Classic Gerber Mark series knives

[OPSEC-C-C]

Very nice rare knife. Keep up the hunt.

 

[Grizzly3]

Of course the Mark II would have been much more bad ass than the SAK, but which would have helped you out and gotten more use? I never go into the wilderness without a SAK of some sort, but would rarely think to take a Mark II. I did not go to VN but I have heard that Mark II's got used as tent pegs more often than deadly weapons. My Father was in WWII in the Battle of the Bulge for one , and he had his Mom and Dad sent him a knife (picture below). I guess a Marbles hunting knife was pretty bad ass at that time, but not quite a specialized as a Mark II. I am sure that it provided some utility other than a weapon. He was a BAR Man in quite a few shootouts and was already a skilled outdoorsman, and you can tell he used that knife quite a lot, but I do not think he ever employed it as a weapon.

I'd have loved to have had a MK1 or ll, but most of my pay was going into an allotment we couldn't draw on. once in a while in VN, some knives would show up for sale, maybe when someone was heading back home, or found something better. I managed to pick up a Puma White Hunter for $15 and later, took it home, but I never really cared for that skinner tip design. I was issued first a M2 Carbine and later a M16, but there were no bayonets for either. What supply did have were bayonets for M14s. No M14, well maybe one or two in our MACV compound, but I took one and sharpened it. Used it often when the pop tops on a beer or soda can would pull off as happened often. If I'd had too many beers, sometimes the bayonet would go all the way through to the bottom of the can and I'd have to go find another. As you said, they were more of a utility knife. I also learned to throw that bayonet and practiced hard becoming very accurate with it. For sharpening, I'd ordered a combination Carborundum stone and used the only oil I could find, LSA weapon oil in the beige 4oz bottle. That's where I learned to sharpen knives, usually on the river bunker at night to pass the time away. Sharpened a few guys Kabars. That steel was much softer than the Puma and sharpened easily. I used the Puma once when the mess hall had some chicken go bad in plastic bags. They didn't want to just throw it away since the VN would take it and get sick. So, they asked me to cut the bags open and pitch them in the river. I did, and cutting the bags open quickly, I managed to get my thumb in the way of that sharp Puma. That's when I first learned of a butterfly stich or band aide of sorts the medics had. I couldn't believe that thing would seal that up, but it did, and I still will use one at times. Although a year or two ago, I slipped again with an 11" Khukuri and needed about 7 stitches on that same thumb. ouch. Someday, maybe I'll learn to keep it out of the way.

 

[OPSEC-C-C]

A 1968 Gerber Mark II that the U.S. Army 5th Special Forces Group presented to Detachment B-52 Project Delta members during the Vietnam War. This is one of approximately 50 knives made with this factory etching. Very little is known about these knives, but it is a Gerber Mark II with a historic connection to the war. The factory acid etching is the same that many Mark II knives of the same time frame have with an individual's personal information etched on the blade.

 

[OPSEC-C-C]

What do say we add a little color? The yellow handle MKII dive knife (YA2) has the wide wasp blade, along with the orange handle MKII (OA6). I hope these brighten your day.

 

[vjb.knife]

What do say we add a little color? The yellow handle MKII dive knife (YA2) has the wide wasp blade, along with the orange handle MKII (OA6). I hope these brighten your day. View attachment 2757290View attachment 2757291

Excellent stuff! I love them. I was always too cheap to put out the money for either of them. I used to have a Serial number close to 2000 and I had to sell it at one point which, of course, was a mistake.

I had this until recently. Gerber Neptune Mark IID made from 1971 to 1974. Not nearly as rare as a Yellow Mark II, but still not very well known.

 

[VorpelSword]

There is no doubt that these are great looking knives with a bit of a story. I know Viet Nam vets who swear by them. They look like a mini Roman Gladius.

Back in the early Y2K decade, I was looking at getting our son a serious combat knifebefore he went toIraq in the Marines. The Gerber Mk-II was a high end contender. I was concerned that the tang did not extend the length of the grip and passed.
I have since seen a demo of a Mk-II locked in a vice with a guy jumping on thr handle . . .so that should not be an issue. What did I know?

In the end, on the advice of senior NCOs he down selected the couple of double edged daggers I got him (Ek and Cuda Maxx) and instead brought utility-oriented blades; a Randall #1 and a CRK Green Beret.

 

[vjb.knife]

There is no doubt that these are great looking knives with a bit of a story. I know Viet Nam vets who swear by them. They look like a mini Roman Gladius.

Back in the early Y2K decade, I was looking at getting our son a serious combat knifebefore he went toIraq in the Marines. The Gerber Mk-II was a high end contender. I was concerned that the tang did not extend the length of the grip and passed.
I have since seen a demo of a Mk-II locked in a vice with a guy jumping on thr handle . . .o that should not be an issue. What did I know?

In the end, on the advice of senior NCOs he down selected the couple of double edged daggers I got him (Ek and Cuda Maxx) and instead brought utility-oriented blades; a Randall #1 and a CRK Green Beret.

Good choices, without going to a high end custom like a Walter Brend I would have chosen the Randall in either the #1 or #14. Have a good day.

Vincent

 

[OPSEC-C-C]

VorplSword, The MKII is definitely a fighting style knife. The original creator U.S. Army Captain Clarence A. "Bud" Holzmann, intended for this knife to be a hand to hand combat fighting knife. I purchased a MKII and a camo Guardian II in 1985 at the Ft Benning (now Ft Moore) AAFES Clothing & Sales. I was ALL about Camo and decided to take my Guardian II to my next duty station and left the MKII at my parents house where I grew up. I carried the Guardian II 25 years. I carried it on my pants belt as it was intended to be a hand to hand combat knife. I was able to have the line cutter added, which was intended to cut parachute cord. Many a jump later, I never needed to use it. It was painted several times to match the terrain of many a location around the world. The sheath is it's 5th I think as they wore out. It is an Eagle Industries sheath that Randall supplied with the Model 16 Diver at one point. In combat I carried several different types of knife. From the issued bayonet to a small pocket knife with a good pair of scissors (I used scissors to open combat rations daily). Sometimes 4-5-6 different knives at a time depending on the mission. Your son would not have gone wrong with a MKII, to be used as intended. The other knives are good knives so he did well. Keep up the hunt.

 

[VorpelSword]

Good choices, without going to a high end custom like a Walter Brend I would have chosen the Randall in either the #1 or #14. Have a good day.

Vincent

I have written about my experience in floundering my way through getting our son a suite of serious cutlery to choose from before deploying to Iraq. In the end, the choices were his to make on the advice of senior NCOs at 29 Palms. My experience with Randall Made's customer service was sub-optimal, as they unresponsive to my request for a modification.

He took the Randall, actually a #16-1 a knife based on their heftier #16 diver's knife but with the blade profile of their iconic #1. The other belt knife was the CRK Geen Beret. When he deployed again, the Randall stayed home in a display case and the CRK-GB went on his plate carrier.

 

[vjb.knife]

I have written about my experience in floundering my way through getting our son a suite of serious cutlery to choose from before deploying to Iraq. In the end, the choices were his to make on the advice of senior NCOs at 29 Palms. My experience with Randall Made's customer service was sub-optimal, as they unresponsive to my request for a modification.

He took the Randall, actually a #16-1 a knife based on their heftier #16 diver's knife but with the blade profile of their iconic #1. The other belt knife was the CRK Geen Beret. When he deployed again, the Randall stayed home in a display case and the CRK-GB went on his plate carrier.

I have a model 16 the I used as a Diver occasionally. I ended up using a Mission Ti knife more often. My model 16 has a spearpoint blade and sawteeth. When they put the model 1 type blade on it, then it is called the SP-1 Special Fighter. They are all great knives.

 

[VorpelSword]

Thanks for that clarification.

Where I to b uy again, I might have gotten the #16 Diver's knife with the saw tooth grind but no teeth . . .just for the look.

At the time (1999) I was buying only on reputation and tradition (Kay-Bar, EK, Randall). My consideration of a Gerber Mk-II was also based on the same uninformed guidance. I passed on a Gerber when I erroneously thought the design and construction were less than robust.

 

[Chef Eric]

Some of my rarer Gerber Survival knives. The MKII has a dark green Armorhide handle. The same dark green that the hunting series knives (Pixie - Magnum Hunter) used. The blade has the wide wasp shape with no serrations and was set in the handle at a full 5 % cant. Iy has a 1974 serial number. It came with the sheath shown, and a black dyed red / brown pointed tipped leather sheath, consistent with the serial number. The OD Green sheath has a M8 bayonet sheath lower in the nylon carrier.
The orange handled Command II, is one of the limited run of Dive knives Gerber made shortly after the Command series Survival knives were introduced. The Command series knives were originally called the Force I and Force II knives. Gerber decided to let the public come up with the name of these knives and ran an add in Soldier of Fortune Magazine. The deadline for submissions was July 1 1979, so the add was in an earlier issue. The winner was announced in the November issue of Soldier of Fortune and the winning name was the Force I and Force II. Gerber made box labels with these names and soon found out the name was not available, so Gerber changed the name to the Command I & II. It is unknown how many knives were sold with Force labeled boxes but it is under 400. The orange handled dive knives could be purchased as a set (Command I & II) or just the Command II. These knives used a slightly brighter orange than Gerber's orange handled MKII knives. These knives also have a unique epoxy used to seal the blade in the handle. It is a silver color and designed to resist salt water. Even though the blades were made with the slant 2 logo, they are stainless steel. It is unknown how many of these knives were made, but some say less than 50. These knives did not come with a Gerber Dive sheath, but mine is paired with a single stitch MKII dive sheath that was dyed with black shoe polish. The other rare knife Command II knife was special ordered without serrations. I have observed 8 of these non serrated Command II knives.
The Camo handled knife is the Gerber Brigade Command (model 5761). It sold for only one year in 1985. It has the Camo Guardian II handle and a blackened Command I blade. I have only observed 4 of these knives, but I am sure there were quite a few made as one of mine has the box and the model sticker looks like the standard model stickers. View attachment 2753223View attachment 2753224View attachment 2753225View attachment 2753226

Do you happen to have any more information on the Brigade Command? I'm working with at least 4 right now as part of an estate and I can't find any information on it. Serial numbers C1304S (in box), C1328S, C1322S, C1302S.

 

[OPSEC-C-C]

No other information.