The Gerber Mark II is a fightingknife manufactured by Gerber Legendary Blades from 1966 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 United States Army Captain, Clarence A. “Bud” Holzmann, who based the pattern on a Roman Mainz Gladius.[1][2]
At 12.75 inches (32.39 cm) long it has a 6.5 inch (16.5 cm) 420 HC stainless steel double edged spear point wasp-waisted blade, weighs 8 ounces, and has a die cast aluminum handle.[3] It has a distinctive look similar to that of the Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife developed during World War II for the British Commandos.[4] The Mark II was commonly carried by troops for the United States in the Vietnam War, and was second only to the Ka-Bar knife in fame.[4]
During the Vietnam War, the first production run of this knife had a five 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 number 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".[4]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.[4]
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.[6]
