Gerber Safety Recall

[supratentorial]

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07295.html

I think a few forum members may have these knives.  Be careful! 

"During use, the back of the blade of the knife can slide past the blade support, posing a laceration hazard to consumers."

[I'm Still Bison]

Thanks for the posting.I'm going to make this a sticky for a while.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I was just looking at those recently... interesting that they are being recalled.  I'll have to see if they are still on the shelf at Canadian Tire.

That's a bad place to get cut too- fingers are a hotbed of important muscles and tendons- a good cut anywhere along the finger can cause permanent damage.

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I was just looking at those recently... interesting that they are being recalled.  I'll have to see if they are still on the shelf at Canadian Tire.

That's a bad place to get cut too- fingers are a hotbed of important muscles and tendons- a good cut anywhere along the finger can cause permanent damage.

Def

Plus it take's forever to heal there too

[Viper]

That's because you use them all the time! 

[ringzero]

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07295.html

I think a few forum members may have these knives.  Be careful! 

"During use, the back of the blade of the knife can slide past the blade support, posing a laceration hazard to consumers."

Thanks for the headsup, supratentorial.

I read a very favorable review of the Gerber EAB over on the EDC forums, which also had some excellent close up pics.

Was thinking of buying an EAB, but didn't.  Passed it up mainly because I didn't like the look of the the bottom part of its pivoting blade holder.  That blade holder looked to me like an accident just waiting to happen.

.
 

[prime77]

Thanks for the warning. I have one of those, but I never use it.

[J-sews]

I never bought one of these, but intended to someday. I wonder if they will "fix" the recalled knives in some way? Or scrap them out and issue credit?

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I never bought one of these, but intended to someday. I wonder if they will "fix" the recalled knives in some way? Or scrap them out and issue credit?

They could stand to loose a hell of a lot of money on those, I would imagine there very popular with the trade type's

It's a shame because I'd bet they'd make a good beater knife

[Grant Lamontagne]

My guess is they will credit or replace them with a "fixed" version.  And, given what they probably pay for these things, I doubt they'll be out much at all!

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

My guess is they will credit or replace them with a "fixed" version.  And, given what they probably pay for these things, I doubt they'll be out much at all!

Def

Still might cost them in term's of future sales, on the other hand it does paint them in a good light regarding  there willingness to tackle the problem

[NeitherExtreme]

Hmm... I thought about buying one of those once-upon-a-time. If I remember right, I didn't think it looked tough enough to my eyes, and I guess I unfortunately guessed right? Oh well, it can happen to anyone... 

[damota]

I never bought one of these, but intended to someday. I wonder if they will "fix" the recalled knives in some way? Or scrap them out and issue credit?

It says on the site they are going to replace them. By that 8 people have cut them selves with some needing stitch's. So they are withdrawing 154,000 to replace them. 8 cuts out of 154,000 users does not make them exactly the most dangerous set of odds of getting cut. I wonder how much the other 153,992 owners have managed to use their knives without cutting themselves. 
Looks as though the piece of metal sticking up at the back of the to stop the blade sliding back can let the blade slide back cutting the fingers. So the screw holding the blade looks as though it is not doing it's job either (or has it happened when they have forgot to tighten it?).
To me it looks like a withdrawal to cover  themselves just in case.
I guess it's my age but I was always told if you use a knife you are likely to get cut.

Dave

[Grant Lamontagne]

I agree- it's a very small fraction, but remember that there are likely many times that number of folks who actually were cut.  A company like Gerber will know that those were probably the most serious cases, and that those were the only reported incidents, that could be confirmed as directly resulting from a flawed design.  Once you factor in the possibilities of human error (or stupidity), inability to prove that it was the Gerber product, improper use, unreported accidents and less serious cuts, the potential is there for a major boo boo to nail them to the wall at any time.  By taking the initiative and recalling a potentially dangerous product with a known issue, they are protecting themselves against further legal action and setting a precedent for safety that can help protect them in future events.  Given the low cost of these knives, and the equally low cost of replacing them, Gerber is very smart to recall and replace these.

Plus, they get free advertising in many consumer protection mediums that list recalls.  Free advertising and a reputation for protecting the consumer even when the risk is minor... well that's a brilliant response.

Def

[damota]

I totally agree that for this day and age they have made a very good decision.
I was just trying to point out that it says more for Gerber doing right than anything about the quality of theses knives.
I guess it also say's what a world we live in were litigation rules.

Dave

[Grant Lamontagne]

I agree, and every company is bound to have good designs and not so good designs.  I don't feel that a company should suffer from one or two flawed designs provided their line overall is good, especially not when the company is intelligent enough to recognize the problems and take steps to remedy it as much as possible.

Def

[I'm Still Bison]

Not to mention responsible and dignified enough to take one on the chin by stepping up to the plate and man up,instead of sloughing off blame onto somebody else.

[CQC-7]

I am glad to see that they are concerned.  Otherwise, people might but the tool and get cut and try to file a lawsuit or somthing.  The the price goes up.

[hawkchucker]

not surprised at all over this recall. I looked at one at the local wallyworld and it was kinda suicidal looking also more expesive than the Lowes brand which also holds 5 spare blades.

[Tom Munch]

My EAB works fine.  I wish the recall was a little more descriptive of what goes wrong.  "During use, the back of the blade of the knife can slide past the blade support" does not make sense to me.  The screw does not hold it that tight, but you'd have to be an idiot to not see this when you're inserting a blade.  That must be what they're talking about.

Tom

[Tom Munch]

I called the recall hotline.  It just says that the screw can come loose which holds the blade during strenuous use.  This is pretty obvious & is a problem with other designs of utility knives too.  I wouldn't beat up Gerber too much over this.  The recording wants you to leave your name & address at the beep & they'll send you a SASE to send it back.  They said it could take several weeks to receive the replacement.  I think I'll wait to see how "improved" it is before I give mine up for several weeks.  It is always in my possibles bag that I carry every day.

Tom

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I called the recall hotline.  It just says that the screw can come loose which holds the blade during strenuous use.  This is pretty obvious & is a problem with other designs of utility knives too.  I wouldn't beat up Gerber too much over this.  The recording wants you to leave your name & address at the beep & they'll send you a SASE to send it back.  They said it could take several weeks to receive the replacement.  I think I'll wait to see how "improved" it is before I give mine up for several weeks.  It is always in my possibles bag that I carry every day.

Tom

Trouble is the big companies have to be seen to be looking out for the idiot's of this world

[I'm Still Bison]

 Anymore I feel that the prime reason for a recall of anykind,isn't so much the subject of the recall,but the operator behind the item.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Anymore I feel that the prime reason for a recall of anykind,isn't so much the subject of the recall,but the operator behind the item.

Very true

[Tom Munch]

Someone on edcforums says they have the replacement, & the only difference was a groove to hold the blade better -

The "corrected" version has a slot that the handle-side of the blade slides into, so both sides of the blade are enclosed, rather than being exposed.

 
I asked for some pics.

Tom

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Someone on edcforums says they have the replacement, & the only difference was a groove to hold the blade better -

The "corrected" version has a slot that the handle-side of the blade slides into, so both sides of the blade are enclosed, rather than being exposed.

 
I asked for some pics.

Tom

Cool I think we'll all look forward to seeing them