The Mercator K55K is a type of

pocketknife A pocketknife is a knife with one or more blades that fold into the handle. They are also known as jackknives (jack-knife), folding knives, or may be referred to as a penknife, though a penknife may also be a specific kind of pocketknife. A ty ...

produced in Germany since around 1867. Mercator knives were primarily produced by Hy. Kauffmann, which was operational from 1856 to 1995. The Mercator K55K knife is still produced in Germany by Mercator, now a division of Otter-Messer.

Construction

The Mercator K55K is of very simple construction: The handle consists of a folded piece of

sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes. Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...

, usually painted black, engraved with the outline of a leaping cat and the legend "K55K", with the second "K" being backwards. The blade has a nail-nick by which it may be grasped to pull it open, and it locks in the open position (a lockback knife), after which it may only be closed by depressing a lever at the back of the knife. As of 2013, the knife can be purchased with a stainless steel or carbon steel blade. The Mercator's construction is similar to that of the later appeared French Douk-Douk knife, in terms of the simple folded-metal handle. However, the Douk-Douk is a slipjoint knife, whereas the K55K is a lockback knife and has a different blade geometry. The designation "K55K" with the inversed second K is a code for the original producer's main office in

Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366 ...

and the knife model designation. The correct code deciphering according to the website of the current manufacturer would be: "K" for "Kaufmann" (the name of the original producer), "55" for "Hochstraße 55" (the address of the original company residence in Solingen, Germany), and the inversed second "K" (for "Katze" which translates to "cat" - the knife's main emblem).OTTER-Messer Mercator 10-426rg K
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History

This knife gained popularity in the United States following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, as returning servicemen brought Mercator knives home from Germany. Though some believe that the Mercator K55K was issued to German troops, no evidence of this exists. However, it is probable that many German soldiers privately purchased these knives for their own use. The Mercator knife also found some popularity with delinquent youths, and by the mid-1960s the "K55K" or "K55" was described as the "weapon of choice among the older teenagers of the South Bronx."

External links

Official site

References

{{reflist Products introduced in 1867 Goods manufactured in Germany Pocket knives