BlueSheepdog Aaron and I got a look at some new knives from Gerber Legendary Blades at 2012 SHOT Show. One knife stood out to me: the Gerber De Facto. With input from U.S. Army Special Forces personnel, this knife is primarily designed for close quarters combat.
The steel used in this knife is S30V. Its 4” blade is a flat ground, spear point, and double-edged. There are serrations right and left. At the opposite end of the full-tang is a glass breaker/skull crusher at the pommel. The handle is a polymer that is slightly tacky in the hand for good grip. The knife weighs 3.9 ounces and is 8.875” overall.
There is an injection-molded single piece sheath that has a friction lock and secondary lock to keep this knife readily accessible, but very secure. The sheath has multiple mounting configurations and adds only 1.2 ounces to the entire package.
Gerber Senior Marketing Specialist Andrew Gritzbaugh said the knife’s overall design came from the needs of real shooters in the sandbox who wanted a blade specifically for hand-to-hand transitions in tight quarters.
Many combatives experts believe 4” is the minimum blade length for a serious knife to take to that high-risk social event. A sharp end of this length will get you into the vital areas.
The De Facto is very reminiscent of the Gerber Guardian Series, only a bit larger. The iconic Guardian was designed by legendary knifemaker R. W. Loveless and was initially offered by Gerber in 1981.
Gerber Guardian
The De Facto handles well. For its intended use, it is right on the money. The De Facto will be offered in tan, but I hope at least a black (and maybe an OD) model will be produced down the road. MSRP will be around $140.00 Small price to pay for something that is there to help save your skin.
Randall
