Gerber Center Drive Club

[Barry Rowland]

It's no Vic hook but it sure works!!

[theonew]

A wire edge is a definite possibility but in my experience with those, he'd have been lucky to get through one bag of topsoil before noticing a lack of cutting ability.

[Etherealicer]

I have found that almost without exception, factory edges do not stay sharp as long as they do after a couple of hand re-sharpenings. I believe it has to do with the edge having been overheated during the factory machine sharpening process. This is why I always chuckle when I read people complaining about out of the box sharpness.

I'm one of those guys who complain...
I believe that if I buy a knife, it should be ready to use. So, without a sharp edge, to me that is buying an unfinished product.
Sadly, for many MT manufacturers this is not where it ends. Frame that needs some file work so it does not bloody your hands are fairly common. We are approaching more and more the IKEA model and in 20 years all you need to make your MT ready for use is a belt-grinder a forge and some black-smithing skills

[theonew]

Sharp edge, how sharp of an edge? My wife at first was apprehensive about me keeping our kitchen knives very sharp. Now she can't stand working with a dullish knife. If you intend to strip wire with your knife you probably want a 50 degree angle. If you are going to use it for delicate work than a 20 degree angle is preferable. If it is for push cutting primarily than a polished edge is required. For slicing, a toothy edge. Regardless you will need to sharpen your knife at some point, so to me the analogy is more like buying a new car and complaining that there is only an 1/8th of a tank of gas in it.

Just my $.02

 

[Etherealicer]

Sharp edge, how sharp of an edge? My wife at first was apprehensive about me keeping our kitchen knives very sharp. Now she can't stand working with a dullish knife. If you intend to strip wire with your knife you probably want a 50 degree angle. If you are going to use it for delicate work than a 20 degree angle is preferable. If it is for push cutting primarily than a polished edge is required. For slicing, a toothy edge. Regardless you will need to sharpen your knife at some point, so to me the analogy is more like buying a new car and complaining that there is only an 1/8th of a tank of gas in it.

Just my $.02

You are overthinking it. It should perform at basic cutting tasks: cardboard, wood etc.
But if you can't cut a fruit (apple) with it, then its dull, no discussion needed.

[theonew]

And if you cut that piece of fruit on a china plate you now have a knife that is too dull to cut a piece of fruit. So the important thing is that it was able to cut the fruit in the first place

[gerleatherberman]

I wonder if people are selling factory seconds of the CD? My factory direct CD was perfect. One I got from an ebay listing as a backup had issues that I resolved. I know Bear & Sons lets people buy seconds, but didn't think Gerber did.

A question to those who bought CDs for less than retail or ordered on an outside site. Does yours have issues.

A question to those who bought CDs for retail direct from Gerber. Does yours have issues?

For everyone who bought a CD. Did you bother contacting Gerber before bothering with these adjustments to edges/blades?

Surely a small shipping cost & wait outweighs these time consuming deburring and sharpening tasks?

[Etherealicer]

And if you cut that piece of fruit on a china plate you now have a knife that is too dull to cut a piece of fruit. So the important thing is that it was able to cut the fruit in the first place

Cutting on a porcelain plate is an abuse/wrong use of a knife and it should not be expected to stay sharp.

Apply that to a car. Buying a factory new knife with a dull blade, is like buying a brand new car with run-down tires. You have to invest time and money before you can use it. And before you say, tires have to be bought, remember that sharpening is not for free. A sharpening system from Spyderco or Lansky costs as much as a knife (and requires training, which is time, which is money) and unless you have really a lot of knives you cannot split the cost. Tires on the other hand only cost a tiny fraction of what a car costs.

[Barry Rowland]

Both my son and I got ours from Gerber.  Mine came without issues except a not so sharp blade.  He is on his second one.  His first had issues with the pivot point at the pliers when opened.  It felt like the spring was binding, not smooth like mine.  I'm not sure what the QC issues are at the plant.  It's almost like the old days of Monday-Friday cars.  I agree on the sharpness issue, but maybe I'm spoiled by Victorinox.

[theonew]

Last week I started to cut up a medium sized cardboard box that had come from China.  After about 12 - 18 inches of cutting the edge had been completely wiped smooth. You could safely drag it across your palm. So I guess we need to add cutting cardboard to the abuse/wrong use list for knives.

[gerleatherberman]

Edit: deleted because I misunderstood what I read. Sorry Please forgive me moderators! 

[Barry Rowland]

Some zip strap trimming action!

[MusicMen]

Some zip strap trimming action!

Don't forget to apply for your badge!   

[Barry Rowland]

Thanks for reminding me!! 

[Spartan19]

Plier spring has been giving me some trouble with this one, hopefully I can work it out. Whenever you have to apply pressure to the pliers, they tend to stay clamped shut instead of springing back open. I'm hoping it's just new MT stiffness. I can't stand to be away from it again!

[gerleatherberman]

I used some new 3-in-1 silcone-based  lubricant on mine and it took care of the slight gritty feeling. Maybe it will help your CD's stickiness?

[Spartan19]

Ok, thanks gerleatherberman!

[Kev D]

Gave mine some hard use installing lights and sockets for my sister yesterday.  It did very well though was a pain for some screws tight to a wall and could only do a 1/4 turn at a time, but other than that it was great. 

[Spartan19]

Nice Kevin! Mine hasn't had a job yet today, but I'm sure something will come up

[Barry Rowland]

Great pic my man!!

[Spartan19]

Thanks! I knew I'd find a job for it to do.

[Spartan19]

Had mine camping over the weekend, lots of rain the past few days

[El Corkscrew]

Had mine camping over the weekend, lots of rain the past few days

 


Rain... I think I remember what that's like 

[gerleatherberman]

Had mine camping over the weekend, lots of rain the past few days

Nice picture!
How's it holding up surface rust wise? I have not gotten mine wet yet, so I don't know if it will spot up yet.

[Spartan19]

Had mine camping over the weekend, lots of rain the past few days

Nice picture!
How's it holding up surface rust wise? I have not gotten mine wet yet, so I don't know if it will spot up yet.

So far no issues, there looks like some spots may be starting at the pivot point for the pliers. Other than that, it's doing well

Had mine camping over the weekend, lots of rain the past few days

 


Rain... I think I remember what that's like 

  

[gerleatherberman]

Thanks Spartan!
Good to know! I will make sure to oil up the pivots before I take mine out on a wet day.

[Spartan19]

No prob buddy

[Kev D]

I've used my CD a lot lately to give it a really good working over to see how it handles it. After a shaky start with QC issues on the pliers, I am very happy with how robust it is.

I use the pry bar/nail puller for the first time on Saturday and really made it work hard. So hard that I braced myself for it to break but it didn't. Now I know it can take that sort of use, I can use it with confidence. Gerber carbide cutters still suck though, they chip way to easily.

[AimlessWanderer]

I've used my CD a lot lately to give it a really good working over to see how it handles it. After a shaky start with QC issues on the pliers, I am very happy with how robust it is.

I use the pry bar/nail puller for the first time on Saturday and really made it work hard. So hard that I braced myself for it to break but it didn't. Now I know it can take that sort of use, I can use it with confidence. Gerber carbide cutters still suck though, they chip way to easily.

The pry tool can actually do proper pry tool work? Now there's a surprise Kev.  I saw your thread on wanting a Gerber Phillips, and the first thing I thought was "he's killed his pry tool"

[Etherealicer]

I've used my CD a lot lately to give it a really good working over to see how it handles it. After a shaky start with QC issues on the pliers, I am very happy with how robust it is.

I use the pry bar/nail puller for the first time on Saturday and really made it work hard. So hard that I braced myself for it to break but it didn't. Now I know it can take that sort of use, I can use it with confidence. Gerber carbide cutters still suck though, they chip way to easily.

The pry tool can actually do proper pry tool work? Now there's a surprise Kev.  I saw your thread on wanting a Gerber Phillips, and the first thing I thought was "he's killed his pry tool"

Good to know I was unlucky and its not a problem with all pry tools.