Original Item: Only One Available. As far as legendary fighting knives go, there are a few that stand the test of time. The Ka-Bar, the Bowie knife, the Fairbairn-Sykes, and the often forgotten Gerber Mark II Combat Knife are all famed fighting knives. The Mark II was designed in 1966 and quickly became a popular choice with soldiers and Marines headed overseas. Particularly, the Mark II became a favorite with the MACV SOG teams that were the premier special operations unit in Vietnam.

A former Army Captain designed the Gerber Mark II. And he designed it not just to be a tool but a weapon. The Mark II has a 6.5-inch blade. That length allows the blade to strike something vital in the torso from almost any angle. The Mark II uses a dagger type design making it less of a slasher and more of a stabber. This dual-edged blade, with its dagger point, will penetrate deep and with ease.

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. 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.

At 12.75 inches (32.39 cm) long it has a 6.5 inch (16.5 cm) 420 HHC stainless steel double edged spear point wasp-waisted blade, weighs 8 ounces, and has a die cast aluminum handle. It has a distinctive look similar to that of the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife developed during World War II for the British Commandos.

In the 1970s, the military's base/post exchanges discontinued selling these knives, reasoning that they were "not in good taste" or "too brutal". Al Mar, then working for Gerber as a knife designer, added the 14 teeth per inch 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. It was also reduced in size somewhat down to 12 inches, with a 6 inch blade.

This very nice example is in very good condition, complete with the original scabbard, which is fully intact. The knife is marked with serial number #019140, one of approximately 4,950 made in 1970, so it was made during the Vietnam war. It features a gray "Armorhide" type handle, and ha the correct Gerber trademark logo and address marking on the ricasso:

(Logo)
GERBER
PORTLAND ORE USA

The scabbard is also marked with the correct Gerber stamping:

GERBER
PORTLAND, ORE.
07223 U.S.A.

A very nice example of a legendary Vietnam War fighting survival knife, complete with scabbard and ready to display!

Dimensions:
Blade length: 7”
Blade Style: Spear Point Knife
Overall length: 12”
Crossguard: 2”
Scabbard length: 8 1/2" with belt loop - 14" overall