Gerber Gator Machete with Saw and Plain Edge Blade, Sheath, 18.75"/11.25"

Let's start out by shouting from the rooftops that this little guy rocks! There are a couple of minor issues, but it's definitely getting 5 stars for an amazing value at $15.59. Let's go over the good stuff first (and there's plenty of it): The Gerber junior has several attributes that take it way beyond just a good deal. As said above, the price is right. At $15 - $20, it's a total bargain ... Your argument is invalid. While this mini machete certainly isn't made of the finest, imported, hand crafted materials (refer to price), if used within its limits, it seriously gets the job done. Because it's lightweight and half the length of a full size machete, you can easily carry it on your belt, or strap it to a pack and you'll barely know it's there until you need it. That being said — Don't let the smaller size fool you. OK sure. You probably won't get far cutting through towering oaks or sequoias, but it will chop right through a 3/4 in diameter branch with one clean shot. You can take down one inchers with a couple more chops, and you can get through branches that are 2 in in diameter or more if you have a little patience and throw in a dab of elbow grease. Somehow they definitely found a pretty solid balance between being light enough to take backpacking but heavy enough to chop through some decent branches. Another rare and good thing to find in a cheap cutting tool (despite some reviews that say otherwise) is that the blade comes out of the factory pretty sharp. After a few minutes with a decent sharpener, you can get the edge to cut through Kryptonite. No complaints in that department. Especially for the price. To protect and haul your blade, the nylon sheath is decent enough. It seems like it should stand up to some punishment while still being light enough that it doesn't add any noticeable weight when the blade is sheathed and on your hip. The velcro strap isn't particularly sturdy, but hopefully it will hold up. For the money, you can't ask for too much more than that. Now on to the bad (just a couple of minor non deal breakers): The machete is not full tang. For those that are new to knives and machetes, the tang refers to how far the metal blade runs up the grip. The Gerber jr. is not a full tang blade. This could become problematic somewhere down the road and could potentially lead to a broken blade or grip if you are using your blade as a rock hammer. Don't forget that you aren't paying big bucks for a product that will last you generations. Despite it's ... lacking of tang, if you treat the blade right and use it properly and within it's limits (that means NO prying), it feels like it will last through many outings in the woods. The other little hiccup in an overall awesome product, is the saw function. It's a great idea (note the use of the word "idea"), and if absolutely necessary, you could use it to (eventually) saw through larger pieces of wood. However, I think that this one looks a little better on paper and is exactly as I said before. A great "idea." It just isn't that practical. The saw blades are sharp and staggered like a saw is supposed to be. The problem is that they are too thick to efficiently saw through large diameter material. When trying to saw back and forth, you seem to have to devote a lot of energy and attention to avoid getting the saw teeth stuck in the log every other stroke. It can become frustrating and time consuming, and if you're backpacking or camping, your time would probably be better spent searching for dry tinder or picking a guitar by the fire. Now remember. This is far from a deal breaker. How much sawing are you really planing on doing with your MACHETE anyway? The conclusion is simple. This Gerber jr. is a serious bang for your buck. It works. It looks solid. It feels solid, and it hasn't failed yet. Overall this blade is absolutely ideal for taking on the trail to help gather fire wood or clear a site for a shelter. Although it seems to be born to be taken into the mountains on a trek, it can also be used around the yard for small to medium sized clearing jobs. If you are looking for a smaller answer to a full sized machete and don't want to dull up the blade of your hunting knife, this bitchin' little piece of hardware is definitely for you.

Was looking for a smaller, inexpensive machete that I could use on my hikes through the beach dunes to hack down that shrubby encroaching invaisive nemesis of Western Oregon called Scotch Broom. For $15 plus change I'm very satisfied. The grip is secure and comfortable. The weight seems about perfect for good control and handling and for making a good chopping or slashing swing. The blade came very sharp and could have been used "as is", but about five minutes with a ceramic rod and it was slicing thin strips of newsprint the entire length of the blade. Tough woody Scotch Broom stalks 1" to 1.5" in diameter are severed easiily with a slashing 45 degree diagonal cut. It's a lovely sensation and a heck of a lot of fun. So far the blade and edge has held up just fine. Don't know about the saw tooth edge because I haven't used it yet. Being carbon steel, especially in a coastal marine environment, it will rust quickly if neglected. So far, cleaning the blade after use followed by a motor oil rubdown has kept it rust free. The sheath is well made too. To summarize, exactly what I wanted. Update: used the saw tooth side of the blade to saw through about a 4 inch diameter Douglas Fir tree that was partially blocking a hiking trail. It took a little more time than a good camp saw but worked pretty well. It would be a lot of work to tackle anything larger than this, but for 1 to 3 inch branches the saw portion of the gator is very useful.

When I first saw this machete, I thought it would only be for kids. In fact, I ordered it for our 11 year old -- but he hasn't been able to use it because I like it so much. The thing about this machete is that the blade is ACTUALLY LONGER THAN some of my other machetes. So it's really not that small. ANY PROBLEMS? There are only two negatives with this machete, in my opinion: 1) the grip is a bit long, almost as if the designers thought you'd be double-handing it; I think that's just not necessary 2) the blade is not thick steel like with some more robust machetes ... this means it can be sharper, but the problem is that if you overdo it on hardwoods with a blade this thin, you can get cracks and divots in the blade edge In comparison to my other machetes, I like this one a lot ... AND AT THIS PRICE IT CAN'T BE BEAT. I mean seriously, this is a great price on a blade of this size and quality. It can't be beat at this price. Go Gerber!

Simply, it's a good knife. I have some issues with the balance, and a "relationship issue" with the handle. The knife is nose heavy, which should be expected I guess. It's a weird feeling when the knife is perpendicular to your wrist. You can feel the knife pushing into the thumb crevice. Chopping with it causes you to rethink your grip with most swings. It's not bad, just a something to get used to. The handle... My issue is that it feels okay in terms of mass, but it doesn't feel "right". Straight out of the box, the grip could benefit from some 80 grit sandpaper. Then the finger indents feel like they "wanna be there" but aren't. They're shallow, and then you feel "that" spot, but it's far from the guard, which promotes the nose heavy nature. It's an excellent knife for having "with the camping gear", which is what I bought it for. I'd buy it again for that without hesitation.

This tool is excellent for tramping through the woods and dealing with saw briers and other things that impede your ability to move through the woods. I love my knife/machete. I have had others and they do not compare to this one. This one is sharp and has stayed sharp through much use. It will cut small trees (1/2" or so) with one swing. The machete has been very useful and the value is enormous to me. It keep me from getting brier scratches all over.

This machete is the perfect size for clearing a path through the woods. The weight is distributed very well, the handle doesn't slide in your hand when wet. The saw teeth on the back make short work on braches up to an inch in diameter, probably bigger but that was what I used it on. I let my 11 year old son use it and he made a path in no time. The only thing I would change is the belt strap on the sheath. I would like to be able to attach it without having to undo and thread my belt through the loop. I have used it in the yard trimming trees as well as in the woods, it does great in both areas.

Really good sheath that will last a long time, since it was made very well, and designed very well. I really like the grip. I can see myself not getting tired, or the grip slipping from sweat. I even like the little wire thing that you can put over twice over the grip to make a makeshift grip guard/holder deal. The size of this is perfect. I really like the fact that I can holster this, and not be bothered by it on my side. The knife is sharp, and the saw portion is well made, and design, so it doesn't lose the sharpness fast.

I wanted a tool for building fires (and protection) while backpacking and thought this would serve useful. I was not excited about the handle upon first impression, it was so long and bulky compared to the blade, but it does feel nice in my hand. It was NOT VERY SHARP out of the packaging, but still sank nicely into dense wood. I sharpened it up and tested it (sawing branches, splitting them, and scraping wood shavings. It preformed quite well, even the saw did nicely, but then I felt the BLADE LOOSEN. The two bolts holding the blade in place came loose from light use so I decided to unscrew them completely to see how long the steel was. I was disapointed when I saw the blades steel extended about a half inch past the second bolt :/ I reattached the blade and tightened the bolts as best I could by hand, it has not come loose since! Now I realize this is not the tool I am looking for. It is a little too long to have hanging on my belt (I am 5',9"), it is not full tang (didn't expect it to be), I do not want to pack an allen wrench just in case the bolts loosen, and I cannot really use it to hammer in tent stakes (the rubber tears easily) All in all, it does what is is supposed to do, I now want to see what a small hatchet or tomahawk can do for me.

First impressions: The blade was very good. Its not razor sharp out of the packaging however this is a machete, not a pocket knife so I don't mind. The sheath is decent. The actual material is nice and strong, it keeps its shape when the machete is out. A belt loop is sown into the sheath and completely tore the first time I had it on my belt. I called Gerber and they are sending me a new one. Great service Gerber! The full size gator machete is huge(my friend has it). The blade alone is the same size as the full Jr. machete. This I like, its more portable and fits in my backpack! Use: I use this machete to clear a lot of brush on my property. Note the tress I'm talking about are evergreens about 30ft tall about at most 10in diameter trunk. I have not sharpened the machete at all and only now, about 4days at 7hrs each day, is the blade getting dull. (This is not a pocket knife, It is not meant to slice through paper!) The machete is long enough to get a good swing to wack off branches from the trunks. Then when the tree trunks where to thick to chop it down, then flip the machete and you have a saw and boy can this saw! It cuts right through the trees with minimal effort. I recommend this machete.

I have yet to try it out but looks and feels great, I was picking berries this summer and there was some brush that I think this will come in handy for. Also wanted something if I wanted to start a fire when hiking the saw looks heavy duty enough for this. Looks cool very cool. I did research and this brand looked like a respected brand in the industry.

Ich habe diese Machete für meinen Sohn gekauft, da ihn auf schmalen Mountainbikepfaden die Brombeerranken und Brennnesseln nerven. Daher sollte es ein kürzeres Modell sein, das in den Rucksack passt und ein Kind von der Größe her nicht überfordert. Die Lieferung erfolgte schnell. Auf der Packung sah ich, dass Gerber zur Fiskars Gruppe gehört. Das gab mir schon mal ein gutes Gefühl, da ich Fiskars Äxte echt überzeugend finde. Nun zum ersten Eindruck der Machete: Die Klinge ist genau 2mm dick, sie ist gut angeschliffen, sogar zweistufig mit einem Hohlschliff erst auf 1mm und dann zur Schneide. Sie war nicht ultrascharf, aber schon sofort einsatzbereit. Der Sägerücken ist mehr als Deko zu sehen, denn als wirkliches Werkzeug. Denn obwohl die Zähne verschränkt sind, ist er lediglich ausgestanzt und es fehlt jeglicher Sägezahnschliff. Ich habe mir nun eine Sägeschärffeile gekauft und werde mal versuchen da schneidende Zähne dranzuzaubern. Der Griff ist verhältnissmäßig groß, gummiert und stabil mit der Klinge verschraubt. Er gibt ein gutes Griffgefühl und die Sicherungsschnur könnte im Ernstfall wirklich ein Abrutschen auf die Klinge verhindern. Der Schwerpunkt liegt im Griff, ca. 1 cm vor dem Klingeneingang. Die Scheide ist auch überraschend qualitativ, aus dickem, teilweise doppeltem, gewebebeschichtetem Kunststoff, an der Schneidenseite 10 fach vernietet. Sie hat eine Gürtelschlaufe. Die Ausführung ist so geräumig, dass die Machete leicht einsteckbar ist. Ein Klettband sichert den Griff sicher gegen herausrutschen. Die Scheide wird garantiert so alt wie die Machete selbst. Erste Anwendung: Mein Sohn hat nun mal eine Stunde im Wald aufgeräumt. Er war sehr zufrieden, die Machete hat es ganz gut verkraftet und war unverändert scharf. Lediglich ein paar kleine Scharten zeugten von Bodenkontakt. Na ja, er übt ja noch. Erstes Anschleifen mit einem Wetzstein: Es klingt relativ dunkel, mehr nach normalem Stahlblech als nach gehärtetem Stahl. Das Schliffergebnis ist o.k., es wird allerdings keine Rasierklinge. Fazit: Für diesen Preis kann man kaum ein besseres Produkt erwarten. Wer eine kompakte Machete sucht, ist damit gut bedient. Update nach 7 Jahren: Der Stahl ist recht weich und kein gehärteter Messerstahl. Ein Freund hat sie, nachdem sie im Holz hing, hin und hergebogen. Ergebnis ist eine wellig gebogene Schneide.

I was concerned that this was not a full tang blade after seeing a few photos of the tool taken apart. But after receiving mine and taking it apart myself, I was relieved to find that it was. It's a definite pro is the handle. Very tough and comfortable for absorbing shock while trimming branches up to 45mm thick. I even cut down a few small trees with the tool and had no issues with blade failure or damage to the tool as a whole. Cons that I've discovered are typical of machete in general, thin soft metal is used for the blade, it's not very sharp when you receive it and you have to sharpen it yourself (it doesn't hold an edge long either), and it will rust very quickly unless you clean it and oil it immediately after use. The handle alone is worth the $40 that this tool cost me. Recommended for light work, heavy work will over tax this tool.

I bought this for camping and I love it. Perfect size and great price. A very functional tool.