KM2000
The KM2000 is the standard combat knife of the German Bundeswehr.
Production
The knife is manufactured in Germany by the Eickhorn-Solingen company.The knife is produced according to NATO regulations by the German company Eickhorn-Solingen GmbH.
Design
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. The sheath for the KM2000 is turnable, and includes an adapter to allow it to be mounted onto the MOLLE/PALS load bearing system.
Later revisions of the KM2000 use a different stainless blade steel alloy with better edge-holding properties, X105CrMo17 or 1.4125 (440C) Böhler N695.
Apart from the hard polyamide sheath, a special leather sheath is available from Eickhorn.
The newer version of the 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 and a lanyard hole.
The scabbard is MOLLE and IDZ military vest compatible.
Variants
Based on the popularity of the design, Eickhorn has developed the line-up introducing many variations in shape, material used, colors.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.