Where has the Gerber Love Gone....

started buying gerbers inlate 70's. had all the folding sportsman ;3 sizes ; nam'period;big fighter,@ dagger. was liveing in portland when pete gerber introduced f.s. 2 in vascowear.a first in american fac.production.tested it on cutting cardboard @called pete to praise that knife.most all were 440c,2 or 3 in m2 that had chrome plating.great knives till about 1990. agree with other guy;their time has truly passed. i believe they had 2 models in l6 steel also.last my buddie got a f.s. 2,mint in box;i had to have it for old memories.flyer in box said;1974 prod. $ 24.50 .good old days.
 
the gerber hinderer is really nice and well made, really pleased with this knife :)

GERBER%20HINDERER%20TACTICAL.JPG
 
I look them over well in the store, they still make some good models but they make some real junk too. My advice is to buy them where you can check them out before you buy.
 
Yep. I'm another of the old geezers that remembers when Gerber Legendary Blades meant pretty much what Spyderco means now. Knives designed by a custom maker and built to his exacting standards from the best materials available. Now Gerber is just another name slapped on whatever the parent company wants to push. Sometimes it is something good, more often it isn't, and it isn't worth my time to seperate the two.
 
The ONLY Gerber knife I currently own is my trusty Gerber 06. For the price, it is a hell of a nice knife.
 
The only Gerber I own is a Portland-made LST. It's been a very solid little knife, holds a nice edge pretty darn well for 420HC, and is easy to sharpen. The lockup is rock solid, and I've carried and used it every day for a year and a half.
 
Bought a Mark II at Ft Bragg px in 79 and it lived on my web gear for 7 years. Went through a lot and I still have it. When I went back to Bragg in 87 I bought a Bolt Action exchange with the 2 blades and saw blade. It also served me well. Also have a MK I and a early Guardian complete with factory shoulder rig and had a silver Knight(lost in a cab in Berlin Germany) and the early Multiplier tool. All of these were very good. Havent bought a Gerber since the Multiplier. The new ones don't impress me.
Ron
 
I too got my start with Gerbers back in the 70s - in fact, I think a Gator might have been the first knife I ever bought. I've owned many Gerbers since then (and actually still have some of them).

The Chinese-made stuff today is crap. The handful of knives that are still made in America are just as good as they ever were. It's a shame that so much of their product line is imported garbage that everyone thinks only of that when they see the name "Gerber."

My primary EDC knife is an American-made S30V Freeman folder, and it's the sweetest knife you'll ever find out there for $100. Too bad they don't make more knives like that.
 
Gerber knives in the seventies and eighties were some of the best knives being made at that time. The late Al Mar and Doug kershaw both were knife designers for Gerber at one time. I have a fixed blade Armor hide series drop point knife with a high chrome blade finish that is as good as any factory knife I have used. I have kept it sharp on my Sharpmaker by Spyderco. I also have a FS11 folding knife with a drop point with that same high chrome finish and brass frame and a boot knife designed by Bob Loveless for gerber. These knives are from the late seventies early eighties and were some of the best knives being made at that time.
The gerber knives today are cheap inexpensive knives and most of them I do not care for them. The few American made knives may be well made but I have not seen them. Sadly, this is what is happening to many American companies that are sold and the product is made off shore. But the gerber knives of old were outstanding knives.

RKH
 
What I was a little surprised about was the Evo Tanto.
It's such a blatant copy of the crkt M16 that I picked one up in Walmart and only noticed it was the Gerber upon close inspection.
I still bought it, as I had gone in specifically to buy an M16 and they only had the Gerber, but I felt pretty guilty about it.

Thing is, crkt invested money in research and development for this knife, and now Gerber have piggybacked on it.
My apologies to Gerber if they bought some kind of licence for the design, but I don't believe this to be the case.
Someone please jump in if they know different.

You expect this kind of behavior from chinese knockoff manufacturers, but not from well known brands like Gerber.
 
A Gerber Magnum Folding Hunter that I saved up my work money for was my first real quality knife purchase back in 1980 or so. I still have that knife and I still love it, so there's a place in my heart for Gerber. Sadly, the company calling itself Gerber is but a shell of the once-great US knifemaker.

Now they are (for the most part) just another importer of cheap junk.
 
Americans love good quality and reasonable prices. Gerber once stood for that. Then someone got the bright idea to ride on their name and save on components. After all, the stupid masses can't tell a coated 440A blade from a 440C; however, when they then decided to drop down to 420 and "400-series" stainless, they entered "junk" waters. I bought a Paraframe a couple of years ago that wouldn't pierce and cut bubble plastic. The knife was light and the blade was about as sharp as a butter knife.

Right now, I'd rather have a Smith & Wesson than any Gerber because I've found S&Ws that sharpen up well and keep their edges. They lack the bells and whistles, but they worked better than Gerbers. Take any Gerber and, for the same money, you can find much better knives. Some aren't bad, but they ain't what they used to be.
 
Murphyslaw said:
...or was there any to begin with?

After reading a few threads, it appears to me that Gerbers may not be as good as I thought.

By way of background, back in the early 80's the local hunting/knive gurus in my area extolled the many virtues of Gerbers over Bucks. Based on such advice, I ran mostly Gerbers back then. IIRC, there wasn't the selection that there is now. I ended up with a bunch of Gerbers, including various folding hunters, LST's, Bolt-Actions and high-speed tool steel fixed blades. They all served me well. As time went by, more knives became both affordable and readily available. In the mid-80's I started running Gerber tactical knives, as there wasn't alot out there at the time... SOG, Cold Steel Al Mar and Pacific Cutlery are the ones that come to mind.

I also started buying Pacific Cutlery, Cold Steel, Benchmades, EKs and Spyderco's, and bought less and less Gerbers.

All of my Gerbers have served me well. The only issue we ever had with any Gerber was when a blade coming free from its handle with one of their tactical knives (don't remember the model designation) during 2-man live blade drills. A bit disconcerting.

Since then the only post-Fiscar Gerbers that I can remember buying are LST's and Brush Choppers, and a Freeman Caper to check its ergos. I do believe that my older LST's keep an edge better than the new ones.

So what have I missed? Your comments are appreciated.

BTW, this is a great site. Only downside is that I see that its going to cost me a bunch of money:)

Thanks,

Chris
Click to expand...

Gerber was good once, but it is pretty much just a name and a logo, all pretense of producing great knives is gone. Sure, they may be a couple good blades in their lineup, but overall, it's a lot of 440A.
 
Gerber was THE company that got me into knives that weren't my dads hand me down Shrades.:D

My EZ Out back in the 80s was a great knife. Still does duty as a glove box knife in my truck.

I also used the Multi-Tool for many years when I did elecrtical construction work. That one handed flick and the pliers were THERE...was perfect for me.

I havent owned a Gerber since. The downward turn in quality was obvious to me. And with Kershaw and Benchmade and Spyderco and even SOG all moving forward in the 90s...Gerber got left behind.

I still check out there stuff from time to time..but nothing inspires me.
 
Here's the only Gerber I got...the handsome little Trendy. And it is little. Great blade though! The only time I carry it is as a money clip when I don't wanna take my whole wallet. It is perfect for that.


trendyal0.jpg
 
Murphyslaw said:
...or was there any to begin with?

After reading a few threads, it appears to me that Gerbers may not be as good as I thought.

By way of background, back in the early 80's the local hunting/knive gurus in my area extolled the many virtues of Gerbers over Bucks. Based on such advice, I ran mostly Gerbers back then. IIRC, there wasn't the selection that there is now. I ended up with a bunch of Gerbers, including various folding hunters, LST's, Bolt-Actions and high-speed tool steel fixed blades. They all served me well. As time went by, more knives became both affordable and readily available. In the mid-80's I started running Gerber tactical knives, as there wasn't alot out there at the time... SOG, Cold Steel Al Mar and Pacific Cutlery are the ones that come to mind.

I also started buying Pacific Cutlery, Cold Steel, Benchmades, EKs and Spyderco's, and bought less and less Gerbers.

All of my Gerbers have served me well. The only issue we ever had with any Gerber was when a blade coming free from its handle with one of their tactical knives (don't remember the model designation) during 2-man live blade drills. A bit disconcerting.

Since then the only post-Fiscar Gerbers that I can remember buying are LST's and Brush Choppers, and a Freeman Caper to check its ergos. I do believe that my older LST's keep an edge better than the new ones.

So what have I missed? Your comments are appreciated.

BTW, this is a great site. Only downside is that I see that its going to cost me a bunch of money:)

Thanks,

Chris
Click to expand...


I think the loved moved to Lone Wolf knives personally. Perhaps it moved out when Fiskars moved in though. At least that was the case for me.

STR
 
Gerber was what got me into better knives - and a the time they wer innovative with the bolt etc. I still cheifsh my American made Bolt designs. I also find the LST micro's excellent for pockets in slacks and suits however they are beater quaity now. Unfortunatly the new VG10 lady birds have eclisped them now.

Still good designs but poor quality materials - If I could get a lst micro in one of the newere steels I'd be in it like a shot!

They have done what is called de engineering and harvested the good will of the brand. Raise price, de engineer the product to cut costs and shift to mass market. What I call the Country Road strategy here in Oz.

It is what Cross is doing with its pens now that it is owned in Malaysia. I did not realise they had shifted production from France to China - which became apparent in the quality in th last purchase and then the more than 6 month repair time!!
 
My only experience with Gerber up to a few weeks ago was with 2 of their lower end multi tools, and I will say that I was less than impressed. I also read many posts on BF that were not favorable.

That being said - I saw the Gerber 154CM Applegate Fairbairn Covert in a store, and ended up ordering one off the web.

I was surprised - I like the knife. I actually carry it IWB along with one of my more general use folders. I was able to sharpen the "dull" side - which was a treat using a stone. The lockup is tight, there is no blade play, and the fit and finish, although subpar to BM and Sypderco, is better than I thought it would be.

The only bad thing I have to say about it so far is the partial serrations on the one side of the blade (standard) and the use of nylon washers.

I have to put it thru its paces still, but i think it will be a keeper.
 
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