Gerber Flik: my impressions

[SolomonKane79]

The Gerber Flik i own is the first MT i bought and used. It has been with me for 3 years now, living on the belt i wear at work, and looking back i can say i'm glad i got it. I can't remember if i picked it randomly from the bunch on display at my local store, or if there was a deciding factor. For sure i remember price was not an issue. I wanted a tool to carry at work, i only knew it had to have a blade on it! I got it for about 60 euros, which in my country is a fair price for a multi this size.
By the way, i work boat, for the you to figure the environment where i used this tool the most and the way i relate to it, the functions i need the most etc.
The first feature i have really learned to aprecciate on the Flik is the outside accessible OHO blades. It is a must when you have to hold tight with one of your hands and in the same while you need a knife! The blades come out quite smoothly from the Flik, nothing super fast like a tactical knife, but with enough ease. The thumbholes on the blades always worked fine for me. The plain blade came pretty sharp from the shop, but it dulled after not so much use and i had to resharpen it with the Lansky system, at 25 degrees; it was easy to sharpen. I have always liked the shape of the Flik plain blade, some version of the tanto i guess, the sharp point even allows some precise cutting and carving. The Gerber T-locking system never failed me, and in the same way it allows to close the blade one handed, maybe after some practise.

The “rescue” serrated blade is for sure the one i use most of the two blades. To this day is still fairly sharp and i can cut through a 20mm polyester rope with almost one stroke.

The pliers feel robust enough and always did the job for me when asked. It's a pity Gerber did not put a hard wire cutting notch on them. I once tried to cut a thick metal wire (maybe 1,5mm?), they did it, but a little dent resulted on the pliers cutting area.

The scissors! Probably the thing i like the most on this MT. Robust, solid and do the work nicely. I really like the fact that they lay on the outside of the tool and if you work a bit you can manage to open and engage the lock with only one hand. The scissors are something i quite pretend a multi to have. In a first aid situation you probably need to cut clothes from a rescued person, and be it blunt tip or not i wouldn't use a serrated knife if i have some good scissors.

Another tool you can access from outside of the Flik is a saw. Now i don't need a saw that much at work, so i have rarely used it. Just out of curiosity, i once did a comparison test with the saw found on a cheap Stanley multitool, sawing through a 20mm thick plywood plank. Guess what? The cheaper mt saw, even if a lot shorter and non-locking, fared a lot better over the Flik saw. The Stanley went through the plank faster and with a lot less effort on my side.

Now, the other tiny tools you find on the bottom of the Flik... What a bad joke. Im my experience they're useless. Be it the flats, the philipps or the can opener they're so tiny i would be embaressed to pull them out if someone asked for a tool and i wanted to save the trip to the tool box! That's a pity because i find the opening assistence given by sliding the locking mechanism levers was really something ingenious from Gerber.

Hidden in the handles of the Flik is also a lynard ring, nice to have, but alas it is a bit misplaced in my opinion. If you tie a lynard to it you'll realise it is too close to the rear end of the serrated blade's spine, so that often the lynard will get in the way if you try to open the knife, preventing it to do so.

Overall i think the Flik is a nice MT, not the best really, but for the price it does the job. It's a pity because it could have been an excellent mt if the drivers were just decent!

[AimlessWanderer]

Nice write up, thanks for your thoughts  It sounds like you had a very different experience with yours than I did with mine (my sorry tale is HERE) although there are a few points we do agree on 

Any pics of what it looks like after 3 years use? 

[SolomonKane79]

50ft-trad: here you are, sir!
 
Maybe you can notice the rust spots that appeared on the handles next to the logos "GERBER" and "FLIK". They appeared a few days after i bought it, i left it one night on board, on my belt, and the morning after they were there.

[AimlessWanderer]

Thanks SK, that's not looking in bad condition at all. I can't remember anything about a lanyard look on mine, which is odd as it is normally something I notice having been around boats a bit myself 

[SolomonKane79]

Here's one more. You can notice that the plier head is off-axis. leaning to one side. This happened cos once, after fooling around in the garden, i had the Flik covered in mud. I washed it with fresh water, sprayed some wd-40 and put it outside doorstep to let i dry in the sun in the "open pliers" position... I forgot it there! It was under heavy summer sun for maybe 4 hours... Guess what, when i realised i had forgotten it and went to pick it up, it was completley stuck with pliers head open and "fliked" out! I tried all things, wd-40, rubber hammer but no way. The metal inflated so much it was impossible. I tried to let it cool down so that the metal would shrink, but nothing. In the end i had to unscrew the torx screws of the "fliking" system and take the plier head apart. When i put it together again, the best i could do was this compromise of side-plays you see in the picture. When it is opened it's ok, it's in the centre but i think the head gained a lot of side play, in every direction. (Although i must say even when brand new it had already some side to side play)

[Nhoj]

Thanks for the review! I am thinking about getting a flik so I have been reading a lot on it. I hope the problems you had with temperature won't be a problem with me because it might end up in a hot sunny car for periods of time.  I guess that is one downside of an mt with such complicated mechanisms in it.  I am also a little worried that the pliers may be a little too stubby so we'll see when I get it. Once again thanks for the review.

[Gareth]

A very good read Solomon, thank you.

[Goatlord666]

I just ordered a flik a bout a week ago and I'm hoping that i'd have the good fortune of getting one that went through the hands of a dilligent qc personnel

[SolomonKane79]

I just ordered a flik a bout a week ago and I'm hoping that i'd have the good fortune of getting one that went through the hands of a dilligent qc personnel

Hi Goatlord666! I have read all sort of things about quality of the Flik. Some here on the forum reported pliers breaking right out of the box, other had problems with bad edges on blades and i think to remember Gareth had  problems with the screwdriver! I hope you get a good sample!
 

[Goatlord666]

I just ordered a flik a bout a week ago and I'm hoping that i'd have the good fortune of getting one that went through the hands of a dilligent qc personnel

Hi Goatlord666! I have read all sort of things about quality of the Flik. Some here on the forum reported pliers breaking right out of the box, other had problems with bad edges on blades and i think to remember Gareth had  problems with the screwdriver! I hope you get a good sample!
 

oohh....looks like a have to pray harder and hope against all odd hahaha. The drivers are really not too appealing now that you mnentioned it. I'm now having second thoughts about getting a freehand which looks pretty much like a fattened flik

-Gabriel