Mercator K55K Nahkämpfer

Comments · 94

• KN

  @KnifeChatswithTobias · 1 year ago (edited) · pinned

  I would like to thank everybody who pointed out the that Kaufmann translates &nbsp;is one of many words that translates to Mercator. &nbsp;I will make a correction in a later video on the topic.<br><br>Were they issued. Maybe, maybe not but I lean towards likely but not as standard item; more likely as substitute standard.<br><br>At the beginning of WWII the US Army put out calls for large hunting knives and pocket knives that fit a very broad category. Bulk purchases were made &nbsp;and &nbsp;soldiers received a wide variety of knives. &nbsp; Any knife was better than no knife. &nbsp; I assume the same thing happened in Germany. &nbsp; After all we know of a similar event during WWII when German soldiers encountered the their first Russian Winter and the German government requisitioned a wide variety of winter clothing to meet the needs of the soldiers. This was a case of a one and done purchase and the specifics concerning the types of coats, gloves, and boots is not clearly detailed. &nbsp;Still later, German soldiers were issued camouflage uniforms that used Italian material in the Italian camouflage pattern. It is safe to assume that if the German Army had a standard pocket knife for issue, they would grab what was available. &nbsp;Sometimes official records are less detailed than we expect or have been lost to ravages of time.

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• RO

  @robertbenton1444 · 1 year ago

  When I was a teenager you could buy them at the army surplus store for under $5, they were great knives

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• TH

  @ThreenaddiesRexMegistus · 1 year ago

  I’ve carried these boy and man for 55 years. They’re awesome! Great steel and you hardly notice them in your pocket. &nbsp;Safer than the DoukDouk too. &nbsp;First thing to do is lay the edge back, then you’ve got a razor.👍🏻🙂

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• WH

  @whitetail7516 · 1 year ago

  I bought my first kaufmann at an auction for $2.50, they&apos;re good thin and light weight. Thank for sharing.

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• BR

  @brittakriep2938 · 1 year ago

  Kaufmann is in latin Mercator, the company owner simply translated his name into latin..Was in Renaissance era a common thing, to translate your german name into latin or greek. For example current german minister of defence is a Mr. Pistorius. Pistor(ius) means in german Bäcker, baker in english. Now i wrote Kaufmann, but the factory owner Kauffmann. Up to 1873 , when Standard German was created by german , austrian and swiss scientists, and introduced by the three countries, you could write your name, as you wanted, but after 1873 you no more could change writing of your name, so many german family names have variations. Bäcker, Becker, Bekker, Beck, Bäck- Schmied ( smith),Schmid, Schmidt, Schmitz, Schmitt- Mayer, Meyer, Maier, Meier, Majer, Meyr, Mayr, Mair, Meir.

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• BL

  @blueeyeswhitedragon9839 · 1 year ago

  I put a add-on thumb stud for one hand opening (no modification required) and I found the knife much more likely to be carried. Their brass and stainless models are also available.<br>P.S. Paul Mears of bushcraft fame had a special run of these knives done for his followers of bushcraft skills. He gave this knife top honors for a pocket, foldable bushcraft knife. The only difference from the regular knives was that &quot;his&quot; knives were painted green.

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• JO

  @JoseGonzalez-yx6vm · 1 year ago

  Sort of like a utility blade knife in its time, thanks for sharing it, Tobias.

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• JE

  @jeffslaven · 1 year ago

  One of my favorite knives! &nbsp;Such a rich history!

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• BD

  @bdh3949 · 1 year ago

  I&apos;ve seen these around but never popped for one. Cool history surrounds this knife as it does for so many knives. Thanks for bringing the facts and speculations about this version to our attention Tobias.

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• MR

  @Mr_Obvious · 1 year ago (edited)

  I lik I have one and I carry it fairly often. I&apos;m a Sodbuster fan, and to me, it reminds me of a locking Sodbuster.e the K55&apos;s. The blades more of a spear point, but it&apos;s still a &nbsp;single blade with a full size locking blade. Right up my alley. Not a true Sodbuster pattern for sure, but I really enjoy using it regardless.Still &nbsp;Inexpensive if you go with the regular black version, and made with the common man in mind, as was the Sodbuster and Opinel, which I also carry fairly often.

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• HL

  @hleeky · 1 year ago

  i always get such great historical contexts for some of my knives. thank you!

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• CM

  @cmd2four · 1 year ago

  Nice review on a great knife. <br>For the money it&apos;s a simple but sturdy and easy-to-maintain pocket friend. <br>Interesting that Mercator is Latin for merchant, and the original makers last name Kaufmann in German also means merchant.

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