Gerber 30-001295 06 Automatic Knife Review

Gerber is Unstoppable, just like the men and women who carry their gear. Decades of innovation and dedication have put us where they are at. Renowned as a master of knives and tools, Gerber’s problem-solving, life-saving products are designed with the unique needs of specific activities in mind. Today, that includes much more than a blade.

Founded in 1939 and based in Portland, Oregon, Gerber is an American brand whose products have global reach and relevance. Carried extensively by hunters, soldiers, and tradesmen, Gerber’s heritage runs deep. And we are now looking toward the future, where tomorrow’s problems will be solved by the next generation of innovations.

All Gerber products are designed and engineered in Portland, OR where many are produced. They also tap their global supply chain to create a wide range of activity specific fear for wide variety of consumers. And no matter what, every product that bears the Gerber name is backed by their famous lifetime warranty.

Quality, reliability, innovation. For over 70 years that is what their customers have expected from them. And whether their products are used to save time, save the day, or save a life, Gerber always delivers.

When Joseph R Gerber described his young knife company, Gerber Legendary Blades, as the, “birth of an enterprise that grew into big business,” it was true, but it was an understatement for sure. What had started out in 1939 as a small batch of handmade cutlery sets given as holiday gifts that had turned into thousands of retail accounts around the country. By 1960, Gerber had quickly become one of the most trusted, appreciated and collected names in knives.

Over 70 years since its founding and Gerber continues to grow. Still grounded in the same principles that first guided Joseph R. Gerber’s enterprise, Gerber is a company dedicated to making knives and tools that combine high quality materials and innovative designs that will stand up to a lifetime of use. The sleek, stainless steel sheath knives of the ‘50s and ‘60s have given birth to today’s lightweight, open-frame clip folders. Gerber is, however, no longer just a knife company. Multi-tools, axes, handsaws, machetes, headlamps, flashlights, survival kits, digging implements—these are the newest directions that Gerber explores with the same standards of quality and design that inform their revered knife making.

Today we will be going over the Gerber 30-001295 06 automatic knife.

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of CPM S30V stainless steel. This steel was released by Crucible knife industries. This steel is a martensitic stainless steel designed to offer the best combination of toughness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance. Its chemistry has been specially balanced to promote the formation of vanadium carbides which are harder and more effective than chromium carbides in providing wear resistance. CPM S30V offers substantial improvement in toughness over other high hardness steels such as 440C and D2, and its corrosion resistance is equal to or better than 440C in various environments. The CPM process produces very homogeneous, high quality steel characterized by superior dimensional stability, grind ability, and toughness compared to steels produced by conventional processes.

The steel has been finished with a black coated finish. There are a few benefits to a coating your knife blade, but some of the biggest ones are that it reduces corrosion on the blade because the coating forms a barrier in between the blade and the environment. The black coated finish is also matte, which means that it will cut glares and reflections, meaning that the knife won’t give away your position if you have it in the field with you. Unfortunately, coatings can and will scratch off after continuous or heavy use. This means that to benefit from the coating advantages, the blade will have to be recoated. One of the other disadvantages is that sometimes the coating is applied unevenly, which means that slicing will not be as smooth.

The blade has been carved into a drop point blade shape. This is one the most popular blade shape in use today in the knife cutlery industry. This is an all-purpose blade shape, that is also very durable and functional in most tasks that you are going to come across. To form this blade shape, the back or unsharpened edge of the knife runs straight form the handle to the tip of the knife in a slow, curved manner, which creates a lowered point. This lowered point is what gives the user more control while also adding strength to the tip. One of the only disadvantages to the drop point blade shape is that it does not have as sharp of a tip as the clip point blade style. But, because it does have a broader tip, it is much stronger. It is because of this tip strength and the ability to hold up to heavy use that drop pint blades are a good option for taking on tactical and survival missions. And because the point on a drop point blade is easily controllable, they are a popular choice on hunting knives. The lowered, controllable point makes it easier to avoid accidentally nicking internal organs and ruining the meant. Drop point blades also feature a large belly area that makes slicing a breeze. In most situations, you are going to be required to slice, so the belly is the perfect characteristic when you are searching for a versatile, all-purpose knife. By choosing this Gerber knife that features a drop point style blade, you will be prepared for any situation, whether it is the expected or the unexpected.

The 30-001295 06 knife boasts a plain edge, which is just one long continuous edge. This style of edge has no teeth, which means that it is going to be easier to sharpen and you will also be able to get a finer edge. Plus, the plain edge is going to give you cleaner cuts than a serrated blade would. The plain edge is perfect for taking on any tasks that require a push cut, which is something like shaving, peeling an apple, or skinning game. One of the only disadvantages to the plain edge is that if you need to saw through thicker materials, a serrated blade would benefit you better. However, if you can get the edge sharp enough, you will be able to get through some of these thicker materials.

 

The Handles:

The handle on this knife is made out of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy. Aluminum is a very low-density metal that is used in knife making and it is very corrosion resistant. Since it is such a soft metal, it is primarily used for knife handles. A fun fact about aluminum is that it is actually the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust. The majority of knives use the 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, which just means the type of aluminum is 6061 and it has been T6 tempered. This type of aluminum has one of the highest yield and tensile strengths of all the aluminum alloys. This specific type of alloy is often used extensively in aircraft, and is actually referred to as “aircraft aluminum” sometimes. However, this does not mean anything special, it is just a nickname that the handle material has acquired. Aluminum is cheaper to machine and produce than Titanium, and is lighter weaker, and less resistant to wear. For the most part, Aluminum is an inferior metal to Titanium aside from its lightness.  However, when producing complex knives that require large amounts of CNC machining, such as this knife, aluminum is much cheaper to produce and the material costs less.

The ergonomics of the handle have been designed to give you maximum hold while still maintaining a comfortable grip. Across the face of the handle, Gerber has carved diagonal grooves. There is a deep finger groove, followed by a slightly shallow finger groove, followed by an elongated and very shallow finger groove. These grooves will help you keep a very secure, yet comfortable grip on the knife handle. To protect your fingers, there is also a large finger guard, in the case of finger slippage, so that you don’t get sliced. On the spine of the handle, there is a couple of different sections of jimping, which will help you have more control when you are slicing with this knife.

The butt of the handle has a lanyard hole carved into it, which is ideal if you need to keep this knife close to you, but also out of the way. Having a lanyard attached to this knife will also allow you to keep this Gerber knife more deeply in your pocket, which will help conceal it as well as keep it safer, but with the addition of a lanyard, you will be able to remove the knife quicker out of your pocket than you would be able to if you did not have the lanyard on it.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The clip on this knife is designed for tip up carry only. However, the handle has been drilled for either left or right hand carry options, which helps to make this knife ambidextrous. The clip is all black to match the handle and blade. It is held in place by three black screws, which match the rest of the hardware on this knife.

 

The Mechanism:

This is an automatic knife, which means that it does have strict set of laws surrounding it. This knife is not going to be legal in all states, cities, or areas. It is your responsibility as the user to know your local laws. BladeOps is not responsible for knowing your local knife laws.

Automatic knives are also known as switchblade, and are knives that have a blade concealed and stored in the handle. This blade is released when a button on the face of the handle is pressed, because a spring inside is activated and it will automatically flip the blade out before locking it into place. To close the knife, you will hold down the button and manually fold the blade back into the handle, where it will stay stored until you need to release the blade again.

There are a variety of advantages to having an automatic knife. The biggest one is that you can quickly and efficiently release the blade from the handle—even if you only have one hand to work with. This means that the knife can be brought into play more efficiently and quickly than a regular folding knife. However, because there are a lot of inner mechanisms, maintenance on an automatic knife does prove to be more complicated. Plus, this knife might not be legal in your state.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 3.7 inches long, with a handle that measures in at 4.9 inches long. When this automatic knife is opened, it measures in at an overall length of 8.6 inches. This knife is definitely one of the heavier ones to have, weighing in at 7 ounces. This Gerber knife was made in the United States of America.

 

Conclusion:

Gerber’s automatic knife series, the 06, offers a superbly ergonomic design coupled with premium materials and a rugged build that Gerber is all but too familiar with. The smooth aluminum handle was purposefully designed to give you maximum traction in any grip position thanks to the integrated finger grooves and precisely placed jimping patterns. The front of the knife houses a slide safety that is in close proximity to the over-sized firing button making this knife just as functional with gloves on. The base of the knife also showcases a pommel with a strike point that can easily function as a glass breaker or self-defense tool. This classic 06 auto features a plain edged drop point blade comprised of premium CPM-S30V stainless steel in a black finish and the pocket clip is designed for tip up carry only but is eligible for left or right hand carry options. Pick up the Gerber 30-001295 06 Automatic knife today at BladeOps.