Are the Knives Bear Grylls Used Still For Sale?

In the time since we started this blog and today, my girls have grown up and moved off to college and Man vs. Wild has gone off the air, as well as a Bear's new survival show. But as a testimony to the sheer awesomeness of these knives, people are still scouring the web for information about them. Here's a quick update just in case you haven't been able to pick one up for yourself.

• Buck Iceman - My favorite knife of the first season is simply not available anywhere for love nor money. As we wrote about before, Buck discontinued the Iceman. You can still get lucky on eBay if you are patient. Here's a search we recommend you bookmark.
  
  
• Buck Zipper - Still available and ready to take on any fish with the poor luck of getting in your way.
  
  
• Gerber Gator Serrater - This popular Gerber blade is not only still available, but it shows up for almost every search for anything Bear Grylls related.
  
  
• Titanium Pro Dive Knife - Still available. Still Awesome. And available in multiple colors. We still prefer Bear's choice of gray on black.
  
  
• Wenger Serrated Mountaineer - The Wenger Mountaineer is a big, beautiful knife. We love ours. But it's hard to find. All indications seem to suggest that the knife has been discontinued, but it may simply be out of stock from the manufacturer. Keep an eye on the official Wenger 16470 page, and an eye on eBay for the occasional auction.
  

If these old school Man vs. Wild knives don't suit your style, there is always the new Gerber Bear Grylls collection. Surely something there will catch your eye. We love the thumb studs that have been added to the blades for one handed opening and closing. When I talked with Gerber a few years ago, the salesman assured me their focus groups liked knives requiring two steady hands to open. I'm glad Bear got them to see things differently. With both of Bear's shows off the air, this collection may not be long for this world. Snap them up while you can.

For the Love of a Pocket Knife

I just came across an article over at Gizmodo about a contributor's favorite pocket knife. It's 50 years old and he wouldn't part with it for the world. It won't stand up well to any knife chosen by Bear Grylls. Heck, even the bottom end Bear Grylls Compact Scout Knife would beat it in a fight to the death in a back alley. But you've got to admire the author's love for the thing.

I am not a Navy Seal. I don't need a fixed-blade, full-tang pocket sword with a tanto point and a Rockwell factor of 58. I open a lot of boxes and trim my nails with this 50-plus year-old pen knife. It used to be my grandfather's. I'm named after him. He died before I was born.

I recently lost my Buck Iceman. I missed having it clipped to my pocket, always at the ready. I carried around a Gerber Gator Serrater for the past few months, but it always seemed too bulky. Unlike Bear, my wilderness is paved and filled with public transit. It was just too much knife for daily use. Imagine my joy when I found a spare Buck Iceman in the garage. I don't even care that the clip is all wiggly and that the blade is scuffed. I think the author of that article would know exactly how I feel.

What Knife Is Bear Using in the Iceland Glaciers Episode?

In Season Two, Episode Two, we find Bear plunked down in the middle of a glacier somewhere in Iceland. It is like the French Alps, part two, but with more gore.

Highlights for us were when he dug out his own ice cave and when he experienced a full spa treatment as he gave himself a hot mud bath right after trying out for the Polar Bear club.

The low point for us was the fresh sheepsicle bit. In a pinch we suppose it is better than eating your own arm, or even your camera crew, but still, it wasn't pleasant viewing. In fact, it was much more stomach turning than watching him rend a dead zebra with his teeth. This dinner theater was made bearable only by the presence of the Gerber Gator Serrater. Good thing he had it on hand to strip the flesh from his frozen entré. That way we could enjoy watching him munch on an eyeball, complete with dribbling juices. Bear described it as being full of cold gloop as he tried to gag it down. Definitely not one of my daughter's favorite episodes.

More useful than a knife this episode were Bear's shoelaces which he used for a shish-kebab cooking line and a ptarmigen trap. Nobody ever asks us what brand he uses, though.


The Gerber Gator Serrater is available at Amazon.com

tags technorati : Bear Grylls Man vs. Wild Born Survivor Knives Survival

What Knives Did Bear Use in Season One of Man Vs. Wild?

Season One:
01) Moab - Buck Iceman
02) Costa Rica - Titanium Pro Dive Knife
03) French Alps - Wenger Serrated Mountaineer Knife
04) Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano - Gerber Gator Serrater with Clip Point
05) Sierra Nevada Mountains in California - No knife
06) Northern Kenya - Gerber Gator Serrater with Clip Point
07) Alaska - Buck Iceman
08) Pacific Island - Titanium Pro Dive Knife
09) Rocky Mountains - No knife

tags technorati : Bear Grylls Man vs. Wild Born Survivor Knives Survival

What Knife Is Bear Using in the Northern Kenya Episode?

In Season One, Episode Six, we see the return of the Gerber Gator Serrater with clip point as Bear takes on Northern Kenya. Perfect for hacking flesh from fresh lion kill. No berry picking for our man, Bear. It's "awesome" steak in the wild as he rips into a dead Zebra with his teeth. Can you believe this guy?

Bear gets a lot of heat for taking risky chances, but admit it. If he just set up a smoke signal and waited for help you'd be flipping channels faster than Bear scree runs down a crater.

The Gerber Gator Serrater is available at Amazon.com

tags technorati : Bear Grylls Man vs. Wild Born Survivor Knives Survival Northern Kenya

What Knife Is Bear Using in the Hawaii Episode?

In Season One, Episode Four, Bear was dropped off in the middle of an old volcanic flow at Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano. Everything about this landscape was hostile from it's surface to its atmosphere, but Bear took it all in stride as usual. When he finally made his way to the forest, his Gerber Gator Serrater came in handy. This knife has a combo edge with clip point, but was almost as hard to identify as the Buck Iceman. We eventually noticed the faintest smudge of a logo near the guard and the identity was nailed.

The Gerber Gator Serrater is not really a fancy blade, but we can see why Bear likes to use it. Nimble enough to pull out in a tree top for avacado picking, it can also be used to slash through the lush Hawaiian jungles and hack down saplings (Bear's favorite survival activity).

The only difference between the Gerber Gator Serrater you can buy today and the one Bear is holding are the rivets in the handle. Bear's knife must be an older model because Buck uses a different rivet now.

The Gerber Gator Serrater is available at Amazon.com

tags technorati : Bear Grylls Man vs. Wild Born Survivor Knives Survival Hawaii Kilauea Volcano