Gerber Gear StrongArm - Fixed-Blade Camping & Hunting Knife with Striking Pommel & Sheath - Premium Survival Gear - Made in USA - Black, Plain Edge

I decided I wanted a fix blade knife for camping and hiking plus protection in general. I did some research and I decided on this knife by Gerber, I had some folding knives by them and never had any issues so I went with their fix blade knife knowing they make a quality product. I assumed this knife would be high quality too, and I am happy to say it surpassed my expectations!Pros: This knife is awesome, Gerber spares no expense making this knife the quality is 2nd to none! If comes with a hard plastic sheath that is pretty universal. The weight of this blade is perfect, the weight makes the knife feel rugged, a you know you are holding a quality product when its in your hands. Gerber made a super comfortable handle over its tang it uses rubber over a hard plastic that feels strong and amazing in my hand, it is easy to get a good grip on it. This knife won't accidentally slip from your hand!Cons: really only thing I can think of is the price, it's expensive but you absolutely get what you pay for it is 100% worth the money!Final thought: This Gerber fix blade knife is hands down the best knife I have ever held. If you are considering this knife please buy this with confidence! I got it both in tan and black, yes I ordered a 2nd one after I got the first because I like it so much. Both color options are great. (I do like the black slightly better but both look good) I plan to buy my 3rd one soon, I thought about getting another brand, but I have checked out a bunch now and this one beats out the rest!A++ knife

For the price point, this is an excellent tool. Rugged blade - easily sharpened and moderate edge retention. Great grip on this knife. The sheath is nice, but for wearing on a belt stands off a bit more than I would like and catches brush, but oh well. Hopefully Gerber keeps going in this direction, have not been impressed with much of their other knives and multitools I have bought in the past few years save the Prodigy tanto I use.Update - I've just ordered a second one of these as my daughter found this very comfortable in her hands to use. On this second one I ordered the grinds were really screwed up. I'm not going to make a big deal out of it as like all knives, if you are going to use them, you really should know how to put the edge shape back on one and sharpen it again. The problem was down toward the handle - the grind on one side was 3/8" off from the end of the grind on the other side. Nothing a course diamond sharpener didn't take care of and a quick sharpen and honing. It is still a great knife and well worth the money. Watch your quality control Gerber... still love your US made knives.BTW - being this is a 420HC blade - I would really like to see a version without the coating on it. These textured coatings on stainless steel aren't necessary for most of us, and really only accomplish getting either bloody fur or compound from stropping the blade stuck in it compared to a clean, smooth uncoated blade where a simple swipe takes it off each side.

This is My 2nd Gerber Knife (The Other one is a Gerber Ultimate which I got from my work 1 day before this arrived), My 3rd American Made Fixed Blade Knife, and My 5th American Made Knife in General. My other American Made Knives are an OKC SP1, General Cutlery M7 Bayonet, A Kershaw Switchblade, and a Kershaw Spring Assisted Pocket Knife.All of My Knives are for Opening Boxes and Defensive Knives.Pros:1) Arrived Sharp.2) American Made.3) Size (Not really small and not to big).4) Comfortable Handle.5) Mount it to a Belt Sideways (Horizontally).6) Mount it to anything with Molle.7) Stays in Sheath without Retention Strap.8) Arrived 2 days after I ordered it and at a Great Price.Cons:1) Vertical Belt Mount.2) Unless you are Overweight; Forget about being able to Conceal it if you're Mounting it Horizontally.

I hope the rest of Gerber knives follow this trend. For a while there, I didn't think Gerber would come out with anything good again, but this knife has renewed my faith. :) It may only be 420HC steel, but the heat treatment did the trick. Being from Oregon, this knife was in constatnt contact with moisture. Never once, did I spot any rust or corrosion from its trips to the beach (prying open mussels and oysters) or in the wet forest (hunting for chanterelle mushrooms). I purchased this knife back in January 2017, and it has been on just about every adventure I have gone on since. I wanted to really use and abuse this knife; even use it for some finer tasks. In the end, I found that it loves to be abused. Taking a look at my photographs ten months after I purchased it, the only real noticeable defects now are some scratches on the black ceramic coating around the tip of the blade, and one little notch on the edge. Now, I didn't go stabbing old metal water heaters or practice emergency escapes from a Humvee, but I did a fair amount of batoning, chopping, and prying in the woods. The blade was in contact with wood, rope, concrete, and dirt. The point was never precise to begin with (see pictures), but now it is even more "flat".I love the diamond-texture grip of the handle. Very comfortable and easy to word with. My wife really like the handle too and she has smaller hands than I. The handle itself showed very little signs of wear. The fiberglass-infused plastic hand guard did take a little beating. There are gouges and scratches all over the hand guard -- yet no cracks or broken pieces. The "dull" clip point is actually one of my favorite parts about this knife. It can be hammered upon without worry of dulling, bending, or damaging the tip of the blade, yet it still provides an narrow enough point for excellent stabbing, chiseling, and some bushcraft. The pommel at the end of the handle creates the perfect sized lip for an overhanging finger (or two) so one could extent the reach of the blade.I was also very impressed by the MOLLE-capable hard plastic sheath. It is very durable and just as handy on a backpack as it is on your belt.The real downfalls I saw from the knife were in completing finer tasks. The saber grind and thickness of the blade made food preparation (slicing) more difficult. You could make a decent feather stick, but when carving a wooden spoon from a piece of maple, rounding the end of a spoon was very difficult. That being said, I'm sure if one put a more aggressive edge on the blade, you could get better results. The pictures I have posted show the uneven beveling of the edge.In my opinion, Gerber has finally produced something worth being call "GERBER". And for $50, this knife will outlast many of its competitors.