Gerber BG knives.

[Chako]

I just got these two knives today.

The first is called: Gerber Bear Grylls Grandfather Knife. Yep, it comes with the small BG survival guide. I now must have 20 of these little guides by now.



Like all proper Gerber BG gear, it is covered in logos. On one side, you have this nice BG symbol in the middle of the handles. Of course, the blade has appropriate markings. One side features Gerber, the other, Bear's signature.



The knife comes with a blade, a combination Phillips driver/file, a corkscrew, and a combination bottle opener and flat driver. The grip is something I cannot complain about. It is the one nice thing about all of the BG line...beautiful nicely textured rubber handles. The Grandfather knife is no exception to this rule.



I do not think the bolsters are made out of brass. Not sure what metal is being used here...but the colour is a bit off for it being made out of brass. It does look like some attempt was used to make it look like brass.



What I do find a little annoying. It bothers me to see wasted space in such a knife. This one has an empty space where another tool could have been used.



Next, is a BG Paracord fixed knife. This knife comes with a hard plastic sheath with a hard plastic belt loop. The sheath is designed to be carried with the knife in a sideways fashion. Of course, you get another little BG survival guide.



Once again, you get plenty of merchandize markings. This knife is no different from all the other BG gear. Here is the back side of the sheath showing the large belt loop.



The sheath has plenty of attachment points for string, etc...so you are not bound to wear it on a belt if you do not desire to. Another thing about the sheath, the central part is made of soft and very tactile rubber. The knife itself is very sturdy and well marked. The cord is comfortable, and you know that this knife has a full tang.



Here is a bonus shot showing the size comparison between the two knives.

[detron]

my first thought is that I liked the Grandfather knife.  but after a few minutes looking at your pictures, I think a SAK will meet those needs for me.

great info though,  appreciate it

[Nhoj]

The grandfather knife looks cool but as you said it doesn't look like real brass, it has a tool-less empty space, and the phillips looks like Gerber did a bad job as they do on many of their phillips divers. I like the paracord knife a lot better. Are you supposed to take off the paracord and use it in a survival situation or something like that?

[Chako]

John, I believe that is the idea.

[Grathr]

 Nice pics and presentation. 
I like that they made the paracord knife a plain edge blade and not a combined edge blade like many of the other BG knives.

[Goatlord666]

more knives to put on my list. thank you dan!


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[Chako]

I received a few more BG related items. One requires a little backstory, and I will start with this one. When the first Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival Knives reached market, I bought one. At that time, I was unaware of a non-serrated version, having seen only the serrated model. I was informed in this forum that there did exist a non-serrated version...but I couldn't find it at the time online. Now, they are easily found, and I bought one thinking that the only difference would be the serrations or lack thereof. I was very wrong. When my non-serrated copy reached my door, the more I looked at it, the more I saw variations in comparison to my older serrated copy.

First off, lets look at the sheath. Both knives feature the same sheath, which differs from the higher Pro model that is now in the market place, a knife I have yet to acquire. This means that the fire steel is facing downwards, meaning it could easily fall out. Both sheaths also feature the same diamond sharpener.

But before we take a look at those in greater detail, I will say, the newer knife has a much duller appearance due to the muddy orange found throughout. The older knife's orange is nice and bright. The newer knife would be a lot harder to spot from a distance.

Also, the lanyard on the newer knife is cheaper in fabrics used. The older knife has thicker more substantial lanyard. On top of this, the newer knife has the lanyard attached in a way that you could easily remove the whistle. However, I have big paws, and I find that the attachment point with the lanyard forming a sort of slip knot is annoying at best. At worst, it makes holding the knife tedious and awkward. Those with smaller hands wouldn't notice this.

Looking at the photo below, you can see some differences such as the embroidered signature.



Turning the sheaths over, one can see the muddy orange of the newer knife compared to the brigher orange of the older knife. Any of my photos do not show this well. Also, I found that the emergency signal panel was made of a stretchable material that deformed easily. There was no elasticity compared to the older knife. Likewise, the newer knife had this clear plastic border visible.



My biggest pet peeve was the orientation of the fire steel on the sheath. Facing downwards means it could simply fall out. I lambasted the older knife for this design flaw. The newer knife is even worst. The fire steel comes out at the slightest pressure. Upon closer inspection, I found that the newer fire steel is missing a rubber O ring. This rubber O ring ensures a nice positive pressure fit. In the next photo, you can see the older fire steel on the left, newer on the right. Note the lack of an O ring at the base of the fire steel holder. Also note the differences in the graphics and the textures of the handles.



Looking at the knives themselves, there are many minor differences.



On the older knife, Bear's signature is crisp and bold.



On the newer knife, Bear's signature is duller. Note also the position of the period compared to the older serrated knife.



Even the fire strikers are different. Note that the newer knife has a much smaller striking surface. Also note the differences in graphics...the newer having a double contour line.



Everything seems a little different. If you look closely, the textured ends are different on each knife. The older knife features slightly rounded indentation ends. The new knife is square and sharp.



The pommels are even different. The newer knife is on top, older knife on the bottom.



Above that, the hammering surfaces are textured differently.



Even the tip profiling is different. The older knife is on the right, the newer knife is on the left.



So here are my overall thoughts. I think the older knives show better overall quality over the newer knives. I wasn't prepared for all the minor differences between these knives. Sadly, I think many of the differences indicates a cheaper product from the newer version of this knife. Colour, fit and finish, are all things I think are weaker on the newer knives.

The next knife is the "Compact Fixed Blade" model. This knife comes in a nice plastic and rubber textured sheath that features a nice belt clip. In my copy, I could slide the belt clip partway upwards, meaning there appears to be some height adjustment for the sheath. you can have the sheath to ride low or higher to tailor it for your comfort.



Here is a photo depicting the size differences to the Ultimate Survival Knife.



This knife is nice. The sheath if very comfortable to wear and use. This one is a winner.

 

[Nhoj]

Wow it really upsets me how Gerber made the knife cheaper in so many ways. Looking at all this Gerber Bear Grylls, I think I would consider buying a lot of it without it being Bear Grylls.

[detron]

Chako,

to someone like me who only sees one at a time, I would have never known about these issues.

thank you for pointing them out to potential buyers.

I am sorry that the quality seems to have dropped in this way. I think these companies will keep this slow degradation up until there is no reason not to buy the cheaper brands.

[kwakster]

I sharpened a few of these knives for others, and imo the steel is way too soft to hold a good edge.

[Gareth]

That plain edge version does appear to be of a lower quality.  I don't want to throw cold water on this; but is there any chance you've gotten a fake?  You know better than most the Gerber stuff has been faked before, and if I was going to make a fake knife I think something with Bear Grylls' name on it would be a good one to do.  Just a thought.

[detron]

That plain edge version does appear to be of a lower quality.  I don't want to throw cold water on this; but is there any chance you've gotten a fake?  You know better than most the Gerber stuff has been faked before, and if I was going to make a fake knife I think something with Bear Grylls' name on it would be a good one to do.  Just a thought.

That is a good question, that should never have to be asked,  but unfortunately we do have to consider.
 

[Syph007]

Ya as much as I dislike gerber products, that looks worse then what even official gerber puts out. I bet that is a fake, in that its made at a different crappy factory then the official crappy factory that makes them.

I looked on youtube and found this complaining of a poor quality fake.  Looks like what you have too.



and this.



Its really hard to tell if its just poor newer contract they went with (they switched manufactures when version 1 failed and the pommels broke) or a fake.  Id ask Gerber, I would hope they would know.

[Chako]

Now that is interesting. In that video, he is comparing two serrated knives. Yes, mine could very well be a fake. Lucky for the seller, I like a good fake.

[Grathr]

Just comparing to the pic on gerbergear.com, it might look like you have got a fake. If you look at the orange part between the handle and the pommel, you can se that in the your CE version it is of varying thickness, while in the PE its the same thickness all the way. On the pic on gerbergear, the PE has varying thickness like youR CE. Also on gerbergear the PE has the new GERBER font, but yours has the old. 
Just a couple of things I noticed.

[jekostas]

And here I was hoping that Gerber had come to their senses and dumped the useless half-serrations.

Ah well.

The Paracord knife does still have a rather nice blade profile.

[Gareth]

Gerber really have done a plain edge, it just a worry that this isn't one of them.

[Goatlord666]

yup. that's a fake. i actually bought two combo edged bg knives a while back and the fake one broke from inside the handle after batoning.

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[jekostas]

yup. that's a fake. i actually bought two combo edged bg knives a while back and the fake one broke from inside the handle after batoning.

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You really can't judge the quality of a knife when it fails at batoning.  Knives are meant to do this.

[Syph007]

yup. that's a fake. i actually bought two combo edged bg knives a while back and the fake one broke from inside the handle after batoning.

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You really can't judge the quality of a knife when it fails at batoning.  Knives are meant to do this.

A normal knife for sure. But this is an ultimate knife!   

[Goatlord666]

hehe. the original bg knife i bought was able to withstand all that pounding. but the fake one...well i still have it in two pieces

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[Chako]

Oops...I did it again.

I just had to get the ummm...Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Pro Knife. Seeing that I now have a serrated Ultimate, and a fake non-serrated Ultimate...the Pro was a shoe in. I don't think I will get a real non-serrated Ultimate...the fake will do for now. But I digress, I had to get the Pro to see what the differences are in person.

Fake Ultimate, Ultimate, and Ultimate Pro.


Fake, Ultimate, and Ultimate Pro. Notice the blade difference between the fake and the two Gerber knives which are the same. Also notice that the pro goes tactical black...you know, for those mall ninjas.


You know it just wouldn't be a BG Gerber item without the over the top flash. Here is the signature on the blade.


Here, notice how the fake has a much smaller flint striking area compared to the two real Gerber knives on the right.


The Pro knife came about because people were complaining about the Ultimate knives not having a full tang...or at least the first run knives. I don't know if they fixed that issue or not. The Pro has the tang in full view to ensure people that the knife is tough and durable and won't fall apart in your hand with a broken handle.


The handle halves are held together by two nut and bolts. Note also the two holes provided so that you can lash the knife to a stick and use it as a spear.


The pommel has the usual hammer application applied to it, however, the shape of the striking surface is in my opinion, a better shape than that found on the lower Ultimate knife.


Now lets focus a little more on the sheath provided. It differs from the Ultimate knife in many way. Here is the backside of the sheath. Note the lack of any air signaling information.


The back has a carbide sharpener.


It is a lot less bulkier than the diamond sharpening plate found on the Ultimate knives. However, you can really only sharpen blades. No more sharpening hooks etc. I prefer the Ultimate knives sharpeners multifunctionality to that of the Pro's sharpener..if not how it was implemented in the old sheath. On the plus side, it will be harder to wreak your knife in the field with the Pro's carbide sharpeners.


A big improvement over the flimsy hidden pocket behind the air signals info patch, the Pro's sheath has a nice pocket for Bear's mini survival guide. They even give you a nifty ribbon to help you pull out the guide. I of course didn't notice it until it was too late. I had shoved the guide into place after discovering it, and needed a pair of pliers to pull out the guide. Then I noticed the ribbon. Use the ribbon, it works great and prevents a lot of swearing and tool application.


The bottom half of the sheath is hard plastic covered in nice feeling soft rubber. I will have to say, the advertising on the pro is very well integrated and polished.


Another improvement to the sheath, the included fire rod is no longer upside down waiting to fall out. It is now fixed in the upright position. My issue with the new design though, Gerber made sure your never getting this sucker out unless you use the knife blade.


This is the retention for the fire rod. I couldn't for the love of God and Country, pull the fire rod off of this protrusion without first using the knife blade. You have to pull outwards with the knife, and pull upwards with your fingers at the same time. I know that this will never fall off...but does it have to be so difficult to take it off without risking cutting yourself in the process? Seeing that the old system was too easy to remove the fire rod, Gerber went to far in the other direction and made it difficult to remove it.


The Pro's sheath also has nice textured rubber sides.


Well that wraps it up for the Pro. Overall, It appears to be a mixed bag. I love the knife with the full tang visible. Of course, the colour and materials/textures are things I already like. The sheath is nice, but I do like the versatility of the older diamond hone over the simplicity of the carbide cutters. The fire rod won't fall out on the Pro. Just be prepared to swear a little when removing it, and try not to cute yourself in the process. I guess you could use something else to pry it outwards...but the knife tip is the logical tool in a survival situation.

Oh and I forgot to add this little bit of info. The seller of the fake Ultimate knife told me after I contacted him, that it was made in the same factory as the original Gerber...just to a cheaper spec to fleece non-suspecting buyers. I guess the adage that if you want a fake, buy from a Hong Kong seller is true.

[CanadianLMfan]

I'm thinking of getting the Fine Edge Ultimate Knife.

[Goatlord666]

Always love reading these image rich reviews Dan...I was out of beer so I just settled for donuts and coffee as I went through this epic review.

Oh BTW, I found old pictures of my batoning test aftermath results when I tried to pit an original BG vs a fake one



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[Grathr]

Always love reading these image rich reviews Dan...I was out of beer so I just settled for donuts and coffee as I went through this epic review.

Oh BTW, I found old pictures of my batoning test aftermath results when I tried to pit an original BG vs a fake one

(Image removed from quote.)

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Well the fake one is certainly not full tang. 

[CanadianLMfan]

Nice pics Chako!

[derekmac]

I have to say that so far I'm really liking my Ultimate Knife. I haven't used it hard yet, but I think it'll hold up just fine.

I love orange, so the colour suits me, and it's comfortable to use, so thus far it gets a from me.


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[AimlessWanderer]

I must admit, the "Pro" knife would be very tempting to try if it wasn't a celebrity endorsement job  They seem to have made a real effort to get that one right 

[pfrsantos]

Oops...I did it again.

(...)
Another improvement to the sheath, the included fire rod is no longer upside down waiting to fall out. It is now fixed in the upright position. My issue with the new design though, Gerber made sure your never getting this sucker out unless you use the knife blade.


This is the retention for the fire rod. I couldn't for the love of God and Country, pull the fire rod off of this protrusion without first using the knife blade. You have to pull outwards with the knife, and pull upwards with your fingers at the same time. I know that this will never fall off...but does it have to be so difficult to take it off without risking cutting yourself in the process? Seeing that the old system was too easy to remove the fire rod, Gerber went to far in the other direction and made it difficult to remove it.

Looking at the pics, it seems that if you press down on the tip of the sheath, above the GERBER over the firesteel retention "tooth", it might just get out of the way to let you pull the firesteel out.
You still have to take out the knife from the sheath but there's no need to use it to get the firesteel out.
(it makes sense having to take out the knife, you'd be using it to strike the firesteel).

[Goatlord666]

good point.