Other handle features are an angled-forward double guard and tapered pommel with lanyard hole. The handle on the Mark II is 5.25 inches long and has a flattened oval cross-section and tapered palm-swell design. The handle on the 2008 version is a one-piece solid aluminum alloy A380 casting that includes the guard, grip and pommel as a single piece. It can be sharpened to a very fine cutting edge and has excellent corrosion resistance.Īlthough a variety of handle materials have been employed for the Mark II, the majority are die-cast aluminum. Overall length is 12.75 inches and weight is 8.0 ounces.Ĭommercial knife makers like 420HC, and it’s a good choice when ease of sharpening and toughness are important. Blade length is 6.5 inches, thickness is. The 2008 version has a die-cast aluminum handle with a textured black powder-coat finish and a 420HC stainless steel double-edge, straight-waist blade that is black oxide coated. When Gerber reintroduced Mark II in 2008, serrations were changed from scalloped saw teeth to flat chisel shaped. This lets them be sharpened at the same time as the blade and makes sharpening a breeze.ĭouble serrations were added to Gerber Mark II in the 1970s. When Gerber reintroduced the Mark II in 2008, the serrations were changed from the scalloped saw teeth to flat chisel-shaped teeth ground on the same plane as the blade edge. A major disadvantage of most serrated blades is that they are difficult to sharpen, requiring a special sharpening tool. It also cuts better than a plain edge when dull. This makes it much more efficient when cutting through fibrous or flexible materials such as rope. According to some sources, this was done to make the knife more politically correct, while others say they were added due to suggestions from the field.Ī serrated edge essentially cuts by tearing rather than slicing. Al Mar, who was working for Gerber at the time, added two inches of scalloped saw-tooth double serrations toward the hilt. Serrations were added to the Mark II in the 1970s. Variety of sheaths have been associated with the Mark II: first leather and later Black Cordura ballistic nylon. The wasp-waist was also later discontinued.Ĭurrent Gerber Mark II sheath. The canted blade led to a number of knives being returned for having “bent blades.” Gerber discontinued the cant in subsequent production runs. The offset design was done so the knife could be kept closer to the body when sheathed and to compensate for the natural bend of the wrist when the knife is held in the “fencing foil grip.” The first production run of the Mark II was wasp-waisted and had a five-degree offset between the blade and the grip. Fortunately for collectors, all Mark II knives are individually serialized, which makes dating easy. There have been many variations in the Mark II throughout the years of its production: changes in blade steel, blade profile, blade serration, handle material, and handle coating material and color. Production continued until 2000, with an additional limited production run of 1,500 knives in 2002. The Mark II went into commercial production in late 1966. If a main artery is cleanly severed, the wounded man will quickly lose consciousness and die.”įirst Gerber Mark II Combat Knife. It is essential that the blade have a sharp stabbing point and good cutting edges, because an artery torn through (as against a clean cut) tends to contract and stop the bleeding. The hilt should fit easily in your hand, and the blade should not be so heavy that it tends to drag the hilt from your fingers in a loose grip. In choosing a knife, there are two important factors to bear in mind: balance and keenness. “In close-quarters fighting, there is no more deadly weapon than the knife…. Fairbairn’s rationale for the design of the F-S is laid out in his seminal book Get Tough! (1942): Regarded as the father of modern hand-to-hand combat, Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) W.E. Like the F-S, the Mark II has a slender double-edged spear-point blade and a distinctive foil-like handle. Photo: GerberĪlthough Captain Holzman reportedly based the blade profile of the Mark II on the Roman Mainz Gladius in the British Museum‘s collection, the similarities to the F-S Fighting Knife are unmistakable. Introduced in 1966, Gerber Mark II has developed a mystique second only to the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife.
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Current production 2008 series Gerber Mark II.
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