Gday,
I was looking around for a while to see if anyone would do a review on this knife, but due to a distinct lack of information about it out there, and the fact that I've been getting asked about it from work colleagues, I decided to do a YouTube knife Review on this combat knife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtgBAzaYr4g
Hope it's ok.
I know a lot of people have been reserved about this knife simply due to the blade material, but I think one needs to view this in light of the purpose for which it was designed. It was intended to be used as a primary combat knife (ie, a backup weapon in case your primary (boomstick) fails). AND, whilst out on deployments, the last thing you want to be worried about is spending a lot of time maintaining your blade (sharpening your blade or oiling it, etc). With the choice of steel and the great heat treatment and the ceramic coating, this is quite a solid knife, that was intended to be carried as a combat knife. And it's dependably there and sharp when on patrol.
It's definitely not for everyone. I think it needs to be held in the hand, and try the sheath system - having said this, you REALLY want to give the knife retention system a good go (and getting used to) - I initially hated it, but once you get used to it, you hope that every other fixed blade tactical knife would come with such a system.
Sure, it might make an okay wood splitter, but this is not what it was designed to do. You wouldn't choose an uzi to pull off long-range sniper shots, so you wouldn't choose the Gerber LHR as a primary knife for heading out to the woods as a utility knife.
Summary:
As a primary fixed blade knife, for the purpose of tactical / combat deployment, I think it's a very innovative development, and I commend Gerber for it.
As an all round knife that could be used for purposes other than as a combat knife...? I don't think it's as good as other knives around (such as the ESEE-4, Cold Steel SRK, or even Recon Scout) but it would certainly get the job done. The steel isn't prone to chipping or snapping, but holds an edge reasonably well (mind you, I haven't tried splitting wood with it, just yet, so I can't say this with too much conviction).
Once I get the chance to do so, I'll hopefully be putting up an update video to let you guys know how the blade holds up.
Cheers,
I was looking around for a while to see if anyone would do a review on this knife, but due to a distinct lack of information about it out there, and the fact that I've been getting asked about it from work colleagues, I decided to do a YouTube knife Review on this combat knife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtgBAzaYr4g
Hope it's ok.
I know a lot of people have been reserved about this knife simply due to the blade material, but I think one needs to view this in light of the purpose for which it was designed. It was intended to be used as a primary combat knife (ie, a backup weapon in case your primary (boomstick) fails). AND, whilst out on deployments, the last thing you want to be worried about is spending a lot of time maintaining your blade (sharpening your blade or oiling it, etc). With the choice of steel and the great heat treatment and the ceramic coating, this is quite a solid knife, that was intended to be carried as a combat knife. And it's dependably there and sharp when on patrol.
It's definitely not for everyone. I think it needs to be held in the hand, and try the sheath system - having said this, you REALLY want to give the knife retention system a good go (and getting used to) - I initially hated it, but once you get used to it, you hope that every other fixed blade tactical knife would come with such a system.
Sure, it might make an okay wood splitter, but this is not what it was designed to do. You wouldn't choose an uzi to pull off long-range sniper shots, so you wouldn't choose the Gerber LHR as a primary knife for heading out to the woods as a utility knife.
Summary:
As a primary fixed blade knife, for the purpose of tactical / combat deployment, I think it's a very innovative development, and I commend Gerber for it.
As an all round knife that could be used for purposes other than as a combat knife...? I don't think it's as good as other knives around (such as the ESEE-4, Cold Steel SRK, or even Recon Scout) but it would certainly get the job done. The steel isn't prone to chipping or snapping, but holds an edge reasonably well (mind you, I haven't tried splitting wood with it, just yet, so I can't say this with too much conviction).
Once I get the chance to do so, I'll hopefully be putting up an update video to let you guys know how the blade holds up.
Cheers,
You're overall impressions of the knife so far? Edge retention? Ease of sharpening?
)
