Need Gerber MK 1 Expert

Catman Is God

Catman Is God

Joined
Jun 27, 2019
Messages
14
Greetings, I am new here, so if this is in the wrong place, please excuse the faux pas and kindley point me in the proper direction.

I have been playing with knives for the biggest part of the last century and have been known to make a few as well.

I have found myself a bit lacking in the reliable information department. I am lookin for a Gerber MK I expert. There is a plethora of info on the Mark II knives, but not finding much on the MK I. I am looking for info and date ranges for the knives with OD Green handles, brown sheaths as well as black sheaths with white stitching. I am especially interested in info about the Mark I knives with canted blades.
Any help is appreciated

Thanks
 
I'm not an expert, but I once collected Mark Is and Mark IIs.

The Mark I was introduced in about 1976. Unlike the Gerber Mark II, accurate records were never kept on the Mark I, so it is not as easy to date as a Mark II. Also the Mark I and Mark II serial number sequence by year is not necessarily the same.

From 1976 to 1981, the Mark I was made with L6 Tool Steel. Gerber switched to 440C sometime in 1981 and that is what was used until about 1997.

There were Mark I variants made. For example, one variant had double serrations and another variant had a blackened blade (1984 only).

To the best of my knowledge, Gerber never made a Mark I with canted blade.

The Mark I you describe (i.e. with OD handle and brown sheath) is one of the earlier ones... closer to 1976 than 1981.
 
Thanks for the info. I had called Gerber a few weeks back and they didn't have much info, especially on the sheaths, stitching & canted blades. I just asked them about 3 of mine and was told one was made in 68-69, another in '71 and the other in '72. They were apparently confused on this. As far as the canted blades, I have one.

Any further information is appreciated.




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Yes, very confused. Sounds like they got Mark II crossed up with Mark I.

I'd like to see a picture of the Mark I with canted blade if you don't mind.
 
If you're a paid member, you can just click on "upload a file" and browse. If not you need to go through a hosting service like Imgur. A mod will turn up with more accurate directions pretty soon.

I also would like to see what you've got there.
This pic is a bit off topic; I never remember its name (Guardian II; I think Guardian was a boot-knife).
o95iZZX.jpg
 
Last edited:
Sorry it took so long to reply. I had to get a couple of pix, then figure out how to upload them here.
 
Thanks for the excellent pictures.

Blade is definitely canted/bent. If it came that way from the factory, I have to wonder if it was intentional.

The first canted blade was on the original Mark II. Why the cant? Lots of stories out there, but the one most accepted by collectors is so the blade would fit closer to the hip or thigh (or the shoulder harness when carried inverted on web gear) to prevent snags. Gerber was inundated with returns because a lot of customers thought their knives were flawed. Because of this, Gerber went with a "straight" blade beginning in about 1969. *NOTE: the blades were always straight. It was how they were fitted into the handles that caused the cant.

There have been special editions/anniversary editions of the Mark II with canted blades, i.e. the 1986 20th Anniversary Edition and some Cutlery Shoppe Special Factory Orders (SFO).

The Mark I came years after Gerber had learned its lesson about canted blades, but it's possible that your Mark I
a) was an SFO (although I've never heard of one) or
b) was a factory glitch or
c) was bent by the previous owner while using it to pry.

*The Mark I and Mark II have rat tail tangs vs full tangs. When assembled, both the tang and the hole in the cast aluminum handle were coated with epoxy and then the tang was inserted into the handle. Fixtures were used to keep the blade and handle in alignment (or not, re: canted blade) while the epoxy hardened.

Apologies for the long-winded reply, but bottom line: Who knows for certain? I know I don't :)

Thanks again for sharing the pics!
 
scrteened porch said:
If you're a paid member, you can just click on "upload a file" and browse. If not you need to go through a hosting service like Imgur. A mod will turn up with more accurate directions pretty soon.

I also would like to see what you've got there.
This pic is a bit off topic; I never remember its name (Guardian II; I think Guardian was a boot-knife).
o95iZZX.jpg
Click to expand...
BTW, that's an excellent example of a Guardian II from the mid-1980s. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Thanks MMM for the detailed reply. I know that I have stumped everyone that I ask about the knife. Many have just dismissed it as bent, IMHO, that is nonsense. #1, if it were 'bent' by prying, the cast aluminum handle would have failed first. Especially in light of the short tang. #2, IF someone had bent the blade without causing the aluminum handle to fail, the bend would have been a curve, NOT a 'perfect' angle. #3, if it had been 'bent' at such a perfect angle perfectly at the guard, upon close inspection, the blade would exhibit signs of 'stretching' on one side and 'compaction' on the opposite side.

As far as a "factory error", I hate to 'assume', but I would think that Gerber would have developed a fixture that would hold the blade straight since they had had such issues with public perception concerning the MK II.

As far as SFO, You got me there. Would they do these for anyone that asked and was willing to pay a premium? Or did you have to be special or important?

If it were a "Factory Error" or a SFO, would that not make it more valuable and collectable? Sad part is that the knife is not perfect. Some of the handle finish has worn away, the blade has several dark spots / areas, and it looks like it had a minor alteration with a file or belt sander. I have just the knife and sheath.

Good part is that I found it on Ebay and only paid ~$25-30. The brown sheath caught my attention and I thought the handle was OD from the pix. I figured at that price it would be a great knife with which to dig in the dirt. (Or other rough jobs)

Where do you suggest that I go now for further information?

Thanks again.



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Catman Is God said:
Thanks MMM for the detailed reply. I know that I have stumped everyone that I ask about the knife. Many have just dismissed it as bent, IMHO, that is nonsense. #1, if it were 'bent' by prying, the cast aluminum handle would have failed first. Especially in light of the short tang. #2, IF someone had bent the blade without causing the aluminum handle to fail, the bend would have been a curve, NOT a 'perfect' angle. #3, if it had been 'bent' at such a perfect angle perfectly at the guard, upon close inspection, the blade would exhibit signs of 'stretching' on one side and 'compaction' on the opposite side.

As far as a "factory error", I hate to 'assume', but I would think that Gerber would have developed a fixture that would hold the blade straight since they had had such issues with public perception concerning the MK II.

As far as SFO, You got me there. Would they do these for anyone that asked and was willing to pay a premium? Or did you have to be special or important?

If it were a "Factory Error" or a SFO, would that not make it more valuable and collectable? Sad part is that the knife is not perfect. Some of the handle finish has worn away, the blade has several dark spots / areas, and it looks like it had a minor alteration with a file or belt sander. I have just the knife and sheath.

Good part is that I found it on Ebay and only paid ~$25-30. The brown sheath caught my attention and I thought the handle was OD from the pix. I figured at that price it would be a great knife with which to dig in the dirt. (Or other rough jobs)

Where do you suggest that I go now for further information?

Thanks again.



.
Click to expand...
All good points.

re: SFO... I'm not sure what their criteria would have been, but money and volume probably were key. The exception, I think, would have been SFOs for the military such as the SIGMA knives (Mark IIs) for a detachment of Green Berets during Vietnam.

As far as further info, I would normally say go to the source: Gerber. But you've done that and they didn't seem to be very helpful. As collectors discover new information, they usually post it to internet forums. So you might do your searches every 3 or 4 months... keep fishing, in other words. Good luck!
 
Thanks, feel free to share this proof that there is at least 1 MK I with a canted blade. Hope it can help someone.




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In case anyone is following this, or cares. Now there are 2. I located another MK1 with a canted blade. It is s/n 11xxx where my original one was 20xxx
 
Very cool! I can only add this: C. 1978, I bought a Gerber MK 2 in the PX in Augsburg, Germany. While I had learned to sharpen knives
very well, this one came out of the box so sharp it scared me! (I feel sure it had a buffed or polished edge). It was on a whole new plane
of sharpness... I liked the knife, but thought they had ruined it by adding the serrations, and took the time to write them and express
that opinion. To my utter surprise, I got a nice note back from (I think?) Pete Gerber -- certainly from a Gerber family member who was, if not
the president, then a high officer in the company. He politely let me know that I could special-order one from them without serrations, if I wanted
to. I was stunned that they took the time to reply to me, a mere PFC, and my respect for the original Gerber family-owned company was
ratcheted up to the max.

Unfortunately, wages were low in the Jimmy Carter Army, and I didn't have the spare funds to order one.
That would have been a rather special one to have today!
John
 
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