In over 50 years of knife buying an using, two knives go far ahead of all others to claim the title of the worst knives I have ever purchased. The winner of the biggest piece of junk was the mid sized Paraframe I bought. The screws worked their way out of the assembly from normal carrying and about once a week I had to tighten them up. The blade detent was so weak the knife would fall open. The obtuse sabre grind was difficult to get a good edge on, but once you had it, waving it around in still air would dull it. Finally, a couple of the screws fell out in my pocket, and I retired it to the drawer.
I found out Gerber had a lifetime warranty on the knife, and I contacted them. To get them to honor the warranty, I had to send the knife to them by a carrier that required proof of delivery by signature (so we both would know they received it), then insure the knife itself for its value. The postage and insurance got me literally within a couple of dollars for what I paid for the knife.
I tossed it in the trash.
Next was a few years later when I heard that Gerber quality was "on the rise". The Gerber AR3.5 was a nice sized knife, carried the way I liked it, and felt pretty good in the hand. It wasn't an expensive knife, so I figured, "why not?" and bought it.
The blade wouldn't hold an edge at all. I would get it screaming sharp, then the slightest use would dull it. Worse, the liner lock bar was so thin that when I was using the knife, the bar BOWED, and then locked on the wrong side of the pivot between the blade and the liner. I was afraid someone would get hurt with that one, so I trashed it as well.
I have probably purchased and been gifted about 250 knives over the years, and never, ever have I seen such poor examples of knife making.
Robert
