Customer service and the Gerber Bear Grylls knives.

[emergprep]

Hi all, Having recently bought three new Gerber blades and having two of them fail had been more than irksome. I virtually destroyed my BG ultimate knife on a simple camping trip and I noticed yesterday that the handle on my BG folding sheath knife is separating at the botom near the lanyard hole. I contacted Gerber and they are willing to take care of both without question. Not exactly what I was expecting and pleasantly suprised honestly. This goes along way in my book!

[PT945]

Gerber is a great company, I haven't had any dealings with them personally but everyone I know that has only has good things to say about there c.s.

[slo793]

Thats good to know since I just bought the BG ultimate knife. I got sucked in and had to buy it to give it a try. It looked like a decent design and I have always liked Gerber, so I thought "it couldn't be that bad"......we'll see.

[Iron mike]

I have had a few Gerber products in my time I have found them to be alright products their multi tool has been on my table more then a few times I have a box I call the Gerber graveyard from this stock of a few broken Gerber I fix a lot of others which come in with broken tools or blades or lost clips.

[bravokilo17]

usually dont buy gerber, all the broken gerbers i have have been issued to me, but thats good to know about the customer service

[Oscar Wilde]

I contacted Gerber ....

Could you share their contact info? Today I visited my local army surplus and saw a large cheapy pocket knife in the case. Turns out to be a Gerber Combat folder. The lady wanted $30 for it but I noticed 1/2 of the screw that provides the hinge point is broken off and the clip is missing so I got it for $20. I can replace the piece with some aftermarket hardware but I'd prefer Gerber parts if I can get them.

O.W.

[Oscar Wilde]

I contacted the Gerber warranty folks late Friday afternoon .... replacement parts were in this morning's mail. Their knives may suck but they have unparalleled customer support.

O.W.

[slo793]

Wow.... you cant beat that. I have really never had any problems with Gerber so far. I have quite a few of thier knives and have been pleased with thier performance so far.

[emergprep]

Agreed! I have used my BGUK alot since it was replaced. It turns out to be a good knife, not a great knife, but a good one none the less. I just recently bought a Becker companion but haven't really had a chance to use it. Echo2 did a great review and convinced me to buy one. So far, fit-finish and materials are beyond what I have recieved from Gerber for years.

[Stitch]

Not trying to stir the pot, but... In my opinion if you have already had two failures with a certain brand of knives this would not instill confidence in their products. I think it is great that they are standing behind their products. However, what good is anyone's customer service if one is depending on something as important as a good knife and it fails in the field? One could end up dead as a result. Just food for thought.

In my opinion something I heard in the gun world also applies to knives. The money saved by buying a cheaper product can be used by your loved ones for your funeral.

I once broke a Schrade Pro Hunter by lightly batoning it. I threw it out and will never buy a Schrade product again. Lucky for me this happened in the yard and not in the field.

I also understand that in today's economy funds can be a limiting factor on what we can afford. I once found a Cold Steel SRK at an antique store for $15.00 and a Cold Steel Special Projects knife that was made in the USA for $20.00. I gave the SRK away to someone interested in the outdoors who could not afford a decent knife.

If I had a $50.00 limit on a knife it would be something like the knife below. Yes it is used, but the steel is D2, has a Micarta handle, a leather sheath and is made in the USA.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NORTHWOODS-CUSTOM-KNIFE-W-SHEATH-/120751078213?pt=Collectible_Knives&hash=item1c1d533b45

A new one is $123.00.

http://www.hycreek.com/Black-Willow-Leaf-Knife-p/wlk01.htm

[no1woodwizar]

I currently have two gerbers. One I cannot remember the name of which is a fixed blade that is my everyday carry and the other is a Gerger Gator machette. I have been battoning the crap out of my fixed blade and so far so good. Now the Gerber gator machette in my opinion is awesom. I have the short version of this machette. It has a saw blade on top that cuts like a dream. The only thing that has really disappointed me is their sheathes. They are ok but I wish they were leather. I plan on buying a really good bushcraft knife as soon as I can afford it.