Gerber Mark II
| Gerber Mark II | |
|---|---|
Gerber Mark II with after-market anodization.
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| Type | Dagger |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1966 |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1966 |
| Manufacturer | Gerber Legendary Blades |
| Produced | 1967-2000 2008- |
The Gerber Mark II is a fighting knife manufactured by Gerber Legendary Blades from 1967 to 2000, with an additional limited run of 1500 in 2002,[1] and full production resuming as of July 2008.[2] It was designed by retired US Army Captain Bud Holzman, who based the pattern on a Roman Mainz Gladius.[1][2]
It has a 6.5 inch (16.5 cm) double-edged spear-point wasp-waisted blade, and uses a distinctive handle similar to that of the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife developed during World War II[3] for the British Commandos. The Mark II was commonly carried by U.S. troops in the Vietnam War, and was second only to the Ka-Bar knife in fame.[3] The MK II was the suggested blade in Paladin Press's controversial how-to book, Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors.[4]
During the Vietnam war, the first production run of this knife had a 5-degree offset between the blade and the grip in order to ride in the sheath more comfortably and give the user a grip similar to that of a fencing foil.[1][2] This design feature lead to a significant amount of knives being returned by users for having a "bent blade", so Gerber discontinued that element on subsequent production runs. In the 1970s, the military's base/post exchanges discontinued selling these knives, reasoning that they were "not in good taste" or "too brutal".[3] Al Mar, then working for Gerber as a knife designer, added the sawtooth serrations toward the hilt, marketing the knife as a "survival aid", making it more appealing to the PX System, which resumed selling the Mark II as a survival knife, rather than a fighting knife.[3]
Gerber manufactured a scaled down version of the Mark II known as the Mark I. The Mark I had a 4.75 inch (12 cm) blade and was marketed as a boot knife.[5]
In popular culture
- The Mark II gained additional fame when it was used by Mel Gibson in the 1981 film The Road Warrior.
- The black coated blade model of the Mark II was used during the mess hall knife play scene in the science fiction film Aliens.
- The 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier features the Winter Soldier using a Mark II in a fight with Captain America.
See also
References
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External links
- Official Gerber Website
- Details on the Mark, Command, and Guardian series of Gerber knives
- Gerber Mark II Production Matrix
- Detailed information on the Mark II including production variations, packaging, advertisements, and accessories
- Images of the Gerber Mark II 20th Anniversary Edition prototype
