The Gerber STL 2.5 is a nice slim keychain-sized knife. I didn't expect to like it all that much, but it did manage to surpass my low expectations. There's a few minor things I don't like about it that mostly comes down to personal preferences. If you need a smaller knife under $15, this is a decent option. It's not the best by any means, but I do think it's worth a look if you've been on the fence about picking it up.
Design wise, it's pretty simple. It's an appealing design for EDC that just works in my opinion. There's some machining on the handle that adds a cool look cosmetically, though it doesn't add any grip. The all black looks sweet. I will say, the titanium-nitride finish on the entire knife is not my personal favorite. It has that feeling of nails on a chalkboard when your nails scratch it accidentally. It adds corrosion resistance and "exceptional durability" according to Gerber. As you can sort of tell in the photos, the coating has worn a bit. I don't mind as it gives the knife some character. I haven't had any quality issues with this knife. Being a cheaper knife coming from Gerber, I expected way worse. Honestly though, it's perfect when it comes to quality. For the price, less than $15, it's very impressive in that regard.
Like the name implies, the blade comes in at 2.5". That's a perfect size for a backup knife. It's not the biggest blade in the world obviously, but it's perfect for those lighter EDC tasks. The steel is 7Cr17MoV, which isn't the best. What else would you expect for $15 though? It's not the sharpest in the world. I haven't had any major problems with it though. It's performed well enough for what I've needed to do. The "thumb hole" functions more as a nail nick. This knife has to be opened two-handed, which I'm not the biggest fan of. I prefer to have knives that can be opened one-handed, since you might not always have both of your hands free. It's not the end of the world though. Once you use the hole as a nail nick, it opens fine. There's no jimping on this knife at all. I'm okay with that, as it's really not that necessary.
The handle is a surprisingly nice size (around 3.3"). I can fit a full-four finger grip on it. For you guys with bigger hands, it's probably more of a three-finger knife. That's still pretty good. As long as it's not a two-finger knife, I'm a happy camper. The ergos are very comfortable. There aren't any hotspots luckily. The handles are just stainless steel, but I do like them. Metal handles are always hit or miss for me, so I'm happy I like these. They are a little slick, though not as slick as other metal handled knives I've tried. The handles are so slim too, which helps make this knife relatively light. Despite the slimness, I do still feel like I've got a solid grip on the knife. If you've seen my post about the SOG Centi I, this Gerber fixes all the issues I had with the ergos on that piece of junk. It shows you can still have slim, metal handles that feel good in the hand. The lockup is solid as well. The framelock is a little hard for me to disengage. Other than that, I don't have any other issues with the lockup. There's a bit of side-to-side play, though that's to be expected in these cheaper knives.
This knife lacks any sort of clip unfortunately, but you could always throw it on your keys or loose in the pocket. I personally think it's a little too long to be on the keys. There is a smaller version of this, the STL 2.0, so maybe that could be an option for the keys instead. Thanks to the slimness of the knife, it is easy to carry loose in the pocket. It just disappears in the pocket. I've seen people throw these in Altoids survival tins, so that'd be a neat place for one too. I've been able to carry easily while I've had it.
As long as you know what you're getting for $15, I do like this as a backup knife. The slimness and compactness is awesome. My bigger gripes with it are the nail nick, weird feeling finish, and the hard to disengage framelock. I've been loaned this one, and I don't think I'd want to buy one for myself after using it. As a tiny knife, the Spyderco Ladybug or Kershaw Cinder are much better options in my opinion. If you like Gerber or had your eye on this particular knife, I don't necessarily think it's a waste of time to try. It is appealing that it locks, while a lot of keychain knives are just slipjoints. I didn't love it, but I didn't absolutely hate it either. It's a perfectly average knife to me. If you pick one up, don't expect it to blow you away. I would be willing to try more Gerbers after this one, which I didn't expect to happen. Thanks for looking!
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