A very brief history of Gerber knives:

In 1938, David Murphy, a Portland blacksmith, made kitchen knives in his spare time, selling them  around town. One of his customers was the sprinting shop and advertising agency of Joseph Gerber. Joseph loved the knives, but felt he could improve upon the sales approach. The two men came to an arrangement, and Gerber knives was born. Murphy made the knives, Gerber took them, packaged them in a wooden case purchased from Ace Woodworking, and handled promotion, marketing, and finance of the knives.

Skipping forward to 1966, the USA was deeply involved in the Vietnam war. Gerber decided to become involved by selling fighting knives directly toi the troops in Southeast Asia, and the Mark II was born.

Over the years, Gerber has become an incubator for the knife industry, starting many people on their way to designing and manufacturing knives.

When Joseph R. Gerber described his young knife company, Gerber Legendary Blades, as the, “birth of an enterprise that grew into big business,” it was true, but it was an understatement for sure. What had started out in 1939 as a small batch of handmade cutlery sets given as holiday gifts had turned into thousands of retail accounts around the country. By 1960, Gerber had quickly become one of the most trusted, appreciated and collected names in knives.

Over 70 years since its founding and Gerber continues to grow. Still grounded in the same principles that first guided Joseph R. Gerber’s “enterprise,” Gerber is a company dedicated to making knives and tools that combine high quality materials and innovative designs that will stand up to a lifetime of use. The sleek, stainless steel sheath knives of the ’50s and ’60s (the Magnum Hunter) have given birth to today’s lightweight, open-frame clip folders (the Remix). Gerber is, however, no longer just a knife company. Multi-tools, axes, handsaws, machetes, headlamps, flashlights, survival kits, digging implements - these are the newest directions that Gerber explores with the same standards of quality and design that inform their revered knife making.