I recently purchased the Gerber Big Rock Camp Knife, Model #22-01588. It is a Harsey “all purpose” design. The knife features a full tang, drop point, partially serrated 440A stainless blade and TacHide coated nylon scales.  9.4″ overall length with a 4.5″ blade length. The blade thickness is .157″  (5/32″) at the thumb riser.

I ordered the knife online and it arrived just as I was packing the Jeep to go cut firewood. I was eager to see how the knife would handle basic chores so I took it along with me to the woodpile.

The knife was well sharpened from the factory. The sheath is of high quality ballistic nylon with a molded plastic insert and single snap retention. The handle portion of the knife is comfortable in the hand, although you may need to adjust to it if you are accustomed to a knife with a thicker handle. The thickness of the grip area is approximately 11/16″ at it’s widest point.

I used the knife to cut several small diameter limbs from a freshly dropped maple tree. That was very easily accomplished and the green wood didn’t dull the knife at all. The grooves on the thumb riser (jimping) are a bonus and really help to keep control of the knife. After that I tried chopping through a dried maple branch approximately 1.5″ in diameter. This proved to be a challenge for this knife due to it’s light weight. It finally cut through with no blade damage but the edge did need to be honed. The blade’s low-luster finish was undamaged.

PROS:

Price: $30 or less.

Blade: At 5/32″, it’s thicker than most knives in this size range. It’s definitely not a prybar but there isn’t much flex in the blade.  The exposed metal at the pommel is drilled for a lanyard and is also excellent for light tapping or striking.

Comfort: This knife is comfortable to use.

Narrow Profile: Very thin, rides close to the body.

Quality: I’ve never been let down by a Gerber knife.

Scales: I like the TacHide material and the fact that the scales are bolted on.

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CONS:
Sheath: I do not like the sheath that came with this knife. I found myself using both hands to put the knife back into the sheath with one hand holding the retention strap away from the blade so it wouldn’t be cut. I’ve become spoiled by the security and speed that Kydex sheaths offer. Regular style nylon or leather belt sheaths, like this one, seem slow and awkward to me now.

Noise: You can hear the blade hitting the plastic sheath insert occasionally while walking.

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Overall, I like this knife.  It’s an excellent value at $30.00 and fills the gap between large thick camp knives and the thin Mora type utility knives.

This is an imported knife. This knife shows no markings on the blade or sheath designating the country of origin.

This knife is available at Amazon:

Justus