Icon Logo Gun Mart

Gerber Gator Knives

Gerber Gator Knives

The Gerber Company have built their reputation on making quality products that get the job done, without breaking the bank. I was therefore very interested to see how a couple of their machetes would cope when put to the test. The basic build is the same, with the blade being forged from high-carbon stainless steel with a painted black coating to the majority of the blade. The blade is attached to the handle with a couple of Allen headed bolts, so it’s possible to tighten the fasteners should they become loose over the years. Both the saw blade and cutting blade are very sharp from new but should sharpen easily too if needed. The plastic handle has a tactile, rubber covering, what Gerber call their ‘Gator Grip’, and it’s grippy even when wet. The grip material is also very good at absorbing the shocks imparted to the blade when chopping. A nine-inch nylon lanyard is to be found on the end of the handle and it’s always good to use them if they’re available, as you wouldn’t want one of these tools slipping through your fingers!

Gator and Gator Junior

There are two versions available, the Gator Machete is 25½-inches long overall, with an 14-inch saw blade and 18-inch cutting blade The Gator Junior is 18¾-inches long overall, with a saw blade of 7½-inches and a cutting edge of 10-inches. Both come with a black, woven nylon sheath that is stiffened by a plastic insert; this strengthens the unit, ensuring it keeps its shape. These machetes look to be well-made but looks aren’t any good if they don’t perform, so I thought I’d see how they performed in the real world.

story continues below...

I couldn’t find any of my wood saws when doing some DIY recently (where do tools hide when you need them?) and cutting two-by-two-inch treated timber with the saw blade was an absolute doddle and took only a little longer than if I’d used a conventional, purpose built wood saw. I would add that I used both hands when chopping the seasoned timber, as I could get a better purchase and more force down through the blade. Green wood was just as easy to cut, which I guess is more important for this type of implement. The actual cutting blade sliced through all sorts of small branches and made mincemeat of a load of old brambles and other random undergrowth at the farm.

Okay, so I need to spend more time with these machetes but I reckon they’ll come back for more, no matter what I ask them to do!

Prices: Gerber Gator £29.99; Gerber Gator Junior £24.99.

  • Gerber Gator Knives - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Gerber Gator Knives - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

Arrow