Hi folks,
I thought that maybe a review of two classic (old-fashioned
) German folding knives, made and bought in Germany's "blade city" Solingen, would be of interest to you
The top knife is a Mercator knife from the company OTTER-Messer GmbH in Solingen (www.otter-messer.de). The design of the knife goes way back to 1867 and has remained almost unchanged since then. It was already used by soldiers of the German Emperor Wilhelm II.
It's a lock-back knife with a 9 cm (3.5") long and 2.5 mm thick drop-point blade out of C75 carbon steel and 20 cm (8") overall length. The handle is an iron mono block construction with black varnish. My version also a gold-coloured stamping of a cat and the type number "K55K".
It is not a sophisticated knife and the fit and finish is quite rustic. However, it's thin profile (6.5 mm thick) and light weight makes it easy and comfortable to carry in your pocket. The steel of the tapered blade is great and takes a very fine and very sharp edge.
It's a classic and priced at around 20 EUR IMO you get great value for your money. It now lives in my working jeans front pocket when Im working on my little farm or being outside with the dogs, horses or sheep.
The second knife (at the bottom) is a slip-joint "Barlow knife" from the company Friedrich Olbertz GmbH (www.pocketknives.de), also located in Solingen and almost next door to OTTER-Messer. It has a 7 cm (2.8") long and 2 mm thick (at the base but strongly tapered towards the tip) clip-point carbon steel blade. The overall length is 16 cm (6.3"). The handle has palisander scales and nickel silver bolster. Also here the fit and finish isnt perfect. When I visited them in Solingen I picked the knife I liked best (concentrating on a strong spring and centred blade) and all of them hat small imperfections. But Im more than happy to live with them, especially for the unbelievable price of around 25 EUR!
What can I say: I just love it and it has displaced the SAK as my non-farm EDC knife. The thin and shaving sharp blade cuts paper, apples, sausages, etc. and is always ready for more . And I think its a beauty too.
Both companies are small, family-run businesses, manufacturing their knives for some generations in Solingen. I like it that there are still some of these companies around and that the old and amiable tradition of knife-making in Germany still exists (and no, Im not in any way connected to them or get money or rebates for promoting them!).
Thanks for looking
Jörg
I thought that maybe a review of two classic (old-fashioned
) German folding knives, made and bought in Germany's "blade city" Solingen, would be of interest to you
The top knife is a Mercator knife from the company OTTER-Messer GmbH in Solingen (www.otter-messer.de). The design of the knife goes way back to 1867 and has remained almost unchanged since then. It was already used by soldiers of the German Emperor Wilhelm II.
It's a lock-back knife with a 9 cm (3.5") long and 2.5 mm thick drop-point blade out of C75 carbon steel and 20 cm (8") overall length. The handle is an iron mono block construction with black varnish. My version also a gold-coloured stamping of a cat and the type number "K55K".
It is not a sophisticated knife and the fit and finish is quite rustic. However, it's thin profile (6.5 mm thick) and light weight makes it easy and comfortable to carry in your pocket. The steel of the tapered blade is great and takes a very fine and very sharp edge.
It's a classic and priced at around 20 EUR IMO you get great value for your money. It now lives in my working jeans front pocket when Im working on my little farm or being outside with the dogs, horses or sheep
.The second knife (at the bottom) is a slip-joint "Barlow knife" from the company Friedrich Olbertz GmbH (www.pocketknives.de), also located in Solingen and almost next door to OTTER-Messer. It has a 7 cm (2.8") long and 2 mm thick (at the base but strongly tapered towards the tip) clip-point carbon steel blade. The overall length is 16 cm (6.3"). The handle has palisander scales and nickel silver bolster. Also here the fit and finish isnt perfect. When I visited them in Solingen I picked the knife I liked best (concentrating on a strong spring and centred blade) and all of them hat small imperfections. But Im more than happy to live with them, especially for the unbelievable price of around 25 EUR
!What can I say: I just love it
and it has displaced the SAK as my non-farm EDC knife. The thin and shaving sharp blade cuts paper, apples, sausages, etc. and is always ready for more . And I think its a beauty too. Both companies are small, family-run businesses, manufacturing their knives for some generations in Solingen. I like it that there are still some of these companies around and that the old and amiable tradition of knife-making in Germany still exists (and no, Im not in any way connected to them or get money or rebates for promoting them!).
Thanks for looking
Jörg
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