I have a lot of Gerbers. So let's review one every day!

[WiseDuck]

Sweet!

You really can't go wrong with it. Like I said, great blade for general use. It's great that it comes with a sharp spine too, so it can be used to make fine wood shavings and strike a firesteel.

[Grathr]

Sweet!

You really can't go wrong with it. Like I said, great blade for general use. It's great that it comes with a sharp spine too, so it can be used to make fine wood shavings and strike a firesteel.

Its not exactly a blade for fine carving.
Its good for getting things done quick and dirty though.

[WiseDuck]

I guess that's where the Strongarm comes in, which can be bought with a full fine edge. The Prodigy and Strongarm especially, both seem to be considered jack of all trades.

[WiseDuck]

Alrighty then, time for something a lot people find controversial: Bear Grylls stuff!

Starting with the Ultimate Pro survival knife. And honestly, out of all the fixed blades I have. It's probably my favorite. It's a very beefy knife that does a lot of things quite well. It's constructed with 9cr19mov stainless steel, comparable to 440C if I'm not mistaken. So basically, it's a fairly big step up from the usual 7cr17mov you'll find on Gerbers other Chinese offerings. The blade stock is thick, it is full tang and it's got a welded pommel. It also has a large finger choil for finer tasks and a ground notch for striking firesteels. The sheath is ambidextrous, it holds the included firesteel (which is supposedly quite good, but I haven't used mine, I see it as an emergency item and will not touch it until it is needed) and the back has a pull-through carbide sharpener in case you ding up the blade and need to bring it back up to usable sharpness again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-tCxpHvCcc

As you can see in the video, I've used my blade quite a lot. It's been with me out into the woods many times and I've also used it while camping, having a BBQ etc to make feather sticks, carve sticks for cooking hotdogs, batoning firewood etc. So far it has held up quite well. So in my opinion it's hard to find faults with this one. But if you're picky, then...

The BG branding is a bit much, so I've covered up the big orange BG letters on the handle.
The price is probably the biggest problem with it. A US made Strongarm or Prodigy costs less and come with arguably better sheaths and blade steel, perhaps not MUCH better, but still better. And they don't include the firesteel, whistle, pommel and sharpener. But those items can be purchased separately for very little money and you'll usually get a better product when you do that. (Not that the included items are bad) With that said, the firesteel does throw a lot of hot sparks (seen in reviews of the knife), the whistle is ear-piercingly loud, the pommel will stand up to heavy use and the sharpener is... Something I'd never use, because it's a carbide sharpener and I always bring a Fällkniven DC3 anyways.

Recommended?
If you're a big fan of BG. Or if you like the style of blade, the colour, or just want something that gives you a complete package without having to do a lot of research. The orange styling is quite useful out in the woods where a lost cutting tool can be quite troublesome.

[Grathr]

It looks like a capable tool.
Wich knife do you think is better? The Prodigy or the Ultimate Pro?

[WiseDuck]

It looks like a capable tool.
Wich knife do you think is better? The Prodigy or the Ultimate Pro?

I have a hard time deciding which I like better. Prodigy does have a nicer handle, better blade steel and so on. But the Ultimate Pro has a full fine edge, the pommel and the finger choil which does make finer tasks easier. I've made some pretty darn nice feather sticks with this thing. I'd probably point most people towards the Prodigy or Strongarm though, because they don't feature the BG branding, they cost less and they're manufactured in the US.

EDIT: One more thing, the toughness of the steels. 420HC appears to be able to take stress better, while the 9cr19mov is more brittle and can snap if you pry with the blade too much. Cedric Ada on Youtube tested this by hammering both blades about an inch into a tree, then he stood or did a pull-up with the blade. The Strongarm held up and did not bend, the Ultimate Pro snapped about an inch from the tip. This does not really mean too much to me, because you should never pry with your blades or do something like that. It's tool abuse really.

[Poncho65]

I have looked at the BG knife very hard a few times but other stuff usually gets in the way of me getting it (bills  ) I may pull the trigger on it one of these days and get one.  Great thread Wiseduck

[WiseDuck]

I have looked at the BG knife very hard a few times but other stuff usually gets in the way of me getting it (bills  ) I may pull the trigger on it one of these days and get one.  Great thread Wiseduck

Thank you!

Oh yeah it's quite a good one. If you find it at a good price then go for it. I'm tempted to get myself a kydex sheath for it in the future. Hrm, what to review next... I'm not sure what to write about right now.

[zoidberg]

Hrm, what to review next... I'm not sure what to write about right now.

Knives are good, keep going.      

[Grathr]

Hrm, what to review next... I'm not sure what to write about right now.

Knives are good, keep going.      

Yes. Plenty of Gerber knives I want to know more about

[Poncho65]

 Yeah what they said

[WiseDuck]

Not a review, but I thought I'd post this anyway. I recorded this video a while back for someone.

This is one knife I gave to a Finnish dude a couple of months ago. He simply said he was interested in one, so I donated it to him. Mint condition and everything. The Gerber Edict. A 154CM steel knife with a polymer handle and rubber overmold. Very comfortable and lightweight. Seems like another good choice for anyone who wants a lightweight tanto style knife with a good blade steel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksbpIjWz5_Q

I did use it for a little while and liked it. Altho I wanted something more robust, which is what I found in my Propel. Also, it's probably the knife that has given me the worst cut so far. Thankfully, my worst isn't really that bad. Could be much worse really.

[Grathr]

Not a review, but I thought I'd post this anyway. I recorded this video a while back for someone.

This is one knife I gave to a Finnish dude a couple of months ago. He simply said he was interested in one, so I donated it to him. Mint condition and everything. The Gerber Edict. A 154CM steel knife with a polymer handle and rubber overmold. Very comfortable and lightweight. Seems like another good choice for anyone who wants a lightweight tanto style knife with a good blade steel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksbpIjWz5_Q

I did use it for a little while and liked it. Altho I wanted something more robust, which is what I found in my Propel. Also, it's probably the knife that has given me the worst cut so far. Thankfully, my worst isn't really that bad. Could be much worse really.

(Image removed from quote.)

No stiches? :p

[WiseDuck]

Nuh, no stitches. Just a fairly deep cut, but it didn't leave a scar or anything. Actually, this wasn't the worst cut now that I think about it. I got my worst cut from a butter knife, I was cutting a piece of bread in my hand and slipped. The knife was really dull, but serrations still work when dull as we all know. No stitches that time, so I was lucky.

[WiseDuck]

Well, I'm kind of out of stuff to review. I've looked at all the knives, multitools and folders I have made by Gerber. Sure, there's some BG stuff left and then there's the Ultralight LST. But I don't have much to say about the BG stuff and I haven't actually used the Ultralight LST. (It was supposed to be a hiking blade, but then I re-discovered Victorinox and I'll take their 'Walker' model with me on the hikes this summer)

[Grathr]

You need more gerber stuff :p

I enjoyed reading your opinions on the ones you have

[WiseDuck]

Thanks!

I want more stuff, but I'm hosting a big party this Saturday which has already cost me a lot. So I can't buy new stuff until next month. I want an MP400, MP600 Bladeless, Shard, STL 2.5 and so on.

[Mr Biriyani]

Good reviews! Like that you have gathered them here in one thread. When you have the chance get the mp400 I think you´ll like it. Sometimes they get sold here on the forum at very reasonable prices.

[WiseDuck]

Good reviews! Like that you have gathered them here in one thread. When you have the chance get the mp400 I think you´ll like it. Sometimes they get sold here on the forum at very reasonable prices.

I might get myself one very soon. Although it does not appear to be that much smaller than the MP600. So there will be some tool overlap between the two. I'm also tempted to get a Counterpart or Razorfish. Gah, money!

[Grathr]

Good reviews! Like that you have gathered them here in one thread. When you have the chance get the mp400 I think you´ll like it. Sometimes they get sold here on the forum at very reasonable prices.

I might get myself one very soon. Although it does not appear to be that much smaller than the MP600. So there will be some tool overlap between the two. I'm also tempted to get a Counterpart or Razorfish. Gah, money!

I have been looking at the Razorfish a few times, but havent pulled the trigger on one. You need to try one...  

[WiseDuck]

Good reviews! Like that you have gathered them here in one thread. When you have the chance get the mp400 I think you´ll like it. Sometimes they get sold here on the forum at very reasonable prices.

I might get myself one very soon. Although it does not appear to be that much smaller than the MP600. So there will be some tool overlap between the two. I'm also tempted to get a Counterpart or Razorfish. Gah, money!

I have been looking at the Razorfish a few times, but havent pulled the trigger on one. You need to try one...  

Ugh, fiiiiine! 

[Grathr]

Good reviews! Like that you have gathered them here in one thread. When you have the chance get the mp400 I think you´ll like it. Sometimes they get sold here on the forum at very reasonable prices.

I might get myself one very soon. Although it does not appear to be that much smaller than the MP600. So there will be some tool overlap between the two. I'm also tempted to get a Counterpart or Razorfish. Gah, money!

I have been looking at the Razorfish a few times, but havent pulled the trigger on one. You need to try one...  

Ugh, fiiiiine! 

[zoidberg]

       

[WiseDuck]

Double-post, just gonna drop this here too since it does belong in this topic as well:

This arrived today, the Gerber Razorfish!

Say what you want about Gerber and their knives, they may not be high-end in any way... Except maybe their S30V offerings and their S35VN "Legend" hunting knife, but they sure have a lot of interesting designs unlike other companies with a lot of similar blade shapes and material choices. (Spyderco and Kershaw)

Add this one to the list of interesting designs. So I thought I'd share my first impressions of this one. First, the handle scales are made of aluminium, with the liner lock side having a stainless steel liner. It's quite comfortable in the hand, with rounded edges and whatnot. It's a fairly small knife, but it fits my small hands quite well. The blade material is 7cr17mov like all their other Chinese offerings, it's got a fairly funky design, with a flat grind on one side and a completely bare, almost chisel-like grind on the other side. The edge is still a V-grind, thankfully. It's got a wharncliffe blade shape, with a paracord cutting notch near the handle that also acts as a sharpening choil. The knife came very very sharp.

The lock-up is good, there is zero blade play in any direction and the detent seems fairly strong. You can not shake the blade out of the handle. It does need a slight flick of the wrist to flick open, but I expect to flick it open with ease once it's been broken in. It has no thumb-studs, just a flipper. Overall, it's well made and I'm quite pleased with! No QC issues here, other than maybe the blade being slightly off-center, which isn't a problem for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rvfWnSRPVQ

[Grathr]

That is a very strange blade grind. I did not know it was like that until I saw your pics.

[WiseDuck]

Gerber did show that in their product video and their website. But yeah, it's very unusual. Maybe it's a stylistic choice, maybe it's a way to keep production costs down. I don't really mind it.

[Grathr]

How does it perform?

[WiseDuck]

I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I was busy after work today and I'll be busy tomorrow as well. So I hope to get a good chance to use it this weekend. I've only been flipping it at home and now it flicks open without needing a wrist flick.

[sir_mike]

Nice reviews.  I just went thru this thread and caught up. 

I don't have many Gerber's, actually only one til today when I found what I think is a MP400 in one of my dresser drawers.  Let me know if you get one as I am curious to hear or should I say read reviews on it.  I don't see myself keeping it but if it review's good, I might hold onto it. 

I am not sure about the small combo blade myself but the MT seems to be made decent from what I can tell.

Thx.

[WiseDuck]

You should hold on to that one for sure. I sometimes wish I had one, my MP600 does weight a fair bit and it's not a pocket tool. I keep it in my sheath. But I feel like the MP400 would be small enough for pocket carry.

And on a random note, going back to the Razorfish... After flicking it all the goshdang time in front of my computer, it has loosened up noticeably and now flicks open fast with minimal effort. I've only used it once outdoors so far to whittle a stick that'll hold hotdogs and whatnot. I didn't use the stick though, I'd already eaten and I went to this place to check out a potential new campsite for me and my friends. I do like this knife, it seems like a really solid choice for anyone who needs a small, inexpensive flipper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UejKAinBMvw