GerberGear Fast Draw Pocket Knife Assisted Opening Folding Knife - EDC Gear and Equipment

This is my favorite knife Gerber makes. I have owned one in the past which I carried while working on duty. It has a sturdy belt clip on the back. The checkering on the front is not overly aggressive. The spring assisted open is not overly aggressive but gets the blade out quick. The knife is also one had operational. There is a switch located on the checkered portion which functions great. This switch locks the blade closed but is easily disengaged. When the lock is in the forward disengaged position a red dot similar to a safety on a firearm.Speaking of the size makes it perfect for every day carry.As I said I have owned a knife such as this in the past for about 2 years. It literally my favorite knife. This knife comes in a solid blade and serrated. This particular one is serrated which I find much more useful. My old knife finally gave out and screws came apart in after a trip in the washing machine. I contacted Gerber and sent the broken knife in. They sent me a brand new replacement. I feel this speaks volumes to the company.

Great knives you can lock and unlock the blade with gloves on makes for a super handy knife

For a little context, I'm in my mid-thirties and I've carried a pocket knife every day of my life since the 3rd or 4th grade.Considering the price, this is an excellent knife. I've purchased this knife 3 or 4 times now, and not because it breaks or gets dull, but because I carry it with me at all times, even when I go to sporting events where you enter through a security check... and I have to throw the knife away. Thankfully it's cheap, so it's no big deal to replace.I love the spring-assisted opening. It's super easy to open one-handed. The combo blade, half-serrated and half-not, makes it extremely useful for general household duties -- opening a bag of mulch, cutting up corrugated cardboard to fit in the recycle box, etc. The handle is thin and light, so it's hardly noticeable and stays out of the way as it's clipped inside my pocket. It's also very durable. I've dropped it more times than I can remember and it doesn't show a scratch.For around twenty-five bucks, you really can't go wrong with this knife.

Good strong budget knife to have. The blade is strong and cuts well. My number one brand knife I use for work and it holds and has been holding for years. One of my brands I used in the military and now in civilian life. Important to me is the safety lock its great, has a good grip and opens right away with a push of your thumb. Good bang for your buck. Highly recommend!

See my other review of the Gerber Swagger, which I don't like as much as the Fast Draw, but if you have iron-plated thumbs the Swagger might be worth looking at.This is a great knife, at least for me. I carry it in my back jeans pocket and it fits very low, with nearly all of the knife handle hidden inside the pocket. That's because the clip design is one that "loops around", turning 180° back on itself so the curve of the clip that snugs against the edge of my pocket is nearly at the very end of the knife handle. It's almost invisible if it weren't for the clip on the outside.Also, I love the fact that it is a "tip-up" carry, which for me puts the knife in the perfect position to open it when I pull it out of my pocket. The slide lock works like a charm (now it does, see photos and re-work description below) and is very easy to operate. And of course the blade is sharp as sh..., well , sharp as sharp can be. Very nice to carry and use.I would recommend it highly unless you happen to get one with a similar defect to mine. See the rest of the story below.I purchased this from Amazon as a discounted "open box" price, which I assumed meant it was a return. It appeared perfect in every way but once I tried it out the defect became obvious - the slide lock would jam when the knife was used (force applied to the blade when you cut something) and required a lot of wigging of the blade in order to get the slide lock to release so you could close the knife.Rather than send it back I decided to take it apart (bad habit of mine), and discovered that the slide lock mechanism uses a flat bar, sliding in a slot punched in the back of the blade, to lock and unlock the blade. That slot is literally punched in the steel of the blade and left completely unfinished - no machining at all. So the shearing force of the punching operation left a rough surface for the flat bar to slide against, and there was just enough of a burr for the bar to catch and jam.I used a tiny grindstone in a Dremel tool to remove just enough metal from the slot to get rid of the burr. I also did a little smoothing of the corner of the locking bar that slides inside the slot. See photos for details. After this work the knife operates like a dream.

Still a great knife

I work in Kandahar, Afghanistan and had need for a light, general use knife. After six months of daily use I like this knife so much that I plan to buy another and one with a regular blade so that I have them when Gerber stops making them!The spring action is easy to use and quick. I did have it open in my back pocket which was because I didn't set the lock after use. It opened my pants very well! The lock is a bit stiff at first but both it and the spring action smooth out with time. I don't worry about it failing because all hinged knives have weak points and will fail under constant use. Just how long - who knows?The stainless steel blade takes a edge quickly, and goes dull just as fast - as all stainless steel blade do. I recommend you always keep a pocket sharpener with you. The serrated blade is a bit to short for many jobs such as sawing through a big box or rope, but works well for most things. I have a small tapered round sharpener to keep an edge on the serrations.The clip is getting weak from use. But it takes only a minute to remove it, bend it a bit and you're back in business. The clip even has a hole to access the blind screw.For the price you will be hard press to find a better day to day carry knife.

Best quality for this style