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Post by ineffableone on Aug 18, 2012 0:41:10 GMT
I am guessing this might be a good place for this if not please move to the right section MODs. Fail! Bear Grylls Parang Recall, Laceration Hazard! by Equip 2 Endure Here is the knife tip breaking issue that Adam mentions in the video, pretty bad fail and break issue there. Here are some pictures of the broken Gerber parang from Bushcraft Romania bushcraft.ro/2011/10/parang-bear-grylls-un-pic-rupt/Even straight out of the box, this Gerber Parang has failed! Just thought it a good idea to help get this info out to folks here on SBG.
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Post by Jakeonthekob on Aug 18, 2012 1:17:22 GMT
Poor design for the machete. Nothing against Grylls or Gerber but just bad design.
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Post by Vue on Aug 18, 2012 1:19:55 GMT
Bad design or bad heat treatment?
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Post by ineffableone on Aug 18, 2012 1:34:40 GMT
A lot probably has to do with the big hole they place there to lock the "tang" in to the handle. Very poor design. As Adam mentions Condor Parang don't have this issue, and many other parang don't have this issue. Gerber messed up this parang and while I mention the hole, it is likely poor steel is also part to blame also.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2012 4:16:42 GMT
Taking into context both these photos I would say that the poor design (clearly visible just by looking at the parang) would have to be only part of the problem. The treatment must be bad too, the way the knife broke. Ugh, I can't stand those half-serrated knives anyways. lol.
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Post by KentsOkay on Aug 18, 2012 5:02:19 GMT
I'm with you ed, I just can't savvy them. Maybe a very large, graceful serration. I swore off Gerber after I saw a taken apart Gator machete. semprini that noise. Tramontina 4 lyfe!
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Post by Tendrax on Aug 18, 2012 5:51:35 GMT
I avoid Gerber because they refuse to tell anyone what steel their knives are made out of(probably 440 but still, principal of the matter). I avoid the Bear Grylls line because the designs are terrible(imo) and I hate Bear Grylls. Lol.
Stuff like this just makes me happy that the only Gerber product I own is a very small framelock folder that is sitting in a bin collecting dust.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2012 7:12:49 GMT
Oh my... seeing that would turn me off any knife maker forever! Lucky thing I never started buying Gerber in the first place to swear off them, or I would swear off them right now! I never did like their design or materials.
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Post by William Swiger on Aug 18, 2012 8:17:54 GMT
Yeah - those look horrible.
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Post by KentsOkay on Aug 18, 2012 12:40:13 GMT
I was actually going to buy a Gator when I was young and foolish (my dad has a "first production run" stamped gator lockback), a little bit of internet search changed my mind.
Thank god I'm so thrifty, prevents a lot of impulse buys.
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Post by randomnobody on Aug 18, 2012 13:30:27 GMT
I got a giggle out of the listed reason being "laceration hazard."
"We're recalling these knives because they have shown a high risk of cutting the users or others."
...not because they're breaking. :roll:
I'd given up on Gerber years ago, anyway.
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Taran
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Post by Taran on Aug 18, 2012 16:40:20 GMT
I am not a fan of Gerber, anyway, due to having destroyed far too many of their multi-tools that the Army insists on issuing to me, but I must admit not being sufficiently knowledgeable to recognize the failures of the deign with this machete thing here.
In plain English: I wouldn't buy it anyway because it's Gerber, but what's wrong with it?
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Post by Artelmis on Aug 18, 2012 17:07:50 GMT
Taran:
Generally on a blade that you're going to be whacking on things much like a... well... machete, you want to have a full tang going all the way through the handle. most well made machetes you see will just have two pieces of wood or plastic bolted onto the sides of the tang which forms the core of the handle...
this is just a partial tang, and I guarantee you that it will fall apart after 15-20 minutes of heavy chopping. more than likely resulting in a helicopter of death.
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Post by chrisperoni on Aug 18, 2012 18:36:09 GMT
I think Fallen knows a thing or two about comparing machetes- check this link viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3230&start=0I've read here the Marbles brand is cheap and durable- certainly not that cheap-ass screwed down push tang s**t Gerber tries to pass off as proper. It's a credit to Chinese knock off knife makers that the best and only Gerber I own is not even made by Gerber. It's made by a Chinese company that just screens on different known knife makers brands onto their own grey market knives. It's a TON better than my brothers actual Gerber and was half the price. Heck, they're all made in China anyway- but when the guys who sell counterfeits do a better job than the name brand.... well what can you say?
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Post by GUEST on Aug 18, 2012 18:54:24 GMT
Yes I do and since that picture I added about 10 more. The best machetes are Marbles for the price and they come with a real good scabbard with multi pockets on the out to pack in survival gear. They also come with a sharping stone, you can find them for under $20.00. Another good machete is Ontario, there GI machete is a beast.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2012 19:05:38 GMT
Funny thing is... that simple handle sandwiched onto both sides of the tang includes some of the cheapest machetes you can find, right down to the $10-$15 mark. Yet this is the build we're seeing on an expensive, high-priced Gerber machete? Wow...
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Talon
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Post by Talon on Aug 18, 2012 20:12:53 GMT
im not suprised in the least,i dont do gerber and the bear grylls line to me just looks like another cash in for bear,the fact he went with gerber instead of a higher quality maker speaks volumes,i'd rather have my condor golok any day of the week instead of this crap,,he touts himself as a survival guru yet puts his name on this cheap shyte (yes i know im ranting) i apologise but this sort of thing really winds me up a treat
people will buy this sub standard rubbish thinking just becuase it has his name on it will be fit for purpose :roll:
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Sébastien
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Post by Sébastien on Aug 18, 2012 20:40:08 GMT
I bough one of BG Gerber folders and I have to say it is one of the most hated piece of useless cr*p in my blade collection. My finger nails have sharper edges than this thing. I swear the blade-play is so bad, it feels like a mild gust of wind will make the edge wiggle around. Plus, the ergonomics of the handle are mediocre, at best ... Did I say I hate this knife ? I should do a review of it and get this spite out of my mind. That say's a lot ... No lol or other internet slang can do justice to the absurdity of this fact
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2012 20:54:11 GMT
That's why Gerber calls themselves "Legendary Blades". Even though they're still in production, their blades have a more hallowed spot in the halls of bad legends than they do in people's hands.
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Taran
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Post by Taran on Aug 18, 2012 20:58:17 GMT
Ah, I wasn't looking at it correctly. I see the partialness of the tang now. However, I am not so sure it would end up as a blade-icopter. Looking at the 2 (two) screws holding the blade in place and how close they are to each other, I think it more likely that it will try to fold like a pocket knife. Probably backward upon impact.
On first glance, the fact that it's held in place by 2 screws suggests a thought out design. It's WHERE those 2 screws are located that sucks, and if the tang was longer, there'd be more options there.
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