COPIES/CLONES OF THE GERBER MARK II™ KNIFE

HOME

COPIES INTRODUCTION

VALOR COPY

TEXAS WILDCAT II COPY

AUSTRALIAN COPYS

COPIES/CLONES INTRODUCTION

It is said "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." If this is so, the Gerber Mark II has been flattered numerous times.

It is a testament to the popularity of the Gerber Mark II, that at least six copies/clones have been made. In this section, info on the copies can be accessed from the active buttons above.

For each copy, one or more small thumbnail pictures are shown. By clicking on a thumbnail, you can access a high-resolution picture of the knife.

VALOR COPY

The Valor "SUPER SPORT SURVIVAL KNIFE" is probably the best quality Mark II copy made. The Valor was manufactured in Japan during the 70's for the Valor Corporation of Miami, Fla. The 440 stainless steel blade has the wide wasp blade profile with 8 teeth-per-inch serrations on a two-inch section on both blade edges. The black diecast aluminum handle is almost identical to that of the Mark II.

The Valor knives are not serial numbered. The blades have a brushed finish and are electro-etched with "VALOR / MIAMI, U.S.A." on one side of the blade ricasso and "440 STAINLESS" / "JAPAN 408" on the opposite side of the ricasso.

The Valor was sold with a black leather sheath that is very similar to the Mark II presentation sheaths that have the square tip and belt loop. The sheath is unmarked.

PARKER COPY

The Parker "BIG SMOKEY SURVIVAL/COMBAT KNIFE" copy was one of the Eagle Brand knives from Japan, manufactured sometime between 1976-1984 for the Parker Cutlery Company of Chattanooga, TN. The surgical steel blade has the straight blade profile with 8 teeth-per-inch serrations on a two-inch section on both blade edges. The diecast aluminum handle is very similar to the Gerber Mark II handle. The difference is in the shape of the guard with the Parker having a more rounded guard with tapered tips. The handles are painted dark gray and most show some grind marks and other minor imperfections on the handle surface.

The Parker knives are not serial numbered. The blades are of a better quality than the handles, have a brushed finish and are electro-etched with an arched "PARKER - BROTHERS" over the Eagle Brand logo, over "SURGICAL STEEL" / "MADE IN JAPAN" on one side of the blade ricasso. The opposite side of the ricasso is blank.

Earlier knives had two large banners with the words "BIG SMOKEY" / "TOOTHPICK" in black electro-etch on the blade. Later knives were not so marked.

The Parker was sold with a black leather sheath that is very similar to the Mark II pointed tip sheaths with military belt hanger. The early sheaths had the extended tab for the leg tie. Later sheaths do not have the tab but have 2 holes near the sheath tip through which the leg tie is threaded. The sheath is unmarked.

NOTE: Except for the electro-etching, the Parker knives and sheaths are identical to the Explorer Survival II knives and sheaths.

EARLY PARKER COPY

Photo: Dustin Donner

I received information from Dustin Donner about a very early Parker knife he bought as a boy. It is probably one of the earliest fixed blade Eagle Brand knives.

The blade is similar to the above "BIG SMOKEY SURVIVAL/COMBAT KNIFE" copy having a surgical steel blade with brushed finish and is electro-etched with "PARKER" over the Eagle Brand logo, over "SURGICAL STEEL" over "JAPAN" on one side of the blade ricasso. The opposite side of the ricasso is blank. The knives are not serial numbered.

The blade has the same straight blade profile with 8 teeth-per-inch serrations but only on a one-inch section on both blade edges instead of the later 2 inches of serrations.

The handle however is much different. The handle material is a very hard rubber that does not wear easily. It has a hole through the handle and a metal extension similar to John Ek knives at the butt. Not sure if this is a full tang blade as there is no metal showing on the inside of the handle hole.

The Early Parker knives were sold with a black leather sheath that is very similar to the Mark II pointed tip sheaths with military belt hanger. The sheaths do not have the extended tab for the leg tie but have 2 holes near the sheath tip through which the leg tie is threaded. The sheath is unmarked.

EXPLORER II COPY

The "EXPLORER SURVIVAL II KNIFE" copy was one of the Edge Mark Brand knives from Japan, manufactured for the Gutmann Cutlery Company, Inc. of Mt. Vernon, NY.

The 440 stainless steel blade has the straight blade profile with 8 teeth-per-inch serrations on a two-inch section on both blade edges. The diecast aluminum handle is very similar to the Gerber Mark II handle. The difference is in the shape of the guard with the Explorer having a more rounded guard with tapered tips. The handles are painted dark gray and most show some grind marks and other minor imperfections on the handle surface.

The Explorer Survival II knives are not serial numbered. The blades are of a better quality than the handles, have a brushed finish and have a large electro-etched "EXPLORER / SURVIVAL II" on the blade as well as "440 STAINLESS / 21-041 JAPAN" on one side of the blade ricasso. The opposite side of the ricasso is blank.

The Explorer Survival II was sold with a black leather sheath that is very similar to the Mark II pointed tip sheaths with military belt hanger. The early sheaths had the extended tab for the leg tie. Later sheaths do not have the tab but have 2 holes near the sheath tip through which the leg tie is threaded. The sheaths are unmarked.

Earlier boxes were marked "EXPLORER MILITARY MARK II SURVIVAL KNIFE". Later boxes are marked "EXPLORER SURVIVAL II KNIFE". The knife title change may have been made because of Gerber registering "MARK II" as their trademark. NOTE: Except for the electro-etching, the Explorer Survival II knives and sheaths are identical to the Parker knives and sheaths.

EXPLORER MM-IV COPY

The "EXPLORER MILITARY MARK IV SURVIVAL KNIFE" copy was another of the Edge Mark Brand knives from Japan, manufactured for the Gutmann Cutlery Company, Inc. of Mt. Vernon, NY.

The 440 stainless steel blade has the straight blade profile with 8 teeth-per-inch serrations on a two-inch section on both blade edges and is blued. The diecast aluminum handle is very similar to the Gerber Mark II handle. The difference is in the shape of the guard with the Explorer MM-IV having a more rounded guard with tapered tips. The handles are painted black and most show some grind marks and other minor imperfections on the handle surface.

The Explorer MM-IV knives are not serial numbered. The blades are of a better quality than the handles, have a brushed finish which is blued and are marked "EXPLORER / MM-IV" on one side of the blade ricasso and "21-042 / JAPAN" on the opposite side of the ricasso.

The Explorer MM-IV was sold with a black leather sheath that is very similar to the Mark II pointed tip sheaths with military belt hanger. The early sheaths had the extended tab for the leg tie. Later sheaths do not have the tab but have 2 holes near the sheath tip through which the leg tie is threaded. The sheaths are unmarked.

NOTE: Except for the blued blade, ricasso marking and black handle the Explorer MM-IV knives and sheaths are identical to the Explorer Survival II and Parker knives and sheaths.

TEXAS WILDCAT II COPY

Photo: eBay dahoon

Photo: eBay 1/2006

The "TEXAS WILDCAT II" copy was another of the knives imported from Japan, for Compass Industries, Inc. The knife was last sold by Compass about 1989.

The 440 stainless steel blade has the straight blade profile with 8 teeth-per-inch serrations on a two-inch section on both blade edges. The diecast aluminum handle is very similar to the Gerber Mark II handle. The difference is in the shape of the guard with the Texas Wildcat II having a guard with flattened sides and tapered tips. The handles are painted gray.

The Texas Wildcat II knives are not serial numbered. The blades have a brushed finish and have a large electro-etched "TEXAS WILDCAT II" in script lettering on the blade as well as "C.I." / "440 STAINLESS" / "537 JAPAN" on one side of the blade ricasso. The opposite side of the ricasso is blank.

The Texas Wildcat II was sold with a black leather sheath that is very similar to the Mark II pointed tip sheaths with military belt hanger. The sheaths have the extended tab for the leg tie. The sheaths are unmarked.

AUSTRALIAN SHELHAM COPY

Photo: eBay 7/2008

This item was auctioned on ebay in 2008. From the collection of a knife dealer who was involved in trades with several armies and armed forces; According to him this knife had been submitted to a military contract but rejected by the Australian army because of its high price.

Since the 1980's, Shelham (Sheldon & Hammond) has supplied the Australian Military Forces with a three blade stainless steel clasp knife. However their military knives are broad arrow marked. Possibly Shelham attempted to get a military contract for this type knife, however this knife has the EXCALIBUR marking which is used for many of the Shelham civilian retail knives.

The 440C stainless steel blade has a wasp blade profile with 8 teeth-per-inch serrations on a two-inch section on both blade edges. But the blade is slightly thicker than the Gerber blade at 6.5mm (0.256 inches). The diecast aluminum handle seems identical to the Gerber Mark II handle. The handles are painted black.

The Australian Shelham knives are not serial numbered. The blades have a brushed finish and have a large etched "EXCALIBUR" / "SURVIVAL" on one side of the blade flat between the serrations. The same side is marked "SHELHAM" / "4178" / "AUSTRALIA" on the ricasso. The opposite side ricasso is marked "440C STAINLESS" / "MADE IN JAPAN".

This example came with a Gerber C4 type sheath.

Photo: Ian Grayden

I received some new information about these knives from Ian Grayden in Australia, Ian is the author of http://www.australianmilitaryknives.com. He purchased a Shelham marked Mark II clone in the 1980's that is identical with the above photos except instead of the EXCALIBUR / SURVIVAL marking it is EXPLORER / SURVIVAL marked. The bottom three pictures are of his knife which he still uses to this day.

What I now suspect is the story about how "the knife had been submitted to a military contract but rejected....." is just that, "a story". The more likely explanation is that Shelham ordered several versions from the Gutmann Cutlery Company, possibly at different times, but specifying the knives were to be marked with the "SHELHAM" / "4178" / "AUSTRALIA" marking.

Photo: Laith Brookes

I received more information about these knives from Laith Brookes in Australia. He remembers purchasing his knife as a teenager from an Army Surplus store - possibly the Wellington Street store - in Perth, Western Australia. His knife is identical with the first knife above and has the EXCALIBUR / SURVIVAL marking. The knife is shown with the original sheath.

Photo: Dave Elliott

There is another ricasso marking on these knives. I received the information from from Dave Elliott in Australia. He purchased the knife in Ipswich Queensland around 1982 whilst serving in the Royal Australian Air Force. His knife is marked "SHELHAM" / "HI-STAINLESS" / "JAPAN" The knife is shown with the original sheath.