Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
I had a Gerber US-Assist folding Knife for several years, but then a TSA agent at the Anchorage airport took a liking to it and relieved me of it. After a year of being without, I missed it so much that I dropped $79.99 at Amazon and got a second one. And since I liked it so much, I decided to do an short review;
This is my favorite EDC knife, 4.25" folded, 7.25" open, 1/2" thick, 1.25" wide, and has a well balanced feel to it, not too big, not too little. I carry it in blue jeans to bale hay or dressed up in a suit to go to church. It's spring assisted opening, cup it in your hand and push the thumb stud and it snaps open almost like an automatic knife. With a little practice you can easily stick your hand in your pocket and 1 second later have an open knife in your outstretched hand. It actually has ball bearings on the hinge to make it open smoother, and the spring is on a cam, so it'll never open in your pocket. Plus, it has two locking buttons, the manual lock locks it in three different positions, open, closed, and halfway open, although I never use this one, to lock it open manually would mean it's double locked open. The strategically located spring loaded locking button automatically locks it when you flick it open. Note, the automatic lock was sticky out of the box, half a dozen openings got it working properly. It comes with a reversible clip that I immediately throw away, because I want to slim it down. Handle is well shaped to get a good grip with wet slippery hands. S30V blade holds an edge way better than 440 stainless, the overall knife isn't heavy, but heavy enough to use as a glass breaker if needed. Plus, it's made in the USA, not China! It's got some other features that mean nothing to me, I'm only interested in cutting stuff with a right sized knife that doesn't feel chintzy and won't let me down.
Interestingly, I decided to share this because online knife reviewers dislike Gerber and this knife for some obscure reason, guess it's because it's made in the US. The one guy made a big stink because while this knife has a reversible clip, you can't install the clip on the other side of the knife for lefties, but none of the other knives in his review even had a clip. The bias towards imported goods was very evident.
Anyway, this is a fast draw knife if there ever was one, and a workaholic too. $80 bucks well spent to keep the Oregon economy going.
This is my favorite EDC knife, 4.25" folded, 7.25" open, 1/2" thick, 1.25" wide, and has a well balanced feel to it, not too big, not too little. I carry it in blue jeans to bale hay or dressed up in a suit to go to church. It's spring assisted opening, cup it in your hand and push the thumb stud and it snaps open almost like an automatic knife. With a little practice you can easily stick your hand in your pocket and 1 second later have an open knife in your outstretched hand. It actually has ball bearings on the hinge to make it open smoother, and the spring is on a cam, so it'll never open in your pocket. Plus, it has two locking buttons, the manual lock locks it in three different positions, open, closed, and halfway open, although I never use this one, to lock it open manually would mean it's double locked open. The strategically located spring loaded locking button automatically locks it when you flick it open. Note, the automatic lock was sticky out of the box, half a dozen openings got it working properly. It comes with a reversible clip that I immediately throw away, because I want to slim it down. Handle is well shaped to get a good grip with wet slippery hands. S30V blade holds an edge way better than 440 stainless, the overall knife isn't heavy, but heavy enough to use as a glass breaker if needed. Plus, it's made in the USA, not China! It's got some other features that mean nothing to me, I'm only interested in cutting stuff with a right sized knife that doesn't feel chintzy and won't let me down.
Interestingly, I decided to share this because online knife reviewers dislike Gerber and this knife for some obscure reason, guess it's because it's made in the US. The one guy made a big stink because while this knife has a reversible clip, you can't install the clip on the other side of the knife for lefties, but none of the other knives in his review even had a clip. The bias towards imported goods was very evident.
Anyway, this is a fast draw knife if there ever was one, and a workaholic too. $80 bucks well spent to keep the Oregon economy going.
and it sharpens very easily. 
