Vietnam Legend Returns
One of the deadliest military fighting knives of the ’60s makes a comeback.
In the spring of 1969 I was detailed to pick up my platoon’s mail at the company headquarters of C/75th Rangers in An Khe, Vietnam. Like many old-time post offices, the company mailroom featured a wall of “pigeon hole” slots that individual letters and packages could be slid into. Standing there waiting for the clerk to bag up our mail, I glanced over at this wall. It seemed like at least half of those pigeon holes had a long, narrow box in them shipped from a knife company in Portland, Oregon, called “Gerber Legendary Blades.” Of course, each contained what was a unique concept for the time: a purpose built, commercial fighting knife, the Gerber MK-II Combat.
First Designed in 1966
The Gerber MK-II is said to have been designed around a drawing sent to the company by Army Captain C.A. Holzman in 1966. I have been told he based the “wasp waist” pattern of the double-edge 7-inch blade on a Roman short-sword (I assume that would be the early “Mainz” pattern gladius). Others have called the MK-II an improved version of the WW-II Fairbairn-Sykes commando knife. In either case, the knife was obviously created to be a deadly weapon first and a tool second.
October 20th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Nice knife.
Too bad it is not street legal due to length, and also, since it is double edged it qualifies as a dagger, which is not only illegal to carry, it is also a criminal offense to be caught carrying one.
A nice simple buck knife folder with a legal length blade has all that you might need to defend yourself with should the occasion require it.
October 10th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I owned two Gerbers in RVN. 69-70 and 71-72. Lost the firstwhen a friend went out on a mission and was killed. The graves reg people sent the first one to the family before I could recover it. Used the other from 71 till i retired from the reserves in 2002. still in good shape, good edge and the original sheathand honing steel. Great knife.
October 8th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I bought my 1st MKII at the Special Forces Book Store in the fall of 1978 when going through the Q-course for $26.00 and some cents (this is when cope was .29 a can). It was lost in Nov. of 79 durring an Air Field Raid with the Koreans,when I was helping my ROK SF counterpart out of a run off drain at the edge of the Airfield he grabed the knife on my LBE in lieu of the webbing and down it fell. Could never afford to buy a new one. Glad to see a come back, I belive I even had to dye the sheath black with leather dye.