The Combat Knife is a fighting knife designed solely for military use and primarily intended for hand-to-hand or close combat fighting.
Since the end of trench warfare, most military combat knives have been secondarily designed for utility use (clearing foliage, chopping branches for cover, opening ammunition crates, etc.) in addition to their original role as close-quarter combat weapons, and may be referred to as "fighting-utility knives". On the other hand, military knives that are intended primarily for use in a role other than combat are typically referred to by their primary role, such as "utility knife" or "survival knife".
In Mortal Kombat
Within the series, many characters have used Combat Knives in their arsenal. Kano is notorious for using an assortment of knives throughout his appearances in the series, ranging from Butterfly Knives, Bowie knives, Throwing Knives, Elbow Blades and Boot Blades. In Mortal Kombat 11, Kano's knives are referred to as Shanks and are part of his Gear and can be customized in the game's Kustomization.
Characters have also used Combat Knives within other aspects of the series, such as during cutscenes in their respective game's Story Modes but never in actual gameplay.
In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Deathstroke uses a Combat Knife has one of his primary weapons in addition to his arsenal of deadly weapons.
Many of the guest characters in the series have also utilized Combat Knives in one way or another;
Jason Voorhees will remove a Combat Knife from his next during one of his Arcade interaction in Mortal Kombat X, but never in gameplay. With the introduction of his Nightmare Character Card in Mortal Kombat Mobile, he actually uses the knife in his neck. Performing his Special Attack 2 twice causes him to throw the blade away and change the properties of the Special Attack in the process.
In Mortal Kombat 11, guest characters The Joker and Rambo utilize Combat Knives. The Joker's use of the knife is limited, however as he only uses it during one of his Intros and during a Brutality while Rambo uses his during a majority of his gameplay.