The 80's!! Anyone remember knives from the 80's??

vjb.knife said:
Cool Fer De Lance, do you have the Timba also? It was the other knife in that series from Pacific Cutlery, later to become Benchmade.
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Thanks. :thumbsup: No just the FDL. Though I'm familiar with the Timba. I love the Fer De Lance and have had three of them across the years since they came out. Not a knife you see or hear about much these days.
 
sgt1372 said:
Don't know what kind of wood the scales are made of but the grain pattern is so similiar that it looks like they were cut some the same piece of wood, which might mean it's not really wood at all but they still look good. LOL! ;)
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Sgt, those scales look to me like Pakkawood. Basically dyed, resin stabilized hardwood plywood. For a while, some crappy imports had ill-fitted, garishly colored Pakkawood scales (unlike yours, which look pretty good).

Different manufacturers had different names for their equivalent products, Dymondwood was one.

A buddy of mine had a StanPacky folding hunter with orange and green Pakkawood scales, not really my thing but it can be done more tastefully. Nice score.

Parker
 
catspa said:
Sgt, those scales look to me like Pakkawood. Basically dyed, resin stabilized hardwood plywood. For a while, some crappy imports had ill-fitted, garishly colored Pakkawood scales (unlike yours, which look pretty good).

Different manufacturers had different names for their equivalent products, Dymondwood was one.

A buddy of mine had a StanPacky folding hunter with orange and green Pakkawood scales, not really my thing but it can be done more tastefully. Nice score.

Parker
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So, it's wood but not really wood? Sounds about right to me because they look too good and too much alike to be "real" wood.

LOL! ;)

Thanks for the explanation! A quick Google search indicates that you are correct.
 
I have some of those Gil Hibben monsters that "Sportsman's Guide" used to sell back in the '80s. One, with two parallel blades, appeared in a "Predator" motion picture; the other, a "Highlander Bowie" was the knife Woody Harrelson used to split some guy's skull in "Natural Born Killers."

They're still packed away somewhere, but I'm not about to root around to find them.
 
vjb.knife said:
The first guardian set that I got was a birthday present from my wife. It was at a nearby gun store in New Jersey in about 1993. I had been oggling it for months but I thought it was too expensive and my wife knew the whole scenario. Then when I finally decided to buy it anyway she went the day before and purchased it and hid it. I came home bitterly defeated, but when my Birthday rolled around a few weeks later she gave it to me and it was probably the most desired present I have ever received. I have had a couple of others since then including one with camohandled guardians in it but they were not matching serial numbers like the one shown. It is a very nice set.
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Great story, my set came from a gun shop in Union, NJ. I got it while my wife and I were engaged, little did she know what lied ahead.
 
sgt1372 said:
So, it's wood but not really wood?
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Part of it is wood, but modified with the addition of synthetic resin, probably under heat and pressure, to change its properties and appearance and sold as an “engineered wood” product. It’s wood, but not as it grew on the tree.

Is casserole just a bowl of noodles? Kinda, but there’s more ingredients and the cooking process, and the right combination of those (plus lots of cheese) can make it delicious.

Parker
 
catspa said:
Part of it is wood, but modified with the addition of synthetic resin, probably under heat and pressure, to change its properties and appearance and sold as an “engineered wood” product. It’s wood, but not as it grew on the tree.

Is casserole just a bowl of noodles? Kinda, but there’s more ingredients and the cooking process, and the right combination of those (plus lots of cheese) can make it delicious.

Parker
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Gotcha.

FWIW, it looks like someone paid close attention to the appearance of the scales by using veneers cut from the same block of wood before the resin treatment because the grain pattern on all 3 of the knives is so similiar. Don't think they'd bother to do the same thing these days.
 
TC said:
Just snagged this... new/unused '84 Gerber Mark I in black. (Made in 1984 according to the screenshot down below.)


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1984? Maybe, maybe not.

The author of the article says he's only seen "(1984) black blade Gerber Mk I's w/SN's between P52XXS to S49XXS.

Your SN is T3175S which puts it outside of that range.

The author also says the 1984 version was designated Model #5604. What's the model # designation on your box?

It also would help to know if other black bladed Mk I's w/in the author's SN range came w/leather or cloth sheaths. FYI Gerber apparently did not start using "cloth" sheaths w/the Mark II's until 1987.

See: Gerber Mark II Production Chart

FWIW, I'm not saying that your black blade Mk I was NOT made in 1984 but I think there's reasonable doubt about that and I personally would not claim that it was made in 1984 unless better "proof" of that can be established.
 
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sgt1372 said:
1984? Maybe, maybe not.

The author of the article says he's only seen "(1984) black blade Gerber Mk I's w/SN's between P52XXS to S49XXS.

Your SN is T3175S which puts it outside of that range.

The author also says the 1984 version was designated Model #5604. What's the model # designation on your box?

It also would help to know if other black bladed Mk I's w/in the author's SN range came w/leather or cloth sheaths. FYI Gerber apparently did not start using "cloth" sheaths w/the Mark II's until 1987.

See: Gerber Mark II Production Chart

FWIW, I'm not saying that your black blade Mk I was NOT made in 1984 but I think there's reasonable doubt about that and I personally would not claim that it was made in 1984 unless better "proof" of that can be established.
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Noted, but the webpage also says that the info on the Mk. I's is not nearly as solid as on the Mk. II's (line 2). It also says that those serial #s are ones he has seen, not that those are the definitive limits.

Don't have it here yet, so what the pics show is what I've got so far. If it's not from '84...OK, no real difference to me.

Obviously the blade is black. What are the odds of getting the production year wrong vs. serial #s? Would it not be better known if black blades were made in other years than the one specific year stated? The statement toward that is fairly unambiguous compared to the uncertainties concerning other data.
 
TC said:
Noted, but the webpage also says that the info on the Mk. I's is not nearly as solid as on the Mk. II's (line 2). It also says that those serial #s are ones he has seen, not that those are the definitive limits.

Don't have it here yet, so what the pics show is what I've got so far. If it's not from '84...OK, no real difference to me.

Obviously the blade is black. What are the odds of getting the production year wrong vs. serial #s? Would it not be better known if black blades were made in other years than the one specific year stated? The statement toward that is fairly unambiguous compared to the uncertainties concerning other data.
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Only "matters" if you try to resell it and claim (w/o a caveat) that it was made in 1984 or if it was represented to you as made in 1984 by the seller.

That's the problem w/the Mark I's. Just no definitive dating data.
 
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sgt1372 said:
Only "matters" if you try to resell it and claim (w/o a caveat) that it was made in 1984 or if it was represented to you as made in 1984 by the seller.

That's the problem w/the Mark I's. Just no definitive dating data.
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True enough, and this isn't a selling thread. But out of professional courtesy I will edit my original post. :) Seller didn't specify the year beyond '80s - '90s. I remembered that info I posted from some time ago and went by that.
 
sgt1372 said:
Only "matters" if you try to resell it and claim (w/o a caveat) that it was made in 1984 or if it was represented to you as made in 1984 by the seller.

That's the problem w/the Mark I's. Just no definitive dating data.
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PS: I've sent a polite inquiry with pictures to Gerber. I'll post any information they may be able to provide.

PPS: I did a little further digging and saw that the paperwork and box in the pics I posted reference Fiskars - who acquired Gerber only in 1987, according to wikipedia. Of course, that only dates the box and papers, not the knife itself - could be old stock being sold off. But it certainly does make it likely that they made further black Mark I's after 1984.

Edit: Added post post scriptum
 
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vjb.knife said:
Some more 1980's Gerber stuff.
Gerber Silver Knights - the first Japanese venture for Gerber was a great success.
View attachment 1885686

Gerber LST's with FRN (fiberglass reinforced nylon) handles. These were the most popular, but prior to these the handles of the LST series were Micarta (coming up next). A couple of these are very rare - it's the two in the middle. The inset medallion black handle is the only one like this that I have seen. The blue handled Dupont 50th Anniversary of Nylon is also very rare.

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These LST's have Micarta handles and are the classic shape. There was also a FS (Folding Sportsman) shape which I do not have any more of. I believe that the one with wood onlays is a one of a kind made for the owner of the House of Blades.

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Later around 2010 I picked up these LST's with handles made from G10 for the blade show. I don't think these were a regular production model.

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More later.
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I still carry my LST occasionally. Great little knife!
 
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