My Gerber Principle Review has been a little over a year in the making. I have been using this knife since Gerber released it and it has successfully been through all 4 seasons of the year (and it’s now back for its second round). The Gerber Principle has been put through a lot of outdoor, survival & bushcraft tasks during this time. Now the time has come to let you all know what I think about the quality of this knife, what I think it is well suited for, and my overall experience/usage with it.
Gerber Principle Fixed Blade Knife
Right up front, let’s chat about some of the specs of the Gerber Principle Fixed Blade Knife.
- Overall Length: 7.5″
- Cutting Edge Length: 3″
- Blade Thickness: 0.125″
- Blade Material: 420HC
- True Scandi Grind
- Full tang 90º Spine
- Rubber over-molded handle
- Made in Gerber’s USA Facility
- Average price: $60-70
Gerber Principle Knife Quality
I have put my Gerber Principle through a lot of hard use over this past year. I’ve created many one-stick fires with it, I’ve batoned with it repeatedly when creating kindling/fuel for my twigs stoves, I’ve dulled and sharpened the edge repeatedly, and I’ve put it away wet multiple times while out fishing.
Simply put, this knife is a little tank. The steel has been fantastic, it takes an edge easily in the field and I’ve not been able to make it rust. The Scandinavian grind is a true “scandi-grind” with no secondary bevel to speak of. The rubber handles are the only thing I’ve had a small issue with. I slightly damaged one side of the rubber near the end of the handle, closest to the blade. This happened when I was batoning a log and accidentally smacked the handle instead of the blade. Truth be told, it probably would’ve hurt most handles.
Shown Above: Gerber Principle • Exotac fireROD XL Firestarter
Gerber Principle 90º Spine for Firestarting
The Gerber Principle has a really nice 90º spine. It is very sharp from end to end. The spine is fantastic for scraping tree bark like red cedar for tinder bundles or pieces of fatwood for fine dust-like shavings. The 90º spine is also incredible with a ferro rod like the one seen above. With a small bit of pressure, it absolutely shreds a ferro rod resulting in an easy fire every time (as long as you’ve done your work with your tinder bundle, of course).
Another point to mention for fire starting and creating materials for fire is the cutting edge of the Gerber Principle. The true scandi-grind is perfect for creating fine curls and feather sticks, which are essential when doing one-stick fires.
Gerber Principle Great Firestarter
Gerber Principle Sheath
I’ve seen a lot of back & forth about the Gerber Principle Knife Sheath in other reviews. Some people hate it, some love it and to some, it’s just a sheath. For me, I think it’s a nice sheath for the price you’re getting this entire package for. The retention has been great and the knife has never slipped out, with or without the retention strap. It has also been quick & easy to use for belt carry or when it’s locked into molle webbing. Again, going back to price, if you personally don’t like the sheath then the knife is worth the $60ish price tag by itself. And it would still be a good value even if you wanted to get a custom leather or kydex sheath made for it.
Gerber Principle Comfort & Ergonomics
Comfort is relative to every individual person. But for me, the Gerber Principle fits me like a glove. It’s relatively short for a fixed blade bushcraft knife…But the handles are thick enough to fill your hand nicely so the knife doesn’t twist during use.
Speaking of using the knife…I have done a lot of extensive work with this knife and it has always been comfortable. The handles have no hot spots to speak of. And the overall design of the knife feels really natural during use.
Gerber Principle Purpose
I don’t know about you all, but I love defining a purpose for the gear I’m going to integrate into my kits. And for me, the Gerber Principle is the perfect Spring/Summer Knife. Let me explain that a bit more…The Gerber Principle carries very easily on my belt and doesn’t weigh me down, which is nice during warmer months when I want to keep things lightweight & simple. The short blade is perfect for helping me create small cooking fires, cleaning fish, and general tasks that I do around camp or on the trail.
The Gerber Principle would be great for:
Hikers, backpackers, bushcrafter’s who don’t need a long blade, and fixed-blade EDC enthusiasts.
Gerber Principle Knife Review
So, what’s the verdict for this knife?
- Likeability:
For me, this knife is a homerun for Gerber and it might just be my favorite knife they’ve ever created. - Price:
I think the $60 price point is very fair for what you get. The price point opens this knife up to folks who are just getting into the outdoors and need a quality knife that will last them a lifetime. - Quality:
Past my own user error with the handle, this knife has had zero issues in terms of quality. - Overall Design & Use:
I couldn’t ask for a better small fixed blade knife than the Gerber Principle. - Areas for improvement?
This knife is fantastic as-is. The only thing I would love to see would be a premium micarta or wood-handled option of the Principle with a nice leather sheath. I think this would look great with the classic design of this knife.
Available at BladeHQ Gerber Principle on Amazon
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