Gerber Big Rock Camp Knife

by Gerber

Product Description

Using sticks and stones is one way to get things done around camp, but the Gerber Big Rock Camp Knife is a lot more efficient. Knife designer Bill Harsey constructed this fixed blade knife with a full tang for strength, and the durable fiberglass-infused handle features a Softgrip overmold for ergonomic grasp. Ol' Bill coupled the Big Rock's strong point with plenty of belly (deeply curved slicing surface), so it's ideal for cutting long hours without fatigue. This large knife has a hand guard and a lanyard hole, and comes with a nylon sheath.

Product Features

• Blade Material: 440 A Stainless steel
• Handle: glass-filled nylon, softgrip overmold
• Lock Mechanism: no fixed blade
• Spring Assist:
• Blade Style: serrated
• Blade Edge:
• Blade Length: 4.5 in
• Blade Finish:
• Open Length: 9.4 in
• Sheath Included: yes
• Weight: 6.3 oz
• Recommended Use: camping, hunting, rescue
• Manufacturer Warranty: lifetime

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B004VKV0RM
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,714 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect low cost beater knife., September 28, 2010

By 

Tiral - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gerber 22-01589 Big Rock Camp Knife (Tools & Home Improvement)

I got this in the mail the day before a camping trip and sliced it out of the packaging immediately (I'm like little kid when I get items in the mail). First off this knife has a really nice form fitting grip made of a semi hard rubber/plastic that is very very comfortable, your hand and fingers just fall into place. The blade is Gerbers infamous "Mystery Steel" which I'm about 99% sure is 440A, but at this price point for a 4 1/2 inch blade I'm not complaining. The edge was relatively sharp and I did a few passes on the sharpmaker with the fine and ultra fine rods and it was hair popping sharp (Another reason why I'm pretty sure it's 440A steel being it only took about 15 seconds to sharpen this). It comes with a sheath made of Nylon on the outside and kylex inner so the knife wont slice through the nylon, it's a tad cheap but once again at this price point whatever it does it's job sufficiently and I've seen WAY worse sheaths. On this camping trip it rained 3 out of 5 days so I was out in the rain with this doing everything I would NEVER subject my spyderco or benchmade knives to. I batoned about 100 pieces of wood, cut food, cut rope, cut down 1/2 inch thick branches and smaller stuff for kindling, and threw it into a tree about a dozen times (I really thought it would break lol. After getting home and looking at it it has just a few small black blemishes (from batoning the wood), no chips or flat spots on the edge, no rust on the blade from being wet for 36 hours+, and the edge is no longer hair popping sharp but it will still slice paper like butter. 3 passes on the ultra fine stone at 40 degrees and it's shaving sharp again. So basically for the sub $30 price tag you are getting one heck of a fix bladed knife that you can use and abuse and it will come out just fine.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very handy knife and a great value! I really like it!, August 4, 2010

By 

Douglas Waski (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gerber 22-01589 Big Rock Camp Knife (Tools & Home Improvement)

I chose the Big Rock because I wanted a medium length, plain edged, fixed-blade with full-tang construction for strength, a lanyard hole, and nice ergonomics, all at a price that was easy to swallow. A combination straight/serrated edge is also available. I know there are better knives out there, but they are considerably more expensive and I didn't want to worry if I damaged it. Turns out the Big Rock is up to any task and is a pleasure to use!

I took the knife on a weeklong camping trip and found it quite handy. Since we forgot to pack our kitchen knives, we used the Big Rock for food prep: thin-slicing tri-tip, veggie prep, and pizza cutting. The blade has a gentle curve which makes it easy to rock back and forth over food, if you don't want to slice. Rough duty, eh? :) The grippy handle felt great and was completely secure even when greasy and wet when cutting the raw meat. It feels nicely balanced and manipulates very easily for these lighter tasks.

I also made a few feather sticks and did some light batoning for fire prep. The blade is decently thick at the spine (5/32" or 4mm) so I wasn't terribly worried about beating on it. The wood I split wasn't particularly hard or dense, so the knife made short work of it with no visible damage -a piece of cake! As far as the feather sticks went, the blade cut easily and handled well; it has a mild thumb ramp, but a thicker grip would increase comfort when making any tougher cuts.

This is just my opinion, but the biggest drawback would be the sheath. It's nylon, with an overly large belt loop and has a snap retainer for the blade (which is the only part I like). The material doesn't feel very durable and I don't care for the aesthetics. The huge belt loop is mounted on the top, so the knife flops around a bit, with no way to secure it to your leg, or even to mount it to a bag / pack. It does, however, serve its purpose of holding the knife on your belt.

PROS: very comfortable grip*, feels nicely balanced, and is very sharp out of the box. The thickness of the blade and the fact that it's a full tang knife makes me feel pretty good about its durability. Can't beat the price!

CONS: *Although comfortable, I wish the grip was a smidge thicker. The sheath is a bit disappointing, but it has a hard insert, so I'm considering removing the insert and putting it into a sheath that I sew together myself.

Overall, I'm very happy with it and would recommend it. It's a pretty decent fixed blade for those on a budget.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate Comfort and Utility !!, May 9, 2011

By 

Cyclist01222 "Paul" (Williamsburg,VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gerber Big Rock Camp Knife (Misc.)

I like everything about this knife. It's a perfect camp/utility knife and very well designed. The first thing you notice is how comfortable it feels in the hand... seems like you can work with it forever. The rubber scales peel back from the edges a bit and will wear with hard use. They cover a wonderful, full tang which gives you confidence when tackling the big jobs! I've seen some knives covered with a cord handle after the rubber deteriorated. The thick drop point blade makes short work of common camp tasks. It remains fairly thick, even to the tip. It batons, notches and shaves wood with ease. Nicely placed lanyard hole if you need it and may be used for tactical purposes.

The blade steel is typically Gerber and adequate - not super hard like 1095 high carbon but tough enough at this price. I love the subdued, bead blasted Gerber finish. My son did manage to damage the serrations a bit but they still do their job. The sheath is just a sheath and holds the knife effectively, that's about it.

This knife is a good, solid performer and no one would be dissapointed with it at this price. I wish Gerber would make a bigger 6" blade version - that would be awesome!

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