KM2000
Encyclopedia
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
, mostly used by the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
. The knife is manufactured in Germany by the Eickhorn-Solingen company (aka "Original Eickhorn").
The knife is produced according to NATO regulations by the German company Eickhorn-Solingen Ltd. The assembly consists of three components: the laser cut
Laser cutting
Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to cut materials, and is typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, but is also starting to be used by schools, small businesses and hobbyists. Laser cutting works by directing the output of a high-power laser, by computer, at the...
172 mm Black Kalgard coated, forged 440A stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
Westernized tanto blade, the ergonomic ambidextrous polyamide
Polyamide
A polyamide is a polymer containing monomers of amides joined by peptide bonds. They can occur both naturally and artificially, examples being proteins, such as wool and silk, and can be made artificially through step-growth polymerization or solid-phase synthesis, examples being nylons, aramids,...
handle and screw. The entire knife weighs approximately 320 grams. The sheath for the KM2000 is turnable, and includes an adapter to allow it to be mounted onto the MOLLE
MOLLE (military)
MOLLE |female name]]) is an acronym for MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It is used to define the current generation of load-bearing equipment and rucksacks utilized by the United States armed forces, especially the United States Army, and its use is also growing in the British Army in...
/PALS
Pouch Attachment Ladder System
The Pouch Attachment Ladder System or PALS is a grid of webbing invented and patented by United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center used to attach smaller equipment onto load-bearing platforms, such as vests and backpacks...
load bearing system(s).
The KM2000 owes a lot of its fame to the fact that it is among the rare (if not the only) "tantō
Tanto
A is one of the traditional Japanese swords that were worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The tantō dates to the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ornate...
"-style military knife actually issued in significant numbers.
Based on the popularity of the design, the company 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-steel alloy with better edge-holding properties, Böhler N695 (HRC 57). Additionally, the company 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.
It is interesting to note that most of these variations are not actually issued in the German Army.
