The Cutting Edge recently sat down with Spencer Worley, who manages Southwest Gerber Knives of Carlsbad, New Mexico, to chat about the difference between a combat knife and a tactical knife, wilderness saws, and some of the hottest Gerber products he’s selling at the moment.  Check it out.

What are some of the most popular knives you’re offering this year?

I would probably say the LHR Combat knives are our most popular.  These knives are made in the U.S. and are basic combat knives with big, serrated blades. For a hundred bucks, it’s a great knife.

Gerber LHR

There’s also the Gerber Contrast, which Gerber did a heck of a job designing. It has a really cool outward appearance, a nice blade, an 8-inch stainless steel handle and a frame lock, which is a bit stronger than your average knife.

For those who aren’t sure, what’s the difference between a combat knife and a tactical knife?

A combat knife, I would say, is a knife that you can use in a hand to hand combat situation, the blade would be a tanto style for thrusting, more of a drop point blade, that’s more of a combat style.

The tactical knife would be more on the stronger side and you have a lot more knife.  The LMF II is a good combat knife that comes with a nice sheath and has about ten and a half inch, sturdy blade,  It can cut through Plexiglass or aluminum, it can cut through the fuselage of an airplane if you need it.  It’s a knife that a soldier would carry

What are some of your favorite multi-tools?

The ones that stand out the most are the suspension multiplier, its lightwieght,  only nine ounces, and comes with a bunch of tools, including two flatheads, two screwdrivers, pair of scissors, needle-nosed pliers and more.

Gerber Folding Saw

Gerber Folding Saw

What should people be looking for when they choose a multi-tool.

Well, you can check out our reviews our knife blog, we review all of our products, and we carry a bunch of multi-tools, but ultimately you want to just do some research,  and pick out something that has all the components you think you’re going to use

What about wilderness tools, such as axes, saws, etc, any advice there?

One product that have that is pretty great is our 13-inch folding saw, which has a double joint, so it actually folds twice, once to hold the blade down and once to protects the blade for safety.  It’s a total of 16 inches long and only weighs 12 ounces and costs about 30 bucks.

It’s great if you’re going to be trailblazing or going in a remote location, it can even be used in place of a machete.