Gerber Walker

[tallwingedgoat]

I received a Gerber Walker in the mail today, and thought I should do a mini-review since no one else has.

This linerlock knife is a design by Michael Walker. It features a 4" ATS-34 blade, dual steel liners and G-10 scales. There is a steel pocket clip which allows tip-down carry. It uses an unsual thumb rectangle to assist opening, and features a thumb operated safety that locks the liner in place as seen in many CRKT designs.

Positives:

Much better QC than I expected out of Gerber, the lockup is crisp and tight, and the edge is very sharp. Sharper than Benchmade in fact, and close to that of Microtech. The blade is .15" thick and appears quite strong. The G-10 scales are also comfortably rounded, a nice touch for knives in this price range. The steel pocket clip is simple yet robust, doesn't look like it'll snag on something and bend, like what happened to my MT LCC.

Negatives:

I don't like tip-down carry on such a large knife because it take longer to draw, it also rides too high in my pocket for my taste. The liners are rather thin, but I have confidence in the safety mechanism.

The major flaw of this knife though is that its impossible to open with the left hand. This seems to be caused by the lack of a good cutout compounded by the rectangle shaped thumb disk, which fits nearly flush with the G-10 handle when closed. IMO a tactical knife must be ambidextrous. A deeper cutout in the handle on the lock side would solve this problem, in addition to allowing a more secure grip.

Conclusion:

The Walker is an attractive knife and the best Gerber I've seen. It's quite a bargain considering some internet dealers offer it at $80. Not a bad EDC for a right handed user.

 

[roshi]

Excellent review. Glad you like the knife!

The main reason I sold mine was the difficulty I had opening it left handed with my old stiff fingers. I too believe that a true tactical needs to be ambidextrous.

The one fault of most liner locks is that they are designed with right handers in mind and many have a full width liner that means a cut out on the left side isn't practical.

The location of the pocket clip also sometimes gets in the way.

I think the best ambidextrous design is the axis lock.

On the whole, if using it as a large dressy folder, the Gerber Walker is a great knife. It was probably the sharpest out of the box knife I've ever owned with the possible exception of a Microtech Amphibian.

 

[rev_jch]

I purchased some for 24.95 on the internet a while back, a real bargain!!! have used one for outdoor activites (hiking, canoeing ect.). a little bulky, but I must say it does make a good camp knife, you can light chop with it, as long as the lawks are on. its a great knife for what I paid for it, was quite impressed considering I didnt think I was going to get much for my money.

 

[Geoff in Philly]

mine wobbles so bad, I drawered it