We all say "gerber sucks" but no one gives examples, this is my reason why.

Cereal_killer

Cereal_killer

Joined
Apr 4, 2013
Messages
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So I know there's a ton of talk of "gerber sucks" but I wanted to share my specific example...*edit* the reason I've created this post is to site a few specific examples of why this particular gerber product is crap, as a company I am pleased with them, but I read so many trash talking posts on gerber that simply state "gerber sucks" and that's it, no reasons why, no personal oppinions on the subject, just a simple statement. That's all this is about, specifics as to why I'm now agreeing-gerber sucks.

A few weeks ago I was going threw some stuff left by one of my very good friends who lived with us (named Calvin) for about a year till he was able to save up and move out to Colorado to be with his brother (his only remaining family member). This was a few years ago and I saved his things till now and he said go threw them and pick anything I wanted and toss the rest.

Well point of the story I found an old gerber "Torch-1" that was in horrible shape, pocket clip broke off, LOOSE lockup, so I contacted gerber and sent it back, I figured I'd suprise Calvin and get it replaced and send it to him. Well I won't be sending this knife to him.

The replacement came today (after only about a week and a half so atlease the CS was decent) but the knife is horrible, the blade isnt sharp and it clearly came off a rough grinder- it doesn't even cut paper and on top of that it has a flipper but the pivot is so tight it won't flip no matter how hard I flick it and the T10 pivot it either so tight, or locktite'd that I'm not able to loosen it. Now I understand this is a lower end gerber and they have higher up offerings, but I will never own one and I will never let a friend of mine carry one. Am I thankful for their good CS and pleased at the short turn-around, absolutely, but what good is good customer service if your products are horrible.

So that's just my short rant about gerber, I always read they suck, but no specific reasons why so now atlease there's one specific reason why. And incase your curious I have a spyderco dragonfly salt on the way I'll be sending Calvin once the flooding dies down in boulder. As for the gerber it'll be remanded to the bottom of the knife box forever, it'll make a good first knife for my son in a few more years, maybe even dull it up a little more to use as a trainer (which wouldnt take much, its close to that dull now).
 
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Who's Calvin?

Anyway, you sent Gerber a thrashed knife that "was in horrible shape, pocket clip broke off, LOOSE lockup", they sent you a new one in a week and a half, and you are mad that you didn't get one that met your standards?

If someone sent me a knife that they abused and destroyed and sent it back to me wanting a new one I would probably tell them to pound sand. Instead, maybe you should be happy they didn't just send it back to you with a note on ethics and responsibility.
 
Sharpening skills are a must for any knife aficionado. Loosening a pivot screw ain't rocket science. You pretty much got a freebie that will let you practice DIY maintenance. Suck it up.
 
zuluninja said:
Sharpening skills are a must for any knife aficionado. Loosening a pivot screw ain't rocket science. You pretty much got a freebie that will let you practice DIY maintenance. Suck it up.
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Quoted for truth... :thumbup: :D
 
Ok apparently you guys missed the point of my thread, I'm not upset about the poor quality of the knife, I'm not bitching cause I expected a good knife to come back, and if you missed it I actually said I was pleased with the CS they provided.

There's so much gerber hate posted here on this site but no specific examples of what's so bad, that's why I posted my experience to pin-point a specific issue of gerber's products. Not only that but this was a knife they specifically picked to ship as a replacement, so I would assume it was held to a higher level of QC over one I picked off the shelf randomly.

I was forthcoming with them in my original email, I stated that I found this old knife which wouldn't lock-up and had a missing clip and would they replace it, had they said no I wouldnt have been the least bit upset since it was obviously much more than normal wear-and-tear and for that I'm very pleased they they stood behind their product. The ONLY reason I posted this, and the only thing I hoped to accomplish was to show a few specific problems with gerber instead of just being yet another voice singing "gerber sucks". Within the past week I've read a handful of threads stating "gerber sucks" or something worse but no info to support those statements, well I have provided info to support my statement, that's all I set out to do.

As to the specific problems with this knife, the blade being very dull and the pivot being tight, yes I can sharpen it up no problem, its afterall a very soft steel, but the pivot is froze solid, I even tried a 1/4" drive torx socks on a ratchet and couldn't apply enough torque to break it loose, red locktite isn't this strong, it appears to be stripped out of the package.
 
OP, if you're "not upset about the poor quality of the knife, not bitching cause I expected a good knife to come back, and pleased with the CS they provided" then what is the point of your thread?
 
Thanks for the post. I appreciate it. I'm new to this forum and the knife world although I've always carried one. I've been wondering about the hate towards gerber myself. I've never had problems with them. Not saying they're perfect but most people don't point out what their issue is with them. They usually just say they're junk. However I don't think your post will stop me from purchasing another gerber. I can understand your frustration about the new knife but it also like you said points out their customer service. May try and contact them about the knew one you got a voice your concerns and see where that goes. The worse they could do is say no about fixing the new knife.
 
retzius said:
OP, if you're "not upset about the poor quality of the knife, not bitching cause I expected a good knife to come back, and pleased with the CS they provided" then what is the point of your thread?
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Again I've read numerous posts proclaiming "gerber sucks" and that's it, no explination why, no nothing, just "Gerber sucks". My point I'm tryin to make is that I'm actually taking the time to provide specific feedback as to why they arnt good. As far as this knife goes I didn't spend money on it and I didn't have an intended use for it therefore I'm not upset I got a POS, I didn't waist money or sit around looking forward to a new knife only to be disapointed, I'm simply trying to provide general info to our community here about actual problems I (the end user) encountered with a gerber knife. I'm sorry for attempting to provide an actual verifiable documentation with my written experiences. Many people here in many different threads have gave their [poor] opinion on the brand but just left it open ended, all I've done is to tell exactly why in my experience that I feel the way I do.
 
Thank you for taking the time to post your experience. I think most people will get lost in the back-story of your OP.
Truthfully I haven't ever seen a Gerber that I was interested in, but assuming I do at some point, I'll be sure to handle it first before buying.
 
austonh said:
Truthfully I haven't ever seen a Gerber that I was interested in, but assuming I do at some point, I'll be sure to handle it first before buying.
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Don't even waste your time getting to that point. Seriously.
 
Gerber sucks because your friend moved, left his cheap beat up knife, and you got a freebie in better shape. Got it.
 
I guess you're not looking hard enough then. If you want anecdotal evidence, there's plenty scattered around the board. Look for it. If you want some general reasons why they suck, here's a short list:

-Overpriced: They have a few decent offerings here and there at various price ranges but you can always get something of comparable quality for a much lower price. (Shard being the exception)
-The QC roulette/crapshoot: You basically have a 50% chance of getting a defective product when you buy from them.
-Bad QC in general: Some of their models like the Crucial are pretty much always defective and fall apart with normal use within weeks.
-"Combo"/half-serrated blades on everything: Some people like it; most knife afficionados don't.
-Materials: 420? 440A? 5Cr15MoV? On $60-$80 knives? No thanks. On a lot of their models, they don't even tell you what materials they use.
-Bear Grylls/The Walking Dead collaborations: http://www.gerbergear.com/Apocalypse/Gear/Apocalypse-Kit_30-000601 We all know who their real audience is.
-Frustration from older fans: "They don't make 'em like they used to."

If anything, your story just proves that they may be a decent company. They have been improving a bit lately with offerings like the Dime but we don't really have a reason to choose them over Kershaw et al. yet.
 
I used to own some Gerber stuff but there quality control has gone out the window into a dumpster or something. I still have an orginal 1980's era LMF, that has been used a lot but I have also taken good care of it. I don't use it very much any more but i keep it for a back up if I ever do need it for some reason. Its a good bushcraft knife, I don't like the looks of there new LMF and think it too small for a primary knife. I know they have a new version of the orginal or they did have anyway. I wouldnt buy any of there stuff any more and most of what I did have has been sold years ago except for he one LMF. I won't even buy there multi tools any more. My local Gander Mountain has a lot of Gerber stuff and not much more of any other knifes to choose from so they might be selling.
 
Cereal_killer said:
Again I've read numerous posts proclaiming "gerber sucks" and that's it, no explination why, no nothing, just "Gerber sucks". My point I'm tryin to make is that I'm actually taking the time to provide specific feedback as to why they arnt good. As far as this knife goes I didn't spend money on it and I didn't have an intended use for it therefore I'm not upset I got a POS, I didn't waist money or sit around looking forward to a new knife only to be disapointed, I'm simply trying to provide general info to our community here about actual problems I (the end user) encountered with a gerber knife. I'm sorry for attempting to provide an actual verifiable documentation with my written experiences. Many people here in many different threads have gave their [poor] opinion on the brand but just left it open ended, all I've done is to tell exactly why in my experience that I feel the way I do.
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Well, regardless of your intentions, I think all you did is verify that they have pretty good customer service.
 
Clearly, Gerber forgot to imbue the OP's "legendary blade" with Bear Gryllis logos as to make it resist all elements and wear.
 
Well, I did try one of the machete offerings by Bear Grylls. I must have snagged one of the 'good' ones. The thing cut quite well and took a decent edge after I was finished beating on the blade. While not quite as robust as I like, the tool did well in bushcrafting and camping. It did not cut as well as my reprofiled Ontario but sliced well enough for most challenges in wooded areas. I think I paid $35 for the knife or thereabouts. Sheath was not impressive but did the job of securing the sharp side of the tool. Keep in mind, I did not try cutting 1/4 inch steel like the boys over at Miller Brothers or smash my knife into cinder blocks in the alley of the Ohio outfit that put Wauseon on the map.

Back in the day, Gerber had some VERY good stuff on the market. These days, not so much, but closer to the average than most would presume.
 
Seems to me the OP wanted to have an open and educated discussion on the specifics of why some people say Gerber is junk. The OP believes these people typically make generalizations about the company or product without explanation of why they came to that conclusion. Then the Gerber fan boys came out and started giving the OP grief about even making such a thread.
 
fargo203 said:
Seems to me the OP wanted to have an open and educated discussion on the specifics of why some people say Gerber is junk. The OP believes these people typically make generalizations about the company or product without explanation of why they came to that conclusion. Then the Gerber fan boys came out and started giving the OP grief about even making such a thread.
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I would think an open and educated discussion would begin with an open and educated argument...

The only argument I got from the OP was:

my friend left town and left me his junk
in his junk i found a gerber knife he destroyed
i sent it to gerber
they sent me a new one
the new one is not perfect
therefore, gerber sucks because i sent them junk and they did not send me a treasure

seems legit :thumbup:
 
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