Have you ever heard of Bear Grylls? Maybe you’ve been couch surfing, and you happened to flip on the wildlife channel with his survival program on. Bear Grylls is an expert outdoorsman and a pioneer in wildlife survival. He is living proof that a simple knife can increase your chances of staying alive in extreme situations.
If you’re an outdoor enthusiast, wouldn’t you want to get the exact knife used by this famous survivalist? Luckily for you, they are available to the general public. And Gerber is the brand you can buy it from.
The company that manufactures the knives used by Bear Grylls on his outdoor adventures is Gerber Legendary Blades. Joseph Gerber started the knifemaking firm in Oregon in the early 20th century. Today, the Gerber knife brand is a subsidiary of Fiskars, a Finnish company.
For decades, the Gerber brand has been producing quality knives for the general public. The first line of knives they made was for Abercrombie and Fitch back in 1939. The brand has slowly transformed over the years into what it is today—a company specializing in outdoor knives. Through the transition period, the company produced many notable Gerber kitchen knives. They are now vintage and sell at very high prices because of their rarity.
The Gerber knives that you can buy today are of a different type and design. Their modern knives are versatile, multipurpose blades for outdoor life and adventurous chefs. They are perfect for you if the forest is your garden and kitchen and the sea is your refrigerator.
Gerber Legendary Blades has long discontinued making kitchen knives even though it started and rose to popularity because of them. As a result, mid-century knives from the brand are now considered the best kitchen knives of the time and are extremely rare and cost no less than a thousand dollars, according to online marketplace prices.
In the 1960s, Gerber steak knives were popular tools in fine dining sets. Carving knife and fork sets were such a necessity for informal parties that no one saw the brand phasing them out a few decades later. They’ve also discontinued Gerber chef knives recently, with the brand solely focusing on making outdoor supplies to cater to the rising popularity of camping and other outdoor adventures.
Nowadays, people look to Gerber because of people like Bear Grylls, who uses quality knives from Gerber to live in the wild. Campers, avid outdoor enthusiasts, and Bear Grylls fans are familiar with the brand.
Just as Gerber Legendary Blades became a household name for their formal setting knife sets in the past, modern-day Gerber gear is now gaining traction in the wildlife adventure world. Here are a few notable Gerber knives to check out.
This folding knife design by Gerber Legendary Blades is perfect if you are looking for a highly portable outdoor knife. The Instant Knife has a 3.18-inch blade with Forward Action Spring Technology for easy and quick use. It weighs 4.5 ounces and has a serrated portion on the blade for versatile uses. It is very outdoor-friendly and convenient to carry around.
Nothing screams kitchen knife more than this mini cleaver from Gerber. If you’re planning on taking cooking adventures in the wild just like many outdoor chefs on the Internet, investing in this blade is definitely worth it.
This unusual outdoor knife has a full-tang blade with an ergonomic handle design to make it easy to use despite its shape. The chiseled edge of the knife is perfect for scraping scales off fish. You can also use the sharp blade to break down small game and other catches.
As expected from a knife with a bigger blade than usual, the mini cleaver weighs a bit more than other knives. This 12-ounce tool is 8.5 inches long and 5 inches wide. It is best for hunting and longer, more strenuous outdoor activities that involve more knife use, such as butchering and cutting.
Serrated blades are great for outdoor uses, such as sawing wood for fires and cutting up meat. Partially serrated blades like the EVO knife are even more versatile. This knife has a clip point that you can use to skin a smaller catch. The material used for the blade is high-carbon stainless steel to keep a sharp edge for a long time while maintaining the blade’s quality.
The EVO knife weighs around 2.8 ounces and is around 8 inches long with a 3.43-inch-long blade.
Last but not least is the Bear Grylls Folding Sheath Knife. This knife is part of Gerber’s collaboration with the famous survivalist for a series of outdoor knives. It has a serrated edge taking up half of the high-carbon stainless steel drop-point blade. The knife is 8.5 inches long with a 3.6-inch-long blade, and it weighs around 5.3 ounces with the sheath included.
Aside from the blade, this knife is tailor-made for wildlife use. The rubber handle ensures that you can use the knife under different weather conditions, be it rain or shine. Gerber also makes the sheath with nylon material, which doesn’t disintegrate even with constant exposure to moisture.
This military-grade knife is highly portable because it is a folding knife. No wonder Bear Grylls includes it among his survival necessities.
It is incredible how much a brand can change over a few decades, and Gerber Legendary Blades is a living example of that. From formal setting knives and carving knives to hunting knives, the Gerber brand stood the test of time by adapting to its customers’ needs.
And who can better attest to a knife’s quality than an extreme outdoorsman like Bear Grylls? When it comes to adventures in the wild, it is wise to take survival tips and tools from the man who bested the wild himself.
To adapt to its clientele who are into outdoor cooking, Gerber designed knives focusing on convenience and versatility. Some great samples to look at are the Gerber Instant Knife, the Tri-Tipped Mini Cleaver, the EVO Knife, and the Bear Grylls Folding Sheath Knife.
It’s a hard choice to pick the best knife among these Gerber classics. However, the unofficial winner of the knife test is the Bear Grylls Folding Sheath Knife. The features are more remarkable compared to the other knives on this list. The blade length, sheath material, and folding capability of this knife made us declare it the best.
For any avid outdoorsman, these knives are worth your time. You read about them here, so check out our reviews of other kitchen knife brands.
