Thank you, sir! I try to get to the point, and keep the review focused on the item. I don't like reviews that spend half the video comparing the item to something else- like if I did this review on the Mercator, but talked about how it was better/worse than a Buck 110. I'm not reviewing a Buck 110, so why should I talk about it? I prefer to tell the viewer my experiences with the item in question, and let them make up their own minds whether or not it meets their personal needs.
This is one of the most helpful reviews of this knife on RU-vid. I am so tired of people reviewing knives they have never used! Thank you for sharing the benefit of your experience with us. Much appreciated!
Swell knife, man. I got mine in an Army/Navy store in Brooklyn in 1968. I carried it while tooling around the city and in both neighborhoods I lived in, Bush Terminal and Bay Ridge. It went everywhere with me. Cost me $7. Into the mid 1970's I was on an "overalls" clothing kick. Practical attire for NYC and the K55K fit great in the ruler leg pocket of my overalls, real handy. Left the city in '88 and still own this knife. Don't carry it much anymore and the finish is gone. Served me well over the years, got me outta some scrapes. Ideal for subway carry. Had mine over fifty years. Now I'm old (70) and a S&W 36 does my protecting. Nice video of a sweet knife. My favorite lock blade, fuhgeddaboudit.
@@isaiahthekid41- a pity that its still a necessity to carry "protection" around town nowadays. You picked an excellent knife. It was very comforting to me having my Mercator with me in the old days. Be safe.
Bought my first K55K in 1963 and still have it along with three others, one of which was pruchased in early 1964. Never had to sharpen much and can shave with all four. All carbon steel.
Thanks for the comment! A good knife, taken care of properly, will not only last your lifetime, but the lifetime of your grandkids as well. I have no doubt my Mercator will be on Earth for a lot longer than I will be. But sadly, taking care of things for a lifetime is a lost art. We live in a day and age of disposable things. I can see this from just randomly looking at comments on knives and axes where people are angry because they were delivered dull or they got dull after being used. Really? No matter how sharp a new blade is, sooner or later you will have to sharpen it. And oil it. And clean it. And take care of it. Or you will be buying a new one. I have another video posted about my second favorite knife: a Puma White Hunter than I inherited from my uncle. The knife outlasted him, and I am quite certain it will also outlast my grandchildren's grandchildren.
No reason not to get one. If it turns out you don't like it then you can always sell it for close to what you paid for it. Or just keep it as a collectible historic knife design.
You're the first man that I've seen do anything on this knife that new the true qualities and advantages of this particular knife thank you sir I appreciate it Happy Holidays and to you and yours for a Happy New Year God bless
Thank you for your kind reply! Modern knives are very good, but so are some of the older designs. The K55K is a ruggedly simple design that does what it's intended to do- cut stuff. I've owned lots of knives in my time and I literally have a drawer full of various blades- but only three find themselves on my person in everyday situations: The K55K, a Schrader Imperial (for when I get dressed up nice), and a higo-no-kami that I carry in my wallet. For work I carry a Gerber multitool, but that's not exactly a knife per se, and when I go camping I either carry my Puma white hunter or a Shrade deer slayer. But honestly, at the end of the day, a knife is a very personal thing to a man and each individual should carry the knife that they like without concern for whatever anybody else thinks about it.
Been a Douk Douk guy in this kind of knife since childhood. Fantastic blades but not the most comfortable handle for prolonged use when your hands have had years of cold and wet. I got a Mercator expecting roughly the same and it isn't. Fantastic blade for what you pay and the handle is easier on the hands even though its a similar thickness to a Douk Douk. I was impressed.
Honestly speaking, none of these knives were designed to be used all day long in a working fashion. They were and are pocket knives that you would carry for convenience when you needed to do a small task. Working knives had larger wood handles and longer/thicker blades that would stand up to the stress of daily work and multiple sharpening. For what you get with the Mercator, Duk Duk, Opinel, Mora, etc is extreme value for the money. Also a bit of history in your pocket, which I like.
These are awesome knifes. Only knife I take hunting with me. Light, low profile, good quality steel. I have a lot of much more expensive knifes but this is my go to. Had one fail on me but had it replaced under warrenty no issues
You just gave all the reasons why this is the EDC, I carry the most and the longest period off all my knives. Simple, light and efficient design. Now I’m tempted to give the Case Stockman a try. But I suspect I will return back to my K55K.
It's hard to argue against a classic Case knife. An EDC knife, by definition, is "everyday carry". Often people mistake that with a "tactical" or "bushcraft" knife, but being as a kife is a tool, it's very important to pick the RIGHT tool for the job. So many choices! At the end of the day, it boils down to the knife design that is the most useful for the individual person- a person living in a city probably only needs a small pen knife, somebody living in suburbia would need a larger folder like the K55K or Stockman, and country folk would EDC something heavier and probably fixed blade. It's all subjective. What works for me may not be a good choice for somebody else. And there is the subjective attributes of a knife (color, shape, inlays, etc) that are highly individualized and don't make a knife "better" or "worse" than any other. That is why in my reviews I try to keep things focused on the how useful the item is to ME, and perhaps by sharing that it will help somebody else make an informed decision for themselves.
I know there a "better" knives out there and I don't claim the Mercator to be the superior knife of all existence, but it does fit very comfortably in the pocket to the point where I don't know it's there at all. And for me and my personal needs, that's just perfect.
Ps. I got the exact same version as you have. But I see a lot of Mercators they have the backlock standing out on where it meets the blade. Do you know why this is?
Glad to be of help! I like to have a "practical" viewpoint of things- there are a ton of "first look" videos, but what do they really tell you other than the item is nice or not out of the box? I prefer to ignore first impressions and go by how the thing actually works. In the case of the K55K, I can see why it's been so popular for so many years. It is, at the root of it all, a very good EDC knife. Bells and whistles? No. Super duper high tech features and gizmos? Also no. But how much of that stuff do we actually need vs. how much is enough for simply being useful- that's where the rubber meets the road...
I've had my eye on that one for a while now. I just haven't got around to hitting the "confirm order" button yet :) There is also a stainless steel version (but with the same carbon steel blade) that runs about $70
Yeah, the copper one is a nice piece of eye-candy to be sure. I would like to know if the copper tarnishes easily or what- I don't think I would like it if I had to constantly clean it.
I absolutely love my Black Kat. It's a great blade, very thin so an easy carry. I tend to carry it mostly in my back pocket. Very slicey blade too.Works great for food prep on my camping trips. I wasn't to sure I'd like not having a pocket clip. I know there is a clipped model, but honestly, not having one has not been an issue for me. Best of all, it's very inexpensive, so if you lose it or ding it up, not the end of the world. I can see why it has withstood the test of time. It really is a great design. Great history behind it, and I think every knife collector should have one in their collection. Kind of like the Opinel as far as historic and a "peasants" knife that every common man could afford, only better built and much more sturdy. Not knocking the Oppies, I have several of them too, but this is just a sturdier knife. I've even used it for minor bushcraft type tasks like feather sticking and notch carving. Just a great all around use knife!
Yes! It's been a while since I posted this video and I still carry the K55K everyday. I have lots of knives of all kinds and descriptions, but a few years back I seemed to always be picking up the K55K when I left the house. Sure, it's not the most perfect knife that every existed in the history of ever, but it's a solid and reliable blade that will get pretty much any average day to day job done.
bluenote ya that is a common problem with mercators buy the way your translator is very good it came out perfect what language are you translating from
It is. Good carbon steel and a great (if not better) blade shape. However, it does not lock. True, it has a great spring, but for me it has to lock. Still, if you get the smaller version Douk Douk it is, at least, UK legal.
I have only one "complaint" regarding this knife...it is a bit heavy (being all steel construction) sitting in the bottom of the pocket, compared to the many FRN handled knives with comparable blade lengths. The newer model with the pocket clip does eliminate this weight in the bottom of the pocket , but the knife sits a bit high in the pocket, exposinga goodly amount of knife handle. Truely a historical knife, belonging in anyone's collection.
@Late to the Game Great improvements that are finally under the first round of modification starting finally. My friend and I are aircraft mechanics and we have figured in Titanium for the handle with titanium flush aircraft rivets. Ditching the bail for an eyelet instead. That bail blocks the blade from closing sometimes. We figured a eyelet is a better way and we have started on a new design idea for the pocket clip we want to add. Its nothing anyone has ever seen and I ain't saying what or how it will work. So no not a single weird ideation.
Thanks for watching! I never set out to make this knife my EDC, but over time it happened to be the one that consistently lived in my pocket. It's a great knife and it continues to serve me well every day.
Thanks for the comment! I still have that very knife in my pocket right now. I use it often for day to day things. It's not a heavy duty "survival" knife, but it gets 99% of my daily jobs done.
Greasers in the 50s and 60s used to carry this knife in New York. They were cheap at the time and very easy to acquire, when cops would catch you with a knife they would most likely take it especially being in a street gang that's why there were very few stiletto switch blades around. They are also illegal in New York I believe. I find it interesting that this was the real go for knife of greasers through history despite what Hollywood would have you believe.
There's so little 3-1 on the blade that it makes no difference at all, especially when the knife is wiped down prior to cutting into food (unless you like using dirty knives). If the knife is used primarily for food, then a vegetable oil or even bacon grease can be used. Eventually the blade will get a dark and splotchy patina that will protect it from corrosion, so little oil is needed after that point. I still carry this exact knife every day, it's in my pocket right now. I hardly oil it anymore, just when I sharpen it.
I'm seeing a lot of videos of the Mercator showing the lock being flush with the back of the knife when the blade is open. However the one I just received today is not like that. The front portion of the lock closest to the blade extends well above the spine of the knife causing rubbing when holding the knife. Not a good build at all....straight in the trash for this one
The lock on mine is so hard to press, sometimes the knife just twists for the pressure and if my hand is on the blade, as it normally is because I’m going close it. I just got the knife, and it twisted twice and I sliced my thumb the first time I closed it, and almost did same thing a few more times. Is it normal for that lock to be so damned hard to press? I think I’m going return it.
@@tjsogmc thanks. The lock isn’t quite straight either, one side has rub marks other none and it’s gapped on that side, so it’s not centered...It doesn’t look so bad, but before I added oil it was really bad. It’s still not great. I’ve never had a knife lock that was the equivalent of a “nail breaker” as you sometimes find on a Swiss Army. It was like a nail breaker in reverse, if that makes sense. Of course I didn’t expect that and the first time I closed it, the knife twisted and sliced my thumb. Too bad I don’t do unboxing vids lol. There was blood dripping all over. Thanks.
Can U confirm vertical blade play? when e.g. pressing the sharp Side on some surface u can see it will have slight vertical back Play .. guess because of that locking mechanism.
Very little to none, even on my knife. I use it several times a day and over the last couple of years it's still very tight. I think this has to do with the design of the lock spring automatically taking up slack. The only movement is around the pivot pin, and it's almost negligable Truth to be told, any folding knife will have some movement in the pivot and lock area. Even the most expensive knives will develop some. It's just a result of the mechanism needing to move.
@@tjsogmc thnx 4 quick reply. The thing u have written about movement in pivot and lock area is true but does not hold for none-locking plain folders (I guess because of simpler and more robust spring construction) .. try to check vertical blade play on e.g. a DoukDouk .. there is none. Btw: great video review. Thnx alot.
I carry it in my front pocket, and no, laying sideways doesn't bother me one bit. I don't even know it's there at all no matter what position it's in. But I would think that it would depend on how tightly you wear your pants as to how comfortable it will be- I don't like wearing tight clothes, so that may make a difference.
I think it depends very much on the shape and depth of your pockets. My EDC is a Victorinox Pioneer (X) which behaves very different in different kinds of front pockets. In general, in deeper and wider pockets it feels more comfortable.
It has a spring that runs the lenth of the back of the handle and tensions the lock bar. It's a pretty standard set up for a lock back knife- you can't see the spring because of the way the handle is folded over.
@@HaraldSjellose Short answer is: yes. Every spring will lose tension sooner or later. In the end, time will catch up to everything. But how much tension is lost over how much time is the question. And for that, I can't really say. It all depends on how much you open and close the knife, and how well you keep it cleaned and oiled. I've heard of Mercators that are 60 or 70 years old that still work great, while others break in 5 or 6 years. Best answer I can give is to not worry about it too much. The knife is affordable, and if it does break, then it's really not a burden to get a new one. So far mine is two years old now and it's still just as strong as it was when I first got it.
Question #1 for Red Scorpion - I have (& really like) one of these Mercator K55K knives. In your experience, will this knife's folded over metal handle hold up to back pocket EDC carry without becoming "dented in" and harder to open from sitting on it in car, & my hardwood chairs at home? If others have some input about this, I welcome your experience. Thank you. Question #2 - Is there a way to contact video posters on this site directly? Again, for anyone to respond. I do not post videos, and wouldn't know how. I did create an account called Whittlesticks in hope of talking directly with people, but so far - no cigar. I can be reached at - treadlethreads at yahoo dot com - and welcome your experience and advice on this matter. Thanks again, Carl
After opening and closing mine a few times, mine started grinding against the lock back mechanism. Now it doesn’t spring closed like it did out of the box. Opens super stiff and Grindy. Pretty upset since I’ve only had it for 3 days
No Mustard! Quit faking the patina. Just use it and let the patina develop honestly. Faking the patina is along the same lines as claiming to be and army ranger sniper, when all you've done is play call of duty. Not the same level of B.S. but still b.s.
just because it's slim in the pocket is not good enough reason to buy it. Try cutting cardboard with it and you will find out how bad that handle really is. belongs at the museum.
