Gerber Urban Companion: total POS

I forget if I griped about this little goblin already, but SMKW has it on sale for $10 so I figured I should warn people. For $10 I guess it's OK, but for $25+ it's junk.

The blade is really tough to open with the thumb stud. Very tight. The scissors are also difficult to open and no better to operate. They are a pain to close, and tend to leave a blade exposed when not positioned correctly. Also, the handle is some kind of cast metal, but the two halves don't line up so great.

I ordered one and later returned it. For $10 I MIGHT have kept it.

I don't know the knife you are talking about but the quality of gerber products has dropped dramatically in recent years in my opinion.

I bought a gerber specter last year and was shocked about the poor fit and finish. The fit of the lock is such that I would call it a liner lock in name only.

Drew

Gerber Urban Companion: total POS

Group: rec.knives Date: Fri, May 30, 2003, 9:41pm (EDT+4) From:

I forget if I griped about this little goblin already, but SMKW has it on sale for $10 so I figured I should warn people. For $10 I guess it's OK, but for $25+ it's junk. The blade is really tough to open with the thumb stud. Very tight. The scissors are also difficult to open and no better to operate. They are a pain to close, and tend to leave a blade exposed when not positioned correctly. Also, the handle is some kind of cast metal, but the two halves don't line up so great. I ordered one and later returned it. For $10 I MIGHT have kept it.

Back in the 1980s, I was a big Gerber fan. Still have a MK1 and a Guardian in 440c. Both with high quality leather sheaths. Great knives. Had a couple of other Gerber knives, too. The LST was great. Loved the Bolt Action, too (still have it and use it) Then Fiskars took over and lowered standards. Bought one of their later Guardians (skinny blade) in the plastic sheath. Dropped the sheath on a wooden floor.....retention system broke! Still have the knife with the black blade and synthetic handle.....not in the same class as the original. Crappy, actually. No working sheath so the knife is in a cupboard, somewhere. Later plunged in and bought two Applegate folders. Both had faulty liner locks. Short story...no more Gerbers for me. I'll bet they are getting better.....as long as I don't have to bet with my money.

brianWE I was one of those children of the Forties who said: 'home computers? how are people going to afford four storey buildings to house the things?'

I had one of the 'international' series I think called the AR3.1 or some faceless name like that. Totally crappy linerlock. It was not a full liner, just a small strip of metal held to the inside of the handle with two little screws.

I should have known better with the urban companion because it has their bolt lock which they never seem to do a good job with. It's a cute little knife, but nothing about using it feels right.

I think that Gerber makes two: the AR3 and the AR3.5. I started my love of knives with the AR3, TYVM.

I still carry and use it at work, on industrial tape-machines on a shipping line. Serves me faithfully, and is sturdy on lock-up and convenient one-handed in-&-out of loose pocket.

I think (well, I'm guessing) that you are confusing liner-locks with frame-locks. Many people confuse the terms.

If you are confusing the two, I agree; My two edc's are a Cuda EDC (frame-lock) and a Gerber Gator (lock-back) {modified with a Bandit* after-factory thumbstud}. The liner lock on the AR3 is fine for factory work though; it's never failed me in prying/ripping/poking.

Just my .02