Slim enough to stash in your pants, slick enough to deploy with one hand, and practical enough to handle the most common cutting tasks – those are the attributes you want from an EDC knife. Designed specifically to serve as a dependable everyday-carry, the Gerber Fastball was designed with all of those qualities in mind.
Billed as an EDC knife “where precision and polish meet,” the pocket folder combines a compact size, reliable one-handed deployment, and a versatile blade shape, ensuring it has everything you need from a knife that you’ll carry every single day. Whether you spend your days hunkered down in an office, wielding tools in a workshop, or sweating it out under the blistering heat of the sun, you should be able to find plenty of opportunities to put this handy blade to use.
The Gerber Fastball combines a 3-inch blade with a 4.1-inch handle, making it sufficiently long for carrying out most cutting duties you’ll come across throughout the day, while still being small enough to fit inside most pockets and EDC pouches. It has a somewhat unique blade profile that the outfit describes as an “improved Wharncliffe,” giving it a pointed tip that’s sharp enough for digging and prying objects out, such as dirt caked on a piece of tool you’re cleaning, all while having a tip-swedge geometry that lends it a great deal of strength, making it extremely difficult to accidentally break the tip when performing tough digging tasks. A fine but robust edge joins that pointed tip, making it very usable for both everyday chores and the occasional demanding task.
It uses Gerber’s B.O.S.S. tech for the opening mechanism, which employs a system of friction-reducing ball bearings to provide a smooth and consistent deployment, ensuring the darn thing quickly opens as soon as you push on the flipper tab every single time (do note, you will need to put in some force, as it’s designed to resist opening with light pushes to avoid accidents). Seriously, this manual-open knife deploys with the same speed and efficiency as some assisted folders we’ve seen, making it one of the most impressive EDC knives you can pick up at this price point. The ball bearings, by the way, are contained inside a cage system that keep them shielded and protected to maintain stable performance over many years of use.
The Gerber Fastball has a blade cut in CPM S30V steel, a material that, the outfit claims, boasts “amazing edge retention, toughness, and high corrosion resistance.” That should ensure that the knife will perform under harsh conditions, all while staying sharp for far longer even with frequent use. It has a handle made from aircraft-grade aluminum, allowing it to keep the weight at a light 2.7oz, as well as a three-position clip to give you versatile options in how you want to carry it (you can also remove it, if you’d rather drop it in your pocket). Three colorways are available: Flat Sage, Urban Gray, and Black.
Want one? The Gerber Fastball is available now.
- Gerber Knife: This pocket knife is made from high carbon S30V steel with machined aluminum handles
