What's Wrong With Gerber?

average gimp said:
IIRC the LSTs are still made here. But the overall low quality, mystery steels, poor fit and finish, association with urine drinker Bear Grylls (he had to have been in the special needs division of the SAS), and--for me--the fetish about making damn near every one of their knives serrated kills them. There are Moras, Hultafors, Bucks, Byrds, and Kershaws that are vastly better and cost less. From what I've heard the Sanrenmus and Ganzos are also vastly better and cheaper, but I can't say that from my own experience. IMO, CRKT is right down there with Gerber.
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I've had a couple Gerbers. Yes, even the Sanrenmus and Ganzo knives have been far superior. I recommend them to anyone looking for a cheap, but decent beater knife. Gerber...not so much.
 
Gerber is but a shadow of its former self. I have a few old Gerber made knives and love them. Buck managed to keep most of their old models. Too bad Gerber couldn't. The big knife displays in the gun shops and sporting stores in the 60's & 70's were Buck, Puma, and Gerber. Was it because of new owners they went down hill ?
 
Gerber is still capable of producing quality knives, both at home and abroad, when that is their goal. When on a tactical fixed blade kick, I bought three of their US-made knives - Prodigy, LMF II and Yari II - and all three were flawless. I've since bought a couple more of them, and have no reason not to continue doing so. Unfortunately, their Chinese knives seem to be built with no regard to quality. I mean, they're capable of manufacturing good knives overseas, as proven by some good models I've bought like the Kiowa, but by and large, they're just flimsy, throwaway knives built from the cheapest materials and not to be trusted in terms of reliability, durability and even safety.
 
Before Benchmade, Leatherman, or even Kershaw taking up residence here, there was Gerber. The brand used to have cachet.

Then Fiskars bought it and took the brand to the hell of mystery steel, offshoring, and crappy design. Even the current Portland production that might interest me I won't pull the trigger on because I have no trust in the brand being the same one that I grew up wanting to have knives from.
 
I cannot add anything to the comments already posted other than simply stating (for me) Gerber represents potential squandered. Just sad. Very damn sad.
 
The marketing seems to be working for the low budget crowd. We don't get a ton of walk in traffic but in the past two weeks I've had a half dozen people ask if we have the Bear Grylls Gerber survival knife. Most of the guys are reading reviews somewhere online about how great it is. Most of the time there is no talking them out of it, they really want that knife. If someone is dead set on a Gerber, I'll sell it to them. If they are asking a question they'll get an honest opinion and usually end up buying something else.
 
kjd2121 said:
I know their Baby Food has gone downhill as well.
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Not true, I stole some of my niece's peaches, they were delectable

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kjd2121 said:
I know their Baby Food has gone downhill as well.
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Hahaha classic.

I agree that there are just better options for the money.

Nothing wrong with gerber, in fact they are making a comeback with more USA made knives

Strongarm
Ghoststrike
Gator series in S30v
Series 39
Ez-out
Edict
Etc

2016 could be an exciting year with all the feedback there gettin' to make more non serrated USA made knives.

One problem is there can be a huge difference in quality with products at almost the same price by Gerber which can be difficult for the casual consumer to sort through.

USA made is a must when buying a Gerber knife.
 
DeadboxHero said:
2016 could be an exciting year with all the feedback there gettin' to make more non serrated USA made knives.

One problem is there can be a huge difference in quality with products at almost the same price by Gerber which can be difficult for the casual consumer to sort through.

USA made is a must when buying a Gerber knife.
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I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if they went to 440a, 420hc, or a 8cr series Chinese steel, transparently LISTED on their lower end models...
 
I'll only buy Gerber USA made knives, there Chinese made stuff is hit or miss..I've had a couple Chinese made Gerbers and all but one has broke with minimal use. There USA line up however is usually pretty good quality, do they use the best steel? No, but you can't expect a $45 budget knife to made of s30v, 3v, or any of the other high end EXPENSIVE steels. For the price thou your actually getting a decent knife.

Take the strongarm for example, $50 knife made of 440hc. That knife can take some major abuse, and still holds it edge. It takes a wicked sharp edge and is dependable. What more do you want for a budget fixed blade.
 
The quality is so poor that Karachi's street vendors hired lawyers to start a class action suit against Gerber.


LOL!
 
Gerber used to be something special. You knew that when you purchased a Gerber, you were getting a budget knife that was well made and reasonably priced. Plus, it was AMERICAN made. You could depend on the knife to hold up well and that Gerber would stand behind their products. I as of yet, have never seen a budget kitchen knife that I like as much as their old Balance Plus series. Gerber (and Buck) defined budget dependability.

There was a tradition of respect for the brand. Gerber's marketing decisions have destroyed that tradition. Overseas production and use of mystery steels have both taken their toll. Now, I look at a Gerber and feel that I can not count on it to be dependable. There are a few minor exceptions, of course.

Just think, if Gerber had offered their overseas products under a different brand name (like the Byrd line from Spyderco) we might feel completely different about the brand. If they made the change now, I wonder how long it would take for them to re-earn that respect?
 
Goosey said:
Beside the legitimate low quality gripes a lot of people don't like how Gerber used to make great quality, American made production knives and then Fiskars bought them, dropped the quality, moved most of their production to China and basically smeared the brand name.
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That about sums it up for me too.

I had a Folding Sportsman in HS(late 70's), and it was one heck of a knife, and had a Gator years later. Wish I had of kept the Sportsman.
I did keep an older US made mutitool, and it rocks. A friend keeps trying to buy it from me, but I'm not selling it. He bought one of the newer one's after the swap over, and it is junk. You can shake the handle and hear the blades rattle.
 
Gerber StrongArm.
Received today, I easily give it a 10 out of 10 for the knife itself.
While this certainly will not replace my 'Survive! Knives' GSO 4.1 (M-390).... this is an excellent high value knife for the price.
I read about this at the beginning of 2015, I am not and have never been a Gerber Fan(boy), but after reading all the reviews, viewing every video on YouTube... especially the several "Gauntlet Reviews", I bought one on Amazon for $39.15 total.
Read all the online reviews (incl. Amazon, other knife forums etc.) and view the Y.T. 'Gauntlet' videos for all the exact specs.

I regard any review/s by anyone that not only has "never actually owned one" or "never actually had one in hand" to be a non review.

Great value for a very purposeful hard use knife.
The knife steel is no issue for me.
The handle design: ergos/tacky feel are all great.
Insanely sharp on arrival, will probably have someone convex it for me.
Interesting multi functional (3 or more) sheath design, though many find the snaps can pose some issues.
(There are after market sheaths out there: Kydex or Carbon Fiber)
Light weight: 7.2 oz (204 g) - Overall Weight: 10.9 oz (309 g)
For a knife that is "Made In The U.S.A." it's excellent for what you get at this price point.
It can pry, dig, slice, slash, stab, the spine throws sparks effortlessly.
A lot of fun to use.

Really a steal (no pun intended).

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I bought a gerber dime a couple of days ago to replace my leatherman micra that was stolen from me by my own girlfriend. First thing I noticed was how much lower quality the gerber was compared to the leatherman. Fit and finish was much lower for a $10 price difference. The gerber isn't horrible, but it will be replaced with another micra.
 
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