Most common fixed blades in use by current US military?

I carried an issued Kabar bayo, brought my Gerber LMF, benchmade folder as well as a CRKT M16 in Iraq. I had a Cold Steel SRK as well but didnt carry it much. No molle compatability made it a PITA to carry, and the LMF was easy to strap to my vest or pack. Still like the SRK, just didnt care for the factory sheath. Id love to have a Strider or RAT, but thats above my paygrade. For the money, the blades I carried were rock solid. I saw a lot of the same types of knives on other guys.
 
A cop I work with was given a Benchmade Nimravus when he deployed to Kyrgyzstan to guard a base there.
 
somber said:
I don't think that this is important enough to warrant a sticky, if people would search before they asked, I think it would eliminate any further threads like this.

OP: I went to Fort Lewis-McChord in Washington on Thursday and a majority of the fixed blades they had were Gerbers and a Cold Steel Tanto.
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I see your point, yet as time goes by I wouldn't mind seeing updates on the topic. With changes in the economy and changes in technology, I think we might see some different answers. Of course, having said that, it wouldn't need to be asked every week :D
 
Check any major manufacturer's catalogue. If you see a knife with an NSN next to it, you're looking at something that has official presence in some military or governmental capacity.
 
This is the knife that endured ENDLESS abuse by myself and other Marines all those years ago. It is a coldsteel srk in carbon v, the day it came in the mail I was having a party so we took turns driving it into an ammobox to see if we could break it . That was 1998 and I still have that srk. Semper Fi- Ron
 
I heard the Ontario 498 is one of the military issued knives that they give the Marines......I'm not 100% sure if its true though.
 
This is one that has interested me, too, because soldier's knives get used harder than most. I figured if I was going to make knives that would stand up to what they were going to get used for, I would start with what gets used by guys who grab their knife for whatever they need to get done.

It seems that cost, availability, and easy carry are the three main decision makers, in roughly that order from first to last. The things that we knife geeks would think are important, such as steel type, blade shape, edge geometry, and so on, are secondary considerations.

It seems like you might also find a lot of variations according to specialty, since the needs of armor maintenance (my personal favorite) are going to be different from log section, and somebody in EOD may (almost certainly will) have completely different requirements for a knife.

I know that doesn't help answer the OP's question, but what I'm trying to say is that the best you might be able to do is a top twenty list, unless you sort it by specialty, in which case you would need a lot of space.
 
most of what everyone that is active or retired has said is right on the money. the most common issued a carried folder ive seen is the benchmade APO and that is simply beacause units were handing them out like docs hand out motrin. the second one (and the one that is most near and dear to my heart) is the Gerber 06 auto, you just cant break that knife. i aquired three of them when they were readily available, thinking that they would be reasonable tough but not bomb proof, and to my suprise two are still in their boxes and 6 years later im still tucking that old beat up gerber into my pocket. Blades a litte shorter (def isnt designed to pry up man hole covers) and its not nearly as black but by God that thing just doesnt miss a beat. And to briefly hit on that last post by "shorttime" needs definatly dictate. The EOD community has been using the lan cay M11 EOD knife for years but with his recent passing and the company closing its doors they have become non existent. We have reverted back to the original M9 bayonnet (which was the foundation for the M11), and have just fielded a new knife from Medford Knife and Tool. Its very new and has yet to be completely ran through its paces, but we have high hopes. He actually was approched by a handful of USMC EOD techs from the west coast and built the knife to there specifications. Its is now just getting out the door in quantity (Just got off the phone with them, mine should be here in two weeks), and we will definatly find out if it lives or dies. stay tuned
 
During 3 tours in Iraq my normal carry knife was a Camillus Arc-Lite and a Leatherman Wave. The only time I carried my Ka-bar was when we were flying between FOBs. Halfway through my second tour I got a TL-29 from a contractor which saw alot of carry time.
 
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