Gerber Gear Gator Folding Pocket Knife with Gator Grip for Gardening, Survival, Hunting, Camping and Bushcraft

The Gerber Gator Drop Point has to be one of the best values in a US-made folding knife. Kershaw has some outstanding affordable US knives, like the Skyline, & there’s great traditional makers like Buck, Case & Utica, but typically you have to spend significantly more for an American-made knife. (Knives & tools made overseas are often great, but given the chance, I like to support US labor, & companies whose workforce has some rights & protections. ) As a longtime outdoorsman & tradesman, I have a few really nice knives, from Benchmade, GEC, Kershaw, even a Busse & a Garcia Skookum Bush Tool. I got the Gator as a lightweight knife for hiking, not expecting much. It’s a well made knife; mine has no gaps, flashing or flaws. The factory edge was nice and shallow & sharp. I was surprised how much I love it. •The main reason is the handle. Slim, flat knives are great in your pocket, but never comfortable to use for extended time. Like a Stanley 99, a hunting, Bushcraft knife or a decent kitchen knife, the Gator has an ovoid shaped handle that is fairly thick. Small hands may find it uncomfortable, but most will find it perfect. Some people will complain about the lack of a pocket clip; any clip would ruin the ergonomics of the handle. The knife is a bit wide for carrying in most jeans anyway. (If you love the knife but need a clip, you could easily install one. I use some EZ-lock threaded inserts.) The handle is covered with Santoprene, (like a fine PB Swiss Grip screwdriver.) normally I don’t care for rubberized handles, but this works well. If you don’t use the sheath, it keeps it in place in a pocket or pack, provides decent purchase if your hands are wet & great purchase if they’re cold. Santoprene is also pretty durable, if my PB screwdrivers are any indication. I thought the finger cutout might be annoying, but it’s not. The handle has a fairly neutral grip, suitable for a variety of grips, replicating a good hunting knife as was intended. •The 154cm drop point blade is great. The shape is so versatile, it is equally at home for hunting, cooking, camp tasks or use on a job site. It doesn’t have the ideal grind or steel for Bushcraft, but with the comfortable handle, it’s a pretty good choice, especially for $50. 154cm steel at this price is a bargain. I’m sure some steel nerds believe it’s obsolete, but they’re wrong. For a hunting knife, it was a great choice. For the tasks it’s likely to be used for, it’ll perform very well. A more expensive steel wouldn’t improve this knife. (The knife industry is a bit detached from reality; the trend in steels is completely opposite all the data on blade performance. “Super steels” are essentially micro-serrations in brittle metal.) The heat treatment seems good; perhaps a touch softer than a Benchmade 154cm, but I’m not really sure. It certainly sharpens & polishes as well as any 154cm I’ve used, and the edge retention is very good. Making the edge retention seem even better is the geometry; this thing is a slicing machine. The blade isn’t too thick, and the width and full flat grind leads to a fairly thin edge, (excellent for a $50 factory knife.) The factory grind was shallow, and mildly polished, which is perfect for hunters & most users. If you’re picky, for general use, you may want more polish. The bead blasted finish helps keep the cost down, & isn’t the best for preventing corrosion or reducing friction, but it’s fine at this price. A few minutes with Flitz or a buffer & it’ll be a nice semi-polished blade. •The lockup is very good, not exactly a Triad Lock, but certainly good enough for most tasks. I feel comfortable using it for anything a folder is suited for. Despite the lack of thumb studs or hole, I can easily open it one handed, as the blade is wide & the spring isn’t overwhelming. You can also “shake” it open quite easily. • Size & weight are great: the 3 3/4” blade is long enough to be used a general belt knife without being too big when folded. 5.4 oz isn’t featherweight for UL hikers, but considering the versatility, ergonomics & sturdiness of the Gator, I think it’s quick good. You’re not getting a comfortable handle & blade this size in a lighter weight, at any price. •Maintenance is easy; all the materials are corrosion resistant, so just keep it clean, don’t put it away wet, sharpen & lubricate when needed. When I consider the price & design intent of the Gator, I have 0 complaints about it. I bought it as a kid on a budget, without great. expectations. All these years later, it’s become a trusted companion.

One of the best prices on a great quality product with one of the best steels on the planet. While the Gerber Gator isn't exactly a "hard use" or heavy duty knife, it is an excellent knife with a modern, high-grade cutlery steel. 154CM is a modern knife steel that holds a much sharper edge for much longer than the far more common knife steels, such as "420HC" and "440A". This knife represents one of the lowest cost ways to get a full size, good quality knife with this excellent steel. The knife itself? The Gator has a very large, comfortable handle, which is great for big/hard work or medium to big hands. The flat ground blade is made for slicing/sheering, so this knife will excel at skinning, food prep, even survival/camp chores like whittling, cutting wooden tent steaks, etc. The only "drawback" is that the blade stock is somewhat thin. A thicker blade means a stronger, tougher blade, but its unlikely you'll use this knife in any way that will break the steel, and thinner blade stock lends itself to better edge geometry anyway. This is a great quality, full-size knife for anyone who wants that, but is especially valuable for the high-grade steel in the blade. You should buy this if for no other reason than to see the HUGE difference between "normal" knife steels and this top grade one.

Gerber has produced a real bargain in the 154cm version of the Gator, by carefully cutting corners. Whether that makes it a bargain for *you* or not, depends on your needs. It's great for camping, hunting, fishing, or as a crafts/utility knife, and is a good paring knife. The fat, grippy handle which makes it so good for those purposes, makes it bad for pocket carry, to the point that Gerber skipped putting a clip on. Its blade is about 3.7" long, which makes it illegal for concealed carry in some jurisdictions, even though it requires two-handed opening, so would be less than ideal for self-defense. It comes with a very snugly-fitting black nylon sheath, with the Gerber name and logo. It's a well thought out and integrated package with a definite niche, rather than being what most people would think of as a general-purpose knife for daily carry. For $10 you can buy an aftermarket thumb stud to mount on it, making it better balanced but less of a bargain. If you can live with all of the above, what you get in return is a handle which is ergonomically excellent, and more premium steel than you'll find in any other knife in its price range. It's not finished to win any beauty contests, but it's quite solid and free of play, opens without friction, and has a detente to protect fingers on closing. It's simple, with few parts to break, and really a lot of knife for the money. It's mainly a question of whether it's more knife than you want. Though harder to deploy, it's a compact alternative to a fixed blade, and while it's not as pretty as a large Folding Hunter, it's much easier to grip and holds an edge better. That's the niche where this knife belongs, and where it excels. If a pocket EDC is more compatible with your lifestyle than a nylon sheath is, expect this knife to end up stored with your outdoor recreational gear, too bulky to tote to the office, but too nice to part with.

Ottimo coltello molto equilibrato. La meccanica non ha nessun tipo di gioco ed è molto scorrevolea. Acciaio 154cm, tra i migliori per resistenza e mantenimento del filo. Ottimo rapporto qualità prezzo, consiglio l'acquisto ad occhi chiusi. Confrontandolo col Victorinox Hunter Pro, il Gerber risulta più leggero ed ergonomico, lo preferisco.

Gerber Messer in gewohnter guter Qualität. Liegt satt in der Hand. Versand hat etwas lange gedauert. Trotzdem meiner Meinung nach eine klare Kaufempfehlung.

Pêche chasse parfait acier de qualité

Die Gummiartige Schicht ist schön griffig Das Messer sehr scharf geschliffen und schnitthaltig! Ich verwende diese Messer meist in der Firma für Kartone zerschneiden... Andere Messer sind da schnell stumpf geworden dieses nicht! Mfg Christian

Sehr stabile harte Klinge und sehr gut verarbeitet! Das Messer ist dabei nicht einmal schwer. Wer ein sehr gutes Arbeitsmesser sucht ist mit diesem Modell sehr,sehr gut beraten. Eine ganz klare Kaufetipp!