What's Wrong With Gerber?

In this day and age, I don't think anyone just goes out and buy any knife with out doing some kind of search on the internet.
Over unbalanced information can and would probably cloud the feedback.
The opinions of the vast majority of owners or users may not necessarily be heard...
Also, when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
As a yard stick, don't just rely on what others have said or written,
But instead stick with winning models from brands which do not practice rebranding ready made in house designed models from Oems.
 
I'm sure there's lots wrong with many Gerber products. And the Bear Grylls thing really chaps my @$$, too. Can't stand the guy (I'm sure he's a nice enough fellow personally, just don't like his professional image). But as much as my immediate circle of knife-owning friends, hunting and fishing partners, and outdoorsmen don't like most Gerber knives or Grylls, many of us carry a Gerber of some sort. Two of us, myself included, use the Harsey Air Ranger (mine's the number II, large with the thumb safety) as an EDC tool. My niece, an artist, uses the small Paraframe for tasks in her studio. My dad uses the large Paraframe for workshop and garden tasks. We don't pry, baton, or get into knife fights with them. We cut rope, open envelopes, trim stakes (and sometimes steaks!), open packages, and all the other stuff you do with a one-hand-opening liner-lock EDC blade. They hold an edge well and are easy to clean up. They are safe to use and relatively non-menacing in appearance. Gerber has lots of these sorts of knives at attractive prices in good materials. Sometimes the steels are unlabeled, often they are made in PRC or ROC (mine is Taiwan made). In my case, while I knew there were better steels out there and more durable knives and domestic products, many already in my own collection, I saw the exact product I wanted in the particular Gerber I chose. The blade profile, size, construction, and price were all what I was looking for. I have no complaints (though I wish the clip put the knife tip-up so I could draw it from my back pocket using a lanyard--whine!).

So, to put it in the shortest answer, then: There are some things wrong with Gerber as a company, many things wrong with some Gerber products, but I like my own Gerber EDC choice just fine. Pick the right one for you and you will, too. If they don't have one for you, that's why there are other companies out there.

Zieg

GHARII.jpg
 
TheDandyLion said:
4; Bear Grylls (sp?). Gerber has chosen one of the most bogus survivalists to be their poster boy. He's not much of a survivor, just a showman looking for an excuse to drink his own piss on camera, that says something for the brands integrity
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YES. That's my exact opinion on Bear Grylls! My family watches his show and always asks why I think he's a fraud. Few words: he doesn't put himself in real word situations. He just dives in on a parachute.
 
GuyWithTheThings said:
YES. That's my exact opinion on Bear Grylls! My family watches his show and always asks why I think he's a fraud. Few words: he doesn't put himself in real word situations. He just dives in on a parachute.
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Not to forget the full camera & sound crew than must dive in with him. lol.

I find Les Stroud's Survivorman much more realistic and informative of real life survival skills.
 
Some Gerbers, really just their US made autos, seem pretty decent (and should be for the price). By volume though, most of the China model they sell at places like Walmart and Bass Pro...well...I'd rather drink my own urine than buy one.
 
My wife recently bought me a 15th Anniversary Gerber Applegate Combat Folder and while the fit and finish was somewhat mediocre the S30V blade and grown man sized handle has made it one of my favorites knives.

It's about as close to an $800 Harsey-Vallotton Applegate folder as I'd be willing to carry and use on a regular basis and after it comes back with a freshly ground and sharpened false edge from Tom Veff it will be just as the late Rex Applegate envisioned before he passed away: A fully functional double edged folding knife suitable for H2H with a thumbrest for added utility.

For all of the China made crap Gerber has pumped out in recent years I consider this knife proof that they can still make something worth having when they put their minds to it.
 
For myself one of the things Ive noticed in my own research is they have a lot of partial serrated designs and I'm not a partial serrations fan. I would consider an lmf if it didn't have serrations on it. I'll agree with what others hAve said, the mystery steel erks me. Also the prices when they do tell you the steel seem high; $75 for 420 hc steel on the lmf? No thanks. I do have a special place in my heart for gerber though. When I was a kid in the earl 90s one of the first knives my dad got me was a gerber multitool and I still have it to this day. Also I live in Oregon and gerber was an oregon company which was cool.
 
Moral of they the whole Thread is if it says Portland Oregon on the blade your good to go.
 
Hokay.... Haven't read the whole thread. For all I know this has degenerated to name calling (nawww;)).

Anyways...sorry... my input.

Not a "steel snob", hardly a steel expert here. I use my meager knowledge gained here to get good metal for the money, budget stuff.

I gave my son a Kershaw Crown in 8cr13mov, he likes it and carries it everyday. Brings it to me for sharpening. I was giving him a "loaner" while I did so, a knife made for EKA. I think it was 12c27.

So's he brings it by once and doesn't need a loaner 'cause his brother in law gave him a knife, a Gerber paraframe. When I stop by to return his knife he tells me tht he's glad I have it back because it (and *my* loaner) are "better tools".

I've also had the same knife, I didn't like the edge holding.

So if a dilettante like me and a nonknifeknut like him can tell the difference between Gerber and your everyday budget stuff....
 
The Zieg said:
I'm sure there's lots wrong with many Gerber products. And the Bear Grylls thing really chaps my @$$, too. Can't stand the guy (I'm sure he's a nice enough fellow personally, just don't like his professional image). But as much as my immediate circle of knife-owning friends, hunting and fishing partners, and outdoorsmen don't like most Gerber knives or Grylls, many of us carry a Gerber of some sort. Two of us, myself included, use the Harsey Air Ranger (mine's the number II, large with the thumb safety) as an EDC tool. My niece, an artist, uses the small Paraframe for tasks in her studio. My dad uses the large Paraframe for workshop and garden tasks. We don't pry, baton, or get into knife fights with them. We cut rope, open envelopes, trim stakes (and sometimes steaks!), open packages, and all the other stuff you do with a one-hand-opening liner-lock EDC blade. They hold an edge well and are easy to clean up. They are safe to use and relatively non-menacing in appearance. Gerber has lots of these sorts of knives at attractive prices in good materials. Sometimes the steels are unlabeled, often they are made in PRC or ROC (mine is Taiwan made). In my case, while I knew there were better steels out there and more durable knives and domestic products, many already in my own collection, I saw the exact product I wanted in the particular Gerber I chose. The blade profile, size, construction, and price were all what I was looking for. I have no complaints (though I wish the clip put the knife tip-up so I could draw it from my back pocket using a lanyard--whine!).

So, to put it in the shortest answer, then: There are some things wrong with Gerber as a company, many things wrong with some Gerber products, but I like my own Gerber EDC choice just fine. Pick the right one for you and you will, too. If they don't have one for you, that's why there are other companies out there.

Zieg

GHARII.jpg
Click to expand...

This knife is a perfect example of one of my qualms with Gerber. It's great looking and I would consider buying this knife... except it's discontinued. The only fairborn harsey ranger they sell these days is a partially serrated version. I respect that Gerber has a lot of money and probably a huge marketing team so they've probably done a lot of studies showing that more than 50% of the population prefers partial serrations to plain edge. I just don't dig it and am wishing it was in plain.
 
I own a gerber and love it. It has served me well. It's even a bg line knife as well. Always take it camping, hunting etc. Its a good beginners knife to get started on. Another good blade is the lmf 2. Have heard alot of good things about that blade even in 420hc. Gerber must be doing something right if so many people like their knives. I think its just extreme knife junkies that don't like gerber because they have tastes for other blades for their speciific needs and that is understandable.
 
Didn't a dude from gerber leave and found kershaw? Kershaw catches flak too these days. You are what you eat I guess.
 
I like the Gerber multi tools, and I was pissed when somebody stole my Gerber MT. I also want to try out a Gerber/Fiskars axe, but when it comes to knives, I would much rather buy and carry a different brand.
 
I was issued a model 6 (American made) that I absolutely love and it has seen some tuff times. It's been rebuilt and put together many times due to sand and dirt messing up the action but I have used it as a shovel, a door stop, and several other things you shouldn't use a knife for (but you use what you have when you don't have what you need). It is almost completely shiny now but I like its character. It was the knife that made me love S30V. That being said I truly dislike most of the gerber products to include their multi tools. Some people rave about the LMF knives but I couldn't stand it or any of its line that followed. I believe it was said earlier if it's from Portland you should be fine.

By the way I feel the same way about foreign produced Kershaws. I'm not opposed to being foreign produced. I can and do respect quality and craftsmanship no matter where it comes from.

However 'Merica!
 
IMHO gerber is much like schrade, winchester and a million other USA based brands that stopped most of its production in the USA in favor of chinese manufacturing. The chinese thing isnt what bothered me but the quality control and materials quality drop. To me gerber has turned into the bear grylls corporation. And while I love the walking dead I lose major amounts of respect for any company that chooses to go full on zombie apocalypse with its products.
 
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T o me,with their current advertising, it almost seems like it should be called the bear gryll company than gerber. His name and products seem to supercede gerber from many of the knife catalogs ive seen.I also think that the problems they had machining their airframe model a dozen or so years ago led them to let the Chinese made most of their stuff.It seems like after that model came and went is when they went to china for the bulk of their manufacturing.They are out of their minds with their new limited edition knife with the 800.00 price tag.I do have their fiskars hatchet,its a great tool,and their multi tool, they do have a few good things left,you just got to dig real deep to find them unfortunately.........
 
sabre cat said:
As a novice, I am learning much by reading all the comments by you folks. One of the things that I have noted is that Gerber knives don't seem to be a highly regarded brand by many of the forum members. I know that the Gerber family sold the bussines a few years back. Has the quality droppped off ?

I like the old Balence Plus kitchen knives that I own. They strike me as a good line of budget kitchen knives. Has Gerber gone down hill or do I just have that much to learn?
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Knife Snobs don't think much of Gerbers.
 
It is funny how emotive some brands seem to be. I've always loved Gerber and have three BMFs, an original LMF, Mark I & II all from the 80s. More recently I have the LMF II and Guardian. All of these give me a good Gerber feeling.

I have seen a lot of very cheap looking Gerbers and these have not attracted me at all, so I just let them pass me by. Nothing to get upset about really.

Then there is the whole Bear 'Gerber' Grylls thing. I'm not going to get into a discussion about his antics, good or bad, but it is more to say that he alone could not have created the phenomenon that he is. This is down to the TV production companies and largely due to his popularity amongst the general public. However much you might dislike him, he has made a big splash, and if his programmes were not entertaining to a lot of people we would not have seen so much of it. Think of him as an action film star and stop worrying about what is real.

Despite Bear himself I bought the ultimate survival knife just to see what it was like. There was so much negative talk of it, I had to see for myself. What I found was an OK knife. Not 'Ultimate' but perfectly good for the price. I think we need to give people more credit. If you get cross because you think Gerber are ripping people off, then think again. Who would really think that they should trust their life to a $50 knife. It is what it is, and it is not a pry bar, digging tool or spear.

The result of me buying the Ultimate knife was that I them bought a second one (with plain edge) as I love the handle. I then bought two of the compact BG knives which again for the price were great users.

In the modern world, many companies have had to evolve to survive. Gerber has evolved, and been very successful. They now sell a lot of cheap knives. As always it is 'buyer beware', so take the view that like everything there is some good and some bad.
 
marcinek said:
So anyone here who doesn't think much of Gerber is a snob?
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Nope but there are people here who do not see value in knive that do not have big price tags. Gerber also has great customer after sales service, and stand behind their product.

Also just becase say a retailer like Wal-Mart sell Gerber, and other value point knives. It does not made value point knives bad.
 
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