Gerber Flik

[J-sews]

CAUTION: YOU MUST BE AT LEAST THIS TALL TO OPERATE THE GERBER FLIK




Where the heck is this thing? We've been waiting on it for an entire year. We finally spotted the reclusive little rascal, hiding amongst a group of its kin in a display cabinet at the Gerber booth.




Ahhh! Captured at last!




Heh-heh!
Seriously, the new Gerber Flik appears to be everything we'd hoped it would be. Not as huge and clumsy as the Freehand which proceeded it, yet retaining the outside-opening blades. Plier deployment seemed smooth and precise. Rattle-haters will be happy to note that the Flik uses a slider mechanism similar to the Diesel, resulting in rattle free operation whether open or closed.




Also good, the blade set for the four outside openers seems like a reasonable selection. Wharnecliffe knife blade, serrated blade, saw blade and scissors. The only thing I would do differently is lose the serrated blade and replace it with a good three-side file blade. (Hey, some folks like saws, some folks like files. If everyone would just do what I want then there shouldn't be a problem!) 




My only serious annoyance is an old one; Gerber, you need to make your drivers longer! The four inside blades, including three screwdrivers and a can opener, are all somewhat shorter than ideal. They will work in some situations, but all too often there will be clearance problems.




All in all we think Gerber has a winner here. Even with a few minor concerns, the Flik is far and away better than the host of Suspension-like ornamental multitools that Gerber is bringing in from overseas.

Bob

[Spoonrobot]

Is the finish as glossy as it looks in the photos? Or is it just the convention center lights playing tricks?

Either way, it looks good!

[Benner]

Yeah the BO finish looks really thick like glossy black paint.

[Dunc]

CAUTION: YOU MUST BE AT LEAST THIS TALL TO OPERATE THE GERBER FLIK

(Image removed from quote.)

Def your alot shorter then I thought 

Dunc

[J-sews]

Is the finish as glossy as it looks in the photos? Or is it just the convention center lights playing tricks?

Either way, it looks good!

Both.
The Flik we sampled actually has a deep matte black finish. Making it appear even deeper was a heavy coating of oil. With nothing to wipe it off except our shirt sleeves (not!) the oil makes our photos appear somewhat different than the tool actually was in person.

And yes, the high-intensity flourescent lighting was a constant pain to deal with!!

[J-sews]

Ahhh! It took another trip to the Gerber booth today, but the fellow there was finally able to locate a stainless finished Flik for me to look at.






One thing I really like about the new Gerbers is their Wharnecliffe blade shape. It's great for poking and fine detail work, and is about the best profile for picking slivers. The length of the blade itself was great also.

[Grant Lamontagne]

That one's REAL PURDY!

Def

[J-sews]

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I think the screwdrivers on the Flik are a tad short. Hard to say why exactly, but short screwdrivers really bug me.




Folding those little screwdrivers out was another thing that was bugging me. There's not much of a nail nick, and they fit closely within the handle. I fiddled with them for far longer than any self-respecting Multitool.org member ever ought to!   But then the fellow at the booth noticed my difficulties and showed me how it works;

 

Simply sliding the blade lock release forward causes the little screwdrivers to lift up slightly, allowing them to be accessed easily. (note arrow direction in the picture above. Sliding the lock release forward has already caused the two screwdrivers to lift up for easy access.

[J-sews]

Here's another trick: they've incorporated some sort of anti-palm-pincher mechanism on the Flik. Slide the plier head out (no differently than most Gerbers) and this is what you get:



Notice the plier tips are together, and the handles are tightly together. (Remember, this is when you've first slid the pliers out)

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Graet shot's bob, I find myself really wanting one now

[J-sews]

As soon as you spread the handles apart, the mechanism "sets", and now the handles are such that they do not come together when the plier tips touch.



No more pinched palms!

[Roadie]

That thing is full of surprises! Is that the purpose of the two little hook like bent pieces of metal on the inside of the handles you can see in that pic?

Roadie

[J-sews]

That thing is full of surprises! Is that the purpose of the two little hook like bent pieces of metal on the inside of the handles you can see in that pic?

Roadie

Yeh, they are part of it somehow. I did spend a fair amount of time with the Flik, and never really figured out how that anti-pinching actually works

[Roadie]

I think i'm gonna have to get one just to figure out how they did it!

[Benner]

The flik certainly looks impressive.  The "anti pinching mech" sure looks like a cool idea.

[carl]

1)  How comfortable are those handles for plier use?  There doesn't seem to be any smoothness to them under heavy pressure.
2)  Most Gerbers seem to have that matt finish rather than polished look.  It gives me the impression that the stainless is on the soft side, or at least softer than SOG or SAK.  Is that true?

[Spoonrobot]

2)  Most Gerbers seem to have that matt finish rather than polished look.  It gives me the impression that the stainless is on the soft side, or at least softer than SOG or SAK.  Is that true?

I don't think their stainless is any softer than the other companies. SAK might be different because all their implements are hardened according to their use. The finish does have that "soft" look but I think it's just because it's a bead blast.

[J-sews]

1)  How comfortable are those handles for plier use?  There doesn't seem to be any smoothness to them under heavy pressure.
2)  Most Gerbers seem to have that matt finish rather than polished look.  It gives me the impression that the stainless is on the soft side, or at least softer than SOG or SAK.  Is that true?

1) Now granted, we weren't able to give the Flik a full workout, but the handle comfort didn't seem bad at all. I think that hand discomfort only becomes an issue when there is a minimum of surface on which to distribute the hand's squeezing pressure. Worst cases were the old Leathermans and SOG's, where the entire force of the grip had to be borne by two thin edges of the handle channel.

On the Flik, there is indeed a variety of surfaces on the backside of the handles, but they are all similar enough in height that the flesh of your hand is distributed evenly, spreading out the load, reducing the "cut in" effect. 

2) The matte finish doesn't indicate the softness or hardness of the steel, its simply a matter of economics. After the handle metal is stamped out of a big sheet and formed into shape, it needs to be "finished" to remove burrs and tooling marks. Cheapest and easiest way to finish is by bead blasting (like a sand blaster, only they use tiny glass beads) This gives the tool its matte finish look.

Far better in my opinion would be to brush finish the tool, like many Leatherman tools you see. This offers better corrosion protection, but costs more to do obviously.

Best finish of all is a high lustre polish. (think Victorinox or SOG here) This process is most expensive because it involves a fair amount of manual labor, but it offers the best corrosion resistance.

Sorry to ramble on. Hope that helps!

[hawkchucker]

Looks like a fantastic tool. Did they give and appearence date? and a MSRP?

[Anthony]

I'm surprised none of the multitool booths have an "obstacle course" type thing set up on a table where you could use one of their new tools to clamp down on a bolt or use it to turn a screw, etc..

[Spoonrobot]

I'm surprised none of the multitool booths have an "obstacle course" type thing set up on a table where you could use one of their new tools to clamp down on a bolt or use it to turn a screw, etc..

I have long thought of constructing such a set-up but I fear the repercussions to my personal life. Seriously, I have drawings and plans.

I really need to get back into school and get a real job.

But, it would be so cheap and easy to make and so useful!

[Anthony]

I'm surprised none of the multitool booths have an "obstacle course" type thing set up on a table where you could use one of their new tools to clamp down on a bolt or use it to turn a screw, etc..

I have long thought of constructing such a set-up but I fear the repercussions to my personal life. Seriously, I have drawings and plans.

I really need to get back into school and get a real job.

But, it would be so cheap and easy to make and so useful!

No way...I sketched out a few such things...and quickly crumpled them up so no one would think I'm nuts.  I thought of a little clamp system to hold a dowel in order to test out various saws and files. 

But I'm just a user with a handful of tools..Leatherman and the other companies should have designed some flashy setup where people could USE their tools.  I'm sure SOG has a few bucks to set up something to gauge how much pressure their compound leverage generates. 

[J-sews]

Looks like a fantastic tool. Did they give and appearence date? and a MSRP?

Looking through my notes here, I don't have a MSRP. As regards delivery, we were told that the Flik would be shipping to dealers by the end of this month.

[carl]

great info men!  keep it coming.  thanks 

[carl]

1)  Does the Freehand have any significant advantage over the Flik in terms of the individual implements?  Selection, size, etc.)?  For example, the drivers on both are probably short so thats no advantage there.

2)  Are the following "new" features you previously mentioned in the Flik also in the Freehand?
   (a) Slide-the-lock-forward-to raise the tools feature
   (b) antipinch feature which comes into play after you separate the handles
   (c) anti-rattle plier head


 

[Spoonrobot]

1)  Does the Freehand have any significant advantage over the Flik in terms of the individual implements?  Selection, size, etc.)?  For example, the drivers on both are probably short so thats no advantage there.

2)  Are the following "new" features you previously mentioned in the Flik also in the Freehand?
   (a) Slide-the-lock-forward-to raise the tools feature
   (b) antipinch feature which comes into play after you separate the handles
   (c) anti-rattle plier head

Other then length of the knife blades I don't think the Freehand has any implements advantages. It has a few disadvantages being that is has no saw and the smaller implements are attached to a much larger tool.

On my models of the Freehand they were. The Diesel also has the anti-pinch feature.

[hawkchucker]

I love the thing! I really think that it is a well designed tool and that even though the drivers seem too small I will certainly have to order one!

[carl]

Spoonrobot, thanks for your input.  The Flik is looking better and better!

[J-sews]

1)  Does the Freehand have any significant advantage over the Flik in terms of the individual implements?  Selection, size, etc.)?  For example, the drivers on both are probably short so thats no advantage there.

I agree with Spoonrobot, the Flik has the better set of tools. Best example is the Flik's saw blade, which will be far more useful than the Freehand's big-piece-of-metal-with-ruler-markings blade. 

[carl]

Does that ruler have an edge at least?  Those are nice big scissors.