edge goes from sharp to dull very quickly. If you roll the edge, the blade will have trouble even cutting some wood let alone anything delicate.

The issue with the strongarm is also its positive; it's a huge thick slab of metal. Its almost impossible to destroy, but once it loses its edge it's like a edgy stick lol. At this point Batoning might be the only thing it can do adequately, or digging and prying...ironically things you shouldn't do with a knife.

My thoughts :)

Edit: also, a few years ago I did a little experiment and found a nice flat river rock nearby and tried sharpening a few knives. This knife is very easy to sharpen with a rock or maybe a mug-bottom! So theres another positive for you
 
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I don't disagree with anything you said but I own a Strongarm, and while it's far from it's strong point, I can't say the edge retention is horrible, and it's ease of sharpening is what makes it reliable. That has always been the catch 22 for the argument between great edge-retention and the speed and ease of sharpening, especially out in the bush where you might be limited to what you can carry or what you have at hand.

I don't think too much more needs to be said, as mentioned there are plenty of options out there if it doesn't float your boat.
 
chalby said:
Why not? There are probably better choices for the money depending on what is the intended purpose of the knife, but IMO there aren't any more reliable knives out there. Sure, the edge retention won't be great but it will do just about anything. Admittedly, you will damage the edge if you baton through metal frypans and chop house bricks and such.
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If I'm primarily interested in bushcraft it's just not the knife I'm going to use for woodcraft. It's more the kind of knife to have for a toolbox, trunk, or scrapyard office. Even then I'm going to choose a Cold Steel SRK over it, because it's a bit better blade and much better handle.
 
I have one I received as a Christmas present several years ago. I really like the sheath options. The factory edge is less than impressive. I ended up giving it to my son.
I would look at something from Buck if I was interested in 420HC.
 
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The Grendels said:
If I'm primarily interested in bushcraft it's just not the knife I'm going to use for woodcraft. It's more the kind of knife to have for a toolbox, trunk, or scrapyard office. Even then I'm going to choose a Cold Steel SRK over it, because it's a bit better blade and much better handle.
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Mora Robust Pro.
 
The Grendels said:
If I'm primarily interested in bushcraft it's just not the knife I'm going to use for woodcraft. It's more the kind of knife to have for a toolbox, trunk, or scrapyard office. Even then I'm going to choose a Cold Steel SRK over it, because it's a bit better blade and much better handle.
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If you want to do bushcraft, get a bushcraft knife, I agree. Maybe I misunderstood what you meant when you said you "wouldn't rely on it in the bush".

As for the SRK, another great knife IMO. I think generally opinions are split when you ask which of the two people prefer. I don't agree on the better blade(especially as the OP was looking for a more stainless option) or better handle bit, I would be happy with either, and chose the Strongarm myself when I was looking at options. One reason was I don't think the SRK comes with a partcularly good sheath.
 
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