Gerber has been manufacturing knives for seventy years and has gained a reputation for creating innovative and trustworthy blades crafted from high-quality materials.

Gerber Legendary Blades History

Surprisingly, knife making was not the first design of the Gerber company upon its creation. Portland’s Joseph Gerber founded the first plant, which was Gerber Advertising, in 1910. He spent nearly thirty years as an advertising executive, looking for a more advisable job opportunity to surface.

Gerber’s chance eventually came in the year 1939, when a small number of his handmade kitchen knife collections were given to his best clients as an appreciation present for the holiday season. Little did he know that Abercrombie and Fitch would react with such praise to his humble knife gift! They offered Gerber a division in their sales catalog to sell his gorgeous cutlery, and he then left his advertising company so that he could form the company still standing now, Gerber Legendary Blades.

About 50 years afterward, in 1987, Gerber Legendary Blades was acquired by Fiskars Brands, Inc.. Gerber maintains its business in Portland and is now the second greatest multi-tool manufacturing business in the United States.

Also, Gerber Legendary Blades was one of the first companies to bring in supplementary design talent by way of custom knife designers. Many well-known designers have added to Gerber’s spectacular lineup over the years, like Bob Loveless, David Murphy, Ernest Emerson, and Rick Hinderer.

Gerber Legendary Blades also carries the distinct honor of fathering two noted knife companies that are still flourishing in their line of work today. Al Mar used to be a worker at Gerber before quitting to found Al Mar Knives. Pete Kershaw also worked at Gerber, and afterward applied the knowledge he obtained there to grow successful at Kershaw Cutlery.

Gerber Knife Examples

Nowadays, the company makes over 120 models. Several of the noted Gerber Legendary Knives include fixed-blade patterns like the Gerber Gator, the LMF II ASEK Knife and the Big Rock Camp Knife. Clip folder knives include the Paraframe, the Torch, and the Gerber-Emerson Alliance. Also, Gerber's Flik is another one of their most best-selling products.

Materials

Gerber is also very known for its usage of high-end materials and innovative technology ideas into its knife design process. Several of Gerber’s blades are manufactured with AUS-8 and ATS-34 steel, which embody very elite grades of high carbon stainless steel. Superior rubberized combinations like Zytel and Kraton are frequently used in Gerber handles. Materials such as these and more characterize Gerber Legendary Blades as a high-quality manufacturing company.

More Info

The Wikipedia's entry on Gerber is a great place to get started with additional information, as well as Gerber's official web site.