Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Pocket Clip, Blade Material
Cons: None
After 20+ years, still an excellent choice for a budget EDC knife.
The Gerber Air Ranger is a great first locking pocket knife for a new knife user, and a great knife for anyone looking for a budget EDC knife. The original Gerber Harsey Air Ranger was available in two sizes, 3.2" and 3.875" blades (Air Ranger II, which included a very useful secondary lock). They were originally made in Taiwan, ROC, with blades of AUS8 stainless and scales of knurled, anodized 6061-T6 aluminium. Gerber has done several versions of the Air Ranger over the years, and moved production to mainland China, in addition to switching to a less expensive steel, but the advantage of this is that the current Air Ranger still sells for the same price the original sold for over 20 years ago. The design, however, has not changed, and is still as excellent as it was when first introduced. If you have trouble with the thumbstud, try pushing up rather than out, it opens easily this way. I very much prefer a tip-down pocket clip, which the Air Ranger still has, because I think tip-down pocket carry is significantly safer. It is, unfortunately, a right-handed knife only. Lucky for me I'm right-handed, but my mother and my wife are left-handed. The open-back design means it doesn't gunk up, and the knife is easy enough to disassemble for cleaning, if desired. The sensible 3.2" blade length is less intimidating to others than a larger knife, and the slim profile and light weight make it an easy carry. Although some may disdain cheap steels, they have advantages. First is the low cost, second is that cheaper steels are easier to sharpen with field-expedient methods, and a knife is only as good as it is sharp. I'd rather have a less-expensive knife that's easy to keep sharp than an expensive wondersteel that really requires a bench jig and elaborate tools to resharpen when it gets dulled or damaged. With a cheap knife, you'll probably find yourself using it more often and keeping your sharpening skill in practice, instead of letting them go rusty. Modern high-spec steels are great for edge retention, but are usually extremely difficult to sharpen and often not as tough or as corrosion resistant as cheaper steels. That's fine for a civilisation-only luxury EDC knife that mostly gets used to open envelopes, plastic clamshells, and cardboard boxes, but a hard-used knife needs toughness and you don't want to get too precious about a pocket knife in the field. You could spend 3 times the price on the Spartan Blades Talos, a modern-day upgrade of the Air Ranger also designed by Bill Harsey, made in Taiwan--put them side by side and you will immediately see the resemblance. But before you do that, I strongly recommend buying a Gerber Air Ranger and a good pocket sharpening stone. The one thing I don't like about the current version is the black oxide coating. I'd prefer a bead-blasted or stonewashed finish on the blade. Gerber used to offer a version like that.
(
