RR: Gerber Yari

S

slow1

Joined
May 12, 2000
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178
Could I get some comments on the Yari. How does it compare with the Nimravus? Don't seem to hear to much about these. Is Yari the name of a maker?
 
Slow1,
Please visit my comparison review on GERBER Yari here, this comparison was made right with BENCHMADE Nimravus.
Sorry for somewhat clumsy images but it's not my guilt, I did my job decently.

Yari is not designers name, it's name of ancient Japanese spear.
 
Nice review Sergiusz. This is the first review I've seen on the Yari...thanks. I think it's great that Gerber is coming back into the semi-high-end knife market.
 
I picked up a non-serrated Gerber Yari over the weekend and find it an interesting blade in its $65-$75 price point. This knife's blade geometry and the materials used speak to it being a tactically oriented blade. It has a drop point with thin swedge and a thin pointy tip. The primary flat grind rises about 75%+ of the way from the edge to the spine all along the blade up to the point where the straight edge begins bellying up to the tip and the swedge starts to taper to the point. Nonetheless, I think the fine point and easily accessible edge (think of working on a kitchen cutting board without a guard getting in the way) will let it serve admirably for more civilian tasks as well. The secondary edge lends it a very thin point for quick manipulation in fine trimming work. About the front 2" of the swedge on the blade spine is thin enough to be readily sharpened with some time on the EdgePro. Gerber webpage on the Yari at http://www.gerberblades.com/gerberlegendaryblades.html?06910 A better picture of a knife just like my blade at http://www.agrussell.com/gerber/ge6911.html

The Yari edge was shaving sharp out of the box over its entire length. The NIB edge seems to be even sharper at the tip than in the belly, which is counter to most of the blades I've worked with. The cutting edge at the very tip easily flings hair off at the skin line. Blade length measured out at about 4.75" and is 154cm steel (American version of ATS-34). I am interested in how long the charcoal gray colored TiN anodizing/coating on a stainless steel blade will last. The very light use I gave it on a hike yesterday morning (outlined below) didn't affect it at all and left it with no scratches, thin spots, or marring.

The coarse canvas micarta handle scales are straight-sided, which gives the handle kind of a boxy cross-section shape. While boxy handles tend to be uncomfortable, the corners of the micarta scales on the Yari are fairly broadly radiused. I found they don't dig into the joint at the base of thumb or index finger in a saber grip. In saber, hammer, and reverse grip they provide plenty of contact area for solid control of the blade. It's actally quite a comfortable handle for me. I have small hands with short fingers, which make many knife handles feel too fat or, more typically, too "tall" and force my fingers to uncurl as they grasp the handle. The scales on the Yari don't have grooves cut in them, but they are unpolished and the natural texture of the micarta gives a solid feeling grip. The untapered tang running through the handle is just barely proud of the edges of the scales along the top and bottom of the handle, but not enough for the edges of the tang to bite into your skin. The tang curves downward just enough to approximate a palm swell on top and hint at a semi-pistol grip for your curled fingers on the bottom of the handle. The jimping notches filed in the tang inside the radius of the finger & thumb grooves, coupled with the semi-single finger groove configuration on the bottom of the handle and the texture of the scales, offer a solid secure grip. I find orientation of the edge quick & easy. I haven't yet used the extended tang hammer/skull-crusher pommel with lanyard hole for anything. I do, however, view it as a necessary addition to any knife that may see field or camping use and am glad that Gerber included it on the Yari.

On a hike yesterday we came upon an alder tree that had fallen over the trail. We cleared off some of the branches to ease stepping over the tree trunk. I used the Yari to chop off small branches (up to about 1/2") and slice through the wood strands retaining larger branches (up to about 1") after we broke the branches over. It worked very well for the cutting and light chopping/hacking strokes needed. It's a lightweight knife, but chopped better than its very short blade would indicate, due to the thin grind angle of its blade. But I wouldn't recommend the Yari for this type of duty on a regular basis. This blade is definitely a cutter/slicer, not a chopper.

The Gerber sheath clip (pointy J-hook) fit nicely over the 1-1/2" waistbelt of my pack. It did not fall off when the belt was unsnapped & the sheathed knife was swinging around. It kept the blade very handy at my side when the pack belt was in use. The clip can't be repositioned for RH, LH, IWB carry because it's fixed in a slot that keeps its position static on the plastic sheath. The funny thing about the Yari sheath is that it is a left-handed sheath and is not ambi-dextrous. That means that when I wear it RH outside the pants, it deploys in my RH as a reverse grip draw. IMHO that merely verifies that it was designed as a tactically oriented knife. The bad news is that when I wear it RH IWB (Monday-Friday at work mode) it deploys in an edge-in reverse grip, which I find not very useful. I wish the sheath were RH-LH-IWB adjustable (or simply made ambidextrous) to compensate for varying carry requirements. As with many commercial blades, the Yari's sheath is the weakest link in the overall package. While top notch after-market sheaths can be gotten, one wishes Gerber had simply made the sheath ambidextrous. Adding the cost of a sheath to a moderately priced blade like the Yari moves it out of its price point market. Thus the design fails to meet a need it is ostensibly intended to fill (broadly affordable semi-tactical blade).

Nonetheless, the Gerber Yari's extremely good edge in high-grade steel, versatile blade shape, light weight, comfortable handle, and tough construction recommend it very highly. It is well worth the price and will be seeing regular carry.

(Editted to correct handle material references. Some sites state it as canvas micarta, others as G-10. I'm inclined to agree with the Gerber site stating it as canvas micarta, both because it is, after all, their knife and because to me it looks very much like unlayered micarta. It may be that different issues of this blade have had differing scale materials.)
 
RokJok,
Thanks for sharing your impressions :)
Really, it would be nothing wrong if they make the ambidextrous sheath with Lok-Tek multi-carry clip like SPYDERCO Bill Moran's one. In fact the sheath my only complaint about Yari, strictly saying even not sheath itself but it's carry clip.
Some sites state it as canvas micarta, others as G-10
Click to expand...
It's definitely canvas Micarta. G-10 is glass fabric reinforced laminate and here is no glass at all, but canvas is clearly visible.
 
Sergiusz, I tried a Tek-Lok on the sheath and it in fact matches the rivet holes in the sheath - this gave me the impression that the sheath is made by Bladetech. The Tek -Lok can be fitted to the sheath on the side opposite to the clip which allows it to be carried on the belt (normal belt carry) for right handed use.
 
I too, went on a binge this weekend and bought both a Yari and a Spyderco Moran drop point fixed blade. The Moran is probably the sharpest factory knife I have EVER seen! The Yari is also quite sharp and I love the balance of this Yari. The handle slabs could be(and may be later)shaped a little differently, as they are a little blocky. The blade is a great style and seems to be quite hard. This 154CM used must be at least 60 rockwell, since my diamond hones are not removing much steel very easily. This knife should hold an edge quite well, but I have done nothing but attack a couple of cardboard boxes that were staring at me in a menacing manner. :) Overall, a great knife, and especially for the $65 I paid.
 
Really very reasonable knife for outdoors use.
I'm wondering what kind of coating they use. GERBER site states it ix "oxide" but isn't it some kind of nonsense? How it's possible to put an oxide onto stainless steel blade.
 
A little insight into the Yari sheath. It was designed originally to be ambi and take a TEK-LOK. The folks at Gerber opted to go with their clip to keep the costs down.

Let em know what you want at Gerber and we'll fix it for em.
We can remove the clip from the mold and rework it to make it an ambi system.

Hope this helps.

Tim
 
Tim, I was suspect this for the moment when I saw it first. Thanks for confirmation :)
It was designed originally to be ambi and take a TEK-LOK. The folks at Gerber opted to go with their clip to keep the costs down.
Click to expand...
The TEK-LOK is the only proper way to go with this knife. Great sheath but - it's well known - thrifty man pays twice and does triply ;)

I have e-mailed the link of this thread to GERBER.
 
Where are you guys getting the Yari for $65-$75? Best price I've seen is around $95 on th net. But it looks like an interesting knife.

Sam
 
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