The Gerber Knives Flatiron Pocketknife: The Full Nick Shabazz Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 พ.ย. 2019
- Today, we'll have at look at a knife that's brilliantly designed, but at a price where the materials leave it just not allowed to shine, the Gerber Knives Flatiron.
- แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Being a Portland native, I glad to see Gerber make the show. I just wish it was one made in Portland, instead of China.
Adam Harrison get ready to pay many more simoleons for the same knife made in the overtaxed NorthWest.
American workers don't work for peanuts... take from that what you will.
The new gerber customs with the cleaver blade are made here in the USA
This over the past years I have boycotted Chinese products more and more id rather pay a premium for American made.
Gerber's designs have been on trend as of late (the Fastball, their new neotraditional slipjoints), but they all seem to have execution issues or utilize inexcusable materials.
They're so close to making great tools again... it's frustrating.
I got this one and all I wanted was the shape of the blade. Didn't care about the materials. But the blade lockup was >100%, meaning that it rested on the opposite scale and always wobbled. That and the clip is unusable.
I completely agree, they have some designs/aesthetics that have appealed to me, but I've personally had quality issues on multiple knives:
1. Pocket square - multiple dings on both scales, and too much lockup with stiff/sprung/overly bent lock.
2. 2nd pocketsquare - really bad grind on the tip edge that offset the tip to one side.
3. US assist - excessive blade play
4. Flatiron - really wide and uneven edge bevels and lock rock
5. Fastball - Blade centering with blade almost touching a liner, and uneven/offset edge on the tip.
That's saying something when 5 out of 5 knives have QC issues. Come on Gerber. It would be difficult for me to buy any of your future products with that track record. There's simply too many other knife companies that are good to go 5 out of 5 times at this point.
@Castle Bravo That's pretty disappointing. I should add I think the 06 auto and Strongarm are good models. Before anyone accuses me of hating on Gerber, to the contrary I like a lot of their designs, just want to see quality improve.
@Castle Bravo Ruike is my go to for quality in a cheap knife. I have owned and sold more Ruikes than any other knife. Hell I buy them just to see what new models are like then sell them for what I bought it for.
@Castle Bravo why would you do that to your son? There's plenty of good but inexpensive knives out there.
You can shorten the tip with a file very easily. It's a flat line, not a drop point curve.
With 5 minutes left in the review you highlighted which to buy ( if either because they're made in China) the D2. You are prescient and your reviews are always spot on
I love mine. Love the ethos and flicking it open.
Thanks for the honest look sir nick
ive had my flatiron for about 7 months. the lock up is around 75% the entire frame is under the tang. it sucks but its a frame lock not like its bound to fail. i got the aluminum one and since its not a perfect fit, the aluminum mushroomed around the steel liner. since it is heavily stone washed my dented up aluminum scale fits the overall look. 7cr isnt terrible i love sharpening and a straight blade makes it easy. its a great knife in my opinion, 7cr is strong enough to be reliable
Good call, Nick! I love my Prraxis!
I bought the stonewash aluminum handle one from Walmart and all the brass fittings were cross threaded and loose with no thread lock anywhere. they actually came out in my hand as I was folding and unfolding it. Had to reset them. Otherwise it's perfect.
I plan on getting a copper scale for it and eventually the d2 mikarta version.
The nice thing about having 2 different hardness of steel knives is your softer one won't chip and shatter will instead bend though will need more sharpening and the harder one is the opposite so each has its applications
That is imo the sad thing about Gerber.Nice designs but lacking in the executionof the knives. Good review, thank you for sharing !
Like crkt...
I love loving knives living in Oklahoma. Pretty much everything is legal with a few exceptions. No blade length restrictions. I was pulled over once and agreed to a search (didint have anything to be worried about). The cop pulled my spyderco resilience out of my pocket and didint think twice about it. Not saying every cop would react this way but it certainly was interesting to me.
Great review. Glad you mentioned the length of the blade which is a concerning issue for states or countries that go crazy over that extra millimetre beyond the 3 inch limit. Lol. Cheers!
Great and honest review.
Nice to see you review this one after listening to you interview the designer on Gear Geeks Live. Very interesting listening, I feel like you guys addressed most of the anti-Gerber sentiment that I'm sure may surface in the comments here now! Good work!
Ok, so I got both the D2 and the 7cr Flatirons:
I found that the quality control on these things varies. For example, the more expensive D2 Flatiron I got from my local Cabela's had stripped T6 screws, vertical blade play, lock stick, and a big scratch on the micarta. Disassembling this thing was not even worth the effort because of the screws already out of the factory came stripped... Later that day, I returned it and got another one that is not as bad with just blade play if you can call it "not as bad".
Whereas the 7cr one I got from my local Walmart, aside from the outdated steel, was virtually flawless and performs perfectly for the design. I was even able to disassemble the knife fully with no problems, on my first try.
All in all, if you want one of these things, get the D2 one as it's a better steel and handle material. And you'll (hopefully) get lucky and get a good quality one.
I would totally buy them all day for $40 with G10 and D2.
James Straub Agreed, a D2 version would be awesome.
I completely agree
I wouldn't, the quality control is awful, if I wanted a pocket cleaver I would go with that new Kershaw cleaver or a D2 large pilar
@@papasauce234 I have and daily the pilar large, and it is actually pretty small. Perfect size for me, but not a large knife whatsoever.
Ahri Fox
Yeah, I have one, I love it. The action was meh out of the factory but I polished the washers with compounds up 300,000 grit compound and now then added some kpl and now it's very drop shutty
I'm happy with mine. And I've given 2 out as gifts..very happy people
Great video, as always! Really interested to hear your thoughts on the D2 version of the Flatiron.
Civivi Brigand has a very similar blade, comes in right at 3.5, a flipper, and D2 for not too much more in the base form. I got the copper scales and 154cm version because idk i wanted it.
I think it's a must to prototype new designs in easy materials and charge a buck or two to test it quickly. That way they could decide to incorporate any feedback without having initially barfed money on materials. Its definitely an interesting shape.
If you push against the blade prior to disengaging then lock, it will cause grinding and make your lock stick worse imo. Throw some graphite on their and you should be better. But I have to consciously push the bar first, with no pressure against the blade, and then push the blade down towards the closed position. I like the design, and don’t expect them not to have lock stick issues (could be a grind issue from CNC) and I hope that the stick issues resolve, because that’s such a good looking design.
This would've been a sure-buy for me had it not been for the blade steel. Really dig the design.
I have the exact same intermittent lock stick issue with my aluminum one, which is why I didn't carry it more than a few days, drove me nuts. I was curious how the steel was going to hold up but I'm not going to use because of the lock stick. Probably would have really liked it if it was better built...
I don't understand why D2 isn't yet the default steel in all budget knives...
It will be but it takes time for an entire industry to change materials like that
The problem with D2 is that it isn't very resistant to corrosion. Since 8Cr13Mov is only marginally better in that department, the increase in edge retention is almost always worth it. However, that won't help customers who need a more stainless steel in their budget knives. They'll be happier with steels like 14C28N, 9Cr18Mov, Acuto 440, etc.
D2 isn't easy to sharpen from what I've read. I only own 1 D2 knife and haven't sharpened it yet.
12C28N
It’s available now.
Best chance against the loctite will be a bit of heat on the fastener, the best fitting driver you have and then some gentle hammer taps to the end of the driver before turning.
I have one ..like it..but your right about the steel
I find the lack of belly a hindrance in EDC tasks. The point on most traditional geometries isn't as useful as might be thought, stabby tasks being few and far between. The belly however is very useful. I maintain the Kershaw Concierge is the ultimate EDC pocketknife.
Were you ever able to disassemble these? A tear down video would be greatly appreciated.
Tight clip was a positive for me I always find that they bend on me, so having one that was actually sturdy was nice but it also does make it hard to just slip in your pocket so I could see how that’s a negative for some
Just got the D2, Micarta version a week ago. Nice knife and only $50.
The clip is really good in that I wrecked my Gerber Propel's pocket clip, having caught it on something. It isn't an elegant knife, and I don't treat it as so. I bought my friend the D2 version, and it's a lot smoother opening & locking than mine. A lot more detail on the D2/Micarta as well. I almost bought me one.
I was brought up in England and Have used imperial, but find metric is better. Any chance you could give sizes etc in both measurements?
My experience with the knife,
Got it for Christmas 2018, right out the box it had terrible locking and closing problems, gave it time to break in and regular maintenance without it ever getting better. Then about two months later the blade chipped and a crack ran down the blade. Haven’t even bothered sending it in for warranty bc it wasn’t the greatest tool to have
picked one up from walmart 2 months ago it’s stayed sharp through cutting a lotta boxes open and food packages, opened and closed smooth as can be straight out the box, i’ve had zero issues whatsoever with this knife 🤷🏻♂️
Hi Nick - unfortunately I’ve stripped my pivot screw, would you happen to know the dimensions of the torx screw? Maybe even where you think I might be able to order some replacement screws...Thanks, any and all info is gratefully appreciated!
The Gerber Jukebox and Quantum are amazingly designed, budget cheap steel, irregular grinds, but that can be improved.
Do you get to keep the knuves that they give you?
wow - thank you. you just talked me out of this knife! I will probably get the mini sheepdog instead.
Got it out of the package and first time I flicked mine it really locked up. Thought I had some saftey on it. The clip is very tight but opened it a bit so no big deal. Not bad for 30 bucks though.
Its insain that there are places that try to tell you what kind of knife you can carry
Did you ever get it apart to see if you could fix the lockstick? I want one, but the lockstick is holding me back
I've got the D2 version and man I love it 😁 😁
Just purchased a d2 Micarta Flatiron. Lock stick is horrendous. Do you have any recommendations to help?
just picked one up and mine is made of 420 stainless a great feel no blade wiggle nothing to complain about here happy customer
They've made a D2 version, sort of makes me want one now as the only issue for me was the steel :P
I have the tan one, bought the D2 for my close friend. . . I want one. . .
I got the aluminum version for $17 at my local Meijer grocery store when they randomly put them on sale to make room for deer hunting season stuff. A sweet deal at that level. :)
Same here, $16 and change on clearance last year. For that price, I would have bought two and gave one away.
i agree about the steel type. I probably would have bought it by now if the steel was a little better.
i can't make out what you said the name of that knife shop is, i'm in the San Diego area and i've been looking for a knife shop. Can somebody tell me the name?
I just received mine yesterday the over all knife is nice but they were so close to greatness And fell short
Good knife I love ❤️ it....
Wow, up to that point i didn't knew that Glenn Quagmire does knife reviews, Giggity on!
Re do this review please with the micarda D2 model
At least you got at descent action on yours. Mine was terrible. And the pivot screw was welded together. Unfortunately my experience was terrible almost with the hole knife. Liked the design, but a terrible made knife. So many other budget knife to pick. I like the esee folders in D2 ten times better 🙂 great review as always btw. 🙂
I may regret it but I just won one on eBay. G10 for 29 shipped I will see if its any good
After wanting a budget folding clever for my kitchen drawer and looking extensively at what's out there, I think I've settled on the Ganzo F7551: 3&1/2 inch blade with a belly that extends past the handle, no flipper, axis-type lock, carbon fiber covers.
I Love my ganzo clever F7551 CF✌
Just got one and i am enjoying it. This is coming from somebody who owns many much more expensive knives. It feels like a much more expensive knife
tarheelskk Me too ,, I got mine in Cabelas Bargain Cave for $30 CDN,,someone didn't like the knife,,but for me was " Thank you for 50% off,,,, 😂 I didn't think twice,it was a steal deal...People are stupid sometimes and this knife Police won't give you any trouble for it,no sharp tip friction opening..Perfectly legal..Fits perfectly in my hands..Enjoy your blade it will outlive you...
Did they change it? I swear when I owned this knife when it first came out, it did not have phosphor bronze washers
They made several changes. I have the old one and the new one. Big difference.
Do a review on a kizer mini begleiter
That’s an intriguing looking knife but it seems a lot bigger than I would want.
Famous last words
Honestly when I saw pictures of the knife I thought it should be at a 3”-3.25” blade length
I carry it with my every day alongside my Propel, and a swiss army knife. It's not bad at all, so long as you have human sozed pockets.
Seems like it would be easy to sharpen, no crazy curves and tanto points.
dif is the belt clip is so stiff you have to bend it out a bit without compromising the metal which may mean removing the 2 star screws and the clip...bending slightly back, re-assembling screws/clip and done. Otherwise may be able to actually baton with the thing.....lol and aparently pretty good in the kitchen.
Make it a liner lock with thinner liners. G-10 on both sides. VG10 steel. That would work.
The frame lock on mine over travels, causing the blade to lock up and requires a pry tool to close the blade. It lives in the safe now.
Legato Bluesummers Same issue I had. Mine cracked and chipped so it’s a beater now
how about $50 for micarta and d2? haha... i've never really found it compelling until now. gerber is really stepping up their game lately.
Still waiting for the gem hunter 😉
I just bought a CRKT minimalist bowie with 5Cr15MoV LOL I didn't even know that was a thing. At least the flat iron isn't that bad
I just wish they were g10 on both sides somehow... i like that tan g10 a lot.
Been wanting to pick one up but that blade steel has kept me from getting one. $40 for a D2 & G10 would be a winner.
Got my G10 version at the flea market for 10.00 and the only reason I bought it was the design.
Wow, the over travel stop and pocket clip are super overkill
Gasosphere The over travel stop was actually made this way as this is the second version so you dont put your fingers on the lockbar
Down here in Florida we can carry any size knife
This 🔪 is definitely of interest
Gerber Shaving tool?
this somehow reminded me...what happened to your Graham Razel?!
I received 2 of them back to back with the blade rubbing up against the frame.Great QC!
I’ve never had my flatiron get lock stick but I do know other people who have had this issue
His lock sticking is due to the manner in which he was "flinging it open" thereby forcing the blade further open than it would normally be if it were opened correctly by using the the provided finger hole and opening it by manipulating the blade open slowly and not forcing the blade to "hyperextend" passed it normal opening range. I've had a couple Flatiron's and never had the lock up issue once on these Gen 2 versions.
Now with that being said, I have encountered a lock stick issue with the Gerber Asada, that the way I knew what the lock up issue was.
Gerber and CRKT both have great designs, but usually default to cheap steels. I'm sure I speak for a lot of us when I say we'd pay more for better steel. Or even make two versions: both an affordable and a higher end.
omfg, i have this knife and i love it but i hate 7cr, id pay big bucks for this with a good high quality steel🤩
7Cr17Mov is similar to 440A. It's more stainless than 8Cr13Mov. 8Cr13Mov should have better edge retention but not by much. 7Cr17Mov is acceptable in a $20 knife but that's the issue. This costs $35! For that price, competitors are offering better fit and finish with steels like 9Cr18Mov, Acuto 440, 12C27, 14C28N, and D2.
Where do you live that the Gestapo will haul you in if you have more than 3 1/2”?
California 🤣🤣
If Gerber made that in s30v and scaled down to about 75% of it's current size I would be a buyer.
Its here. It's the fastball cleaver it's about $145
Has anyone found a deep carry pocket clip that will work with the flatiron?
Finger chole counts on blade length, the cutting edge is only like 3"?
(Edited for spelling)
Depends on how much the cop hates you. It can be argued that the blade includes the choil and unsharpened tang or it can be just the sharp portion. That's why most website will say "blade length" and "usable blade"
Carry one daily for the last 5 months... I sharpen once or twice a month deepening on use. Wish they made one with a better steel more $$.
I quite like the design of Gerber's Pocketsquare and Straightlace. But they fall I to the same unfortunate category. Although I would be just using them as a nice modern traditional dressy carry, so maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal to have a blade made out of modeling clay
Dov davidoff does knife reviews?
I've got to say, I absolute love the Flatiron and nearly EVERYTHING about it. To make the Flatiron great there are just a few things that Gerber really needs to address.
For starters, the Flatiron needs a flipper added, one larger than the Gerber Asada has. The larger finger hole was a great addition from the Gen 1 version but it needs the large flipper. Next, the Flatiron needs finger jimping on part of the blade. The finger chole is great as is and needs no re-working. The last thing that the Flatiron needs is scales on both side, not just on the show side of the knife and add the ball bearing system with the S30V steel.
Hopefully Gerber will address these issues or work them into a new knife.
Flatiron...........what a name for a knife
I almost got triggered when you called the blade shape a wharn cliff and not a cleaver lol
an inverted sheepsfoot?
Well it is a wharncliffe
Castle Bravo The edge isnt straight on the Flatiron so it’s not a straightedge
Castle Bravo I was asking 😅 my bad bro lol
Castle Bravo Ah I see. Everyone has their own thoughts and I havent held it yet
Thanks for reviewing this brand, I usually ignore Gerber for no reason other than unjustified snobbish behavior. As an Oregonian I find that distasteful as all brands need a little love. Hey Nick if you want to try something really different take a look at the French Laguoile (leg-oil) knives, the fit and finish is amazing and the ergo's surprisingly good, These knives have a rich history and I can't begin to remember how I even got on to them. Take a walk on the wild side. Cheers
Leg oil 😂 I’m pretty sure it’s pronounced “lay ole”
@@deathbyastonishment7930 That is phonetically given in their catalog so say it as you like, I ain't no Frenchy. Lol
Lol. Depending on accent, its either lah-yol, or la-gwee-ole.
Laguoile isnt a brand, its a style. There is no "catalog".
Im not French, but (European) French was my first language.
Also, may wanna check out the navaja. The laguoile is based on it, and tends, in my opinion, to be much more form oriented than function. Im probably biased though, i love huge folding knives and navajas tend to be 4+ inches long, as they were originally used as fighting knives.
you can put it in almost boiling water so u can take it apart! they use strongest locktite
I am 100 percent I almost purchased the Flatiron then I noticed the steel.
I have one of these but it is unusable it will barely open and once open you can barely disengage the lock at all. Sad because I love the look of this knife.
I can actually vouch for a decent Chinese Gerber because I carried one for like 4 years before I actually got into knifes
@Castle Bravo it was a swagger if memory serves I lost it a couple years ago
These remind me of street fights with straight razors.
I don't know a lot of musicals. Remind me, is that the premise of Westside Story or The Barber of Seville?
@@pendulousphallus No. Although if you mixed the two I suppose it might work.
Gerber needs to improve its quality in all price points....they have a decent size of a company and they can afford putting better quality into their knives....they can actually afford US made blades with better steels in them. Three big companies have enouh resources and size to become flagship for US quality craftmanship....Kershaw (they actually do great stuff...remember the 1776), Gerber and Spyderco.
That's a long review for a knife that costs 40 euro's.. they could have done a better job but like you said.. for the price it is kinda hard to justify things.. it's like you are looking for disadvantages but in the end it's a good value for the price..
thanks for your review.
PS: I would insta-buy a smaller version of this knife tho! even for 60 bucks.
Standard steel Flatiron: $30.
Titanium handled Flatiron: Your Eternal Soul.
LOL that was a surprise chuckle!
Seems a high price. Adamantium might temp some.
Not sure if this is normal in the comments, but does anybody have a Kershaw Ember? Thinking about buying one and I can't find anyone with a decent Nick-level review.
Go to the bladeforums.
I got one and carried it as a toy as much as anything else. It’s good enough to open packages and if I lose it who cares. I will say the blade centering on my is spot on, so that is nice.
AlphaDog Elite3 Exactly why Gerber makes their cheap knives
Ohio Knife Lover Yeah - I’m not afraid to use the back of the blade to open bottles, paint cans, whatever. I wouldn’t do that with a benchmade (though there are plenty of people that would and i respect that too).
Currently my flatirons broken in enough tobe middle finger flippable with no wrist movment, the soft steel isnt a big issue for me given i work in a warehouses and 9/10 times im only cutting tape, best cleaver sttyle we can getnup here in canada, nother amazon or blade hq is willing to ship most others here like the ripsnort and a few others
They won't ship to Canada because of Canada customs. For some reason customs have decided take the law into their own hands and require that any knife that can be easily flicked open require a special weapons import license the same as you need to import guns. So even if the knife is perfectly legal to own and buy it will be seized at the border if you don't have the proper importer licence.
They also make it in D2 for a little more $$$. Having said that, I think us knife nuts put a little too much emphasis on blade steel. 7cR will work fine for most people’s EDC, it is similar to 440. If you need better steel, you can buy the D2 version or the fastball version they make in the U.S.A with S30V. Gerber, please do better with the screws!!! Otherwise, I think it’s a good budget knife