The Gerber De Facto Clone
Hi there! I finally got a Gerber De Facto clone knife, it is one of the many items I had in my wish list. I do hope the following review will be helpful for you if you do decide to buy this item. Honestly, I got some issues with this knife, for 11 USD I can't expect much more out this knife.
The box it came in with, I think, is not as durable as other packaging. But it is pretty much adequate for its use. There's no bubble wrap inside the box, I do believe that the store owner already checked the item out so it was opened or was already been unboxed. I did saw a thick plastic cellophane wrap inside it and it was already been cut open.
Is the steel used on this knife really S30V? I'm really doubtful about this, first of all, the price should be higher if its S30V, I do believe its made up of the cheaper Chinese stainless steel. Hope I'm mistaken, but I don't think the blade is even in stainless steel because I have seen small rust spots on its edge. They just copied every label from the original, the serial number, the steel used, the maker and where it was manufactured to make it really look good. I don't think it has a durable coating because I just did pulling out and putting the blade in its sheath, I've noticed some paints have been scratched off. I have not done any other test on this knife yet other than the sharpness test by doing a paper cut. I want to do a card board stabbing and slashing test with this knife. I'm pretty optimistic it will pass the stabbing test easily. I'm quite worried though that I might break the tip or bend it. Hopefully I can make video on this knife, for general overview and perform some tests and share it on Youtube for additional reference about this clone knife.
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| Gerber De Facto Clone Knife |
The product came with a box as shown on the picture. The box is labeled made in China, I do presume that the knife is made in China as well. Plus the Knife just cost me around 11 USD, pretty cheap for a back up self defense dagger. The Original Gerber De Facto knife cost around 120 USD up to 140 USD, that's a big difference, over a hundred dollars.
The box contains the following information:
PRODUCT SPECS:
Blade Length: 3.75"
Overall Length: 8.50"
Weight: 4.70 Oz
Textured Rubber Handle
Sheath with Integrated Sharpener
There is no Integrated Sharpener but it did have a Malice clip as you can see on the other photos.
The picture below pretty much says what I got from the 11 USD purchase. But is it worth my money? I got it very cheap and saved 100+ USD compared to the original one.
Let's do more close inspection with this item and see if we can uncover any defects. As I go with the review, I will also be enumerating the pros and cons about this clone knife as per what I have encountered so far.
The knife came razor DULL....even the serrated edges are dull...can't cut paper, needs to be sharpened. But I do believe it is sharp enough to slash or cut flesh wide open and it does have a very pointy tip, so stabbing is no problem... Self defense, maybe adequate but I do recommend sharpening this knife first before carrying it. I would recommend researching on the web on how to sharpen this type of knife edge. This is a partially serrated blade, to tell you Honestly this is the first blade I owned having serrations. I am not a fan of serrations but for this knife I'll make an exception. The knife on the photo below is stamped or labeled Gerber Portland Or USA.
The symmetry of the knife grind / design is OFF... You can examine the picture below.
When I bought this knife, there were two items left, I chose this one because it didn't have any scratches and sort of deep puncture marks. Between the two knives, this one have the better quality not until I've notice it's imperfections.
Same as the above photo, you can examine for yourself the imperfection on the grind symmetry on the photo below. The photo shows that it has its serial number and the steel used is S30V stainless, a steel on the so called premium stainless steel category.
CPM S30V steel
CPM S30V is a martensitic (hardened) powder-made (sintered) wear and corrosion resistant stainless steel developed by Dick Barber of Crucible Industries in collaboration with knifemaker Chris Reeve.[1][2] Its chemistry promotes the formation and even distribution of vanadium carbides, which are harder and more effective at cutting than chromium carbides.[1] These vanadium carbides give the steel a very refined grain, further improving the sharpness and toughness.[3] Despite some difficulties with a consistent heat-treat, knifemakers use CPM S30V because its composition makes it easier to grind than other powder steels although the carbides still wear down the grinder belts considerably.[4] Its composition is as follows: Carbon 1.45%, Chromium 14.00%, Vanadium 4.00%, Molybdenum 2.00%.[1] Barber received feedback from a number of other knife users and knifemakers such as Sal Glesser, Ernest Emerson, Tony Marfione, Phil Wilson, William Harsey Jr., Tom Mayo, Jerry Hossom, and Paul Bos in the development of CPM S30V.
CPM S30V is considered a premium grade knife steel. It is so expensive that it strongly affects the price of the knife, and is largely used in higher-end production and custom knives. Buck Knives calls it "the absolute best blade steel available".[5] Joe Talmadge claims it might be the ultimate high-end all-around stainless steel, due to high performance coupled with easier machinability and sharpenability than the other steels in this class.[6]
Surprisingly, the handle is comfortable, it does not feel cheap. No hot spots on this one. The guard and butt caps of the knife is made of hard plastic and it does scratch pretty easily. It has a glass breaker pommel with a hole for lanyard attachment. I have not yet tested the knife extensively, I'm afraid that I might break it. The thickness of this blade is decent.
I was impressed by the build quality of the plastic sheath at first but it does scratch pretty easily. It secures the knife pretty good. You have to bear in mind that you need to lock the blade in or else it will fall pretty easily. There's a bit of rattle if you shake the blade inside the sheath. There's a drain hole at the bottom of the sheath. This sheath is a big plus compared to other knife sheaths that I found on AliExpress.
Not much negative on the sheath but the malice clip, I don't think it will last for long considering the fact that I just used it or attached it once on the sheath then it shows wear and tear as you see below on the photo. I do carry this knife more often than my other blades. It is compact and the sheath is sturdy enough that you will not be cut by the blade. I usually put this knife on my front pocket of my pants. I prefer not to use the malice clip.
MY OVERALL OPINION:
The knife is cheap. You can't expect it to be top notched compared to the hundred dollar plus original. The blade was somehow a disappointment but the handle and sheath are pretty decent. The malice clip will be useful but take extra care. I do like the compact size of this blade. It is meant to be a back up self defense dagger and not a survival knife. All knives, regardless of the steel used in it must be sharpened at all times. Even if it came in dull, a knife owner must posses the right skills on how to properly sharpen and maintain his blades. Would I recommend it? For the price, YES! Of course it does not break my pocket, I do believe it serves its purpose as a defense dagger even with its imperfections and short comings.
I would love to make a part two of this post. I would like to do extensive test and evaluation with this dagger. Hope it will not break.
If you do want to own one for yourself, test and evaluate it, you can click the link below to redirect you to seller's ad on AliExpress. Hope I did give you a bit of information about this clone knife.
Please do leave comment or suggestions.
STAY SAFE AND SHARP EVERYONE!
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