1970's Gerber folder - can anyone tell me more?

[OldSchool64]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum so, I hope I'm doing this in the right place. I bought this Gerber folder over 40 years ago back in the '70s, on a camping trip in Colorado. It came with a black leather sheath that I lost a long time ago. It has walnut in the handle and sports a liner lock. The blade says Portland , OR 97223 USA. I've used it a lot over the years and it shows some wear and tear, but It is still very solid and tight.

I was hoping some of you experts could tell me the model or any info about this type of Gerber? Is it collectible, or is it too marked up? It seems like a lot of the pictures I see when I google older Gerber pocket knives have a back lock on the spline instead of this liner lock style. Also, a lot of Gerbers I see in stores today are made in China, although I have a Strong Arm that is USA made.

Thanks for any info you have.

OldSchool64

 

[Deltadag]

This model is called the "Pete's Knife" after the Gerber company founder, Pete Gerber.

I have the exact same knife in nearly mint condition. It was the first folding knife I ever bought as a kid, sometime around 1976 or so. I chose this model over the far more common Gerber Folding Hunter that my dad owned because the Pete's Knife had a stainless steel frame as opposed to the brass frame of the Folding Hunter. I didn't care how the Folding Hunter's frame would constantly tarnish and corrode in a humid climate. The fact that the Pete's Knife was a liner lock and hence presented a more streamlined appearance was a "cool" factor in my eyes. Another selling point was that Gerber in that era advertised its folding knives as having blades of 440C, which was regarded as a high-end stainless knife blade steel in those days. The Pete's Knife also was a drop point blade, which was also a rather new configuration compared to the usual trailing point blades of which the Buck 110 Folding Hunter is the iconic example.

It might not be polite to say it, but the other factor that influenced my choice was that in my neck of the woods, Gerbers were considered a higher and classier status symbol than Bucks, probably because it seemed everybody and his uncle owned some kind of Buck knife, whether fixed blade or folding.

Now don't let me wax nostalgic over the Gerber Paul Knife my dad got me as a random present. . .

 

[OldSchool64]

Thanks for the info DeltaDag! I never new the name/model. I really like this knife. I bought it on a Boy Scout trip in Durango, Colorado at a random sporting goods store probably in 1978, if I had to guess. One of the reasons I picked it was because of it's slim profile and the walnut inlays. It's seen its wear and tear, but it still holds a good edge.