Gerber Mk II, Retired

Retired W4

Retired W4

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I bought this at the Ft. Rucker PX in 1979 and carried it for over 7 years inside my left boot. I had it with me every time I put on my flight suit. After a while the sheath conformed to the contour of my ankle, but later in it's tour the blade (very sharp) started to cut through the sheath. i had removed the metal pistol belt hanger for comfort in this carry method. This survival knife became notorious for cutting off the tops of beer cans at the O'club and other gatherings of Army aviation types.

I switched to the Benchmade auto (large button/no safety) after 87 when I was assigned to F/W positions. It rode in the small leg pocket of the flight suit, where it stayed for 13 years.
 

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I had one of those for many years. It got thrown in on a gun trade with a Navy Pilot. It was a bit older than yours. It had a weird green leather sheath. It was quite a classic knife but truthfully I had little use for it. I felt kind of bad for it, sitting in a box for 30+ years, destiny unfulfilled.

Then we got invited to a going away party for my son's best friend, who's family lived across the street from us. He was off to Iraq with the USMC. I decided he should have it. Figured it might be useful to him. He was stunned.

I was just glad he and the knife came home in good shape.
 
I have several MKIIs. Those and the Fairbairn Sykes are my favorite fighting knives.

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk
 
Yep. Those old MkIIs were nice. I've carried an Ek No. 3 made by Bob Burlein in the last incarnation of the company prior to it becoming part of Kabar. An amazing quality blade of great practical function. Been carrying it since 2006 throughout various spots in Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The double edge allows for greater slashing ability if needed. The steel is top notch and they just plain look so cool. John Ek made a great tool knife and he employed many cripple and retarded folks in his operation, marking him as a good man and philanthropist promoting excellence.
 
Jimmy4570 said:
Yep. Those old MkIIs were nice. I've carried an Ek No. 3 made by Bob Burlein in the last incarnation of the company prior to it becoming part of Kabar. An amazing quality blade of great practical function. Been carrying it since 2006 throughout various spots in Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The double edge allows for greater slashing ability if needed. The steel is top notch and they just plain look so cool. John Ek made a great tool knife and he employed many cripple and retarded folks in his operation, marking him as a good man and philanthropist promoting excellence.
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Never owned a John Ek but would love it if one showed up in front of me.
 
The Gerber Mark Series were/are great blades! I've had mine (Guardian - Thanks JDH :D) since the early 80's.

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Eric300 said:
The Gerber Mark Series were/are great blades! I've had mine since the early 80's.

bUl5BkE.jpg
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That is a Command II. For the historical perspective, It was an attempt by Gerber to get around the “Dagger” prohibition in various states by not being a full double sided blade of the Mark I/II.
 
Have both of the MKI Gerber and the second version with the more pointy shaped blade both in their leather sheaths. The early one I cold blued but that can be removed. Even went so far as to buy the boot knife which I wore in my high topped work boots. When I was on the oil spill response team we had two work boats for putting out oil booms and cutting a lot of rope I used a spyderco "Mariner" as it would slice through the poly rope we used at the time. Frank
 
While the Gerber Mk knives have an off the scale COOL factor.... they never struck me as having any practical application;beyond taking out sentries .

This thread reminded me I have a similar Fairbairn Sykes pattern knife from the early 80s; it hasn't seen the light of day in at least two decades.

The Ka-bar is a whole lot more useful blade for more things...... frankly the 5" version is even a more useful blade shape and size.
 
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Around 1988 a Hermann's Sporting Goods was going out of business near where I worked. When things were down to 80% off rice marked, I cleared out all of their Gerber knives. I spent a little under $200 and got about 35 knives. There had been 2 Mark II's the day before, I assume an employee got those. There were several 3.5-4" boot knives with black leather sheaths, but no boxes, w/ OD Green handles, those sold like hot cakes @ $25. Then there were some thin single edged (Chrome plated blade) with a junky camo handle in a very bad nylon scabbard, I couldn't sell them @ $5, so I donated them for prizes at Vacation Bible School. The few teenage boys that came were very happy! Overall, I made about $1000 on my $200 investment!

Ivan
 
jdh said:
That is a Command II. For the historical perspective, It was an attempt by Gerber to get around the “Dagger” prohibition in various states by not being a full double sided blade of the Mark I/II.
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I have one just like it, also from the early 80's. I recall it being a Command I. The smaller companion Command II was similar to the Gerber boot knife.
 
I believe Gerber still makes this model and I'm sure if you contact them they can help you with repairing or replacing the sheath. Would be a shame to not continue carrying because of that.
 
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I had an near identical MKII; similarly purchase in 1979 out of the Fort Benning PX. Unfortunately I did not have it long. Like many of us “noobs” I strapped it upside down on my LBE. Prop blast dislodged it during a jump and I watch helplessly as it tumbled toward the ground. I suspect some Leg found it and thereafter entertained his buddies with tales of Gerbers falling from the sky. Alas, I replaced with a folding Auto which was much more practical.
 
As a young infantry Captain, after several months at Bragg in NC in an advisor course, learning also some useful Vietnamese, I was posted to a MACV advisory team, Team 80, deep in the Delta. Before I left Bragg, I bought a Buck sheath knife, and a custom sheath with a small sharpening stone (which wouldn't touch the Buck's hard blade). And a 110 folding Hunter. I wore the Hunter on my jungle fatigue belt, and my big Buck on my web pistol belt with my 1911 and mag pouch. I used both a lot for this and that.

Once, I was on a Huey chopper flying somewhere, and noted the pilot had a Gerber stiletto strapped to his survival vest. When we had a chance, I asked about his blade choicer, he mentioned that his wife had bought and sent it to him. I thought that if he were to be shot down, he would be better served by a knife more suitable for hacking and slashing, rather than just stabbing.

As for the "Marine" KBAR knifes, when I was in Ranger School, saw one of my patrol mates stab his knife into a tree for some reason, and the blade snapped off at the hilt.

I have both of my Bucks, gave the big one to my son, along with a collection of other blades, and have the Hunter in my glass wall case, along with other momento's.




All the best... SF VET
 
The Mk II is capable of busting plexiglas with the handle, punching holes and cutting the thin skinned (aluminum/magnesium) fuselage of Bell helicopters, cutting seat belts/shoulder harness' and rappelling/stabo line. Rappel master/stabo masters always carried a big blade in case of an emergency. And he damned well would cut the line if I yelled over the intercom "cut the line". A heavier blade might be quicker at some of these tasks, but the slim profile and light weight of the Gerber makes them handy in the cockpit. I could not carry a big heavy blade on my person, but I did, at times sling a machete over the armor plates of the cockpit seat. Those are definitely best for whacking through brush. The problem with that is in a crash sequence you might lose anything not attached to your body. Different strokes for different MOS's.
 
BAM-BAM said:
While the Gerber Mk knives have an off the scale COOL factor.... they never struck me as having any practical application;beyond taking out sentries .

This thread reminded me I have a similar Fairbairn Sykes pattern knife from the early 80s; it hasn't seen the light of day in at least two decades.
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You’ll notice most stories of the knife here are military. The F-S and the Gerbers are daggers, and historically daggers are indeed designed for killing and little else, although the Mk II’s serrations and butt features expand options.

For civilians, there are probably smarter and more practical choices for carry, quite apart from legalities in various jurisdictions. But of course spearing cheese cubes at a party with a Mk II would be immeasurably cool :D

I’ve owned both Mk I and II, both excellent knives for what they are, although my ultimate favorite in that category (and the only one I kept) is the Applegate-Fairbairn design, as produced by multiple knifemakers over time. Böker created the black version in the late 1990s for German special forces (KSK and SEK-M) and then marketed it commercially alongside the bright signature-blade version.


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Here's a picture of the whole family (Mk I & II, Command I & II) I picked up the Command II from a pawn shop outside Ft Leonard Wood while I was in the Army around 1983 or so. The rest were acquired at gun shows and such over the years.

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