MercWorx’s Latalis

R

rmc85

Joined
Nov 27, 2008
Messages
1,619
I ended up doing pretty well for Christmas and was gifted a BM Rift, BM 710, and a Latalis. Honestly I've never seen anything about the Latalis in the past so I come here with questions.

1. Am I smoking crack or did my brother just GIVE me a $350 knife?
2. Any help with links to BF threads about this knife would be great.
3. What the reputation of this knife and MercWorx?

After EXTENSIVELY deploying the auto for the past few hours I can say this...

Pros

I'm really liking the blade shape because it seems like it will be great for any role from puncturing things to being a real slicer. The ergos on this knife are sweet. I think out of all my knives the shape and size of the scales fits my hands the best. The blade really gets flung out when you press the button and the lockup is pretty darn good. The Ti pocket clip and the CPM S30V are also things that make this knife great. The thumb ramp and jimping are in a really useful place and allow for solid thumb placement.

Cons

Tip down only carry and the blade is DULL! I cant believe how dull the blade came. Its no where near shaving hair and doesnt even come close to slicing paper (ripping would be the proper term).

Sorry for the crappy pics. I just wanted to get some quick and dirty ones.

P1090443.jpg

P1090442.jpg

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The slice (rip) up front is from the Latalis and the rear slice is from the 710.

P1090448.jpg
 
Can't answer any of your questions, but wanted to say you had yourself a pretty good Christmas! Three bad blades. Lucky!
 
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth".

Nice gifts and I think the MercWorx Latalis autos were in the sub-$200 range.
 
You smokin' crack AGAIN! Told you time after time, "crack and knives don't go together!";):)
 
One of the few other reviews I've read of MercWorx said the blade was dull too. Maybe take it to a professional sharpener?
 
Taking anything to a "professional sharpener" is taking a chance on some guy you don't know trashing your knife. It has happened. Be sure you get recommendations, and ask to see his work. He may do a great job on lawnmower blades, but never worked on a high-end folder before.

Your best bet is to learn to sharpen on old kitchen knives, cheap Moras, and eventually on decent folders before you try your skills on anything expensive.

It's not hard to learn. Check out our Maintenance, Tinkering and Embellishment forum.
 
orthogonal1 said:
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth".

Nice gifts and I think the MercWorx Latalis autos were in the sub-$200 range.
Click to expand...

Like I said I dont know anything about this knife so google is my friend. You cant help seeing prices when you are trying to research something on google. From the first results I found the Latalis sells for $300-350 and that shocked me because this is the nicest Christmas present my brother has ever given me. It makes me wish I had got him more than the Scrapper 5 and sheath I gave him. I wasn't trying to put a dollar amount on this knife when I started searching. Had he gifted me a Endura, Grip, Leek, ect, ect I would have never looked online because I know who makes those knives and I am familiar with them.


James0723 said:
One of the few other reviews I've read of MercWorx said the blade was dull too. Maybe take it to a professional sharpener?
Click to expand...

I'm with Esav on this one. I dont even know of a place that sharpens knives around town and I'm sure my Sharpmaker will do just fine.

After a few mins on my Sharpmaker the Latalis will be shaving without a problem.
 
go to maintenance & tinkering they really have fantastic info on sharpening. if you have a? they answer immediately. however esav is correct about learning on utility blades since much or this is hands on experience.
 
My very first post.

I had the exact same complaint about my MW Latalis and, even knowing how to sharpen S30V, I had a hard time on this recurved blade. I sent an email to Mercworx and asked if they would resharpen my Latalis. Yes, they replied. Send it in and we will sharpen the blade, polish the blade to a new finish and check over the entire knife for me. The only request from Mercworx was to include $10 to cover return Shipping and Handling.

I am sure that you would gladly pay a little fee to ship it to them and pay $10to get it back. Insure it for $300.00 and get Delivery Confirmation from whomever you use to ship.

The Latalis seems to have been discontinued but sold for $250 to $300 depending on the dealer.

Life is too short to drink bad wine.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Taking anything to a "professional sharpener" is taking a chance on some guy you don't know trashing your knife. It has happened. Be sure you get recommendations, and ask to see his work. He may do a great job on lawnmower blades, but never worked on a high-end folder before.

Your best bet is to learn to sharpen on old kitchen knives, cheap Moras, and eventually on decent folders before you try your skills on anything expensive.

It's not hard to learn. Check out our Maintenance, Tinkering and Embellishment forum.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It happened to me. I took a fixed blade (Muela Cazorla, 440C steel, brass guard, leather sheath, etc) to have it buffed (lots of scratches) and they ruined it. They rounded all the transition, screwed the brass guard and also the engraving... Never again. I don't allow anyone with sharpenning gear arround my blades. Well, maybe only if he is skilled, makes his own knives or is a knifenut... that kind of gives you some guarantee he is going to care them as much as you.
Mikel
 
the mercworx latalis was actually a $350 knife when first introduced. It dropped to 250 when on closeout from various vendors. Its a quality piece but is a little dull from the factory, especially the tip. Its toted as a handmade knife but dont be fooled its a milled blade. Its nice but was an overpriced auto. Many of them had some bladeplay issues and a weak lock. With a decent edge and a little tuning though its a handsome blade that you will get alot of years out of. And i echo previous remarks about having it "professionally" sharpened. I made that mistake once and got my half serrated knife back in a plain edge form. Im not even sure if i would want mercworx doing it as they didnt do a great job to begin with. I would really try learning sharpening yourself its rewarding and worth it.
 
Well it took a while, but the Sharpmaker prevailed and its now shaving arm hair.
 
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