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Manufacturer: Gerber
Model:
Gator II
Blade
style: Drop
Point, Serrated
Handle: Textured Kraton 4.88 in
Blade: AISI 420 4.20in
I have always been
a fan of the Gerber Gator knife, in fact I
purchased my first gator more than 10 years ago
and, despite lots of use and some abuse it is
still in perfect working condition. We had a
chance to field test the new Gator II knife and
the new one seems posed for success.
Packaging
The Gator II comes
in a neat preformed Nylon sheath with belt loop,
the old Gator that is still in production, comes
in a Nylon sheath as well but it is not
pre-formed.
Ergonomics and
features
The reason I
purchased my original Gator was, beside
excellent blade, the extreme grippability of the
handle: the plastic handle is textured mimicking
the alligator skin (hence the name). The new
Gator II not only carries over the peculiar
characteristics of the old one but goes further.
The grip has a new
design, more comfortable, it still has the
alligator skin texture, only enhanced to provide
even better grip. Whereas the original had a
squared streamlined section in the handle the
new Gator II has a variable section to
accommodate palm and fingers you can use even
more force without fear of letting the knife
slip. They also replaced all the screws with
Torx ones.
Another area of
design improvement is the blade. The knife blade
is still made of AISI 420 steel that comes
offered in different styles: Drop point,
serrated and gut-hook variations.
I opted this time
for the serrated Drop point. The blade, due to
design, seems even bigger that it actually is:
the knife is actually a little bigger that its
predecessor at 4.20in.
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