HOME BOXES INTRODUCTION BROWN BOX WHITE BOX ORANGE FLAP BOX SMALL ORANGE FLAP BOX ORANGE SLIDE BOX TALL ORANGE SLIDE BOX BLISTER PACK BLUE BOX BLACK BOX WOOD BOX BOX LABELS

Copyright ©2008 by John T. Sabol

BOXES INTRODUCTION

The boxes presented here are organized in order of introduction. Each box can be accessed from the active buttons above. For each box, a small thumbnail picture is shown. By clicking on the thumbnail, you can access a high-resolution picture of the box. With a couple of exceptions, I have not attempted to give an approximate serial number range for each box type for several reasons. First, I do not have a sufficient number of examples. Second, there are periods when several types of boxes were in use. Third, owners oftentimes switch boxes, which really confuses the issue. Listed below are all the boxes/packaging used for Mark II knives that I am aware of:

BROWN BOX

The Brown Box is the first Gerber Mark II box used in quantity. It is constructed of ordinary brown corrugated cardboard sealed with reinforced Kraft tape. The box measures 14-1/2 x 3-1/4 x 2-1/4 inches (LxWxH). It is a two part, "telescope from the end" type design with the outer portion a square hollow tube into which the inner portion is inserted. Unlike any of the later boxes, it doubled as a shipping box. Typically they contained tissue paper, a plastic bag and knife order form or brochure. The Brown Box was used from the start of production in 1967 to sometime in 1975.

WHITE BOX

The White Box was the second Gerber Mark II box used in quantity. It is constructed of white corrugated cardboard and measures 15 x 3-1/4 x 1-5/8 inches (LxWxH). It is a folded, single piece, clamshell design that has tabs on the lid to keep the box closed. The top of the box had a small label affixed which identified the knife/sheath and, on the early labels, the price. Although of heavy construction, the White Boxes weren't used as shipping boxes. All the White Boxes contained a plastic bag and a knife brochure. Boxes up to early 1979 contained tissue paper while later boxes contained a piece of soft gray foam. The White Box was used between 1975 and sometime in the later part of 1980.

ORANGE FLAP BOX

The Orange Flap box was the third Gerber Mark II box used in quantity. It is constructed of thin, white, non-corrugated cardboard and measures 14-5/8 x 3-1/4 x 1-3/4 inches (LxWxH). It is a two piece, "telescope from the end" design. The inner box has a hinged flap printed in a design similar to the outer box and with a message and signature of Pete Gerber. The Orange Flap Boxes contained a plastic bag, a piece of soft gray or white foam and a knife brochure. The Orange Flap Box was used between mid 1980 and mid 1984.

SMALL ORANGE FLAP BOX

The Small Orange Flap box was used for only a short period of time. It is similar to the Orange Flap Box but it somewhat smaller being 1-5/8 inches shorter and 1/2 inch narrower. It is constructed of thin, white, non-corrugated cardboard and measures 13 x 2-3/4 x 1-3/4 inches (LxWxH). It is a two piece, "telescope from the end" design. The inner box has a hinged flap printed in a design similar to the outer box and with a message and signature of Pete Gerber. The Small Orange Flap Boxes contained a plastic bag, a piece of soft gray or white foam and a knife brochure. I have only encountered two of the Small Orange Flap Boxes. Both had the small red "New Cordura Sheath" tag and were 1985 knives D2318S and D2370S.

ORANGE SLIDE BOX

The Orange Slide Box was the forth Gerber Mark II box used in quantity. It is constructed of thin, white, non-corrugated cardboard and measures 14-5/8 x 3-1/4 x 1-3/4 inches (LxWxH). It is a two piece, "telescope from the end" design. This is basically the same design as the Orange Flap Box but the inner box lacks the hinged flap. The Orange Slide Boxes contained a plastic bag, a piece of soft gray or white foam and a knife brochure. The Orange Slide Box was used between mid 1984 and sometime in 1989.

TALL ORANGE SLIDE BOX

The Tall Orange Slide box was used in the 1989-1990 time period. It is similar to the Orange Slide Box but it is 1-1/2 inches shorter, 1/4 inch narrower and 5/8 of an inch taller. It is constructed of thin, white, non-corrugated cardboard and measures 13-1/8 x 3 x 2-3/8 inches (LxWxH). It is a two piece, "telescope from the end" design. The Tall Orange Slide Boxes contained a plastic bag and a knife brochure. I have only encountered three of the Tall Orange Slide Boxes all in the 1989-1990 time period. All contained the C3 or C3S Cordura sheaths. They are a 1990 knife S/N I1257S and 1989 and 1990 Cutlery Shoppe knives S/N CS0006 and CS0248. The 1990 CS0248 box is Fiskars marked while the other two boxes are not.

BLISTER PACK

Photo: eBay 2/2006

For a period of time in the early 1990's, Gerber packaged their knives in plastic blister packs. There are two versions of these packs. One has a light brown cardboard insert with a message, signature and picture of Pete Gerber in the bottom right corner, and the second has a red, white and blue U.S. Flag theme cardboard insert. They contain either the Cordura C3 sheath with Bianchi Fastener or the C4 without fastener. It isn't possible to determine the serial number of a blister packed knife without cutting it open since the serial number side of the blade is face down against the enclosed cardboard insert and can't be read. The only light brown example I saw was unopened and contained a non-serrated blade. I'm not sure if this is the earlier of the two versions or if the different cardboard inserts were used to distinguish the non-serrated from the serrated knives. Both the BA5 black blade and BA6 satin finish blade were sold in the Red/White/Blue Blister Pack as can be seen by the two model numbers present at the upper left corner of the photo. The only two serial numbers I have a record of, in this type blister pack, is a 1992 BA6 satin blade knife S/N K1376S and a 1993 BA5 black blade knife S/N K8254S. The pack shown in the photo was not opened as I felt it would detract from its collector value.

BLUE BOX

The Blue Box was the last Gerber Mark II box used in quantity. It is constructed of thin, non-corrugated cardboard and measures 13 x 2-3/4 x 2-1/4 inches (LxWxH). It is formed from a single piece, folded and glued. It has a tabbed end flap on both ends. Although constructed of the same thickness of cardboard as the Orange Boxes, it is a single wall box and extremely flimsy. It is rare to find a box without the end flaps partially torn. The Blue Boxes contained a plastic bag and a white knife warranty sheet. The Blue Box was used between 1990 and the end of production. They were also used to package some of the non-electroetched 20th. Anniversary Mark II knives that I believe were sold through the Cutlery Shoppe.

BLACK BOX

The Black Box was used for all the Mark II Anniversary and Limited Edition knives. It is constructed of non-corrugated cardboard covered with black paper. It measures 16-1/2 x 6-1/2 x 1-3/4 inches (LxWxH). It is of a double piece, "telescoping top lid" design. The Black Boxes were used to package the following knives: 1) The 20th. Anniversary Mark II issue in 1986. 2) The 35th. Anniversary Mark II issue in 2001. 3) The Mark II 2002 Limited Edition issue in 2002. 4) The A.G. Russell Limited Edition issue in 2002. The Black Box contains a molded plastic insert with recesses into which the knife and sheath are fitted. The insert has a red (20th. and 35th. Anniversary) or teal colored (the Mark II 2002 and A.G. Russell Limited Edition) simulated velvet finish. All the boxes have a small square Certificate of Authenticity (COA). The 20th. Anniversary Mark II also has a large "Mark II History" card as well as a plastic bag enclosing the sheath.

WOOD BOX

Wood boxes were used for two types of Gerber Mark II knives. A Wood Box was used for all the President's Collection Mark II and Mark I paired knives. It is constructed of walnut. The two halves are hinged at the rear. The knife rests on felt lining the inside of the top and bottom pieces. L-shaped hooks help to keep the knives in position. Some have "Gerber Legendary Blades" burned into the bottom surface of the box. A Wood Box was used for all the AHF (American Historical Foundation) Vietnam Tribute Mark II knives. The box is constructed of two solid pieces of mahogany and measures 12-3/4 x 4 x 1-3/8 inches (LxWxH). The two pieces are hinged at the rear and have a hook hasp at the front to maintain closure. The knife rests in a cavity hollowed out on the inside of the top and bottom pieces.

BOX LABELS

The box labels presented here are organized by box type. Note that the wood boxes have no labels. However the wood boxes have COA's which are discussed in the BROCHURES/PAPERS section. I have not attempted to give an approximate serial number range for each label because I do not have a sufficient number of examples. Listed below are all the labels used for Mark II knives that I am aware of:

Yellow Dive - No S/N

S/N 050009	S/N 059253	S/N 063617

S/N 068722	S/N 087925	S/N 096118

Presentation S/N 003405

S/N 095379	S/N 111094	S/N B2221T

S/N B6892S	S/N D2370S	S/N E2741S

S/N I1257S	S/N J1529S	S/N CS0248

Presentation S/N 004369

20th. Anniv. No-etch S/N XX4825	S/N I8698S	S/N J1723S

S/N N3417S	S/N CS1610	S/N CS1567 Plain Brown Box

S/N 011057	S/N A00408	S/N Z00075

S/N XX1159