Post by Pete1977 on Mar 12, 2009 12:22:49 GMT -5
Gerber Traverse Review
I picked this knife up at Target in Chicago for 19.99. I had seen it a few times and the overall shape of it reminded me of the old Gerber Folding Sportsman ( a knife I have never owned but have wanted to for some time) and the Gerber LST (one of the first knives I bought for myself when I was younger). I like the shape of this knife. It is aesthetically pleasing. It came packaged in a clamshell pack in a tin case. The packaging was deceptive to the weight of the knife. This knife is, in fact, very light weight.
It is a partially serrated liner locking folder with dual thumb studs and a “flipper,” a black Titainium Nitride coated blade, black painted grooves in the handle scales and a black painted low riding clip. The butt of the knife is flush with the hem of my pocket when the knife is clipped. This would be very discrete if the clip was not as wide as the knife handle itself.
My first impressions upon taking this knife out of the package was unimpressed. Opening the knife one handed was difficult due to the small and poorly placed thumbstuds. They are far too low on the blade when the knife is closed and sit flush, if not a hair below the handle scales. This would not be a problem if the “flipper” was more than a tiny nub that barely protrudes above the spine of the knife handles. The knife opens about one inch when the flipper is pushed down. Out of the box the pivot is too tight to complete opening with inertia. This might as well have a nail nick and be a two handed opener.
The edges of the scales were not chamfered and felt sharp. The blade pivot was tight and the action was gritty, but I attribute this more to the inside of the scales being painted black and the tang of the blade being coated with the TiNi. One of the washers appears to be plastic and the other appears to be bronze. There is no lanyard hole.
When I rubbed my fingers over the flat of the blade my fingertips were covered with a black powder. The grind lines were off on the edge of the knife. With one side it shaved easily and the other took a little more effort. It did not slice newsprint out of the box and cut standard notebook paper with some effort. The knife did lock up solidly with no blade play vertically or horizontally. The liner lock did protrude from the scales (there is no cutout in the handle to access the lock) about 2 mm. I would worry that in white knuckle grips this might cause the lock to disengage, especially when there is blade play or wear from use.
My knife had specks of rust on the flipper and on the tang of the knife where it meets the handle scales out of the box. The blade is approximately 3 inches long and the steel is not mentioned anywhere on the packaging. I assume it is the “surgical stainless” that a lot of Gerbers use nowadays. I’ve found its edge retention similar to Buck or Byrd brand knives. It has always taken a toothy edge for me and was easy to resharpen in the field. The edge retention was moderate but I tend to use a knife like this for dirtier jobs or cutting chores that are more dangerous to the knife’s edge. I understand however that the edge retention, ease of sharpening and the corrosion resistance of the Gerber mystery steel is different on a knife by knife basis. The Armor I used frequently commercial fishing and on the towboat was decent for the cost.
The Traverse is made in China.
Some pix:
Open, with a Kershaw Shallot for size comparison:
Closed, clip side, with a Kershaw Shallot for scale:
Open, showing liner lock engaged:
Closed, showing useless thumb stud and “flipper”:
I will post more after I reprofile the edge and as I get to use and evaluate this knife at work. My honest opinion and YMMV, is to avoid this knife unless you need a cheap beater, but for close to the the same price you could get a Byrd knife with far superior craftsmanship and fit and finish. If I don’t get around to using it I will probably end up giving it away to one of the NKP guys I work with on the tugs.
pete
I picked this knife up at Target in Chicago for 19.99. I had seen it a few times and the overall shape of it reminded me of the old Gerber Folding Sportsman ( a knife I have never owned but have wanted to for some time) and the Gerber LST (one of the first knives I bought for myself when I was younger). I like the shape of this knife. It is aesthetically pleasing. It came packaged in a clamshell pack in a tin case. The packaging was deceptive to the weight of the knife. This knife is, in fact, very light weight.
It is a partially serrated liner locking folder with dual thumb studs and a “flipper,” a black Titainium Nitride coated blade, black painted grooves in the handle scales and a black painted low riding clip. The butt of the knife is flush with the hem of my pocket when the knife is clipped. This would be very discrete if the clip was not as wide as the knife handle itself.
My first impressions upon taking this knife out of the package was unimpressed. Opening the knife one handed was difficult due to the small and poorly placed thumbstuds. They are far too low on the blade when the knife is closed and sit flush, if not a hair below the handle scales. This would not be a problem if the “flipper” was more than a tiny nub that barely protrudes above the spine of the knife handles. The knife opens about one inch when the flipper is pushed down. Out of the box the pivot is too tight to complete opening with inertia. This might as well have a nail nick and be a two handed opener.
The edges of the scales were not chamfered and felt sharp. The blade pivot was tight and the action was gritty, but I attribute this more to the inside of the scales being painted black and the tang of the blade being coated with the TiNi. One of the washers appears to be plastic and the other appears to be bronze. There is no lanyard hole.
When I rubbed my fingers over the flat of the blade my fingertips were covered with a black powder. The grind lines were off on the edge of the knife. With one side it shaved easily and the other took a little more effort. It did not slice newsprint out of the box and cut standard notebook paper with some effort. The knife did lock up solidly with no blade play vertically or horizontally. The liner lock did protrude from the scales (there is no cutout in the handle to access the lock) about 2 mm. I would worry that in white knuckle grips this might cause the lock to disengage, especially when there is blade play or wear from use.
My knife had specks of rust on the flipper and on the tang of the knife where it meets the handle scales out of the box. The blade is approximately 3 inches long and the steel is not mentioned anywhere on the packaging. I assume it is the “surgical stainless” that a lot of Gerbers use nowadays. I’ve found its edge retention similar to Buck or Byrd brand knives. It has always taken a toothy edge for me and was easy to resharpen in the field. The edge retention was moderate but I tend to use a knife like this for dirtier jobs or cutting chores that are more dangerous to the knife’s edge. I understand however that the edge retention, ease of sharpening and the corrosion resistance of the Gerber mystery steel is different on a knife by knife basis. The Armor I used frequently commercial fishing and on the towboat was decent for the cost.
The Traverse is made in China.
Some pix:
Open, with a Kershaw Shallot for size comparison:
Closed, clip side, with a Kershaw Shallot for scale:
Open, showing liner lock engaged:
Closed, showing useless thumb stud and “flipper”:
I will post more after I reprofile the edge and as I get to use and evaluate this knife at work. My honest opinion and YMMV, is to avoid this knife unless you need a cheap beater, but for close to the the same price you could get a Byrd knife with far superior craftsmanship and fit and finish. If I don’t get around to using it I will probably end up giving it away to one of the NKP guys I work with on the tugs.
pete
You're view and what you consider downfalls of this knife are what I feel unfounded, especially in regards to it's flip functionality. I work for a blasting company where I am immersed in coal and every other foul working medium you could imagine. I love this knife, I work seven days a week and often 12 hours a day in some of the worst weather and environmental conditions one could imagine. This knife has seen the worst and I have NEVER had an issue with its functionality especially one handed opening and I'm on my third one in 12 months whether I have lost them or gifted them to a new employee. It's low profile of a "flip open" nub is in my view a great asset as the last thing i want is a gaudy knife hooked to my pocket so as I'm not gouging my hand or fighting the limited space of my pockets every time i reach in my pocket for something other than my knife. This knife takes a great edge, light and for the price I will never purchase anything else, and believe me I make enough money where price is not an issue... functionality, durability and ease of use is. It is light weight fully functional and sleek enough to the point sometimes I think I've lost it when in reality usually it's still in my pocket and I was distracted or in enough of a rush that I was not thorough in my reaching for it.