Wang Dang Don't buy this Parang

It's no longer yellow.

Some genius must have seen a warehouse full of blades on some inventory report and decided to relabel them & sell them. probably got a bonus for it too...

or did they really design 2 heavy chopping blades in a row with the exact same defect?

but this was designed by "bear"....

If it's not swabbed/marked Red Bull, I won't buy it. that was a joke

I hate to sound like a snob, but IMHO anybody with any "knife sense" would stay away from Gerber products in general. Their quality over the years has plummeted to the level of the BudK catalog.

Shameful .

I remember taking half moons out of a brand new Kershaw skinner just whittling way back when it was in its "prime". no thanks

Knew a Brit that claimed to know "Bear". Called him "Cookie" Grylls, not sure why. Called him a "prat".

I'm not impressed by the knives he endorses. A simple 3" drop point and a camp saw is probably all most outdoorsmen need. That and a "tactical" can opener.

I'm not impressed by the knives he endorses.

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You have to keep in mind they just paid him to put his name on a line of inferior products.

Push come to shove in the wild, without a TV crew & medics surrounding him.

He wouldn't use them either.

But I don't blame him too much for selling out while he was popular enough to make a buck or two.

His 15 minutes of TV fame has already run out it seems.

rc

I agree with RC. How many here would say "sorry gerber knives, keep your check" Although they are "survival" tools, in my opinion they are geared more for the yout's. Much like my Rambo knife with the compass and fishing kit.

How many here would say "sorry gerber knives, keep your check"

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I'd certainly tell them to keep their money if they wanted to peddle that crap using my name. There are too many other companies that make a quality product at a reasonable price that one could endorse. Namely, Buck is offering some nice big 420HC full tang fixed blades for under $60. Also, Schrade, who I hadn't paid any attention to until Blade this year, is beginning to get turned around by Taylor Cutlery. Their "Extreme Survival" series has some true full tang 1095 carbon steel big blades for $45 and under. Hso also brought their Chris Reeve copy hollow handle survival knives to my ay attention. Amazingly, those are actually made from a single piece of 1070 carbon steel, and they can be found online for under $60. The Extreme Survival name is silly, but at least the products are of good quality.

I'd certainly tell them to keep their money if they wanted to peddle that crap using my name.

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You might value your name more then he does?

Or you might value your name the same as he does?

But if somebody offered you or I a large sum of money to use it while your name was hot?

Unfortunately, neither you or I will ever have a hot TV show to find out what we would do I betcha!!

rc

Rc, I think in large part it's just because I know what else is out there. I'd take a smaller check on the condition that Gerber use my name on higher quality blades if they were the only suitor. Maybe I'm just weird.

Les Stroud seems to be doing alright with Camilus. Heard him talk about how he was infuriating them be insisting on product testing himself and changing stuff to make a better knife. I bet that his checks aren't small either.

Personally? I wouldn't use a knife who's sponsor's only claim to fame was drinking his own urine. If he's willing to sink that far to get noticed, he probably doesn't know an edge from a bar of soap.

Les Stroud seems to be doing alright with Camilus. Heard him talk about how he was infuriating them be insisting on product testing himself and changing stuff to make a better knife. I bet that his checks aren't small either.

Personally? I wouldn't use a knife who's sponsor's only claim to fame was drinking his own urine. If he's willing to sink that far to get noticed, he probably doesn't know an edge from a bar of soap.

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http://www.camillusknives.com/produ...troud_SK_Jungle_Survival_Machete#ReviewHeader

http://www.amazon.com/Camillus-Stro...dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Actually it would appear his machetes are also pieces of crap with flimsy handles

Actually it would appear his machetes are also pieces of crap with flimsy handles

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There was also a report here on THR of the carbonitride or whatever they call it coating making the fire steel included with the knives useless. The coating is so slick that the spines of the blades cant get any friction on the ferro rod, and just slide off.

Also, the Les Stroud knives are 440A steel, while the rest of the Camillus line up is AUS-8 or VG10. First off, why do you need a coating on a stainless steel with such a low carbon content? Second, why use 440A in the first place? The knives are made in China, so the AUS-8 used in the rest of the company's lineup, or the less expensive Chinese clone, 8Cr13MoV, wouldn't add much if anything to the price. I know AUS-8 isn't quite as corrosion resistant as 440A, but it's not carbon steel either. AUS-8 is also still pretty easy to sharpen: It's not some exotic steel Elmax or one of the other highly abrasion resistant super steels.

Then again, we're educated consumers. We aren't the target market of these knives.

anybody with any "knife sense" would stay away from Gerber products in general.

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I agree, and I don't understand why that is. It makes me sad that Gerber has sold out for poor quality, crap knives and it makes me sadder that they sell so many of them at prices comparable to companies that build good knives that will render better service.

Personally, I feel Gerber used to be (as in the past) good well-made blades of good steel---now they just seen to be a marketing name for a bunch of snip products capitalizing on Gerber's formally good name---I don't buy any of their crap---just my opinion...

I used a Gerber Gator for a couple of years as a hunting knife and as a work knife as well. It wasn't bad. But that was then. The Gater replaced my old Schrade (large two blade) but it never really was as good as that knife.

Now I won't buy Gerber knives. But I did buy one of their little axes. It wasn't long after they were bought out that the quality started slipping.