K55K Cat Folder?

They're like Douk-Douk's, Opinels, and other inexpensive brands: they perform out of all proportion to their cost.

I had one that I found in the little basement shop of the building I lived in San Francisco. (I did maintenance for several years.) I needed a nasty beater that I could just toss when it finally died - but this one took all the abuse I heaped on it and kept going. I gave it to a member here a few years ago.

~Chris
 
davek14 said:
Got two 8-10 years ago. Great steel for the price.

Tried to destroy one at work with ridiculously hard use and it took ridiculously long to hurt it, couple years. Bent the backspring finally, took it apart, bent it back and repinned it. It's still a working knife.

Wish the tip didn't hit the plastic insert to stop blade closure.

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The pic isn't to show the repinning, I haven't done that yet in this pic. It's to show where I put a pin in for the heel of the blade to hit on closure instead of the tip.
 
Lycosa said:
Good idea.^
So the blade hits the handle when closed?
Click to expand...


Well, tip hits a plastic insert in the handle. I hate that in a knife.

Still, the steel in my 8 year old cats is a great carbon for the money. Better than Opinel and Douk Douk, I think. I can't speak to their newer stainless, or even the carbon now actually (imagine it's still good).

The Douk Douk is very similar but the "kick" at the heel of the blade hits to stop closure, as should be. I think the carbon steel is softer than a Mercator though.

Even though the Mercator has this fatal flaw, it is still a great knife. If you are gonna pin one, make a paper template of the blade to figure out where to put the pin, I've messed up on that too by winging it.
 
I vaguely recall reading that someone jammed a small piece of wood in the handle so that it would come in contact with the kick and prevent the blade from hitting the handle on close.
 
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