Minor Gerber Rant

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sandcruiser

....back in the saddle again....
Joined
Sep 29, 2004
Threads
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3,643
Location
Pacific Grove, CA
So I've carried a Gerber Fast Draw Fine for the last few years. It is with me all the time unless I'm surfing, flying, or (sometimes) dressed up. Great knife, holds an edge well. I've used it for everything from opening boxes to field repairs of cruiser insulation to spreading peanut butter- even minor surgery on myself (removing the rest of a big chunk of my toe that got munched by a bicycle chain. Ouch.)

http://www.rei.com/product/727697

Then, last year, the knife was stolen :(

I replaced it with the "same" knife.

So far, I'm not nearly as happy!
I don't know if they are making them cheaper or if the old one was an exceptionally good one (or this one isn't that great) but this one doesn't feel as smooth or solid. The belt clip is loose after only a few months of use (and requires a minute torx head to tighten.... an allen would have worked fine).

But the thing that I least like is that not they seem to have enabled the locking mechanism in the closed position. Before the knife would only lock open and was therefore always easy to open. Now, half the time I pull it out of my pocket and push on the thumb tab and nothing

then I push the release, then the tab and the knife opens

These are all really really stupid little complaints, but I just thought I'd vent as I know a lot of mudders have a knife fetish and last year I would have recommended this knife overwhelmingly. Now.... I might look around some more before buying another one just like it.
 
Gerber is a big corporation. The only way businesses that large know how to maximize profits is to make disposable products you need to replace all the time. If you're making a disposable product, you don't need a high level of quality control. So you shop production out to the lowest bidder.

Knife guys have a version of ih8mud. Google "blade forums". I bet others there can tell you if you got an exception or the ruile.
 
good info on the blade group. I like carrying a knife, but not enough to get ensnared in yet another group of fanatics (no offense to us here at Mud)!

Next time around, I'll probably shop for a higher-quality knife from some of the names bandied about- benchmade, kershaw, I'm sure that there are many more.
 
Try Puma ,you will not be disappointed!:cheers:
 
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