Gerber Mark II

The Gerber Mark II is an American combat knife designed in 1966 by retired Army Captain Clarence A. Bud Holzmann, who based its pattern on the ancient Roman Mainz gladius, and it was manufactured by Gerber Legendary Blades. It entered service during the Vietnam War and was produced from 1967 to 2000, with a limited run of 1,500 units in 2002 and full production resuming from July 2008 onward. The knife measures 12.75 inches overall with a 6.5 inch double edged spear point blade of 420 HC stainless steel, a die cast aluminum handle, and a weight of eight ounces. It became the second most widely used American military knife of the Vietnam era after the Ka-Bar, and its design shares visual similarities with the earlier British Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife.