The Gerber Prodigy

Gerber Prodigy, Para-Frame I & Para-Frame Mini

 Some new gear for a new year. Yah!

A Christmas gift card well invested. I converted my gift card into a Gerber Prodigy. And I am very satisfied with the exchange.

You are looking at the Gerber Prodigy and you are saying to yourself, that knife looks very familiar.....If you scroll to the bottom of the page and check out the last photo, you will notice that the Gerber LMF II and the Prodigy share many features, including good looks.

For those not familiar with the Gerber line of knives I had better get some of the basic stats out for you to know the Gerber Prodigy a little better.

Overall length of the Prodigy +/- 9 7/8"

Blade length +/- 4 1/2"

Blade width +/- 1 3/16"

Blade thickness +/- 3/16"

Blade type half serrated

Sheath Overall length +/- 10 3/4"

Sheath width +/- 2 1/2"

Gerber Prodigy

Gerber LMF II

The Gerber Prodigy is a full tang design, the metal of the blade continues straight through the handle to the glass break pommel and lanyard hole. One piece of steel. This is the strongest knife construction design. Knives with hollow handles or welded tail stock are noticeably weaker than a full tang blade when using the knife in a survival situation. The half serrated blade is great for cutting cord or rope, but not so handy when trying to make a feathered stick to help light your campfire. For those who really, really do not like serrated blades, a quick solution is to file away the serrations. The glass break on the pommel is a neat idea, should you ever find yourself in a motor vehicle collision and have to extricate yourself from a burning vehicle through a window. In such a case, I would recommend a high, inverted mount of the sheath on your gear vest. 

Speaking of mounting the sheath for the Prodigy. The included sheath can be worn or mounted in a number of ways, depending on what best meets your needs at the time or your mission. As you may notice in the pics, there are mounting holes to lash the sheath to just about anything. In addition, there is the standard belt loop to hang the Prodigy from your waist belt. There are also M.O.L.L.E. compatible straps on the back of the sheath. So,  the Gerber Prodigy can be carried on any of your M.O.L.L.E. vests, bags, pouches or packs/rucks. My biggest concern with the sheath, although well constructed in China, is the lack of double or triple stitching for the main belt loop. There is very little chance the Prodigy will fall out of the sheath as it incorporates a friction lock to securely hold the knife in place. My concern is that with only one row of stitching holding the belt loop that in time, with field wear the stitches may fray and then belt loop will open. Maybe, Gerber has field tested this sheath and my concern is not valid. Only time will tell. Other sheath features include two thumb break handle straps - to ensure the Gerber Prodigy will not accidentally fallout of the sheath when mounted inverted on the shoulder of your gear vest or ruck harness. A leg strap is included to keep the Prodigy from slapping your leg while running, when mounted on a waist belt. If, there were two leg straps the sheath could be secured to your lower leg, like a dive knife for scuba diving. 

The most noticeable feature missing from the Gerber Prodigy, when compared to its big brother the Gerber LMF II, is the hammer pommel. That big block of steel at the pommel end of the LMF II, which can be used as a hammer in a survival situation.

All-in-all, I am very please with my Gerber Prodigy and look forward to having with me in the field for years and decades to come.

Until next time, 

Keep your knife sharp and close by!!  

Mountainman.