The first Gerber/Grylls collab I actually like.

Sufler

Sufler

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It's called the "Bear Grylls Paracord Fixed Blade". At the price, it seems reasonable in comparison to the better known "paracord-able" knives from Becker, Esee, Tops and such.

What's your guys take on it?

http://www.gerbergear.com/Survival/Knives/Bear-Grylls-Paracord-Fixed-Blade_31-001683

beargrylls-paracord-knife.jpg
 
Can get a becker bk11 for the same price but 1095 vs chinese steel. Rather pick another option. the bear grylls line of products is good for getting new people into camping/survival/knives so can be a good start for some.
 
danbremner said:
Can get a becker bk11 for the same price but 1095 vs chinese steel. Rather pick another option. the bear grylls line of products is good for getting new people into camping/survival/knives so can be a good start for some.
Click to expand...

It is an interesting style and they look good with the paracord, but the biggest thing about these is that they are available at a lot of common retailers and sporting goods stores. I saw a lot of them advertised around Christmas for about $35 which is about the same online discount price you can find for the BK11 and BK14. The 7CRMOV steel though, I would much prefer 1095 for this type of knife.
 
Is it hollow ground? Seems kind of odd for a knife geared toward survival/bushcraftiness.
 
Sufler said:
It's called the "Bear Grylls Paracord Fixed Blade". At the price, it seems reasonable in comparison to the better known "paracord-able" knives from Becker, Esee, Tops and such.

What's your guys take on it?


beargrylls-paracord-knife.jpg
Click to expand...

I dunno.... It's a stainless steel and has a coating so should be easy to maintain in the field (but that's usually not a problem anyway..) though i don't know how well it would hold up to hard use. It's a small knife so hard use may not be as much of a concern.

Generally speaking (and without handling) I like the looks of the design. It's hard to see what's past the jimping on the spine (saw teeth? booooo hiss!!!), but a saw would be a huge detraction. I'm absolutely not a fan of paracord wrapping as a handle so out of the gate i'd have to acquire some scales (Micarta, G10, similar). The tip/point looks really stout and with the squared "pommel" the knife could probably be driven into material pretty well. Again hard to tell from the photo, but the spine in the last 1/3rd of the blade looks like a 'false edge' and not something i'm personally fond of. I usually file 'em down to achieve a baton-friendly surface, but that's just my idiosyncrasy crying out.

Overall, probably not a bad price @ $35, but in that price range there's a lot of competition in the "off-the-rack" market. However, that isn't comparing what one of our excellent Knife craftsman here could do for similar $.
 
It's an interesting design, but:

Will it get shaving sharp?

Will it hold an edge?

Is it easy to sharpen?

Gerber's answer to those three questions has been a resounding "Nope" for a long time now. I'd rather have a sharpened putty chisel that will do those three things than any stylized knife made from poor steel that wont. Besides, I'm just not going to own any tool that's primary selling point is the star of a "reality" TV show.

Oh...and will it actually stay in the sheath. From the looks of it I'm guessing not.

$35 may not be a lot of money, but a waste of money is a waste of money regardless of the amount. Same price = 2 Mora's.
 
Im just not a big fan of Gerbers anymore, And then to have BG on it makes it even less attractive for me. JMO
 
I've had one for a few months, decent enough knife. No saw teeth, just the thumb jimping. Came sharp, and seems to hold it's edge OK for the steel it's made from and touched up easy.

The orange cord that comes wrapped on it, is not real "paracord", but a simple orange nylon cord, which I replaced with the real stuff. (knife can be used without any wrap just fine.

ParacordKnife-6.jpg


Sheath is fine, has something similar to a tech-lock that allows left/right & horizontal/vertical carry, or can be removed and carried inverted as a necker.

Sheath retention is very strong, they got it right on this one, knife is not coming out unless you intentionally want it out, a vast improvement over the previous small fixed blade, which with a slight modification to the handle, will fit in this new sheath as well Just removing a small amount of the orange at the front of the handle.

R-CompactFixedBlade-5Modified.jpg


Sheath also has potential for attaching small stuff like a BSA hotspark etc....

Being full plain edge, it's at least a step in the right direction over the combo edged stuff IMO, and at under $30.00 at big box stores, it's a decent small camp/backpack knife that doesn't weigh a ton. The spine on mine, is not square enough to strike sparks from a firesteel, except for the very end of the spine near the tip I wish they had made a flat spot like the bigger USK on the spine.
 
Bear Claw Chris Lappe

Thanks very much for your feedback on this particular knife. I like the fact that it doesn't have the immediate distinction of being a neck-knife only like the Bk11 and you can belt-carry the sheath. Any idea where these are made?

Thanks!
:thumbup:
 
I purchased two of them for Christmas gifts. They were under $25 and seemed like a good, entry level knife that wasn't intimating for non-knife people. I like that you can reverse (flip) the clip on the sheath to the other side and it covers up the BG logo (sorry Bear).
 
Sufler said:
Bear Claw Chris Lappe

Thanks very much for your feedback on this particular knife. I like the fact that it doesn't have the immediate distinction of being a neck-knife only like the Bk11 and you can belt-carry the sheath. Any idea where these are made?

Thanks!
:thumbup:
Click to expand...

You can bet its China, I think all the BG stuff is.
 
I absolutely detest both Gerber and Bear Grylls. I would sooner set fire to the $35 than buy the knife.

Gerber was once a great American brand, now sold-out and producing mostly Chinese crap. Even the few that are USA made are mediocre at best. Sadly, many people think that Gerber is still premium quality. When you buy Gerber you are only buying a name.

Bear Grylls is a friggin clown and a fraud. More of a celebrity stuntman than a survivalist. Most of the things he does should never be attempted. One should never do things like jump off a cliff or descend an abandoned mine shaft in a real survival situation. I always laugh at people who think he is the genuine article. It's real easy to be hardcore when you have caterers making refreshments for you behind the camera and you are being airlifted to the Four Seasons after every shoot. That guy is gonna get someone killed someday.
 
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I received one of these knives as a Christmas present this year. I will echo the earlier mention that the retention is very strong. The only 2 issues I've had so far with mine is that it was sometimes hard to sheath the knife. It was like it didn't hit the right spot and so it wouldn't go in and unsheathing.....I almost had to move the blade a little to get it to pop loose. This issue is much better the last few days as I've been taking it in and out of the sheath. The other issue is that just sheathing and resheathing the blade has managed to remove very small areas of the coating. I haven't used the knife at all.....just taken it in and out of the sheath. It's a nice feeling knife and I have no issues with the functionality of it. I think the fit and finish could perhaps be a bit better. I agree with the idea that it's a nice way to get people into camping and being outdoors and giving them an adequate knife.....as I have no doubt that this knife is. It's pretty thick for its size but they just need to work on the fit and finish. The sheath may or may not have some inside roughness. My knife would have sheath particles on it about every time I pulled it from the sheath. If I was paying for it, would I recommend it at a price point with the BK-14 or BK-11? Nope.....but that doesn't mean there isn't a market for the knife. The issues I've mentioned are generally rather "petty" issues but I just wanted to pass them along just in case people were looking to buy one of these knives. This is my first Gerber knife and I'm not really disappointed. I just happen to prefer my Becker knives more. :)

-jc
 
I absolutly hate para cord wrapped handles. I find them ugly and uncomfortable. :D

As an aside, I would never buy anything with Bear Grylls name on it.
 
I know it is not the same tool, but a buddy of mine bought the BG saw. Forgive him, he means well, and I try to educate him, but he listens about as well as you could expect a rock to listen.
Anyway, the thing snapped about 1/3 of the way from the tip the very first time he used it. We were cutting wood for a fire and it snapped. He returned it and bought a Coughlans Sierra saw and is now happy. Thank god. If this is indicative of the rest of the BG line, I would find something else. Like a Becker. Or anything but Gerber.
 
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