The Mighty Mercator Pocketknife

C

coote

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Apr 3, 2006
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When I was growing up, the only lockback knives I really knew about were the simple Mercator folders made in Germany. My buddies and I considered them to be the ultimate bit of pocket cutlery. Trappers used them to skin possums, pighunters stuck pigs with them and when I was a fitter I used one for all sorts of questionable operations.

Several times I used one to cut a hole through sheet metal by driving it through with a hammer. It was also just the thing to ream the burr off the end of copper pipe that had been cut with a hacksaw.

I think I may have broken a couple of blades with rough treatment. The steel held an excellent edge.

The big disadvantage was that they would quickly wear a hole in your pocket.

When I first started buying them, they probably cost around two or three dollars. I recall going to one old hardware store and seeing a small box of them and they were priced at only 95 cents each!!! I should have bought them all. I think you can pay up to about NZ$40 for a new Mercator now. There are copies of course.... but I don't know what they are like.

I was delighted to be given a new one (pictured) recently when I was helping a newly widowed woman tidy up her house.

An old farmer neighbour of mine was going for a journey in an aeroplane a short time ago. As he got near the metal detector he realized that he had his trusty Mercator in his pocket. With characteristic boldness he slipped it into his shoe and walked through the detector without making a "ding" or raising any eyebrows.

Mercator.jpg
 
Those things are great!

I too recall them in stores for about a dollar U.S. in about the 1960's. I had one up until about 10 years ago when it finally was just worn out. It had a thin flat ground blade of decent carbon steel that got scary sharp, and actually held it for a decent time.

Those things were like the old air cooled VW bugs, one of the good things that are now gone. I wish I'd bought more!
 
Coote - I saw the title and thought "that must be another kiwi" :)

I've never owned one, but see them around all the time and at the local House of Knives for around $40. I might pick one up one day for the collection...

They sure have been around for a while - apparently some guy sells a whole heap of them at the local Field Days.
 
I see them quite often on ebay for about $20.00 US. I've always thought they were neat.
 
Isn't the lock release bar in the middle of the grip?? or am I missing something...
 
I was intrigued from previous posts (and struck by its looks) to get one. It carries well due to its flatness, it has an honest spear point. It discolors when used for food due to the carbon steel. Lock up seems very tight. How does it compare in sharpness to other more modern stainless steels like VG-10?
 
Daniel: The lock release bar on every Mercator I have seen (as far as I remember) is the same as in the picture....ie, not in the middle. Maybe some of the lookalike knives have the release in slightly different place.

Ultraman: I don't know much about VG-10, but to me the genuine Mercator steel is what I would compare other knives to. It is very good stuff in my opinion.
 
I have always loved the way those knives looked. I recently saw them in an Atlanta Cutlery catalog for 20 bucks and ordered one, and I have to say it's one of the best knives I've ever had. The thing looked a bit rough when I got it, but I didnt expect it to be a safe queen. The knife takes a razor edge and keeps it, the lock is strong and a very cool design, and the knife has a whole lot of character.

Now if I can only get it back from my brother!:p
 
coote:
I can understand how this can be a benchmark, it's a great design.

I'm also kind of struck at its clean lines. From what I've read it can withstand hard use and will last along time
 
I am surprised that some of mine lasted as long as they did. Like I said above, I have used them to make holes through galvanised sheet metal. Typically we would be working on air conditioning ducting, or a corrugated iron roof and we would need a hole through it. The hole would be marked, but instead of going to the trouble of running out an extension lead and setting up an electric hole saw, my Mercator would be called upon. The Mercator would be driven, point first, into the steel sheet. It would then be
'batoned' with a steel hammer to make a cut in maybe the form of a triangle or an "X" so that tinsnips could be inserted to cut the hole to size. I think I busted a couple of blades, but oddly enough I don't think it was while I was doing the sheet metal surgery... I think it might have been when I was using it as a pry bar. It is quite a while ago now.

Ah yes... I think it is coming back to me.... here's a story for you...

I was hunting wild goats. I had a single-barrelled 12 gauge shotgun, some Brenneke rifled slugs, and some smaller shot, probably number four.

I saw a goat quartering towards me (or was it away from me) and I shot it. The goat was hit but wasn't dead. It had been shot fairly seriously through nearly the whole length of its body. But goats around here are notorious for needing lots of lead sometimes. I got really close and gave it a load of number four shot. But it was still moving a bit. At this stage I should mention that I probably wasn't welcome in the area I was hunting in, and I was reluctant to make more noise than I had to (OK, I was just a young kid... I have more sense now). Anyway, the goat was past running away or attacking me, so I pulled out my Mercator to finish it off. I cut its throat but it was still moving, so I tried to break the neck using my Mercator to pry at the vertebrae. That is when I snapped the end off the blade. So I picked up a big rock and clubbed it. Skinning and butchering with a broken blade isn't the easiest of tasks.

Gosh... that story seems a bit bloodthirsty... and I'm not really like that. I love to hunt... but I do it with respect (nowadays anyway), and nothing is killed without a decent purpose.

I would have probably used the Mercator knives a whole lot more if they weren't so hard on my pockets. The modern plastic folders with nice rounded edges are much better from that point of view... but I bet they wouldn't last long being driven through 24 gauge galvanised steel.
 
interesting tale coot,

i recall seeing one or two of those mercators when i was a kid in the the 80s,
my dad actualy had one that he must have brougth with him from germany,


i recall there was a small shop in dargaville that had them still,
they had a hole heap of old sheffield knives also,

yeah the goats in n.z. are tough buggers, i remember the son of a farmer that lived in the area shot a wild billygoat with a 410 slug and instead of dieing it charged him and butted him in the chest and broke his hand !!
dont know how close he was when he shot it :)
 
hope ya guys dont mind me jumpin in? after reading this thread you guys got me wanting a mercators. I wonder if a private knife maker offerd it with there personal touch to it would it take off...?
 
That sounds like a nice idea that might work. Not sure if you mean changing something like the steel, or maybe adding a nice artistic design on the flat handle, or a clip.

In any case, as long as its specific virtues are retained (tough, cheap, flat/easily carried), it should be good. Right now, though, it seems to have gone up in price (so it's not as cheap as before), but if that's what it takes to keep the original Mercator company to produce them, that's fine with me!
 
I really dig Mercators,think I paid 6.99 about 10 years ago and wouldn't be worried about cutting anything with it.
As mentioned,they take a really sharp edge and for the price,even now,they are ,IMO, unbeatable.

Doug
 
Daniel L said:
Isn't the lock release bar in the middle of the grip?? or am I missing something...
Click to expand...
Yeah, it is, but if you use a saber grip, your thumb is in front of the lock bar, not on it. Even in a hammer grip, the lock bar is very stiff, and unlikely to disengage just from pressure from that soft fleshy part of your palm.
 
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