Gerber Mark II

Gerber Mark II
Gerber Mark II with after-market anodization.
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 led 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.
During a scene in Man of Steel, Colonel Nathan Hardy (portrayed by actor Christopher Meloni) uses a Mark II in an attempt to fight the Kryptonian lieutenant Faora Hu-Ul before Superman intervenes.
Jack Burton (played by Kurt Russell) wields a Mark II survival knife in the 1986 film Big Trouble in Little China.

References

1 2 3 Pacella, Gerard (2002). 100 Legendary Knives. Iola, Wis.: Krause Publications. p. 145. ISBN 0-87349-417-2.
1 2 3 Dick, Steven (November 2008). "Vietnam Legend Returns". Tactical Knives Magazine: 30.
1 2 3 4 Walker, Greg (1993). Battle Blades: A Professional's Guide to Combat/Fighting Knives. Boulder, Colo.: Paladin Press. p. 30. ISBN 0-87364-732-7.
↑ Feral, Rex (1983). Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors. Boulder, Colo.: Paladin Press. ISBN 0-87364-276-7.
↑ Loveless, Bob; Richard W. Barney (1995). How to Make Knives. Iola, WI: Krause Publications. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-87341-389-3.

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

Fiskars

Subsidiaries	Arabia Brunton, Inc. Gerber Legendary Blades Gerber Mark II Gerber 31-001901 Bear Grylls Ultimate Pro Hackman Höganäs Keramik Iittala Rörstrand Royal Copenhagen Royal Copenhagen 2010 plaquettes Royal Doulton Waterford Crystal Wedgwood

Knives and daggers

List of daggers List of blade materials

Types of knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boning Boot knife Bowie Bread knife Cane knife Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Electric knife Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Grapefruit knife Gravity knife Gunong Hunting knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kīla Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Mezzaluna Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Nakiri bōchō Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pocket knife Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife Santoku SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Tomato knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Warrior knife X-Acto Yanagi ba Yatagan

Types of daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh naka Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Hachiwara Hunting dagger Janbiya Kaiken Kalis Kard Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Mark I trench knife Ocean Edge Knife Parrying dagger Poignard Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō Marine Raider stiletto V-42 stiletto Yarará Parachute Knife Yoroidōshi

Knife manufacturers	Aitor Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Bear MCG Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Caber Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Cutlery DOVO Solingen Dexter-Russell Dirte Knives Eikhorn Ek Commando Knife Co. Emerson Knives Erizo F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Füritechnics Gerber Legendary Blades Global Golok Hanwei Imperial Schrade J. A. Henckels Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives MercWorx Microtech Knives Morseth Murphy Knives Ontario Knife Company Opinel Pro-Tech Knives Randall Made Knives Ranz Rigid Knives Rösle SOG Specialty Knives Sabatier Aîné & Perrier Spyderco Strider Knives Survival Aids TEKNA Thiers Issard Tramontina Victorinox Vox Knives W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Walther arms Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Windlass Steelcrafts Wüsthof Yarara Ltd

Knifemakers	A.G. Russell American Bladesmith Society Rex Applegate James Black Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Phill Hartsfield Bill Harsey Jr. Gil Hibben Knifemakers' Guild Zanjan Knifemakers Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless Bob Lum William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler

Book:Knives and daggers Category:Knives / Daggers

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Gerber Mark II

In popular culture

See also

References

External links