10 combat knives of the military, past and present

The award-winning  designers of the LHR Combat Knife are Chris Reeve and William W. Harsey Jr.The knife is a modern combat fighting knife in use today  by the military. The LHR is over 12 inches in when opened. It comes with a quick-release sheath which has a built in safety release.This safety feature allows only the wearer to can release the knife. The LHR is said to have a sure grip during wet conditions because of its TacHide textured handle.The number-one goal of the manufacturers was to create a quality knife most soldiers can afford. The M9 Bayonet was designed to be a multi-purpose knife and was adopted by the military in 1984.It has a 7-inch blade and was created by Charles Finn at his research and design company, Qual-A-Tec.It has an olive drab handle with a scabbard that is designed to military specs. It can be attached to an M16 rifle; it has a coated blade and an LBE bet attachment that allows for quick release.It has milled saw teeth on the back of the blade that allows a soldier to cut wire with the knife. The KM2000 (KM designates Kampfmesser, literally "combat knife") is the standard knife of the German Bundeswehr.It's mostly used by the German Army. The knife is manufactured with NATO regulations by the Eickhorn-Solingen company in Germany.It has a laser cut 172mm forged 440A stainless steel tantō blade that’s coated with Black Kalgard.The KM2000 gained fame because it’s a rare blade, even though the military issued many. It’s supposedly the only tantō-style military knife issued to the militaryView the list »
The Gerber Mark II was manufactured by Gerber Legendary Blades from 1967 to 2000. They also produced a limited run of 1500 in 2002.Army Captain Bud Holzman patterned the design of the knife after a Roman Mainz Gladius. It has a double-edged spear-pointed blade. It also has a distinctive handle like the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife soldiers used in World War II. 

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Since the beginning of time, perhaps thousands of years, there was a need for a close quarter fighting weapon. At no time did this realization become more evident then the various wars that have raged upon our globe.

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History claims it was a “significant milestone” when armies began using daggers made of iron in ancient Middle East. The French and Italian militaries of the 1400s were said to be the first ones that introduced the “acutely-tapered and sharply pointed double-edged blade.

The new style of blade was introduced to compensate for the improvements to the armor soldiers wore during that era. The Bollock dagger was introduced by the English and Scandinavians for military service around 1350.

The two most well known “knives” were the French Poignard and the Scottish Dirk. These weapons were designed specifically as military weapons. The knives on this list are some of the military’s deadliest from World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and present day conflicts.

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  • The Gerber Mark II was manufactured by Gerber Legendary Blades from 1967 to 2000. They also produced a limited run of 1500 in 2002.Army Captain Bud Holzman patterned the design of the knife after a Roman Mainz Gladius. It has a double-edged spear-pointed blade. It also has a distinctive handle like the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife soldiers used in World War II. 
  • The KM2000 (KM designates Kampfmesser, literally "combat knife") is the standard knife of the German Bundeswehr.It's mostly used by the German Army. The knife is manufactured with NATO regulations by the Eickhorn-Solingen company in Germany.It has a laser cut 172mm forged 440A stainless steel tantō blade that’s coated with Black Kalgard.The KM2000 gained fame because it’s a rare blade, even though the military issued many. It’s supposedly the only tantō-style military knife issued to the military
  • The M9 Bayonet was designed to be a multi-purpose knife and was adopted by the military in 1984.It has a 7-inch blade and was created by Charles Finn at his research and design company, Qual-A-Tec.It has an olive drab handle with a scabbard that is designed to military specs. It can be attached to an M16 rifle; it has a coated blade and an LBE bet attachment that allows for quick release.It has milled saw teeth on the back of the blade that allows a soldier to cut wire with the knife. 
  • The award-winning  designers of the LHR Combat Knife are Chris Reeve and William W. Harsey Jr.The knife is a modern combat fighting knife in use today  by the military. The LHR is over 12 inches in when opened. It comes with a quick-release sheath which has a built in safety release.This safety feature allows only the wearer to can release the knife. The LHR is said to have a sure grip during wet conditions because of its TacHide textured handle.The number-one goal of the manufacturers was to create a quality knife most soldiers can afford. 
  • The Fairbairn–Sykes is a stiletto type knife designed for thrusting. It’s double-bladed and is capable of inflicting slash wounds if the knife is kept sharpened.It was issued to British Special Forces during World War II. The idea was developed, before the war began, by William Fairbairn and Eric Sykes.It’s basic concept came while the two were serving on the Shanghai Municipal Police in China. 
  • The SOG knife was intended for covert Studies and Observations Group personnel during the Vietnam War.It was designed by Benjamin Baker, who was the Deputy Chief of the U.S. Counterinsurgency Support Office (CISO).It was supposedly a knife that could not be tracked to any country of origin because it wasn't marked or had any distinguishable features. In the 1980s, SOG Specialty Knives created replicas of the knives carried by Vietnam soldiers.SOG Specialty Knives called that knife the “S1 Bowie” and have since created the “Recon Bowie” knife. Both knives are made to the same specifications of those used in Vietnam.  
  • A Bowie Knife was an early fighting blade made popular by Colonel James "Jim" Bowie in the early 1800s.The Bowie knife bears his name because of his famous knife duel called the Vidalia Sandbar Fight in 1829.The knife Col. Bowie used in that fight was said to have been designed by Rezin Bowie, his brother.The knife was described by Rezin when asked, as being 9.5 inches long, 0.25 inches thick and 1.5 inches wide with a simple riveted wood scale handle. Witnesses claimed it looked like a large butcher knife. 
  • The KA-BAR was trademarked, in capital letters, as KA-BAR in 1923 by the Union Cutlery Co. of Olean, New York.The KA-BAR was adopted by the Marines in Nov. 1942. Today KA-BAR makes Army, Navy and Marine versions.The only difference between the blades are that the Marines' knife has initials at the bottom of the blade. Each branch  has their own special symbols on the sheath.Marines who carry these knives use a little non-reflective matte black spray to dull the shine of the blade.
  • A push dagger is known by several different names. It's also called, the push knife, gimlet knife, fist knife, Stoßdolch (German), push dirk, T-handled knife or punch dagger.It’s a short-bladed dagger with a "T" handle designed for the handle to be grasped firmly in the hand. The blade protrudes from the front of your fist. Since it’s early beginnings, the push dagger has seen different periods of popularity. 
  • Most early trench knives were made by individual soldiers or ordnance blacksmiths.These knives silently dispatched sentries or gravely wounded them. All soldiers on both sides of WWI made use of them during trench raids.The reality of trench warfare in WWI meant the soldier needed a close-combat weapon. A variety of knives or knife-like weapons filled this void during WWI. 
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, Dothan Marine Corps Examiner

Joseph graduated from Parris Island on December 17, 1981. He then went to Fort Sill, Ok for his MOS training as an 0844 (FDC). He was stationed at 29 Palms, California with 4th Battalion 11th Marines HQ Battery. He was a survey/metro-man that supported the artillery battalion. He did some forward...

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