A very brief history of Gerber knives:



In 1938, David Murphy, a Portland blacksmith, made kitchen knives in his spare time, selling them around town. One of his customers was the sprinting shop and advertising agency of Joseph Gerber. Joseph loved the knives, but felt he could improve upon the sales approach. The two men came to an arrangement, and Gerber knives was born. Murphy made the knives, Gerber took them, packaged them in a wooden case purchased from Ace Woodworking, and handled promotion, marketing, and finance of the knives.



Skipping forward to 1966, the USA was deeply involved in the Vietnam war. Gerber decided to become involved by selling fighting knives directly to the troops in Southeast Asia, and the Mark II was born.



Over the years, Gerber has become an incubator for the knife industry, starting many people on their way to designing and manufacturing knives.