To avoid Gerber

M

MaxDuo

Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
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Recently I saw a knife I liked the look of in the Bass Pro Shop. The Gerber Freeman Caping.... I just really, really like the look of this knife. I know a lot of people dislike Gerber from the past 10 years or so of trying to be in the cheap knife crowd... And a lot of people dislike how they ripoff some designs (but I actually like the look of the Evo better.... Damn them for not making it better than the CRKT M16, or as good... :( ).


Anyway, I was wondering how good the Freeman Caping is. Or if there are any knives very much like it in looks... Such as I like the drop point blade and really like the wood of the handle.

Any suggestions on this?
 
I used the Gerber Freeman Hunter for almost two years. Never had any problems with it.
 
MaxDuo said:
Recently I saw a knife I liked the look of in the Bass Pro Shop. The Gerber Freeman Caping.... I just really, really like the look of this knife. I know a lot of people dislike Gerber from the past 10 years or so of trying to be in the cheap knife crowd... And a lot of people dislike how they ripoff some designs (but I actually like the look of the Evo better.... Damn them for not making it better than the CRKT M16, or as good... :( ).


Anyway, I was wondering how good the Freeman Caping is. Or if there are any knives very much like it in looks... Such as I like the drop point blade and really like the wood of the handle.

Any suggestions on this?
Click to expand...

ive had a freeman folder for a couple of years and its a fairly solid knife, i dont like it as much as my buck dorado, but the freeman is good, its a little bulky, one of the better Gerber offerings
ivan
 
So I've got 2 semi positive revies and one negative. I'm also refering to the fixed blade one, not the folder. I do like the buck dorado, but right now I have quite a few folders so I think I want a few more fixed blades :)
 
I looked at a Gerber Freeman Fixed Blade at Wal-Mart. It looked like a decent knife, but I didn't really have a need for it so I didn't buy it. I have had decent luck with Gerbers- I love my AR 3.00 (Teflon coated, partially serrated) folder. If you like the knife, I would say go for it.
 
i was looking at the gerber freeman hunter fixed blade without the gut hook for a while, but decided against it.

now cabelas has a version, similar to what they did with buck, with S30V steel and a black blade coating, for twice the cost of course. but, if you like the design and don't like the steel, it may suit you to pick up a cabelas version. i think i will stay away from it for a while at least...i have a few other sharp buys that are higher up on the list that i think i will use more often and more effectively.

now that i looked it up, it appears that they also added some texture and dye to the handle scales.
the fixed hunter:
http://tinyurl.com/yplp33

the fixed caper:
http://tinyurl.com/28q8ld

overall, they seem like solid knives, i held a fixed hunter at a Dick's sporting goods locally and liked it. the only thing that i found that i thought could be a potential problem (perhaps not for you, i have pretty big mitts) was that the handle is a little small in diameter. length is good though. this could be easily remedied though, with some paracord wrapping, and the many little fileworked bits around the grip would hold in any kind of wrapping nicely.

also, i don't generally use lanyards on my knives, at the moment the only lanyards i have are on my machete and my fishing knife (used for canoeing and kayaking over the water. i must say though, that if i did appreciate the option of using a lanyard on this knife, because of the rather large lanyard hole, which would also allow the lanyard to be led off of the edge side or the back of the knife, depending on personal preference. checking yet again the photos of the knives, i see that the caper lacks any sort of lanyard hole, so that may be a consideration when choosing this knife.

also another thing to note is the fact that the caper has a saber flat grind, like the fixed hunter, but the fixed hunter with gut hook has a full flat grind.

now, take my advice with a grain of salt, because i have never actually used one, but i think that i will in the future, with the cabelas version out.

ps; the display model that i handled had a decent edge on better than most factory knives i have handled as from the factory, which i thought was impressive for a relatively low dollar knife.
 
I am gunshy (knife shy) with any Gerber. The quality of the steel has been so bad in the ones I have owned. i wouldn't buy any of them.
 
MaxDuo said:
So I've got 2 semi positive revies and one negative. I'm also refering to the fixed blade one, not the folder. I do like the buck dorado, but right now I have quite a few folders so I think I want a few more fixed blades :)
Click to expand...

Well if you want to try one without too much risk, gpknives.com has the fixed blade caping knife on sale for $20.00.
 
I bought me a Freeman Hunter 'bout a week & a 1/2 ago. Got home and did a search, only to find lots of negatives. :( (mainly took 'em as anti Gerber.) So, I removed, cleaned & Minwaxed the handles then put a pretty damn good edge on it. I've only carried it to work with me for a few days (land surveyor) but so far so good. I really feel like I will get more than my $'s worth out of this knife. Time will tell. No regrets here. MW
 
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