I know.... "G E R B E R"......but.....

[WeaselBites]

I bought a 4" FB Gerber Profile for $20 at Wally. Full tang TiNi-coated, with the gator-style grips. I got it to brutalize it. I've used it to collect rock samples when I didn't have a hammer and to test various sharpening gimmicks. Cuts like a sharp object and shows no sign of wear other than some scratches in the coating.

Perhaps one day it will explode like a bomb right in my hands.

 

[GerberGuy]

Gah...I made my name GerberGuy because when I registered that was the only knife I had...now I want to change it.

 

[WeaselBites]

Gah...I made my name GerberGuy because when I registered that was the only knife I had...now I want to change it.

I say stand your ground, GerberGuy. I have an SLG 3.25 made of ATS-34 with carbon-fiber handles in my pocket right now, and I'm still waiting for anyone to tell me exactly why it might as well be a Maxam.

OK, so you can buy them in clamshell packs at big box stores. There is something unpretentious and democratic about that. I like it. In their faces, GerberGuy!

PS: I was kidding about the Profile exploding in my hand.

 

[WeaselBites]

OK, after several of us asked what sucks so bad about our Gerbers, the answers so far are: A couple people said they used to be good a few decades ago but have gone downhill (no further details); another said they used to be crap a few decades ago but may have got better; I think another said they're really not THAT bad, and several of us posted our humble experiences to that effect. One user swam against the current by comparing a Gerber multitool favorably to the Leatherman Wave.

The most concrete, verifiable criticism I have heard is that some of Gerber's designs are derivative, which is something I have also noticed.

I don't want to badger, but the thing is, I have sought an answer to the question "what's so bad about Gerber knives" before, and at that point the discussion trails off into vague and sometimes contradictory generalities. If my clamshell-pack Evo from K-Merde really does bite the big one, I want to know it, and I want to know why. I'm not sticking up for these knives. For all I know, I am totally missing something, and they suck. I just want to know.

 

[Preacher Man]

What is so bad about Gerber?

I only own 4 Gerber products (Gator folding knife, Sport Axe, Exchange-A-Blade Folding Saw, and Scout-Pro multitool), and my experience with them has been really good. They certainly are in the inexpensive side of the scale, but I would never put them in the same category with Maxam.

As I see it, Gerber like Cold Steel gives you (in general) good quality products for the price; maybe not great, excellent, or superior quality, but good quality none the less. They are a good, sensible, reliable alternative for the financially challenged. (CS has quality control problems and inconsistencies, which is another issue entirely.)

With a company like Maxam (and I use Maxam here as an example since someone already made the comparison), you are generally getting what you are paying for; the less it cost you, the worst the quality of the product.

So, can someone please give me concrete examples or reasons why they consider Gerber products to be "bad"?

 

[silenthunterstudios]

I am smitten with the "Shortcut." It's AWFUL cheap. Anyone have one? Any good?

Someone gave me one in a trade, I think it was Ryan Malpiede. I quickly outgrew my multi tool accumulation phase, and gave the Shortcut to my mom, she keeps it in her SUV, and uses it. If you want something just to beat up, buy it, its your money. If you want a good MT, get a Leatherman Micra.

 

[shecky]

The most concrete, verifiable criticism I have heard is that some of Gerber's designs are derivative, which is something I have also noticed.

I never really understood the big deal about this criticism. Why is it bad if Gerber puts out a knife that looks like a CRKT, and not bad if it's a Barlow? Competition is a good thing for us. And if someone feels they've been infringed, there's always court.

In the real world, ideas are cheap. And any good idea will be copied. End of story.

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

I never really understood the big deal about this criticism. Why is it bad if Gerber puts out a knife that looks like a CRKT, and not bad if it's a Barlow? Competition is a good thing for us. And if someone feels they've been infringed, there's always court.

In the real world, ideas are cheap. And any good idea will be copied. End of story.

:thumbdn: :thumbdn:

In the real world, only scumbags steal other people's designs. People who knowingly support unethical companies and find nothing wrong with it are no better- or worse.

A Barlow is an old traditional pattern, and anyone can make them. copying a modern design and making small changes to keep from getting sued is utter crap.

 

[shecky]

In the real world, only scumbags steal other people's designs. People who knowingly support unethical companies and find nothing wrong with it are no better- or worse.

Nonsense. There is nothing unethical about making clones, as long as they are not passed off as the real thing. If there are defendable design patents, it's up to the patent holder to defend them. Cloning makes for stiff competition, and stiff competition makes for better products at lower prices.

A Barlow is an old traditional pattern, and anyone can make them. copying a modern design and making small changes to keep from getting sued is utter crap.

Somebody must have come up with the Barlow pattern. Anyone else who made one must have been a scumbag, too, right? Who invented the lockback? The linerlock? Speed-assist? Your world of scumbags grows every moment. When does a design become "traditional" and in the public domain, in your mind?

Copying any design and making small changes to keep from getting sued is utter crap, and a fact of life in every business. Any businessperson who doesn't realize this is a fool. Any consumer who can't accept this is simply naive.

 

[mamba-man]

Gerbers are about par for inexpensive knives today, IMO.

The problem is that many remember when Gerber produced some really nice knives, good stuff. But that all pretty much ended about 8 years ago (give or take a couple of years).

I bought a Gerber LMF II Knife for $60 recently. Seems ok.

 

[mamba-man]

It's made of 12c27.

About the steel in the above knife, John Dennis at Rustic Forge says:

I will restate here that it is my view that a steel must contain at least .90%
of Carbon for a successful hunting knife and this rules out such steels as 440A; 420; AUS-6; & 425
although there are always exceptions to any rules and I would not rule out Sandvik 12C27 or AUS-
8 both of which when properly heat-treated are acceptable.

 

[RedEdge77]

I bought my dad a gerber fatty for fathers day and he loves it. He likes to carry it in his cargo pocket in his shorts. It has great fit and finish and was razor sharp out of the box. It may not be the most durable knife out there but it can hold its own.:thumbup:

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

Nonsense. There is nothing unethical about making clones, as long as they are not passed off as the real thing. If there are defendable design patents, it's up to the patent holder to defend them. Cloning makes for stiff competition, and stiff competition makes for better products at lower prices.

Somebody must have come up with the Barlow pattern. Anyone else who made one must have been a scumbag, too, right? Who invented the lockback? The linerlock? Speed-assist? Your world of scumbags grows every moment. When does a design become "traditional" and in the public domain, in your mind?

Copying any design and making small changes to keep from getting sued is utter crap, and a fact of life in every business. Any businessperson who doesn't realize this is a fool. Any consumer who can't accept this is simply naive.

I guess one must actually have ethical standards in order to understand them.

 

[Pete1977]

I don't mind a gerber design or two. I always liked the Applegate Fairbairn folders. I don't know if the newer ones are a different steel but mine was ATS-34 and was a decent knife. I have a paraframe, not a great knife, but not crap either. The gator is solid, sharp, and very comfortable in the hand.

I tend to stay away from Gerber though as a rule, as well as CRKT, and most Kershaws. for the same price range as some of those, I can get a spyderco, with high grade steel.

Pete

 

[shecky]

I guess one must actually have ethical standards in order to understand them.

Just tellin' it like it is. If you have problems with the free market, take it up with capitalism, not me.
:yawn:

 

[orthogonal1]

Well, if you look at the history of the company, they used good steel, innovative designs, etc. The Guardian, various dagger knives, Paul knife, etc. Good, high quality, generation lasting knives. Look in Levines and other collector/identification books. They were like Benchmade is today.


Then (when I noticed it) around 2000, they flooded the market with a bunch of really cheap knives. Crappy steel (and I mean soft crappy, not 420 vs ats-34 crappy), low quality, etc.

They killed the Gerber "Legendary Blades" reputation.

It took years to get that rep, and it will take years to re-attain it.

The problem, as I see it now, is that the new management chose to enter the low-price market. But, they failed to maintain the higher end product range. They treated "Gerber" as a brand name and failed to maintain the product to maintain the rep. This happens in many such buyout situations. Look what happened to S&W with them U.K. blokes in charge.

I'm happy to see 154CM in the Gator. An ats-34 version I sharpened seemed to be well heatreated and of a most user friendly design.

 

[Confederate]

Gerber once made decent knives that were light as a feather. Nothing fancy with the grips, but good blade steel made them excellent traveling companions. The EZ-Out blade was actually made of ATS-34 stainless and the package advertised it on the front of the package.

Now the package is silent of blade steel. Go ahead, pick one up, look on the back; get out your specs and read all the fine print. Nothing. Now go to their website and see if you can find out. Nothing. Now, finally, write them an e-mail asking them what kind of steel they use for the blade, then wait for an answer. If your experience is like mine, well...I'm still waitin'.

The answer, though, is that it's made from "400-series" stainless. That's generally a weasal phrase for 420j2 or even cheaper. Of course, it could also mean 440C, but then, I could be your fairy princess.

The problem with Alaskan knife shops (or any other kind) is that the profit margin for Gerbers probably is substantial. And just about everyone knows the Buck 110 is a good knife though, in reality, it's probably not quite as good now as it was...and quite likely never was as good as it was, meaning that sometimes something's reputation exceeds its true value. Now this isn't a slap at Buck at all. Buck 110s are great knives in the same sense that a .45 automatic is a great handgun caliber. It's just that its reputation is bigger than life, and when judged empirically, some of the warts become apparent.

The problem with Gerber is that it established a great reputation, then went South hoping its reputation would continue carrying it.

But it's now an el junko brand. Trash for cash. Buy and cry.

Which is too bad. Instead of buying a Gator, get a Cold Steel Voyager. At least they have AUS 8A steel, which is a good field grade at a reasonable price. Or, if you want a premium cutter, get a Spyderco or a Benchmade.

I have a paraframe, not a great knife, but not crap either.

With all due respect, the Gerber Paraframe I bought was one of the worst knives I've ever purchased outside of a dollar store. You know them plastic casings that computer parts and other things come in? They're thick plastic and you can barely open 'em. Anyway, I tried to cut through one of those things with a Paraframe and I could barely put a scratch in it. Even tried to stab through it and the blade kinda bounced off it. Once I got the blade through, it wouldn't hardly cut neither. Had to get my Cold Steel Voyager to cut it and the blade slipped through that plastic cleanly and neatly.

The Paraframe is a good letter opener if you don't mind resharpening it often, but it was purty.

 

[WeaselBites]

Yeah, I think my ATS-34 SLG is pre-Fiskars.

I have yet to use the Evo hard, so I don't know how the steel will behave, but everything else about it seems well done.

The Profile sharpens and stands up to hard use. I forget the steel. Probably something forgettable. Anyway, it's a $20 4" FB.

I admit that the main reason I want a Buck 119 is the phenolic handle and steel furniture. It looks and feels awesome. As it is, I don't have a knife that would go with a tux.

 

[Sword and Shield]

I have a Gerber multitool, never use it much. Bladesteel is really crappy, and the pliers tend to "stick" shut due to the damaged wire cutter that dented badly during use.

Mine did the same, cutting some cheap floral wire. It was even pre-Fiskars. What kind of POS breaks on floral wire???

 

[Grateful]

Today I was given a mini para-frame as a gift. It's put together pretty well and seems solid enough bit it does feel rather cheap and I'm sure it is. I can't say that is total crap but it also isn't a quality cutting tool. Quality doesn't have to equal expensive either. My biggest problem with it is that it is made in china.