MI319 Miscellaneous Bundeswehr Military West German Field Army Fixed Blade. This knife helped to serve and protect West German soldiers at the East German border during the Cold War. 10 1/4" overall. 5 5/8" stainless blade. OD green checkered composition handles. Black finish steel guard. OD green metal belt scabbard with leather trim. Brand Miscellaneous Blade Material stainless
HISTORY:
West German Bundeswehr Taschenmesser. Officially these are the West German Bundeswehr Taschenmesser but more commonly called "G.A.K." for German Army Knife.
The knife is produced according to NATO regulations by the German company Eickhorn-Solingen Ltd. The assembly consists of three components: the laser cut 172 mm Black Kalgard coated, forged X55CrMo14 or 1.4110 (440A) stainless steel Westernized tantō blade, the ergonomic ambidextrous polyamide handle and screw. The entire knife weighs approximately 320 grams (11 oz). The sheath for the KM2000 is turnable, and includes an adapter to allow it to be mounted onto the MOLLE/PALS load bearing system(s).
The KM2000 owes a lot of its fame to the fact that it is among the few (if not the only) "tantō"-style military knives actually issued in significant numbers.
New Model of KM2000
Based on the popularity of the design, Eickhorn has developed the line-up introducing many variations in shape, material used, colours. Later revisions of the KM2000 (as of 2008) use a different stainless blade steel alloy with better edge-holding properties, X105CrMo17 or 1.4125 (440C) Böhler N695 (HRC 57). Additionally, Eickhorn has introduced several new variants, like the KM1000 without a blade-coating, and the KM3000 with a spear-point blade instead of the KM2000's westernized-tanto point. The latter two are also being produced with sand-colored grips and scabbards intended in desert environments like Afghanistan. The newer version of KM2000 with improved Bohler N695 steel blade also has variants for desert environment and is named as Desert Command I knife, same is for KM3000 as well. Apart from hard polyamide sheath, a special leather sheath is available from Eickhorn. Models other than KM2000 are also introduced by Eickhorn such as Para-Commando, KM5000, FS knife etc. Most of these variations are not actually issued in the German Army. The newer version of KM2000 has a modified tip for greater strength and stability while thrusting and prying windows and containers open. The blade of both models has two versions: plain and partially serrated. The serrations are used for cutting ropes and fabric fibers for survival techniques. The scabbard has a strip of diamond sharpener used for field sharpening of the knife. The handle end has a glass breaker tip which is actually the end of the knife blade tang. The handle end also has a lanyard hole. The scabbard is MOLLE and IDZ military vest compatible.