Gerber that bad? Why?

I've owned three Gerbers, and IMHO, they're the best of the cheap, mass production knives out there.
 
Gerbers hahaha! i had an older one and i didnt care for it the lock back just wasnt really strong! But it was by far better than the ones now those things are flimsy and cheap! idk wut steels they are using but most of them are crap!!!!! hard to sharpen dull easily and they just arent sturdy! idc 4 the cheaper Kershaws either id only by there more costly ones the best company 4the price is CRKT!!!! it is just as good as my Benchmade and it was only 20bucks!!!!!!
 
Like many big name companies, it sold out! It started as a small US company, and made a reputation as a great knife maker. I have some of the older knives, exspecially their fixed blades made back in the early 70's, that are outstanding, but as their reputation grew, big buisiness bought them out, suddenly someone who didn't care about the company name, only the money they could make subcontracting out the work, and using the name and reputation to sell whatever crap was produced. I looked at a Gerber at Walmart this past weekend, and the package said nothing about where it was made, or what materials where used. I woudn't endanger my hand by using it, even if you gave it to me. The steel was soft enough, I could scratch it steel wool, and I was able to make the lock fail by wiggling the blade with my hands. For the price, companies like CRKT, Schrade, Buck, etc... Even a cheep knock-off store brand "Ozark Mountain" seemed better made. Now they're stamping the Gerber name on everything from flashlights, to lawn and gargen tools, to plastic compasses.
 
Some gerbers are better than others, although I would not purchase one, I would not put down all gerber knives. I have owned a few that were fine quality for the price.
 
morrowj_98 said:
....I'm getting all nostalgic now....I'm going to dig out the LMF
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I bought an LMF brand new in the late 80's and it still sees regular use. Just out of curiosity, I checked ebay. There's one in Oz in about the same condition as mine (perfect except for normal blemishes from use) for about $200. And that's without the sheath and there's still 3 1/2 days left ! If only I could bring myself to sell mine...not likely
eBay LMF
 
i had one of the LMF 9" blade version and i fell for the ebay money as well and sold mine on there it brought about $250 not including shipping and mine was as clean with very limited use , sheath w/stone and compass and I regret it ever since, I miss my lmf so to dull the pain I purchased a LMF6" but I am still looking for another LMF 9" one day:D
 
One thing in Gerber's favor is that the new LMF II has been getting some good reviews.
It's a USA made model using Sandvik steel, 12C27 I believe.


(Not comparing it to the LMF of days past, of course.)
 
The 9" BMF, with that 'skullcrusher' pommel ? I think I remember reading in another post that yours had the sawback, tony ? Was it effective or just for show ?
 
I had the LMF, plain spine,skullcrusher, no saw back. but I fondled one of the BMF's at a trade show asking price kept me from buying it but the sawback to me was a joke, display purpose only .LOL Good for itching your back.
 
popcornpicker said:
I think like many other companies Gerber has relied on it's name and reputation to sell an inferior product. There are some decent Gerber's still being made,but you might be in a crap shoot.
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The truth is, most Americans would buy a Gerber and be totally clueless that they were getting an inferior product. Sad to say, but true.
 
there are some good gerbers, like any mass produced knives there are good and bad. I only have a couple a gerber freeman folder and a Hinderer both are good knives, they dont get my heart racing like my old slippies, but nothing wrong with them. They are both btween 50 and 80 bucks. Its a shame gerber moved the majority of its line to china, but unfortuantely alot of companies are:(
But it might be presumptuous to say all gerber knives are inferior.
just my humble opinion
ivan
 
Man, Gerber really got trashed on this thread. I can't speak for their knives, but their multi-tools, in my opinion are the best on the market. I am a plumber and I have thousands of dollars worth of tools, but the tool I use the most is the 400 series multi-tool. I have been using two multi-tools for eight years and I think they are great. One handed opening of the pliers, a nice assortment of tools inside.

I have broken some of the tools inside over the years, mostly from prying something I should not have and they always replace the broken parts and one they even replaced the whole tool. Their warranties are great. They even put in some different tools at no charge that I needed that were not originally included.
 
I just bought a new Gerber Gator and tore it apart. The rubber on the Gators is a little over 1/16" thick. From what I recall, they used to be a total rubber handle. The rest, in the new Gator handles, is just plastic taking up the extra space. I know that I said in previous forums threads that Gerber still makes some good knives and I mentioned the Gator as one of them, but now I stand corrected. The new Gator handles also are not sealed. That leaves room for rust and mold to develop. Gerber still makes a few good blades, but I'm taking the Gator off the list. Some of the few that I have owned and field tested that turned out to be decent blades for the money (LMF II, Steadfast, Freeman Hunter. As far as the Multi-tools are concerned. I owned one and I won't own another. I'm a maintenance director and have to pull my multi out at least 8 times a day and in my opinion a tool worth the money would be a leatherman or SOG. I have two SOG's and use them more.
 
yeah i think the quality has gone down even since i have got them; back maybe 3 or 4 years ago i got a USA made gerber, dont know the model though, it was pretty good but around 1 year ago i got a paraframe and that thing has an edge barely good enough to scrape an already flakey finish off a chepo budk knife i got before i got into high quality knives. I still ended up selling the good gerber to a friend from scouts who cant realy get out to buy knives much so he buys through me. Granted these comments dont have much value because i have not used any of the pre fiskars buyout knives. Long story short i will always go for a higher quality knife over a gerber because of my experience with the paraframe and even if i choose a gerber it must be stamped made in the USA for me to consider it.
 
I bought Gerber exclusively when they were a private company. Lots of good designs, and they didn't ignore any aspect of the market - hunter, EDC, workman, military, they had it.

Fiskars bought them out in the late 80's, IIRC, about the time multitools started growing. The first thing we noticed was the tumbled finish appearing on everything, which was ok in the start up tactical market. Then product improvements on the multipliers, which obviously were directed by accounting, and a change in fit and finish on other knives, again, done cheaper to save a penny. They weren't engineering improvements, like the stamped from flat scissors (not forged or even cast,) it was just value engineering - same product, same price, not the same value.

Lots of us walked away and went to Benchmade, Spyderco, Al Mar, SOG, and, yes, Cold Steel. Our standards were going up, we wanted more knife and more specific design. I sold my Mark II's , multitools, and moved on.

With the spotty quality, I won't touch Gerber. The last one I bought - the box knife - is on recall for blade retention problems. They have just about reached bottom, so things will get better.
 
I've only ever handed one gerber knife (one I bought this year) and it wasn't a lucky buy. It's basically incapable of taking or holding a good edge. I don't mind; I use it enough that I've more than got my money's worth ($15) from it.
 
tirod, are you talking about the "superknife" s that have the interchangeable box cutter blades? can you send me a link or something about that recall if it is those knives?

-matt
 
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