MK2.1 Desert Warfare

The restyling of a classical, a tribute to a veteran, one of the most distributed and used knives during World War II: MARK 2. It was produced in many versions by historical US knives manufacturers but always following the original specs given by the U.S. NAVY. It is the preferred tool among traditionalists who only trust “battle tested" knives. Throughout the years several manufacturers have tried to restyle this knife with little success. It is in fact the original model which is still favoured in the main catalogues.

Extrema Ratio’s aim, in this ambitious project, is to keep the original characteristics while developing only functional changes to increase performance. Cobalt reinforced stainless steel is used for the blade, AISI 303 and AISI 304 are used for the other components. The rounded leather handle has been replaced with a fibre glass reinforced nylon handle. The ergonomics of the original knife has been left intact while all structural parts have been oversized to obtain a sturdy versatile knife.

The most important changes have been made to solve the so called “weak spots” of the original version.
1. it is now possible to disassemble the knife in the field without the need of tools;
2. the Bowie shape was straightened for easy sharpening;
3. the grooves in the “barrel” shaped handle help to find proper blade direction even in dark conditions
4. the same grooves improve the grip during twisting movements

Other small modifications were to add holes on the back tang to add a lanyard and on the front guard to tie the blade on a pole to be used as a spear. For purely aesthetical reasons the traditional blood groove has been replaced with the typical Extrema Ratio “side groove”. The original knife was perfect and no other modifications were needed.

The new Desert Warfare version comes with a special HCS coyote sheath specifically developed for SOF units.

Details:
Length: 30.8 cm
Blade length: 18 cm
Blade thickness: 6.3 mm
Weight: 390 g

Blade material: N690 (58HRC)
Handle material: Nylon reinforced with fibreglass
Desert Warfare design