What ever happened to Gerber??

H

hopethisisnttaken

Joined
Oct 4, 2000
Messages
59
I was just wondering how many members here have any Gerber knives. I had a few, a Mark I and II, one of their multitools, a linerlock, etc.. I was just wondering if they have fallen out of favor with some knife nuts seeing how when I think about it, the last time I bought one was about 5 years ago. Anyone else???
 
Funny you should mention Gerber.In an attempt to build my multi-tool collection I found out that Gerber has a large number and some very new models.I have their compact sport multi-tool and found the blade on it to be sharper than most.Last week while shopping at Lowes, I picked up the new AR 3.00 for $24.00 (knife sharpener inc.).It's not a bad piece,but then again,I'm more of a multi-tooler and not too good at rating knives.Yes,I see alot of Gerber and like what I see but you are right that the name is scarce here.

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"Just me and my multi-tools."
 
The only Gerber I own is the A.F. Covert folder. It's okay, IMO. Fun knife to snap open.

I really like the look of the newer Michael Walker folder. It IS what the Covert SHOULD have been.

Many people have pointed out that a few of their knives, like the Gerber EZ Out, are great economy knives.

I know their older models from decades ago are well respected. I suspect the reason their knives are not as highly sought after is due in part to their marketing and image. They seem rather mainstream selling their wares at Wal-Mart, and department stores. Therefore, many people probably don't take them as seriously as Spyderco, Benchmade, etc.
 
Well, Gerber is a local company here in the Portland, Oregon area. Now this area is sort of the Silicon Valley of knives. Gerber, Kershaw, Leatherman, CRKT, Al Mar, Benchmade, just to name the biggies. But Gerber was the first, the one that started it all. Today's Gerber, though, is a shadow of its former self. Gerber makes very few of their knives. Most are imported from contract manufacturers in Asia.

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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
I've had a few of their knives, including the LST (gave to a friend), and a Gator (lost
frown.gif
). I have a Gerber camp axe whose sheath is attached to my Astralplane Overkill-love the axe!
Pretty happy with all of the above.

Bought one (two actually-gave one to my grandfather) of the Military Provisional Tools to try when they came out. Unfortunately it turned out to be a piece of utter crap-broke the screwdriver and tore the pivot pin loose opening a can of paint! Nothing positive to say about the rest of the tool, either.

I like the looks of the SLG folders, but haven't handled them. They have some new multi-tools, just saw them yesterday, that look great, have locking blades, and are available in green and red. Don't know anything about the performance of these new models, though.
The Walker, SLG, and AR3 folders were reviewed in the Sept. 2000 issue of TK, and all got good reviews-which means nothing, since I've yet to see a bad review in TK.

The new line is imported from Taiwan, unlike the old line, which was from Japan.
 
the axes really are good. LST magnum is a classic. EZ out's suck in terms of lock strength. All their fixed blades are disappearing, like the mark 1, LMF, BMF probably because Walmart and Target don't sell those gerber items.
 
IMO, the overall quality of the Gerber product line declined considerably when ownership passed from the Gerber family to Fiskars.

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Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
All but one of my Gerbers are from the early 70's when they were made of "high speed tool steel"(appears to have been L6). The present run of the mill Gerbers seem to be made of recycled tin cans by comparison. I guess I have been spoiled by the vintage gerbers.
 
Hello all,
All my Gerbers date from the late 1970's to the mid 1980"s, I only have fixed blades.
In my opinion these knives are quite good, considering that they were not expensive to buy at the time.
I cannot speak for the Fiskars production.
Regards.
 
I have two of their new models. The Air Ranger and the Spectre. Air Ranger is O.K. The Spectre is a kick ass med./sm. size utility style knife.
 
I've owned quite a few Gerbers in the past. Especially the EZ-Out (all lost now). They were OK knives, the steel was a bit soft and required sharpening often, but were good low cost utility blades. I used my Gerber EZ-Out for everything and carried it for two years. Then sold it to a friend for about $10.

Lockup was far from good, but it did the job.

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Chang and the Rebels of the East
(Southern Taiwan Shall Rise Again!)
 
When I was a kid, I remember drooling over the Gerber display in a local sporting goods store (we're talking late 70s). Recently, though, I looked at their web site and there was nothing there I'd even consider purchasing - nothing. The custom-built multi tools are cool enough but I already have a Leatherman Wave and I can get a Leatherman Super Tool (which I'm looking for to keep in the truck) for less. The Air Frames look gorgeous, but $240? Pre-Fiskars Gerbers were synonymous with "quality." Now though, I'm not so sure. I wonder if they're going to throw in the towel and go after the budget consumer, or fight to regain their place at (or near) the top of production knives?
 
Have a look at the Gerber SLG 3.25 (5846) folder. 3 1/4 ATS34 blade, G10 handle assembled with Torx screws , very smooth, solid lock-up, sharp out of box, very deep carry clip (original design !), ....
Got mine for 55$ from Knife-Outlet (price/quality
biggrin.gif
).
=> very satisfied
smile.gif

Philip
 
I have Gerber multitools, LST's, a Bolt Action, a Smax.
Not to sexy but all very functional.
 
Most of my Gerber knives are from the days when Pete was in charge... The Multi-tools seem to be "crude" but functional - I have three - one of which gets used quite a bit ..no problems with It... I still regret trading my "Guardian, Muskie, and Mark II" sometime ago.. all things being equal - the L.S.T. I carry which is about three years old and not a Gerber Family vintage holds up extremely well and for the price -$10.00 at a gun show - it was well worth it.

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Don't wrestle with the hogs - they enjoy it and you get dirty !
Jonesy
 
I really *liked* Gerber, back in the late 60's. They're about the only production knifemaker I knew of using high speed tool steel (I've always heard M2, but there've been other threads in this forum claiming L2) coated with chromium to reduce care needs.

I've got several of their old "Armorhide" knives, plus one of their "custom" knives (which is very, very nice, with a Rockwell of 62, stag handle..., beautiful knife.) Cost me $50 which, for a teenager, was a lot of money.

I bought a few of the stainless knives they came out with in the 70's, but wasn't as happy with those. Haven't bought any since. As Bcaffrey said, they went way downhill since Fiskars bought them.
 
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