Scout it out

Ok, another Bear Grylls editon item up here, but bear with me...oh hell, sorry about that. Wasn't conscious, I swear. Puns find their way to me, honest. Anywho, hang in there, cause this one is worth it. While we are on the subject, I'd like to point out that I should have a little blurb I put up here, with my own personal thoughts on Mr. Grylls, for what it's worth, just to clear the air.
As he might say now, right, off we go.

I've been a fan of Gerber knives and tools for a while now. I've used them since the early 90's, and have known plenty of other folks who have as well. Their recent partnership with Discovery's Bear Grylls doesn't seem to have hurt them in any way, either.  I've done a write up on the BG Ultimate Knife here, and now I'd like to talk to you about a smaller sibling, the BG Scout folder.

My EDC (every day carry) knife has been a big, more combat oriented knife for the last few years. It has assisted opening, and is half serrated. It has worked great, but is pretty big and bulky. Problem is, I carry it for both my work and personal EDC. At work, the length has just been too much and has created problems with mobility and getting other items in and out of my pocket. So I started hunting around for something smaller. I decided that the assisted opening wasn't needed for work, which is what this tool would be intended for, so that helped with my selections. I'll be honest, I went straight to looking at Gerbers without even thinking about it, and found the Scout. I looked into it, took measurements, compared against my current pig sticker, and, as always, hunted for a sale. I found a good one, and pulled the trigger.

Almost immediately after opening the pack, I fell in love. The weight and balance on this knife is probably the best I have every personally held. Period. It is that good. The handle reminds me alot of the Ultimate Knife, as it should. The lockback is very positive and a hundred times better than a liner lock. The knife is a little hard to open up, at least at first, with just one hand using the thumbstuds, but I'm sure it'll break in and loosen up. The blade is fairly thick and similar in overall design to the rest of the BG line. It has proven to be quite sturdy as a work tool, and hasn't chipped or gotten dinged up yet, somehow. Edge retention is good, and it took a honing like a champ when I first got it. My only complaint with the blade is that it only comes in half serrated, and I'm not a big fan of serrations anymore. Oh well, no biggie.

The pocket clip and closed length are ideal for what I need, and I've had much more mobility since I switched out at work. I may still go with my old combat knife on my personal time, but if this Scout keeps performing like it has, I may reconsider that.

For the pocket knife it is, the price is a steal. Unless I am missing something or it breaks apart in the next six months, I'd say it's easily worth more than they ask for it retail.

-Owen