why does everyone hate gerber.

Not only did my Gerber perform poorly, but it was a bad influence on my other knives. I left them in the drawer together and it talked the others into losing their edges and doing other bad knife things LOL.

Seriously though, I haven't bought a Gerber in a while. I like my Gerber Australian Bowie. I like the multi tool I got in apx 91-92. I liked my ez out that I got in 94-96ish. Haven't gotten any Gerbers since then and only plan on getting their older stuff. A MKI would be great and man I wish my mom would've let me keep the Frisco Shiv my dad tried to give me when I was eight :-(
 
i was using a gerber a few years ago as an edc and while opening a box the pivot screw fell out and the blade cut my hand pretty bad, never have anouther one since
 
I used to carry a E-Z-Out folder for a couple of years before the knife addiction strikes me very badly. Now I'm only EDC custom folders but a couple of years bach I couldn't resist buying my production Bowie grail, the coffin handle Bowie. As I was already equipped with Busses knives, custom choppers etc, I've never put this one into use and he's still in MINT condition, Sad to say but I'm trying to sell it now.
No needs to say there is a BIG difference beween the current production and the former one.

 
I pretty much agree with what has been said about quality slipping after Fiskars bought them out. But for the lower to middle knife buyer price wise, they aren't so bad. But there are lots of choices. I used a Gator folder as my deer knife and a field folder for a number of years and it always did what I needed it to do. Most of their knives are made in China now and that is a general turn off for now. BUT, I just bought a Frost Cutlery folder on a whim to see what I think about their china knives now... I am somewhat impressed with the Sunfish I purchased. I need to use it a bit before I say much more, but the fit and finish is very good. In my opinion, the China made knives are improving by leaps and bounds as compared to 5 years of so ago. Much of the CRKT line is china made. I think you need to handle the specific blade you are interested in and hopefully handle several of the same model before buying.
 
bryant R said:
why does everyone hate gerber so much i dont get it i have had nothing but good experiences with them. at their price point they probably arent the best but as long as you mantain them and dont expect too much of them . at there price point they arent going to have super steel they arent going to be as good as say a spyderco or a benchmade but they will work.
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Not being able to "expect too much" is never a good description of any tool. Further, for around $30, the Spyderco Tenacious cuts circles around any Gerber folder I've handled. As such, I don't think the price of their product is a very good argument in their favor.
That being said, Gerber appeals to a slightly different market than Spyderco and Benchmade. Their target customers are average knife users who, like you say, don't expect much of their knife. Whereas the majority of us here have much higher standards when it comes to our knives. We each have our own favorite blade steels, handle materials, blade shape, locking mechanism, pocket clip style and orientation, grinds, thumbs studs/thumb holes, pivot, bushings, washers, standoffs, back spacers etc. whereas the average Gerber knife fan probably doesn't even realize the difference or is even aware of all the aforementioned things.
 
I'm a fan of Gerber knives. I don't have any complaints with Gerber. Most of my knives are Gerber's. I have the Bear Grylls ultimate survival knife, I've never sharpened it and it's still as sharp as when I got it.
 
gerber14 said:
I'm a fan of Gerber knives. I don't have any complaints with Gerber. Most of my knives are Gerber's. I have the Bear Grylls ultimate survival knife, I've never sharpened it and it's still as sharp as when I got it.
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Did you use it?
 
gerber14 said:
I'm a fan of Gerber knives. I don't have any complaints with Gerber. Most of my knives are Gerber's. I have the Bear Grylls ultimate survival knife, I've never sharpened it and it's still as sharp as when I got it.
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Really I better run and get one :rolleyes:
 
Sad thing is, many "non-knife" people (I'm thinking shooters and outdoorsmen here) I have met still swear by Gerber and recommend it to others. That means they won't have any incentive to make better knives, and people are getting poor knives because they don't know any better. :grumpy:
 
I have been around for a while and still own some old 70's and very early 80's Gerbers. I think that cost considerations were getting to them before the Fiskars sale. They stopped using forged L6 blades on the Mark series in the early to mid 70's and dropped L6 altogether around 1980. With that said, although old customers might have considered some of those knives to be inferior to the old ones, their designs were still better than pretty much anything you could get in the price range. You had to step up to something like Al Mar ( a Gerber alumni) and some of his significantly more expensive early knives to see an improvement. For a long time, when you grew out of Gerbers, the next step was something like Randall or Ruana. IMO opinion, companies like SOG came to occupy the market position in the early 90's that Gerbers held in the 70's.
 
Back in the late 70's I saved money from my HS summer job to buy my first good hunting knife. I dropped $40 on a Gerber magnum folding hunter. It felt like a fortune back then, but I thought that knife was the most precious object I'd ever held. All my friends were in awe of it. I dressed my first deer with it, and it remains one of my most nostalgic possessions, second only to the Case folder carried by two previous generations of my family.

Why do I hate Gerber? Because the things they make today are but a pale shadow of the finely crafted tools that once carried the Gerber name. It's the same sort of feeling I get when I see a new Lawn Boy mower with a Tecumseh engine instead of the magnificent two stroke motors they use to make.
 
I havent owned a Gerber in more than 20 years,,,It was a large drop point fixed blade (contoured handle and a good solid knife,,cant tell you what model???)....I picked this Frisco shiv up tother day at a garage sale,and its a nice knife too(for what it is)..............FES

friscoshiv002.jpg


friscoshiv003.jpg
 
One of my old Gerbers is the smaller drop point brass and rosewood folder cousin to your magnum that I picked up at Oshmans in Miami when they first opened in the early 80's. Still a nice little knife.
elkins45 said:
Back in the late 70's I saved money from my HS summer job to buy my first good hunting knife. I dropped $40 on a Gerber magnum folding hunter. It felt like a fortune back then, but I thought that knife was the most precious object I'd ever held. All my friends were in awe of it. I dressed my first deer with it, and it remains one of my most nostalgic possessions, second only to the Case folder carried by two previous generations of my family.

Why do I hate Gerber? Because the things they make today are but a pale shadow of the finely crafted tools that once carried the Gerber name. It's the same sort of feeling I get when I see a new Lawn Boy mower with a Tecumseh engine instead of the magnificent two stroke motors they use to make.
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I never had a problem with gerbers.
I own or owned
1 small paraframe. lost it but liked it
2 large gators. Like them so much I bought a second
1 profile folder with gut hook (works great at my job)
2 FAST draws one half serrated one not. great knives for the price.
1 presto sold to guy at work when i picked up the 2nd FAST
1 warrant fixed tanto. was gifted this one and it is the only one I wouldn't have bought myself as I see no good coming from both a tanto and half serrations.... having two functions of situational usefulness takes up alot of blade space...but still not a quality issue just a nit picky design one.

So yeah I like gerbers, and would not hesitate to purchase a design I liked. The whole China vs. wherever vs. USA made argument means nothing to me, I'm Canadian so its not a matter of patriotism.

Also being Canadian (for me) means that there is not a lot of variety to be had make wise. Knife stores seem few and far between, even in the other larger cities I have been too (born and raised in Ottawa). I have seen in person (not necessarily even handled) only a handful of other knives/makes. It is only within the last few years that I have been drooling over alot more "quality" stuff online. It is only recently being on the welcome mat to KnifeKnutdom that I "research" a blade before purchase. Before that I bought what I saw and "needed" at the time.

But "odd why dont you buy a
Spyderco" you say? haven't seen more then three in person and not really a fan of the hole (so that wipes most of their line)...but the one I handled was a pretty small one. maby soon to see what all the fuss is about.
Kershaw" you say? not really a fan of their somewhat strangely angular styles but some are growing on me...
*insert name here*" you say? odds are I have never held/seen or maby even heard of it(GASP!) so can't comment on it...

But I would still not hesitate to buy a Gerber.

/end rant (had more then I thought to say lol:)
 
The problem I have with Gerber is the same problem I have with many companies which have contracted overseas/reduced quality.

When it comes to getting a decent steel in a knife the steel is just one factor. The heat treat is just as important. Since this is proprietary the only thing we can do is go with a company which has a good reputation for their blades. On this forum, we keep up with all that. Most folks just a bit more knowledgable than the "unwashed masses" do so on a much lesser level.

Many people go for a decent knife by going for a company with a good name. When these companies suddenly start selling crap it's not like they are notifying the world. As a matter of fact they are going to try to coast on that good name as long as possible. That's why Taylor bought the Schrade name, for the reputation.

Gerber actually got me. I was looking for a good one hand opener with a padded, grippy frame for work and bought a Gerber at a show. Don't even remember the model but as I used it and sharpened it I remember that I wasn't that impressed with the steel. Looked on the box and in tiny print it said "made in China". People at work still look at it and say, "Oh, Gerber, that's a good knife.". They're still coasting on that rep.

Don't get me wrong, it IS a "good" knife. It's a perfectly fine knife on the low end. I'd rank it with a Rough Rider. Still, I knew what I was getting heading in with a Rough Rider.
 
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I don't like them, but they make great "dirty-who-cares-abuse" kinda knives. In a situation, where, say, I wouldn't want to use my Benchmades, I grab a Gerber.
They sure as hell don't stay sharp, but they are strong. I've batoned my Paraframe through 2X4's and not much play came out.
 
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