Gerber is the friend that says they'll be their but somehow lets u down. Do people send these video to gerber to let them know to get there crap together ?????
Okay, this is a long rant, and I'm sorry about length, but here goes: I think the issue might be model-wide. As an on-paper design, I really like the Gerber Fastball and thus have examined a few at brick and mortar knife stores since I know of the QC problems this knife has. I've been close to buying three, but two of those three had absolute nightmare grinds, all three had burring issues (although one I would have overlooked if not for the grind), none had the spine issue your first one had, two had significant side-to-side blade play (including the only one with a good grind), all three had some degree of lock stick (although in fairness, that may have broken in), and one had a detent that made it impractical as a flipper. And Gerber keeps saying "we're fixing it". Well, forgive my cynicism, but I'll believe it when I see it. I also had a chance to pick up the Fastball Cleaver (the store had four of them and I looked at all four) at one of those brick and mortar knife shops and if they gave ANY sort of a damn about that knife, I'd be carrying one. The Fastball Cleaver's got a 20CV blade done by the same folks who heat-treat Benchmade's 20CV, thinner behind the edge than the Fastball, better detent...and still problems with burring and nightmare grinds on every last one! What's funny is that on the last trip--the one where I gave up on the Gerber Fastball ever being executed properly--is that I actually found a strong-firing, evenly-ground, centered Gerber 06 Auto (DLC blade and black aluminum handles). Bought it in a heartbeat and love it, just like my Gerber StrongArm (honestly, I've yet to have issues with Gerber's US-made fixed blades). But the Fastball? Gerber, if you can make the 06 with a reliable action after a bunch of people said the spring was junk and grind THAT just fine, you can make the Fastball with a decent grind! But it gets better! Now they have the Sedulo and the Terracraft (and I love how the Terracraft looks as a belt knife and the Sedulo seems like a mix of Bugout blade design with Griptilian handle design--and I love my Bugout and 550 Grip) where they will only sell them online from their company store. In other words, I can't inspect those knives like I did with the Fastball (which led me to dumping it when I'd have probably bought it online) and the 06 (which led me to buying it in spite of all the "avoid the 06 because of the spring and the centering" comments; not every one of them is a lemon, obviously) from a company known for its QC issues. Would someone tell me what brand of glue their marketing department is sniffing? And like the Fastball, people are now saying the Sedulo, which had problems when it was released, is now just fine! I mean, I love the Sedulo in concept and I love the Terracraft even more in concept (and honestly, the only complaint about that is that it might be too wide behind the edge, and I'm not gonna complain if that's the only issue with a belt knife), so yeah, I will probably wind up buying both of those knives. But if the first thing I have to do is reprofile the edge, their sales department is going to get a few choice emails from me.
Seems nitpicky...just my opinion of course. I handled one today and really liked it...maybe they keep getting better with time? I don't know...I have a variety of knives from a variety of brands and even at $100 very few are absolutely perfect
Yeah it might be a little nitpicky, but when I can get a knife from another company (Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw, Boker, etc.) for less money and get much better overall quality (like you said, generally not perfect of course) than the two Fastballs I’ve received, then there’s a problem somewhere. It’s not really an issue that the knife isn’t perfect, it’s that the knife has issues that shouldn’t be there for a knife at its price point.
@@palmettoedge1908 I agree but does the blade spine really matter? I mean based on your other video it seems like they resolved it...maybe just rushed production to get into stores? I'm trying to stay open minded...considering this is the first year in about a decade I'm interested in anything Gerber is offering
Scott Eger as far as function of the knife I would say no the blade spine really doesn’t matter. However when talking about overall quality and what you’re spending your hard earned money on it absolutely does. The issues with this knife such as the spine, backspacer, edge, and liners should be non issues for any reputable knife company. The problem I have is that I can go to a gas station and buy a $5 Chinese/Korean/Pakistani/Taiwanese knife with fully formed liners, a flat spine, an even edge, and a backspacer without burrs yet I can’t get those same basics of quality from a $100 knife made in the USA by a reputable company.
@@palmettoedge1908 yea I get it and it is disappointing but that's the problem with a lot of things these days. Feels like a lot of good companies rush production and have issues in order to fulfill supply needs at retail locations. A lot of firearms, vehicles and other things end up with the same problems at first...looking at you Sig Sauer lol
@@scotteger6271 gerber fans wanna see gerber do better, there is no reason a knife that costs twice as much should have a more uneven edge than a cheap knife
How the knife function? Does it cut well, do you need to sharpen out of box? Granted these a issues but as a knife does it still function well or are there issues there with the other problems "fixed"?
I finally got mine in. It is very similar to your 2nd one. I got the black with the black oxide coated blade. The plastic on mine is rough in the exact same spot as yours. Edge bevel is off exactly the same as yours. Same pitting on the steel liner. Lock up is strong. No blade play. My only real complaint though, is the feel when I draw it from my pocket. I have always preferred tip up carry. But for some reason, tip up doesn't feel very natural with this knife. Gonna try flipping it but I doubt that will make a difference. Probably gonna end up with an empower. My previous EDC was a Cold Steel Code 4. The empower looks to be similar to it size-wise. We'll see.
Chris I guess the fastball is just an overall flop. The Empower, on the other hand, has been awesome. Been carrying it the past few days and really enjoying it.
Gerber is the friend that says they'll be their but somehow lets u down. Do people send these video to gerber to let them know to get there crap together ?????
Ty. Seems like the first honest review
Okay, this is a long rant, and I'm sorry about length, but here goes: I think the issue might be model-wide. As an on-paper design, I really like the Gerber Fastball and thus have examined a few at brick and mortar knife stores since I know of the QC problems this knife has. I've been close to buying three, but two of those three had absolute nightmare grinds, all three had burring issues (although one I would have overlooked if not for the grind), none had the spine issue your first one had, two had significant side-to-side blade play (including the only one with a good grind), all three had some degree of lock stick (although in fairness, that may have broken in), and one had a detent that made it impractical as a flipper. And Gerber keeps saying "we're fixing it". Well, forgive my cynicism, but I'll believe it when I see it. I also had a chance to pick up the Fastball Cleaver (the store had four of them and I looked at all four) at one of those brick and mortar knife shops and if they gave ANY sort of a damn about that knife, I'd be carrying one.
The Fastball Cleaver's got a 20CV blade done by the same folks who heat-treat Benchmade's 20CV, thinner behind the edge than the Fastball, better detent...and still problems with burring and nightmare grinds on every last one! What's funny is that on the last trip--the one where I gave up on the Gerber Fastball ever being executed properly--is that I actually found a strong-firing, evenly-ground, centered Gerber 06 Auto (DLC blade and black aluminum handles). Bought it in a heartbeat and love it, just like my Gerber StrongArm (honestly, I've yet to have issues with Gerber's US-made fixed blades). But the Fastball? Gerber, if you can make the 06 with a reliable action after a bunch of people said the spring was junk and grind THAT just fine, you can make the Fastball with a decent grind!
But it gets better! Now they have the Sedulo and the Terracraft (and I love how the Terracraft looks as a belt knife and the Sedulo seems like a mix of Bugout blade design with Griptilian handle design--and I love my Bugout and 550 Grip) where they will only sell them online from their company store. In other words, I can't inspect those knives like I did with the Fastball (which led me to dumping it when I'd have probably bought it online) and the 06 (which led me to buying it in spite of all the "avoid the 06 because of the spring and the centering" comments; not every one of them is a lemon, obviously) from a company known for its QC issues. Would someone tell me what brand of glue their marketing department is sniffing? And like the Fastball, people are now saying the Sedulo, which had problems when it was released, is now just fine! I mean, I love the Sedulo in concept and I love the Terracraft even more in concept (and honestly, the only complaint about that is that it might be too wide behind the edge, and I'm not gonna complain if that's the only issue with a belt knife), so yeah, I will probably wind up buying both of those knives. But if the first thing I have to do is reprofile the edge, their sales department is going to get a few choice emails from me.
Seems nitpicky...just my opinion of course. I handled one today and really liked it...maybe they keep getting better with time? I don't know...I have a variety of knives from a variety of brands and even at $100 very few are absolutely perfect
Yeah it might be a little nitpicky, but when I can get a knife from another company (Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw, Boker, etc.) for less money and get much better overall quality (like you said, generally not perfect of course) than the two Fastballs I’ve received, then there’s a problem somewhere. It’s not really an issue that the knife isn’t perfect, it’s that the knife has issues that shouldn’t be there for a knife at its price point.
@@palmettoedge1908 I agree but does the blade spine really matter? I mean based on your other video it seems like they resolved it...maybe just rushed production to get into stores? I'm trying to stay open minded...considering this is the first year in about a decade I'm interested in anything Gerber is offering
Scott Eger as far as function of the knife I would say no the blade spine really doesn’t matter. However when talking about overall quality and what you’re spending your hard earned money on it absolutely does. The issues with this knife such as the spine, backspacer, edge, and liners should be non issues for any reputable knife company. The problem I have is that I can go to a gas station and buy a $5 Chinese/Korean/Pakistani/Taiwanese knife with fully formed liners, a flat spine, an even edge, and a backspacer without burrs yet I can’t get those same basics of quality from a $100 knife made in the USA by a reputable company.
@@palmettoedge1908 yea I get it and it is disappointing but that's the problem with a lot of things these days. Feels like a lot of good companies rush production and have issues in order to fulfill supply needs at retail locations. A lot of firearms, vehicles and other things end up with the same problems at first...looking at you Sig Sauer lol
@@scotteger6271 gerber fans wanna see gerber do better, there is no reason a knife that costs twice as much should have a more uneven edge than a cheap knife
How the knife function? Does it cut well, do you need to sharpen out of box? Granted these a issues but as a knife does it still function well or are there issues there with the other problems "fixed"?
I just got one... Most uneven grind ever... bevel was like 50% larger on one side than the other
It's not pitting. That's from the stamping process, but it still should be smoothed out.
I finally got mine in. It is very similar to your 2nd one. I got the black with the black oxide coated blade. The plastic on mine is rough in the exact same spot as yours. Edge bevel is off exactly the same as yours. Same pitting on the steel liner. Lock up is strong. No blade play. My only real complaint though, is the feel when I draw it from my pocket. I have always preferred tip up carry. But for some reason, tip up doesn't feel very natural with this knife. Gonna try flipping it but I doubt that will make a difference. Probably gonna end up with an empower. My previous EDC was a Cold Steel Code 4. The empower looks to be similar to it size-wise. We'll see.
Chris I guess the fastball is just an overall flop. The Empower, on the other hand, has been awesome. Been carrying it the past few days and really enjoying it.
So, now you're $200 to the bad? Still have your first one?