My son and daughter in law got me a Gerber Obsidian folding knife with thumb studs. I have a terrible time trying to get it open. Is there something I can do to make it work easier. It is really really stiff.
Loosen the screw on the pivot point a shade
my gerber remix is tight as well. It opens but it ain't quick. I plan on tearing it down and polishing all of the mating areas.
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I bought a Gerber FastDraw w/3" blade a couple of years ago, and was very disappointed. It just stays in a drawer, and I never use it.
I thought Gerber made a decent knife, but it is very difficult to open, and has a lot of grittty feel to it. The safety really sucks.
My Kershaw Blur, purchased at the same time, is ten times the knife that the Gerber is.
Of course the Blur was made in the U.S.A.,and the FastDraw was made in China. I am sure that has something to do with the difference in quality.
I thought Gerber made a decent knife, but it is very difficult to open, and has a lot of grittty feel to it. The safety really sucks.
My Kershaw Blur, purchased at the same time, is ten times the knife that the Gerber is.
Of course the Blur was made in the U.S.A.,and the FastDraw was made in China. I am sure that has something to do with the difference in quality.
Gerber had a few defective knives out there in some specific runs.
In order to see if yours is defective, check the side for this specific marking:
or possibly this one:
In order to see if yours is defective, check the side for this specific marking:
or possibly this one:
In all seriousness - there is zero reason Gerber knives are still suffering from poor quality control, absolute crap mystery-metal blades, and design flaws.
Lots of folks make knives out of China now with super-high quality control and a well-thought-out design (using pretty decent materials) for less than the cost of a lot of Gerbers. Buck has gone way down in quality as well since they moved their production to Ohio - I'd rather own an older CA-made or even a Chinese Buck that showed good quality than an Ohio-made Buck that shows poor quality/craftsmanship.
If you're looking for a better knife at around the same price or less, here's a good start:
http://www.okshooters.com/showthrea...dget-Folding-Knives-for-this-Christmas-season
Kershaw dominates the budget folder market. CRKT used to be just above Gerber in quality, but they're coming up quickly lately and have some pretty cool designs/collabs. Spyderco's Chinese-made lineup is hard as hell to beat (and their Byrd line is nice if you stick to back-lock models - the whole Byrd line is eventually getting an upgrade according to Sal Glesser, so the liner-lock models will be worthy soon enough).
To fix the OP's problem though, If I was going to keep the knife, I would personally tighten down on the pivot a little more and then open/close it a few hundred times to break it in and polish the contact surfaces around the pivot. Then I'd disassemble it, clean it, and lube it with any decent lube (and inspect for burrs, pinched washers, or damage inside the pivot), but that effort might not be worth it on that particular knife. If you don't feel comfortable disassembling it, you could always break it in and then just loosen the pivot and wash it with soap/water, air-dry it in front of a fan and lube it from the outside.
If it won't hurt any feelings (since it was a gift), you can always return it as defective and go hit up www.Cutleryshoppe.com , www.BladeHQ.com , or www.KnifeCenter.com and pick up a better folder.
Lots of folks make knives out of China now with super-high quality control and a well-thought-out design (using pretty decent materials) for less than the cost of a lot of Gerbers. Buck has gone way down in quality as well since they moved their production to Ohio - I'd rather own an older CA-made or even a Chinese Buck that showed good quality than an Ohio-made Buck that shows poor quality/craftsmanship.
If you're looking for a better knife at around the same price or less, here's a good start:
http://www.okshooters.com/showthrea...dget-Folding-Knives-for-this-Christmas-season
Kershaw dominates the budget folder market. CRKT used to be just above Gerber in quality, but they're coming up quickly lately and have some pretty cool designs/collabs. Spyderco's Chinese-made lineup is hard as hell to beat (and their Byrd line is nice if you stick to back-lock models - the whole Byrd line is eventually getting an upgrade according to Sal Glesser, so the liner-lock models will be worthy soon enough).
To fix the OP's problem though, If I was going to keep the knife, I would personally tighten down on the pivot a little more and then open/close it a few hundred times to break it in and polish the contact surfaces around the pivot. Then I'd disassemble it, clean it, and lube it with any decent lube (and inspect for burrs, pinched washers, or damage inside the pivot), but that effort might not be worth it on that particular knife. If you don't feel comfortable disassembling it, you could always break it in and then just loosen the pivot and wash it with soap/water, air-dry it in front of a fan and lube it from the outside.
If it won't hurt any feelings (since it was a gift), you can always return it as defective and go hit up www.Cutleryshoppe.com , www.BladeHQ.com , or www.KnifeCenter.com and pick up a better folder.
Gerber had a few defective knives out there in some specific runs.
In order to see if yours is defective, check the side for this specific marking:
or possibly this one:
LOL! So anything made since 2005.
Now you've gone back to about '83.
That should be far enough
I actually own a Gerber Blackie Collins Bolt Action from back in the late 80s/early 90s. It's not terrible, but it's not great either.
From what I understand, they made some really nice autos and folders back in the day.
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