LMF II vs gerber bear ultimate pro survival knife

J

J1427

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Sep 2, 2013
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Hey guys, so I am just starting to get into knives and was wondering what you guys thought about the lmf vs the gerber pro. It would be mainly used for camping/canoe trips. Any other suggestions would helpful a well!
Thanks!
 
I have an LMF II and have 3 issues with it. 1. I hate serrations and it has them. 2. The handle end of the knife is quite heavy due to the heavy pommel. 3. The sheath has a very tight retention on the knife,too tight in my opinion.

If I were looking at the 2 the only thing the LMF II would have over the BG pro is that it is made in the US where the BG is made in China.
I would pick the Bear Grylls pro over the LMF II.

BUT that being said unless I had my heart set on a Gerber I would look at one of the Beckers or ESEE knives. I believe you get a lot better knife for the money.they are made in the US, have great warranties and a very knowledgable community to provide support.
 
Why are serrations so disliked? Wouldn't they be helpful in a survival situation? Why does it matter that the knife is made in China? (I'm Canadian so both would be foreign made knives).
 
Generally speaking, serrations are so disliked because either:
A) They are basically just to make the knife look cool (such as placed on the spine of a knife... as a "saw" and very rarely actually work even decently as a saw)
or B) the actual knife edge is half or semi serrated... which makes actually using the knife difficult... say for example you are trying to do some whittling/fine work for a trap/spear or what have you, very oftentimes, the serrations will catch on the piece of wood, and make it very annoying to make long, smooth cuts in the wood, because the serrations have a tendency to "grab" whatever you are cutting. Basically it boils down to not having enough plain edge to make good smooth cuts, and not having enough serration to really cut well with the sawing motion that goes with a serrated blade.

As for the location of production... While you may or may not be a fan of the U.S., we generally make better quality products than our counterparts in China.
 
Also, I second the ESEE suggestion :) I have three, and have been thumping on a Junglas model for over a year now, and it has held up like a champ. Plus, with a no questions asked lifetime warranty... you can't really beat ESEE for value.
 
So the cons of a combo blade outweigh the pros of having both in a survival situation? Do you know of any good places in Toronto or Waterloo where I could see and feel these knives in person?
 
Basically...It isn't enough of a serrated blade or a plain blade to be useful for either. Personally, when I go out into the woods, (backpacking/leg powered...not vehicle or horse) I carry a mid-large survival blade, a very small edc pocket knife or small fixed, and a collapsible saw. The saw does the majority and the hardest of the cutting for firewood, shelter, etc, the large survival blade does some shelter work, but mostly is for splitting wood, and the small blade does well for carving/fine task like making notches for traps, opening packaging, cutting rope, skinning, etc.
As far as a brick and mortar store that carries ESEE knives... I can't really help you. I've never seen them in a store, and I myself live In Washington state, on the west coast of the U.S., so I won't be much help finding you a local store, other than just doing a google search.
 
J1427 said:
Why are serrations so disliked? Wouldn't they be helpful in a survival situation? Why does it matter that the knife is made in China? (I'm Canadian so both would be foreign made knives).
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I find serrations are in the worst spot on a knife. Ruins whittling and such but that's just a personal preference plus they are a pain to sharpen but as always YMMV.

As far as being made in China, I have plenty of knives made in China but its a plus if its made in the US. Try and support my countrymen and all.
 
J1427,

If you're really going to be using a knife in the field for camping and canoeing, it will be one of your most important tools. So it's worth it to buy something made well. The Gerber Bear Grylls knife is a $15 knife that sells for $60 solely because of the name stamped on it. The steel is a Chinese copy of 440C - a decent steel, but nothing spectacular. A Mora - which you can actually buy for $15 - is at least as good a knife. The LMF II is an unbalanced, unwieldy club, with an actual cutting edge only about three inches long despite the fact that the knife weighs a full pound. If you want to pound on things in camp, get a knife . . . and a hammer.

I second the comments on serrations. A sheath knife should be a knife - it's made to cut things. A plain edge is far easier to touch up in the field, and will cut most materials better and cleaner than a serrated edge. For God's sake stay away from saw teeth, etc. Buy a folding saw.

A wonderful knife for many uses, and attractive to boot, would be a Helle Eggen. Very fine laminated blade, comfortable handle. A step up from that is the Temagami, same only better. The mentioned ESEEs and Beckers are a little more heavy duty, if you think you might abuse the knife severely.

You'll be glad you bought a good knife!
 
J1427 said:
Why are serrations so disliked? Wouldn't they be helpful in a survival situation? Why does it matter that the knife is made in China? (I'm Canadian so both would be foreign made knives).
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""(I'm Canadian so both would be foreign made knives)
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LoL... your are correct my Canadian brother, both would be "foreign made" :)

I own many different types of knifes, one being the LMF II.
I have no issue with that particular knife having a partially serrated blade as it was designed for a specific purpose.
If I was in a so called survival situation and am forced to only have one knife, I'd prefer it to have a partially serrated blade,
especially if I lose the sharpener that comes built into the sheath of the LMF II.

However, it does not sound like you need a "survival" knife as you say your primary usage would be "camping/canoe trips", I would NOT go with a Gerber LMF II and definitely not B.G. marketed knife.
I would recommend the Survive knives GSO 4.1... many people overlook the factor of weight that you have to carry, the 4.1 is far lighter than a Gerber LMF II.
If you are around water as with "camping/canoe trips", you could even look at a Spyderco Pacific Salt Plain Edge.
 
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I would rather anything from ESEE, Becker, Cold Steel or even Mora than either of those knives. If I must pick one, LMF II, because it doesn't have tacky celebrity marketing all over it.
 
I have both of the knives you're asking about, and of those two, I'd grab the BG USK Pro first. The LMF II is a decent knife, but the handles just are not very ergonomic to me, and I wish it were plain edged, had a flat hammer pommel.
 
Not to hijack the thread or anything but why all the hate for gerber. I'm fairly new to knives. I have always carried one but never dove in like I am now. I still don't understand all the hate for gerber. They may not be the most expensive but they've been around for years. I've never had a problem with the many I've owned. So what gives? So they don't use some fancy metals. Who cares. You can still get them super sharp or at least I can and they're fairly durable. The knew bear grylls seems like a quality knife. Full tang nicer steal. Who cares about the name. Maybe someone can enlighten me. Sorry about the rant. I say go for the bg pro.
 
The knife market is highly competitive so if there are better options with better value, you're going to hear about it on bladeforums. As for myself, I try to stay away from anything labeled survival or bushcraft as it is likely to be overpriced. Why not consider the gerber prodigy (its cheaper and lighter than the LMF)?
 
For the most part Gerber used to years ago make fine knives, they still make a few in the US that are pretty good. For the most part though they are overpriced crap these days, especially the bear grills stuff. You can easily spend the same money and get much better knives. They don't have to have special super steel either just look at becker or kabar or esee for regular plain jane steel that will outperform gerbers easily. For folders Kershaw makes many much better folders.
 
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