Gerber Knives and Multi-Tools

What Gerber makes for hunters and campers

On this site, Gerber covers six product types, and the grid above filters them:

• Multi-tools: folding pliers tools from keychain size to full size
• Folding knives: frame locks, liner locks, a lockback and assisted openers
• Fixed-blade knives: field and camp knives with sheaths
• Machetes: long and compact blades, two with saw backs
• Axes: hatchets, a tomahawk and an axe-and-knife combo
• Knife sharpeners: the Edgefield pocket sharpeners

Gerber's own site also lists shovels and camp cookware. Those aren't in this site's grid, so I'll stick to the six types above.

The grid changes as listings come and go. I'll write about the lines and what separates them, not about how many of each are listed this week. Most specs come from Amazon listings, and the grid marks them. A few, like weights, come from Gerber's own pages. Where nobody says, the grid shows a dash.

Lineup notes: the Gerber multi-tool

Full-size pliers tools

The Multi-Plier 600 is the one people ask about by name. The listings show it in needle-nose and blunt-nose versions, stainless steel, with 14 tools and a knife. The MP600 Pro Scout lists 13 tools.

Next to it in the grid:

• Diesel: full-size pliers, 12 tools, scissors and wire cutters
• Suspension NXT: stainless, 15 tools, scissors
• Truss: stainless, 17 tools, a saw, scissors and wire cutters, 4.25 inches closed
• Center-Drive: pliers, knife and wire cutters, with a 16-tool version that adds a bit set

What separates them is the mix of tools, not the count. A saw matters if you cut shooting lanes or trim a branch at the stand. Wire cutters matter if you fix fence. Scissors matter if you've ever tried to trim moleskin with a knife.

Compact and keychain tools

• Dime: compact pliers, 12 tools, scissors and wire cutters
• Vise: a keychain one-piece tool, 9 tools, 2.4 inches closed

These are the ones that ride in a pocket all week and get used more than the big ones for that reason. Jess's take: "The best multi-tool is the one that's on you when the screw comes loose. Mine is in the truck. That's not helpful."

The multi-tool page covers plier styles and sizes across brands.

Lineup notes: the Gerber pocket knife

Frame locks: Paraframe, STL and Flatiron

The frame-lock folders are the biggest group:

• Paraframe I: a 3-inch blade, steel handle, clip point or drop point, plain or serrated
• Paraframe Mini: a 2.2-inch blade, plain or serrated; Gerber lists the plain edge at 1.6 oz and the serrated at 2 oz
• STL and STL 2.0: small frame-lock folders, the STL with a thumb hole
• Flatiron: a 3.6-inch blade in D2 tool steel, an aluminum handle and a thumb hole

Benchmade's mechanisms guide explains that a frame lock uses a leaf spring cut out of the handle frame itself, and that closing one puts your hand in the blade's path. Push the lock bar aside, then fold the blade with your fingers clear.

Liner locks: Remix and the EAB knives

The Remix lists a liner lock, a tanto blade, partial serrations and a G10 handle. The EAB Lite lists a liner lock and a 1.5-inch blade. The EAB knives are utility knives, the kind that cut cardboard, drywall tape and the zip ties on a new tree stand.

A liner lock works like a frame lock, but the spring is cut into a thin liner inside the handle, per Benchmade.

The Gator lockback

The Gator Folding Knife lists a lockback, a 420HC stainless clip-point blade with serrations and a polymer handle. A lockback releases from a bar on the back of the handle. It's the older design, and it's the one I learned on. Some of us still close a knife by finding the spine with a thumb in the dark.

Assisted openers: Fast Draw, 06 FAST and Swagger

Three folders list assisted opening:

• Fast Draw: a 2.99-inch blade, plain or serrated, polymer handle, pocket clip
• 06 FAST: a 3.8-inch tanto in 7Cr17MoV stainless, partial serrations, G10 handle
• Swagger: a drop point with serrations and a G10 handle

Benchmade explains that assisted opening adds a spring to help the blade open, but you still start it yourself with a thumb stud or a flipper tab. That's different from an automatic knife. Carry rules for both vary by state, so check your state's rules.

The Air Ranger

The Air Ranger lists a 3.26-inch blade, serrations, an aluminum handle and a thumb stud. It sits between the small Paraframe Mini and the bigger 06 FAST.

The pocket knife page, the everyday carry knife page and the lightweight pocket knife page compare locks and sizes across brands.

Lineup notes: the Gerber hunting knife and other fixed blades

LMF II Infantry

The LMF II Infantry lists a partially serrated blade, a sheath and a lifetime warranty. It turns up in several colors and versions in the grid. The serrated part of the edge is for rope and webbing; for skinning, the plain part of the edge does the work.

StrongArm

The StrongArm lists 420HC steel and a full tang, in plain-edge and serrated versions, with a sheath on the serrated one per its listing. It's a general field and camp knife.

Freeman Guide

The Freeman Guide is the hunting-shaped knife in the group: a 4-inch drop point in 5Cr15MoV stainless, a full tang and a nylon sheath. A drop point keeps the tip in line with the spine, which is the all-round shape for field dressing.

My one opinion on this page: if it's your first deer knife, pick a drop point like this one. With the tip in line with the spine, it's the shape that does the most field-dressing jobs without a second knife. Gerber's care page says to clean, dry and re-oil its products periodically, and a fixed blade makes that a five-minute job. The hunting knife page and the fixed blade knife page cover the type across brands.

Gerber machetes

The machetes in the grid, per the listings:

• Gator Machete: a 15-inch blade with a sheath
• Gator Machete with Saw: high-carbon steel, a glass-filled nylon handle, a saw back and a sheath
• Compact Clearpath: an 11-inch stainless blade with a rubberized handle, a saw back and a sheath

The split is length and steel. A long blade clears brush with fewer swings. A compact one fits in a pack and is easier to control. Carbon steel wants more drying and oil than stainless. The machete page explains blade styles.

Gerber's care page has one machete rule worth repeating: never use excess force to put the blade back into its sheath. Check where the edge sits at the sheath's mouth and ease it in.

Gerber hatchets and axes

The axe side of the grid is all short, one-hand tools with sheaths, per the listings. They split by handle and by what else the tool does:

• Freescape Hatchet: two lengths, the longer one a little under 18 inches and the shorter one a little over a foot, both with fiberglass/composite handles; the listings name camping, survival, bushcraft and splitting
• 9-Inch Hatchet: the shortest of the group, a composite handle, listed for chopping
• Pack Hatchet: about the same length, with a handle the listing doesn't classify; it names survival, bushcraft, camping and hunting
• Gator Combo Axe II: a nylon/polymer handle, an axe and a knife in one tool, per the listing
• Downrange Tomahawk: a 420HC stainless head, and the listing title adds a pry bar; it names tactical, survival and camping use

In plain words: the Freescapes are camp hatchets, the 9-inch and Pack Hatchet are pack-size, the Gator Combo brings a knife along, and the Downrange is the tomahawk with a pry bar. (Danny wanted to know which one is for opening coolers. None of them. That's what the cooler latch is for.)

Rutgers Extension says to sheath an axe when it isn't in use and to keep bystanders well back while you chop. Hatchets across brands are on the hatchet page, tomahawks on the tomahawk axe page.

Gerber Edgefield sharpeners

Gerber's two sharpeners in the grid are pocket-size field sharpeners, per the listings:

• Edgefield: diamond and ceramic, three stages from coarse to fine, and an angle guide
• Edgefield Pack: ceramic and carbide, two stages

Read the angle-guide line if you've never held a steady angle on a stone. Gerber's care page says to sharpen a serrated edge with a round sharpener, one serration at a time, so check the listing before you count on either for an LMF II's serrations. Sharpeners across brands are on the knife sharpener page and the pocket knife sharpener page.

How to choose within the Gerber lineup

Tool or knife first

If you'll grip, twist and snip more than you'll cut, start with the multi-tools. If cutting is the job, start with the knives. Plenty of hunters carry one of each. A Gerber multi-tool in the truck and a fixed blade on the belt cover most of a season.

For a folder: the lock, then the size

Frame lock, liner lock, lockback or assisted: each closes differently. Learn the close at the kitchen table, not on the tailgate. Then pick the blade length; the folders here run from about 1.5 inches on the EAB Lite to 3.8 inches on the 06 FAST.

For a fixed blade: the shape and the tang

A drop point for field dressing, a serrated or partly serrated blade for rope and rough camp work. A full tang (the steel runs the length of the handle) is listed on the StrongArm and Freeman Guide.

Plain or serrated

Serrations saw through rope and webbing. A plain edge slices cleaner and is easier to sharpen. Gerber's care page says to sharpen a serrated edge with a round sharpener, working each serration.

Then the steel

The listings name 420HC, 5Cr15MoV and 7Cr17MoV stainless, D2 tool steel on the Flatiron and high-carbon steel on one machete. Gerber's FAQ notes that stainless steel is corrosion resistant, not rust proof. Every steel wants drying.

Then how you'll carry it

The carry decides more than people admit. The folders in the grid mostly list pocket clips. The fixed blades and machetes come with sheaths, nylon on the Freeman Guide per its listing. The keychain Vise rides with your truck keys.

Harness straps and pack hip belts move a belt knife around more than you'd think, so set the knife where your hand finds it with gloves on. Practice reaching it sitting down, too. Most of a hunt is sitting down. If you can't find the handle without looking, move it before the season, not during it.

Care that applies to the whole lineup

Gerber's product care page and FAQ cover the basics:

• Clean, dry and re-oil periodically, more often in damp weather
• Rinse with tap water after saltwater, then a light coat of oil
• A small soft brush for grit in a multi-tool's grooves and handles
• Light, frequent sharpening, since over-sharpening wears a blade down
• Folders closed and fixed blades sheathed when not in use

AKTI's guide adds a toothpick for dirt in the handle, a soft cotton cloth for the oil and a cool, dry place for storage.

Safety stays plain. AKTI's first rule is to cut away from your body and away from anyone else. Keep your fingers out of a folder's closing arc, and don't use a knife as a screwdriver or a pry bar. That's what the multi-tool is for, and even it has limits.

Gerber facts

Here's what I could verify from Gerber's own site:

• Founded: 1939, when Joe Gerber turned his Portland ad agency into a kitchen knife company
• Family: he later brought his sons Pete and Ham into the business
• Where made: designed in Portland, Oregon, and made there at the factory site Gerber opened in 1966
• Owner: Gerber is part of Fiskars Group
• Warranty: a limited lifetime warranty in North America for the original owner, with sharpening, wear and modifications excluded

Buck Knives comes up in the same searches; its lineup is on the Buck Knives page.

Oil the pivot, wipe the pliers and put the tool back where it lives. The screw that comes loose next November won't wait.