Gerber DMF Manual Folder Review 2011/11/22
Gerber make lots of knives and most recently have started producing
the Bear Grylls line of products. This is there DMF Manual Folder
offering. A strong locking folder with G10 scales. Let's see how it
gets on with a full review!
Introduction
A secondary knife was something I thought was the reserve of the
fanatics and not what I would ever use however this all changed on a
course I was teaching. Where I found myself confronted with loads of
smaller tasks, such as rope cutting, collecting pine sap and opening
packets. I had to take my bushcraft knife out of its sheath over and
over again – surely there was a better way? There is indeed a better way
and it's called a neck knife. What we have here in this review is
the DMF Manual Folder which is a utility knife and one that is
supposed to be designed to handle a bit of everything.
Design
The Gerber DMF Manual Folder is a G10 handled, tactical work horse of a
knife. It’s light in the hand with a very smooth action that is
completely ambidextrous. The blade is a modified clip point with
serrations and a flat grind. The steel is 7Cr17MoV which is a
stainless steel with added Vanadium. This results in increased
overall strength, increased wear resistance. However I found that
my Gerber DMF Manual Folder had the edge roll on its blade very
quickly. Moreover it did not hold an edge at all well which is very
disappointing considering the item costs a fair amount.
The Gerber DMF Manual Folder has a
strong blade that is perfect for a wide variety of tasks and a simple
belt clip that be changed to suit both right and left carry. The wedge
lock is strong and can be released by both your strong and weak hand.
However the lock button itself wobbles and is of poor quality.
It does have features that will never be used in bushcraft, such as a
window punch but this could mean it comes in handy in a survival
situation.
