Gerber LMF II broken :(

[DazMechanical]

I broke my LMF II well not totally broken, but broken enough not to use safely. I thought it would be a good idea to baton through a 3 inch thick branch, it takes care of anything around 2 inches pretty easy so why not? At first it seemed pretty strong, got about 3-4 inches down, then all of a sudden Uh oh! I feel some wobble in the handle/ blade. It's broken the plastic right at the hilt, F...k! It's got about 1mm of movement, and really noticeable!
I've contacted gerber and waiting for a reply, hopefully they will replace it.

Has anybody else had this issue with one of these knives?

[JAfromMn]

I've heard good things about Gerbers warranty. I'm sure they will take care of you.

keep us posted on what they do for you.

[derekmac]

Gerber does have one of the best warranties going.  Hopefully they'll hook you up.

[Grathr]

Gerber has a great warranty service. Hopefully they will fix it/ replace it for you


Sent from a device made from star dust using tapatalk

[RT1969]

The german BlackForestGhost did a pretty rough video of the LMF 2:


At about 9:45 he talks about a damage to the grip. It seems that the grip of the LMF2 is made out of two plastics, the inner one broke. He had no movement in his knife, though.
That goes to show, that the grip is not as solid as the rest of the knife.

I hope Gerber will take care of it and fix your tank for you! 

[DazMechanical]

Yeah I've only heard good things about the Gerber warranty department also, I just hope they don't say, oh but you batoned with this knife, it's not designed for that sort of abuse etc. blah blah. But we will see! I'll keep you updated when I hear back from them... Thanks for that link, I'll watch it tonight, busy at work today!

[captain spaulding]

Gerber literally has the best warranty I have ever dealt with. Better than Leatherman and Victorinox. They pretty much run a no questions asked deal around there. Not sure about there warranty in other countries though. Just as a example I sen't in a MP400 with all the tools missing from one side and the other side was abused and they happily sen't me a brand new MP400. 

[DazMechanical]

That's awesome Captain! I will have to ship it to the US for warranty, so hopefully it will be the same deal! 

[captain spaulding]

That's awesome Captain! I will have to ship it to the US for warranty, so hopefully it will be the same deal! 

Best of luck. 

[DazMechanical]

That's awesome Captain! I will have to ship it to the US for warranty, so hopefully it will be the same deal! 

Best of luck. 

 

[sawman]

Gerber's been an interesting lesson for me...

I've learned that you can't base the quality of all of a company's products on just one item. Gerber offers a large spectrum of products ranging from junk to gold. I can certainly vouch for their MP600 as being one of the finest constructed MT's I've ever had. At the same time, the quality of some of their recent stuff including smaller tools is complete garbage. I'll never understand why they chose to use cheap plastic for the handle of their LMF II while charging such a high price for it, but I will not judge the entire company based on that.

That said, I hope I never need to use their warranty but this gives me a little reassurance. I just hope if I ever need my MP600 serviced that they have the parts available!

[RT1969]

I'll never understand why they chose to use cheap plastic for the handle of their LMF II while charging such a high price for it, but I will not judge the entire company based on that.

From Gerber's HP (as I was not sure of it):

The over-molded handle successfully limits blistering. There is complete separation between the tang and butt cap, so the knife absorbs the shocks from hammering and prevents the shocks of electricity.

So this is not a full tang knife, and it is said to be more shock absorbend and electrically insulated.
X-Ray view from thereadystore.com:


I am neutral on whether this is better than a 'one-piece of steel' survival knife, it has obviously a different philosophy behind it.

[sawman]

I'll never understand why they chose to use cheap plastic for the handle of their LMF II while charging such a high price for it, but I will not judge the entire company based on that.

From Gerber's HP (as I was not sure of it):

The over-molded handle successfully limits blistering. There is complete separation between the tang and butt cap, so the knife absorbs the shocks from hammering and prevents the shocks of electricity.

So this is not a full tang knife, and it is said to be more shock absorbend and electrically insulated.
X-Ray view from thereadystore.com:
(Image removed from quote.)

I am neutral on whether this is better than a 'one-piece of steel' survival knife, it has obviously a different philosophy behind it.

That's ridiculous! If I want to be insulated from electricity I'll wear rubber gloves dammit now give me a full tang knife like I'm paying for! Just my 2 cents 

[DazMechanical]

We'll so far Gerber have been really helpful, they emailed me back with an address to send the knife to, some dealer interstate. Which is cool, it should be a quick turn around. They already said that they will happily replace the knife and also paid for my postage.

As for the plastic handle, it is supposed to be electric shock proof so the next time I need to cut my way out of a cockpit, I can do so safely, because I do that kinda stuff everyday
Just a pity my LMF 2 was not as strong as BLACKFORESTGHOSTs in the video above.

[DazMechanical]

And yeah I was contemplating removing the handle, welding the pommel to the blade tang and somehow make a new handle. But how would I make the new handle? Any ideas?

[derekmac]

I'm not 100% sure what they used for handle material, but there are composites that are stronger than the steel the blade is made out of.  For the price they charge for that knife, they should have used a good composite for it.

Christ, we have small composite aircraft parts that weigh next to nothing, and you can't even dent them beating on them with a 10lb sledge hammer!!  They're also not made out of some strange top secret materials either.

I have no problems with a knife not being full tang, as long as it's well made, and with good proper materials.

[RT1969]

What about fitting a piece of steel around the tang and the pommel, which you can than weld to or screw into those pieces? Like the inner plastic handle thing, but from a stronger material?

I am unsure where your LMF2 broke, but in the video I posted you could see that the outer grip withstood the impacts, but the inner part did not. I don't get why they did not just make a one-part molded grip.

Oh, and a full tang would not changed a thing about the grip breaking, btw. 

[DazMechanical]

Year it's the inner plastic at the grip that broke, and allowed the tang to flop around in the handle. I realise welding the tang and making a new handle won't stop that handle from breaking, I was thinking of somehow fixing a the handle to the tang with cross pins or rivets so the handle can't flop around. I don't really know how to explain it but I think you might know what I mean. 

[sawman]

What about buying a Kabar? You can get one for about the same price as that BG POS and this SOB will take a pounding - I mean you can hammer it into concrete and it will not break!

[DazMechanical]

I do intend on getting a KaBar. Might sell the LMF 2 when I get it back and replace it with a KaBar.

[kkokkolis]

I'm not sure

[sawman]

I do intend on getting a KaBar. Might sell the LMF 2 when I get it back and replace it with a KaBar.

That sounds like a plan

[sawman]

I'm not sure

That was merely a fluke. 

[DazMechanical]

Why did that knife say Taiwan? Are KaBars seriously made in Taiwan?

I was thinking of getting the KaBar Bk10, similar size and weight of the LMF2 but full tang and no serrated section.

[sawman]

Why did that knife say Taiwan? Are KaBars seriously made in Taiwan?

I was thinking of getting the KaBar Bk10, similar size and weight of the LMF2 but full tang and no serrated section.

I don't think that was a real Kabar.

[kkokkolis]

I don't know but Taiwan is not China, it's "almost" Japan.

[sawman]

I don't know but Taiwan is not China, it's "almost" Japan.

The specs from Amazon say:

•Knife Made in USA, Leather Sheath made in Mexico

[DazMechanical]

I was under the impression that Taiwan quality is just as bad as China's. Either way I wouldn't buy a knife (or anything as a matter of fact) advertising Taiwan, just seems cheap and nasty to me...

[enki_ck]

Why did that knife say Taiwan? Are KaBars seriously made in Taiwan?

I was thinking of getting the KaBar Bk10, similar size and weight of the LMF2 but full tang and no serrated section.

I don't think that was a real Kabar.

It's a real KaBar and it's made in Taiwan.


http://www.kabar.com/knives/detail/153

Why did that knife say Taiwan? Are KaBars seriously made in Taiwan?

I was thinking of getting the KaBar Bk10, similar size and weight of the LMF2 but full tang and no serrated section.

Not all of them but some. USMC knives and Becker knives are US made.

[sawman]

Well there you have it folks - don't buy made in Taiwan.