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Gerber Carves Out a Spot for New Asada Cleaver Folder

June 23, 2020

Gerber is conjuring up a new cleaver knife with the Asada flipper. The Asada tweaks the cleaver concept into a purposeful EDC format, and also incorporates a couple of pieces of in-house Gerber tech.

The Asada brings the cleaver into the EDC category again, with a blade length right in the zone for that role at 3 inches. However, it makes some conscientious changes to cleaver tropes, with a profile accentuated by a somewhat upswept tip. This tweak gives the Asada’s blade a bit of belly and a more readily usable point, two traits that are desirable for EDC-style chores. Gerber is offering the Asada in two different blade steels: either 7Cr17MoV, or, for a slight bump up in price, D2. 7Cr17MoV offers slight performance improvements over the more commonly seen 8Cr13MoV; in comparison to D2 it will not be able to hold an edge as long, but is a fully stainless steel so should resist corrosion better.

A sizable flipper tab is used to open the Asada. Its blade rides on a pivot powered by Gerber’s B.O.S.S. ball bearing setup, which they first tested out on the US-Assist back in 2016. A stainless steel frame lock keeps things secure, and is the platform for more patented Gerber tech: the Pinch Plate, which functions as an overtravel stop for the lock bar and also provides a platform for the user’s fingers to rest during deployment, so they can open the knife without impeding the detent function.

Despite its various technical accouterments, the actual profile of the Asada’s handle is relatively simple. Comparable to what we saw on the Flatiron, it has a mild humpback and a long finger ridge on the bottom side. There is a chamfer around the perimeters of both handle slabs, and a massive forward finger choil adds to the ergonomic real estate and plays into the Asada’s EDC proclivities even further by opening up a proficiency for delicate tasks.

The different blade steels mentioned above also indicate which show side scale material you will get. The 7Cr17MoV models come with an aluminum scale, available in either red or black anodizations; the D2 version has green canvas Micarta scale instead. Either version weighs the same – 4.7 oz. – and comes with the same wide, money clip-style clip.

The Asada is arriving with dealers now.

Knife in Featured Image: Gerber Asada

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