KM2000
German Army standard combat knife
title: "KM2000" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["military-knives", "post–cold-war-weapons-of-germany"] description: "German Army standard combat knife" topic_path: "history/military" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KM2000" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary German Army standard combat knife ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox weapon"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | KM2000 |
| image | Km2000-2.jpg |
| origin | Germany |
| type | Combat knife |
| is_bladed | Yes |
| wars | War in Afghanistan, United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali |
| designer | Eickhorn-Solingen GmbH |
| manufacturer | Eickhorn-Solingen GmbH |
| :: |
| name = KM2000 | image = Km2000-2.jpg | origin = Germany | type = Combat knife | is_bladed = Yes | wars = War in Afghanistan, United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali | designer = Eickhorn-Solingen GmbH | manufacturer = Eickhorn-Solingen GmbH
The **KM2000 ** () is the standard combat knife of the German Bundeswehr.
Production
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 GmbH.
Design
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/New_KM2000.jpg" caption="Westernized tantō]] blade, the ergonomic ambidextrous [[polyamide]] handle and screw."] ::
The entire knife weighs approximately 320 g. The sheath for the KM2000 is turnable, and includes an adapter to allow it to be mounted onto the MOLLE/PALS load bearing system(s).
Later revisions of the KM2000 (as of 2008) use a different stainless blade steel alloy with better edge-holding properties, X105CrMo17 or 1.4125 (440C) Böhler N695 (HRC 57).
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.
KM1000
KM2000 without blade-coating. Available with sand-colored grips and scabbards intended in desert environments like Afghanistan.
KM3000
KM2000 with a spear-point blade instead of the KM2000's westernized-tanto point. Available with sand-colored grips and scabbards intended in desert environments like Afghanistan.
Desert Command I
KM2000 variant for desert environment.
Desert Command II
KM3000 variant for desert environment.
Users
- Germany
Legacy
The KM2000 owes a lot of its fame to the fact that it is among the few (if not the only) "tantō"-style military knives actually issued in significant numbers.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::