My childhood dream came true this weekend!

The Whip said:
I own the Meyerco and I've handled the Gerber. In my opinion, Gerber was at the top of its game in the 1980s, particularly with folders, and the Gerber Bolt Action reflects that. But the Meyerco isn't very far off. It certainly doesn't feel like a $15 knife! (It wasn't expensive when I bought it, but I don't remember it being any $15, either!) If I had to compare the "feel" of its construction, I would say it's pretty close to early synthetic-handled Spyderco, Moki, or SOG--slightly rougher handle texturing than the Gerber, but as smooth and secure in its lockup.

-Steve
Click to expand...
Thanks man that's really good info and has me wanting the Meyerco version. The thread I was referring to was found here https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/anyone-know-anything-about-the-meyerco-bolt-action.150231/ Where they say the list was $59 but it was sold in some Smokey Mtn Catalogue for only $15.99...The ironic thing is I found a NOS one in Germany but they wanted $200!!

I also came across this a Hoffritz???

s-l1600.jpg
 
"Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Man, one of my favorite flicks of all time. Congrats! Porkchop Express approved.
 
Henry Swanson’s my name and excitement is my game. You will come out no more! Damn it egg lol
 
Back in the early 80's, I would see the Gerber Bolt Action knife in catalogs, but $39.00 was too much to spend on a knife ( imagine that).
So when Smoky Mtn Knife Works listed them in their sale catalog for $29.00 , I ordered one.
It's a great knife and I still have it.
One of the last Blackie Collins collaborations was with Paragon knives, some are autos and some manual opening. Very classic looking folders in wood or micarta, I bought a few of them.
 
98% sweet score and 2% jealously on my part since I never find good stuff at a garage. Congo rats!

That is one classic movie btw. I've been waiting for Big Trouble in Little China II for many years now.
 
Congrats on the great finds! The Gerber Bolt Action is a fine knife. Not particularly hi-tech by today's standards but we mustn't judge it so. Thirty-five years ago was a different story.

Here's one paired with a later relative:

sTwiUg3.jpg


More than three decades apart in design but the lineage in lock develompment is there.
 
cbrstar said:
Thanks man that's really good info and has me wanting the Meyerco version. The thread I was referring to was found here https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/anyone-know-anything-about-the-meyerco-bolt-action.150231/ Where they say the list was $59 but it was sold in some Smokey Mtn Catalogue for only $15.99...The ironic thing is I found a NOS one in Germany but they wanted $200!!


I also came across this a Hoffritz???
Click to expand...


At first, that photo confused me. I know that Hoffritz didn't make any knives, only put its logo on existing models from manufacturers that it sold in Hoffritz stores. So I knew it had to be a Gerber. But all the Gerber Bolt Actions that I'd seen were marked on the blades and/or in raised lettering around the pivots.

After some research, I discovered that the earliest Bolt Actions did not have marked blades or raised lettering. Instead, the Gerber logo was present on the cap over the pivot bolt (which is missing on that Hoffritz knife).

Here's the reverse pivot cap on the Hoffritz knife. The Bolt Action mechanism is still patent-pending, so it's an early model.

IMG-5058.jpg



Here's how I think the Hoffritz knife looked when new (only with the bead-blast finish rather than satin).

IMG-5063.jpg



Here's another version of the Gerber with no blade marking, but it does have the raised lettering. By the way, I think this is the first production run for the blade-changing Bolt Action model, not the original, which I believe was earlier than 1985.

IMG-5061.jpg



I even found another Gerber that had been abused similarly to that Hoffritz and was also missing the pivot cover. You can see the same oddly off-center blade pivot.

IMG-5064.jpg



Strangely enough, I also discovered this early Gerber with a handle pattern I'd never seen before. It doesn't even look to be the same material as the other models.

IMG-5062.jpg



Gerber made a lot more variations of the Bolt Action than I realized!

-Steve
 
The Whip said:
At first, that photo confused me. I know that Hoffritz didn't make any knives, only put its logo on existing models from manufacturers that it sold in Hoffritz stores. So I knew it had to be a Gerber. But all the Gerber Bolt Actions that I'd seen were marked on the blades and/or in raised lettering around the pivots.

After some research, I discovered that the earliest Bolt Actions did not have marked blades or raised lettering. Instead, the Gerber logo was present on the cap over the pivot bolt (which is missing on that Hoffritz knife).

Here's the reverse pivot cap on the Hoffritz knife. The Bolt Action mechanism is still patent-pending, so it's an early model.

IMG-5058.jpg



Here's how I think the Hoffritz knife looked when new (only with the bead-blast finish rather than satin).

IMG-5063.jpg



Here's another version of the Gerber with no blade marking, but it does have the raised lettering. By the way, I think this is the first production run for the blade-changing Bolt Action model, not the original, which I believe was earlier than 1985.

IMG-5061.jpg



I even found another Gerber that had been abused similarly to that Hoffritz and was also missing the pivot cover. You can see the same oddly off-center blade pivot.

IMG-5064.jpg



Strangely enough, I also discovered this early Gerber with a handle pattern I'd never seen before. It doesn't even look to be the same material as the other models.

IMG-5062.jpg



Gerber made a lot more variations of the Bolt Action than I realized!

-Steve
Click to expand...

Nice post that explains a lot as I never knew of Hoffriz and couldn't find any other bolt actions by them. I also read on another forum the original Gerber bolt actions used L-6 steel but later moved to a 440 steel.
 
Loved that movie as a Kid!!!!


Great score on the knife. Now you can do things no one else can do.....see things no one else can see.....!
 
Nice scores! I’m a big fan of Big Trouble and the Gerbers of the 80’s. Well and some later Gerbers too.
 
SpySmasher said:
Absolutely awesome haul!

If you like that Bolt lock, you might enjoy this anecdote:

The Bolt lock was designed by the late, great Blackie Collins. He was a truly prolific inventor and back in the 80s did several knives with Gerber. A couple of them featured Bolt locks. As you know from your new knife, the action on the Gerber Bolt locks are smooth but stiff. They absolutely don't "flip out" or "fall shut." I just assumed this was inherent in the design or something.

Decades later Spyderco produces a Bolt lock as part of their Sage series (Sage 3). I finally decide to buy one just as they go out of production last year. Much to my surprise the thing flips just as easily as any Axis or Ball Bearing lock. I post my surprise about this in the Spyderco forums and Sal replies explaining how back in the day, Peter Gerber was concerned about being able to flip the knife open so Gerber deliberately designed it to be stiff.

How times have changed. :) Blackie was definitely ahead of his time.
Click to expand...
Nice score Op and thanks for that anecdote SpySmasher. Did a quick Google on bolt locks and found it a very interesting read. Seems like a lot of the good old locking systems keep getting rehashed.
 
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