The Cutting Edge: Gerber Mark II: Classic Combat Knife Turns 50

The Gerber® Mark II™ was the iconic combat knife of the Vietnam War, just as the Fairbairn-Sykes (F-S) Fighting Knife (commonly known as the British Commando Knife) was the iconic combat knife of World War II. Like the F-S, the Mark II is a timeless classic. It is one of the best-selling knives of all time and continues to see action around the globe.

The Mark II was designed by retired U.S. Army Captain Clarence A. “Bud” Holzman, who served with the 101st Airborne Division (“Screaming Eagles”) in the European theater during WWII. Prototypes of the Mark II were field tested and evaluated at Fort Lewis, Washington by members of the Army’s Fourth Infantry Division.

Although 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. Like the F-S, the Mark II has a slender double-edged spear-point blade and a distinctive foil-like handle.

Regarded as the father of modern hand-to-hand combat, Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) W.E. Fairbairn’s rationale for the design of the F-S is laid out in his seminal book Get Tough! (1942):

“In close-quarters fighting, there is no more deadly weapon than the knife…. In choosing a knife, there are two important factors to bear in mind: balance and keenness. 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. 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. If a main artery is cleanly severed, the wounded man will quickly lose consciousness and die.”

The Mark II went into commercial production in late 1966. Production continued until 2000, with an additional limited production run of 1,500 knives in 2002. Full production resumed in 2008.

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. Fortunately for collectors, all Mark II knives are individually serialized, which makes dating easy.

The first production run of the Mark II was wasp-waisted and had a five-degree offset between the blade and the grip. 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 canted blade led to a number of knives being returned for having “bent blades.” Gerber discontinued the cant in subsequent production runs. The wasp-waist was also later discontinued.

Serrations were added to the Mark II in the 1970s. Al Mar, who was working for Gerber at the time, added two inches of scalloped saw-tooth double serrations toward the hilt. 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.

A serrated edge essentially cuts by tearing rather than slicing. This makes it much more efficient when cutting through fibrous or flexible materials such as rope. It also cuts better than a plain edge when dull. A major disadvantage of most serrated blades is that they are difficult to sharpen, requiring a special sharpening tool.

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. This lets them be sharpened at the same time as the blade and makes sharpening a breeze.