Gerber Legendary Blades is a maker of consumer knives and multitools headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, United States, within the Portland metropolitan area. Currently Gerber is a sub-division of Fiskars Brands Inc, owned by the Fiskars company of Finland. Gerber was established in 1939 by Pete Gerber, and has a reputation for making quality knives of innovative design, designed by famous knifemakers. Gerber was the first Production knife company to collaborate with a custom knife maker when it collaborated with David Murphy.^[1]

History

In 1910, the Gerber family started an advertising firm in Portland, Oregon.^[2] While working for the family business, Joseph Gerber mailed 24 sets of kitchen knives to clients during the holidays.^[2] These handmade knives were very popular, with then catalog retailer Abercrombie & Fitch requesting more of these knives from Gerber to sell in their catalog in 1939.^[2] Gerber then left the advertising business and started Gerber Legendary Blades that same year.^[2]

In 1966, the company relocated to a new headquarters next to Interstate 5 in what is now Tigard.^[2] Finnish company Fiskars purchased the private company in 1987.^[2] Chad Vincent was hired as chief executive officer in July 2001.^[2] By 2003 the company employed 300 people and had revenues near $100 million and was the second leading seller of multitools in the United States.^[2]

Designs

A Gerber Paraframe framelock knife, the Gerber Guardian Backup knife with sheath, and a Gerber Multi-plier 600 with sheath.

Designers who have since designed knives for Gerber include: Bob Loveless, Paul Poehlmann, Blackie Collins, William Harsey Jr., Fred Carter, Rick Hinderer, and Ernest Emerson.^[1] Former Gerber employees who started their own successful knife companies include Al Mar and Pete Kershaw.^[1] Gerber also sells a family of folding knives based on designs of Rex Applegate, and authorized by Applegate.^[1]

Examples of innovative designs by Gerber are the "bolt action" locking system designed by Blackie Collins, the unique front opening action of the Gerber multitools, and the push button locking Paul knives by Paul Poehlmann. Also unusual are Gerber's niche market products, such as the Clip-it diving knives.

Gerber has also led the market in using new technologies, and materials normally found in custom made or premium brand knives, such as light but tough injection molded Zytel handles, Kraton rubber on handles for enhanced grip, ATS 34 and AUS 8 high carbon stainless steels (widely considered far better than the standard 440 series more commonly used), and titanium nitride coatings. Additional products in the Gerber line include tools, lights, accessories, packs, and hydration products.

For his work and Gerber's impact on the cutlery industry, Pete Gerber was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1985 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia.^[3]

Famous models

There are many different models of Gerber knives, including:

• the Gerber Guardian: A type of boot knife designed by knife maker Bob Loveless more than twenty years ago. The handle has a hard inner core. The Guardian 1 has a Santoprene rubber coating for a nonslip grip and a double-edge blade finished in non-reflective black. It is the blade weapon of choice used by Lara Croft, of Tomb Raider fame, and special operative Sam Fisher of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series until Splinter Cell: Double Agent.
• the Gerber Mark II^[1]
• the Gerber multitool
• the LMF II ASEK, or Aircrew Survival and Egress Knife
• the Gerber Gator - A single blade lockback knife with an ergonomic thermoplastic handle molded to resemble alligator skin.
• The Gerber/Emerson Alliance - The first automatic knife made by either company is based on the profile of Emerson Knives, Inc.'s earlier Raven knife design and is an issued item to certain military units under the NSN (NATO Stock Numbers): 5110-01-516-3243 and 5110-01-516-3244.^[4]

References