After looking at this Gerber, I have quite a bit to say about it based upon my impressions.
1. Weird construction. This is one funky and odd tool. The handles are identical to each other except for one handle has First Production Run acid etched into it. Other than that, they both are identical to the point where the tool is built lopsided. All other Gerbers have one handle go inside of the other handle at the main joint (top/inside- inside/top). Not this one. Being that they are both identical, the joint is top/under - top/under. Funkier yet, the handles are not constructed evenly, with one side being thicker than the other. Seeing that the handles are identical mirror images, it makes the tool a bit lopsided. Very strange.
2. The folding tools are messed up. There are only two fingernail grooves on the whole tool, one on each blade. Stranger still, on the handle, there is a cut out that is normally used to get better access to the folding tools. Not so on this oddity. Only one side has this cut out per handle. Seeing that the handles are the same, you end up with one cut out per top and bottom. Now, I would have thought that the folding tools would use this...from what I can see on this tool, a very useless feature. To mess things up even more, the grooves don't even match the cut out locations. Thus, you are hunting for the grooves.
Add to this the weirdness that there is no other way of taking out the other tools. Yes, there are no fingernail grooves, nooks and crannies other then on the two main blades. Thus you have to pull one of the main blades out and pray that they somehow clump. It is a true hit and miss affair. Who designed this tool?
The scissors are weird also. Very thick metal that don't seem to cut very well. I guess I could use it as a pair of gardening sheers.
3. The weirdness just continues. The lanyard loop is so thick, that you could theoretically pull a 4x4 with it with no fear of failure. I do like how it snaps into place opened, and how it has a flat area that meets with the handles in the close position. I don't know the reasoning behind this design function, seeing that the handles don't flex past that point with the lanyard opened and read to use, meaning that the back can't be used as a handle stop. Just another oddity I guess.
4. Because the handles are identical, you get 2 3" rulers, one per handle on opposite sides. How neat is that!
5. Yes, Def is very correct. The handles are major palm pinchers. You can see how they tried to fix this in the Carolina tool that was probably made by Gerber at a later date.
6. This thing is built like a tank. Super thick metal. No sharp edges. Very nice heavy weight. There is just something about old tools that give you that quality feel to them, even though the design is way out of whack. I can't stress how the smooth surface with no sharp ceases truly makes this feel better then the newer parts that seem to be stamped out of sheet metal. The finish on these older MTs is superb.
Overall, this is one weird MT. The more I look at it, the more it looks discombobulated. Features added with little regard on functionality and even, dare I say it, rational thinking. This guy is a first production run, and it feels it.
This one is quirky enough that I like it for its differences. Not something I would ever EDC though. Historical Shelf Queen...yes.
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