The LHR Combat Knife from Gerber is the brainchild of Army combatives program inventor Matt Larsen. He realized that there wasn’t a knife and sheath combo on the market that would allow soldiers to fight effectively in close quarters.
THE LHR, named for the knife’s fathers, Matt Larsen, Bill Harsey and Chris Reeve, addresses two shortcomings in most current knife setups. First, the sheath has a special weapons retention thumb release for quick drawing while preventing an enemy from drawing the knife. Second, the blade design should be long enough to get under body armor and punch up into the important parts of your opponent while the 3/16″ thickness, maintained halfway down the length of the blade, will keep the blade intact even if abused.
The photo shows the prototype, though the blade and handle material haven’t been chosen. The cost will end up between $150 and $200 and should hit the street in July 2009. Here is a video of Matt Larsen describing the use and design of the knife.
