Gerber Sportsman blade style

[goldwood]

I have not been able to figure out which blade style was the later style. What year did the change take place?

[orvet]

It appears to me what you have are Gerber Folding Sportsman II with Vascowear Steel. They were made between 1982 and 1988. I know there was some other information around the Vascowear blades but I can't remember what it was.
Phil Rodenburg’s book, “A chronology of Gerber Legendary Blades,” shows a picture of the Vascowear FS II. The grind of the knife in his picture is like the grind on lower one in your picture.
It appears that Gerber changed the way they ground those knives sometime between 1982 and 1988. I have no idea which one was first, but I would think the one shown at the bottom of your picture was probably produced first. The grind on the upper blade is much more common on the FS II’s I have seen.

Maybe someone else here knows more the Vascowear blades, but that is all I got.

[Case V42]

I have puzzled over the square grind/curved grind on the Folding Sportsman for years. Here's what I've come up with:
The first Folding Sportsmen imported from Germany have the square style blade grind (1972-74).
The Bicentennial has the curved style grind (1976).
The V-steel blades have either grind style (1982-1988).
The red bone handled knives have square style (1991-93).
The curved style is much more common than the square.
My conclusion is:
Following the German knives, the USA made FS knives used the curved style grind until the mid to later eighties.
The knives made from then to the end of production used the square style.
I certainly am not engraving my conclusion in stone, but it seems that the evidence points that way.
I hope I managed to make myself about as clear as mud.

[goldwood]

Thank you for your input.Years ago I thought I knew the answer because I was using my Gerber Paul knives as a guide. After watching Gerber Sportsman knives on eBay for several years, I found out that I was wrong. I thought by looking at early
vs later style boxes I would have my answer. I found out that this did not give me an accurate answer. Thanks again!