You really never appreciate the lighter things until you experience them. I lug around a wide variety of knives, and most of the time I’m reviewing them for you fine folks. Until the Evo graced my home I never really knew just how heavy these knives are. I’ve carried lightweight knives, but they tended to be pretty small. The Gerber Evo is a lightweight knife that happens to be pretty big.
Specs:
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- Overall Length – 7.95 inches
- Blade Length – 3.43 inches
- Closed Length – 4.61 inches
- Weight – 2.8 ounces
Inside the Gerber Evo
2.8 ounces is it, and you get a 3.43 each blade and a nice full sized handle. Knives like the Spyderco Bradley Folder 2 like to brag about being lightweight, but weighs 4.5 ounces. The Gerber Evo is ridiculously lightweight and I can appreciate it, especially with summer bearing down on us. Nows the time to ditch the jeans, heavy gun belts, and button downs for shorts, and t-shirts.
The Gerber Evo sports a partially serrated blade with an aggressive clip point tip. The serration is a bulldog when it comes to cutting and it really chews through anything in front of it. This particular model features a Titanium nitride coating that serves two purposes. First, it protects the blade, and the second is it makes the blade glide.
The smooth nature of the finish allows the blade to glide through materials as it cuts. Going through a long section of cardboard, for example, is where you feel the difference. Of course, the knife needs to be sharp as well, but the coating does make a noticeable difference.
The blade can be opened via a rear flipper or a thumb stud on the blade. The flipper allows the blade to explode open in hurry and is easy to reach and activate. The Thumb stud is a little more methodical way to safely open the knife. It’s also the quieter way in case you need to take out a sentry silently, or I don’t know, open a bag of candy in a movie theater.
The Grip
The Gerber Evo sacrificed nothing to be as light as it is. This includes the grip. It’s a full-sized grip comfortable for my manly 2XL sized hands. One of the ways they reduced weight was the 7 oval cuts in the aluminum grip. This reduces weight and does provide a comfortable grip texture. The grip is thin, and my only complaint is after a lot of work it wears into your hand. However, I don’t see this knife being used for an hours worth of work at one time on average.
Looks that Kill
The Gerber Evo with it’s TI coated blade is a fine looking knife. The blade is long, but thin, giving it a near stiletto appearance. This knife just looks aggressive, without looking bulky. It’s more Bond than Stallone. The Gerber Evo is an excellent little knife that’s made to last and made to work.
*Originally published on the Crate Club Knowledgebase
