Gerber

Gerber StrongArm Review

One thing I have always had is a healthy respect for is a good fixed blade knife. As a young infantryman I fell victim to some clever marketing from Gerber and purchased the Gerber LMF II Infantry. It had infantry in the name so I couldn’t go wrong right? While I may have been a victim of marketing, I didn’t feel victimized. The LMF II served me well, but everything can be improved. The Gerber StrongArm is in many ways the successor to the Infantry, and is better suited to the infantry role.

Buy the Gerber StrongArm at BladeHQ

The LMF II Infantry has a fascinating story and was built for a very specific purpose you should check out here. That specific purpose resulted in the knife’s lack of a full tang. The Gerber StrongArm resolves this issue. The StrongArm is a little lighter, a little shorter, and is more refined than the Infantry LMF II. The StrongArm is a versatile capable, and affordable knife made in Portland, Oregon.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Gerber StrongArm has 4.8 inch fixed blade made from 420 HC steel, is 9.8 inches overall, weighs 7.2 ounces and is proudly made in the United States. This is a classic fixed blade knife that isn’t trying to revolutionize the standard military style survival knife. In terms of fixed blades it’s actually somewhat small. It’s a half inch shorter than the LMF II Infantry, but has an almost identical blade length.

Gerber StrongArm

The knife is easy to carry, and perfect for those looking to trim as much weight as possible from their loadouts. That’s generally the goal of dismounted infantry. Ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain.

The StrongArm comes with options for both a serrated or plain edge. I prefer the plain edge. The blade is coated with a cerakote black matte finish. The finish is tough, but will wear with time and effort like any finish would. The 420 HC steel does mean that once the finish is worn away rust may develop. Keep the knife cleaned, and oiled as the finish migrates and you won’t have any issues.

The older FDE StrongArm you see here has been used and abused hard for a year. It’s been hunting, camping and fishing. The knife has been used to hammer, pry, and dig and its taken a few hits to the finish as you can see.

Gerber StrongArm Brown vs. Black

420 HC steel is a cheaper steel, and this is a knife on the affordable side. The downsides to 420 HC is that it won’t hold an edge for long. It’s one of those steels you sharpen before any really heavy duty cutting is needed. For a survival knife you don’t necessarily need a razor sharp edge for day to day work. It stays sharp enough for cutting paracord, stripping wires, and slicing through clothing for some time.

When it comes time to cut through thick materials you may need to run the blade over or through a sharpener a time or two before you go wild. 420 HC steel can actually get impressively sharp if you know your way around a sharpening stone. I’ve never failed to be impressed at how sharp my Dad makes his old Buck knife before skinning a deer and its made from the same 420 HC steel.

Gerber StrongArm Blade

The StrongArm has a squared off spine that’s perfect for stripping bark, batoning wood, striking a ferro rod, and truncating wood. All tasks the Gerber StrongArm can commit to with real force. The StrongArm’s small handguard doesn’t really allow for a thumb on the blade grip so the less comfortable square spine isn’t an issue.

Handle and Ergonomics

The handle on the StrongArm is an interesting design. I do find it slightly smaller than necessary, but to be fair I have XL sized hands. Even with my large hands I still find the grip comfortable. The smaller grip isn’t much of an issue due to its design.

The Gerber StrongArm is glass filled nylon that’s covered with a rubber overmold. This makes the grip ‘soft’ in the hand. Squeezing it tight doesn’t result in much fatigue or pain. The little bit of give the rubber overmold offers results in a lot of comfort. The little bit of give also allows the blade to mold to your hand just a bit.

The rubber overmolded material is coated with a raised diamond textured pattern. This glues the knife to your hand and is perfect for cold, wet, or gloved hands. The pattern is rough, but doesn’t rub the hand raw, or even really create hotspots that I’ve noticed.

Gerber StrongArm in Sheath

The bottom of the handle is a small pommel. It’s a lot smaller than the LMF II, but still capable enough to smash windows and skulls. It’s also got a lanyard loop if your StrongArm needs a leash.

Sheath

We’ll finish this up talking about the brilliant sheath system Gerber included with the StrongArm. It’s designed to be adaptable to the user. Popular knives typically have plenty of sheath options, but with Gerber you are getting all of them with the knife.

Gerber StrongArm Molle Compatible

This includes a MOLLE mount, a drop leg system, and a belt loop option for horizontal carry. The knife is too big for any kind of horizontal concealed carry, but it’s really great for a snag free carry while wearing armor. When you draw from a standard belt carry sheath while wearing armor you are likely to get snagged on your gear in one way of the other. Drawing horizontally from the belt prevents this.

I also like the horizontal belt mount for mounting the knife vertically on my pack straps. This means my knife never leaves the pack I go camping with.

The Sheath employs both passive and active retention depending on the mount being used. The active retention is a simple snap button thong. The passive retention comes from an indent in the center of the handle. The sheath locks into this indent and holds the knife well.

In all my adventuring near and far it hasn’t fallen out when I’m using only passive retention. The sheath is also outfitted with plenty of lashing holes for those who aren’t satisfied with the included sheath options.

Gerber StrongArm Review – Final Thoughts

The Gerber StrongArm is a great little knife, especially when you factor in a street price of around 50 bucks. Gerber’s reputation was hit hard by imports of poorly made foreign knives, but they seem to be working hard to fix that reputation. The StrongArm is proudly stamped made in Portland, Oregon. The StrongArm is one of many made in USA knives in their catalog and likely one that will be around for a long time It’s an excellent budget bushcraft knife.

The StrongArm may not be the LMF II Infantry, but it’s a great knife, and a worthy successor to the LMF II.

Gerber StrongArm 420 High Carbon Stainless Steel Fixed Blade Survival Tactical Knife with Molle Compatible Multi-Mount Sheath - Fine Edge - Black (30-001038)

List Price: $67.89

Price: $67.89

Price Disclaimer

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Gerber StrongArm at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Gerber Applegate Fairbairn Covert Review

by Mike Teeples 5 Comments

The first knife I ever owned, even before my Swiss Army knife, was a Gerber that my Dad gave me. It awed me then and awes me now, and is being passed down within my family; hopefully for generations to come. When a couple of military buddies mentioned the Gerber Applegate Fairbair Covert to me as a “must have” for my collection, the were sure to mention the rich history of knife’s designers.

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I’m not crazy about tricking out a knife with logos and what not, but if you’re going that route they may as well be the signatures of some pretty accomplished dudes. Mission accomplished with the Covert. Both Colonel Rex Applegate and William E. Fairbairn were pioneers in close quarters armed and unarmed combat. Colonel Applegate was even inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1994 Blade Show. Look them up some time and you are sure to be impressed by their accomplishments.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Covert has an overall length of 8.75″, a 3.75″ blade, weighs 4 ounces, and is made in the USA. A significant challenge in the tactical folder market seems to be balancing weight and size with concealability, and to do this without losing the knife’s function. The Covert walks that tightrope nicely. With a full 5” handle, it accommodates even large hands. One would think that would lead to a noticeable weight in your pocket, but the 4 ounces feels extremely light in hand and becomes an afterthought in the pocket in no time.

And if you are really size sensitive, Gerber also offers a Mini Covert with a 2.92 inch blade and weighing in at a mere 2.2 ounces.

The blade itself is .125” thick, and include signatures of its creators and “USA” proudly stamped under the Gerber logo. The spear point blade features a double bevel and serrations running halfway down the sharp side. The opposite edge could be sharpened to suit the owner. I’ve never been motivated to do so, but could see that being an option since this is a folding knife designed for hand-to-hand combat.

The Covert comes with a titanium nitride coated 154CM stainless steel blade, a nice departure from Gerber’s usual lineup of 420HC blades. 154CM is a great working steel that is reasonable to sharpen yet still good in the edge retention department. Seeing how this nice retails for close to $100, 154CM was an appropriate choice given the price.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The words “Glass Filled Nylon” (GFN) do not give justice to how the Covert feels in the hand. The material is dense and of high quality – it does not feel like “cheap plastic”. Many manufacturers use GFN and when you pick it up its clear why the choice is popular. GFN holds up well to abuse and can be molded into a near-infinite variety of shapes and textures. This one is ribbed for my pleasure, and bears a surface that’s easy to grip without catching on your favorite pair of jeans when removing it from the pocket.

The GFN itself is semi-smooth with the texture of a medium grit river rock and almost seems temperature neutral regardless of conditions. I know this knife isn’t going to slip out of my hand and don’t have to worry about blisters with extended use (as unlikely as extended tactical use is). About three quarters up the length of the handle you will find ambidextrous finger choils with mild jimping.

This knife was designed with combat use in mind, and the simple handle allows for the user to work with the covert in forward and reverse grips.

The finger notches provide an anchor point that give that extra bit off assurance and make for an overall high quality fit in the hand.

The clip falls short. It’s a decent size and sits in your pocket at about the right height, but allows for ambidextrous tip down carry only. Happy days for those of us that are tip down users. The rest of us will have to get over it or find another blade. One other point regarding the clip, and I’ll let it rest: I’m sure this is just an offshoot of the fact that nearly all of my clips are situated near the pommel, but the clip is bothersome when holding the knife for general use. The clip is my least favorite feature of the Covert by a long shot.

Deployment and Lockup

The Covert uses ambidextrous thumb studs for deployment. Personally, I love having thumb studs. The Covert’s thumb studs are accessible without being in the way, and they also serves as an external stop pin. This folder flicks open easily with a little wrist action. It glides open to a secure liner lock that is perfectly centered on my model. One thing I want to mention here is how well balanced the blade feels both while being snapped open and afterwards. Balance was obviously something the Colonel Rex Applegate and William Fairbairn wanted to be perfect. They achieved that goal.

The Covert features a liner lock with an external safety, called the “roto-lock”. The roto-lock is similar to CRKT’s Auto-LAWKS system, and requires the manipulation of a small lever on the spine of the handle prior to closing the blade. The locking mechanism naturally falls into place as your fingers find the deep finger choils and jimping. You pull the lever back (away from the blade) to disengage the liner lock. Although the liner lock and roto-lock are both made of relatively thin steel, everything is solid and exudes confidence. While I am not a huge fan of external safeties, I can see how this would make sense for a combat knife.

Gerber Applegate Fairbairn Covert Review – Final Thoughts

I honestly didn’t want to like this knife. Any time somebody puts a giant signature on the face of a blade it just rubs me the wrong way. I am also not a huge fan of the clip. My preferred blade carry position is tip up and I have to retrain myself when I decide to carry the Covert. This may not be a problem for some of you, and certainly not for folks that commit to one blade for universal everyday carry. I’m not that guy. For that reason, this knife doesn’t find its way into heavy normal rotation.

All that said, it didn’t take long for me to overcome those pet peeves when handling and using this knife. It just flat out does what it is designed to do and performance trumps aesthetics. I am glad I own the knife and many friends and colleagues seem to be drawn to it. I have every confidence in the workmanship of the blade and moving parts and really appreciate how it feels in your hand. I see it being a love-hate kind of knife depending on what features matter most to the buyer. Cost is always a factor and while the MSRP is $182, it’s readily available for under $100.

Gerber makes a ton of inexpensive, low quality blades in the lines they offer from overseas. The big retailers demand this (and so do consumers) and you can’t argue with demand for throwaway knives. The “Made in the USA” line appears to follow tradition of craftsmanship and attention to detail of old. If you’re a right handed, tip down carrier or if that isn’t a stumbling block, you should buy this knife. It may actually be a go-to tactical recommendation for those of you in that camp.

Regardless, you won’t be disappointed with the functionality of this balanced and functional folder designed by two of the biggest names in hand-to-hand combat training.

Gerber Applegate Covert Knife, Serrated Edge, Black, 154CM [05786]

List Price: $182.10

Price: $95.48

You Save: $86.62

Price Disclaimer

I recommend purchasing the Gerber Covert at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that purchasing anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Editor’s Note: Please join me in welcoming Mike Teeples as a contributing author. Mike is from Colorado and brings his experience in hiking the Rockies and enthusiasm for all manner of edged tools to BladeReviews.com

Gerber Downrange Tomahawk Review

by Chad McBroom 3 Comments

The tomahawk is a North American hand-axe first used by the Algonquian Indians. Originally made from stone, the introduction of metal blades came with the arrival of the Europeans to North America. The tomahawk remains one of the most versatile bladed tools in existence. Modern uses of the hawk include breaching, rescue, survival, and close-quarter combat.

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The tomahawk has seen a huge surge in popularity over recent years. The Gerber Downrange Tomahawk is just one example of the modernization of this classic weapon and tool.

Purpose

From the moment you lay your eyes on it, it is evident that the Gerber Downrange Tomahawk has one purpose, and one purpose only—destruction! Sure, you can take this tool camping and use it to chop fire wood and drive tent stakes, but it would be like using a tank to drive your date to the prom. This tool is made for breaching—designed to remove unwanted doors form walls and unwanted walls from doors.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Downrange Tomahawk (DRT) has a three-purpose axe head designed to pack the most function into this breaching tool: A beveled edge for chopping through drywall, doors, vehicle skins, rope, etc.; a hammer head for busting locks, doorknobs, hinges, and the like; and a cutaway grip for controlling the pry bar end. Measuring at 19.27 inches, the Downrange Tomahawk is one of the larger “tactical” tomahawks on the market. While this makes it a little more cumbersome to pack around, it definitely adds to its leveraging capabilities when used as a pry bar.

With the exception of the welded on hammer head, the DRT is made from a solid piece of 420HC steel and finished with a black Cerakote™ coating. A sweeping beard that comes to a point at the heel gives this hawk excellent hooking capabilities, which can be used for ripping out the busted shards of its target, or for hooking onto stumps and logs when climbing up difficult terrain.

One of the major complaints that I have heard voiced by customers is the DRT’s lack of a sharpened edge. This usually comes from those who fail to understand the intent of this breaching tomahawk. A sharpened bevel is great for chopping wood and other cutting tasks; however, when it comes to breaching a door or cutting through the skin of a downed UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, a sharpened bevel tends to over penetrate and get stuck, making the task more difficult. Gerber’s thought process then, was that their tomahawk could easily be sharpened for survival and bushcraft use, but with breaching and rescue being the primary focus of this design, a less aggressive bevel was ideal.

Handle and Ergonomics

The DRT has integrated tan G10 handle scales that contour with the jimping on the upper and lower portions of the handle. The bottom portion of the handle has jimping on both the front and back, whereas the top portion of the handle has jimping only on the front. The aggressive jimping makes for a very secure grip, especially when wearing gloves. The location of the jimping on the bottom portion of the handle is in the perfect location for gripping the tomahawk for maximum chopping leverage.

As mentioned earlier, the head doubles as a handle for the pry bar via a cutaway in the center. The addition of four finger groves creates a nice home for your hand inside the handle. There is also a small guard where the head and the handle meet. This guard protects your hand from getting smashed when you are choking up on the hawk.

Sheath

A tool like the DRT is rendered useless if it is not accessible when you need it. The best breaching tool in the world won’t open a single door if it is sitting back in vehicle you drove to the objective. The DRT is made packable through a MOLLE-compatible sheath system that incorporates a molded pry bar sleeve attached to nylon webbing. Two snapping retention bands secure the tomahawk in place. Two side-by-side MOLLE attachments at the top and a centered MOLLE attachment at the bottom of the webbing can be used to attach the DRT to a pack, standard webbing, or body armor so that the DRT goes where you go.

There is a separate portion of the sheath system that covers the tomahawk’s head. The head cover slides over the head and secures in place with a snapping nylon strap. This cover leaves the hammer head and the cutaway handle exposed so the pry bar and hammer can be used with the head cover in place. This reduces deployment time by eliminating the need to remove the cover unnecessarily, while acting as a safety measure to keep the edge covered during prying.

Testing

I took the DRT out to a building that was scheduled for demo and put it through the paces. Doors, drywall, and sheet metal were no match for the DRT. I was able to turn an interior door into splinters within a matter of seconds and the bevel worked like a can opener on the sheet metal. The pry bar also worked like a charm for separating doors from their frames. Using the hammer head, I was able to remove door knobs and hinges with a few whacks. Cinder block also proved to be of little consequence when it came to stopping the DRT.

Gerber Downrange Tomahawk Review – Final Thoughts

The Gerber Downrange Tomahawk is an extremely versatile breaching tool that performs as advertised. I was actually a bit surprised by its performance. I am a bit of a steel snob and 420HC is not one of my favorite steels. While 420HC is on the higher end of the 400-grade stainless steels, it is a low-grade blade steel generally speaking. I have learned, though, that I am often surprised by the performance of some of these lower grade steels when they are properly hardened. I have not tried putting an edge on the DRT, so I do not know how well this 420HC hawk will retain an edge, but as it is out of the box, it performed well.

Compared with offerings from boutique brands like Hardcore Hardware, RMJ Tactical, and Dawson knives, the DRT is priced appropriately at under $200 retail. I definitely recommend the Gerber Downrange Tomahawk for anyone looking for an effective breaching/rescue tomahawk.

Gerber Downrange Tomahawk [30-000715]

List Price: $328.00

Price: $152.99

You Save: $175.01

Price Disclaimer

I recommend purchasing the Gerber Downrange Tomahawk at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that purchasing anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.