Bear MGC

D

danielp

Joined
Aug 27, 2002
Messages
184
Just saw that currently our local Ace Hardware carry Bear MGC knives, and I'm thinking about trying their peanut or medium stockman. My only slipjoint, other than SAKs, is Boker, so I dont have that much experience. So what do you guys think about Bear MGC?

Thanks,
 
Compare it to Case.
I think you will find Case is made much better...
Enough said?
 
Last edited:
Bear knives are OK for their price point as a less expensive USA folder. But a better knife for the same price would be Buck. I consider Case as being in a different (Better) catagorie but at a bigger price. The Bear will probably do whatever you ask it to do, so if you like it, buy it and enjoy.
 
I bought two Remington swing guards made by Bear and the fit & finish is nowhere near companies like Case or Queen.

These two particular knives were not cheap. A Case Cheetah I bought a few months later is light years ahead ( in terms of build quality).

My only recommendation is if you are buying at a shop , examine them first.
 
Sadly, the Bear knives I've seen look more like the proverbial Chinese POS than any actual Chinese knife I've come across in the last several years. Without the tang stamp, you'd think they were a $2 Pakistani gas station special.

I'd like to think they've gotten better in the last year or two. At least for their own sake.
 
I haven't been overwhelmingly impressed or disappointed with the Bear MCG knives in my accumulation. Some are actually quite attractive.

Buying at ACE you'll have the advantage of inspecting the knife in person before purchase. Check for blade play, gaps, and the usual.
 
I haven't had the oppertunity to handle any of the traditional Bear MGC folders, only their more modern designs. They seemed functional yet rough.
 
Bear MGC knives aren't very good at all, IMHO. I can't speak for blade & steel quality, but their fit & finish is terrible, at least on the ones I've seen.

When Camillus closed, our local Boy Scout store brought in some knives contracted through Bear, and according to the folks there, a few people were pretty disappointed. Several were returned, and I handled four or five, and none of them were acceptable. Scales half-polished, blade edges not even, grit in the joints, glue (epoxy?) crusted around the scale shield on a couple, uneven thickness of the handles, and one had a pin sitting proud (above the scale surface.) It's sad to say, I agree with Shecky - the ones I've seen were comparable to the Pakistan knives we bought at the flea markets where I grew up.

thx - cpr
 
I have only 1 Bear MGC. A medium stag trapper.
It does have a small gap (very small) on the backside scale at one end.
Single pin (middle bottom)
Half stops and the spine is flush in the open, half and closed position.
Nail nick of the spey blade is on the opposite side and easily accessible.
Stag looks great, blades are razor sharp.
"Bear" in mind that this one is at least 9-10yrs old.

I do not have anything newer that they have put out.

mike
 
From what I've heard, you'd be far better off with buying a Rough Rider for a plausible cheap knife or spend more on an American cutler.
 
I've noticed a wide variation in Bear MGC products. 'Made in Alabama' is important to me - as is their homegrown Damascus. Still, you have to look them over. A 'good one' is a good knife, especially in Damascus. BTW, Kershaw employs their Damascus blades, too - another 'Alabama connection'. Below are a Buck Custom Shop 110 with teardrop Damascus; a Bear MGC 597D; and a Kershaw Leek (Damascus). The top blade is a custom maker's while the lower two are from Alabama Damascus, part of Bear MGC.

IMG_0616.jpg


The above knives are all nearly perfect. The Bear, whose list was >$150, was a steal from an evil-bay dealer for ~$50 shipped. The Buck was nearly four times the cost of the Bear, while the Kershaw was ~1.5 times it's cost. The Bear was clearly worth more than I paid for it - my good fortune. It is a great example - but my similar 297, an oak handled SS version, isn't - despite my hand picking it. That's a lot of variation.

So, hand pick a Bear MGC - or buy a Buck! The Bear Damascus blades - in Kershaws - are a decent value.

Stainz
 
The few Bear's I've handled have been generally underwhelming, as stated upthread, uneven grinds, poor sharpening, and the scales are just...."blah", the walk-and-talk was marginal, I agree with the assessment that they seemed far more like cheap Pakistani knockoffs than actual cheap Pakistani knockoffs, very poor fit and finish

I'm sure the high-end Bears are great knives, but their affordable line of knives seem pretty craptacular to me, pity really, it'd be nice to have another purveyor of quality knives, but personally, I'm not impressed with their affordable product line
 
Hi,

Is there a quality difference between Bear&Son and Bear MGC?

I do have two Bear MGC marked knives. A Stockman and a small liner lock pen. Neither are very well made. In fact the I sent the stockman back for replacement. The spey and sheep's foot blades weren't krinked, (if that is the correct term), right and bound up when I tried to open them. Bear to their credit replaced the stockman no hassle and very quickly, I had the replacement in a week.

dalee
 
orca8589 said:
I think they're the same outfit, just different owners, or something like that.

thx - cpr
Click to expand...

Bear MGC, MGC is the first letters of the three owners last names. One of the owners and his son bought out the other two. Now Bear&son. I have eleven of their older knives MGC, six of them in demascus with stag. As far as the lack of pins in the scales I was told by an officer of the company that they looked better with less pins as the epoxy held the scales on just fine so it was decided to do away with them. My Bear MGC's are about ten to twelve yrs old with no scales coming off yet. It does show off the scale material better so I guess its more of a personal taste thing. They "Bear&Son" do have a limited edition series thats more on par with Case, Though I would choose Case any day. They bought the plant from Jim Parker of Parker cutlery after he went bankrupt, My only like for them is that I live five miles from their plant and I come from this part of Alabama. I know the owner of Alabama demascus and he is experimenting with new patterns of demascus, hopefully we'll see some stainless demascus coming from them soon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top