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Why a fine polished finish? Nearly all coatings have a way of wearing off during harsh use. While a bead blasted finish is subdued it is more difficult to clean, and has a greater tendency to rust, due to the microscopic pits that are caused by the process. Remember that "stainless steel" means "stain less", not "stain free". A slightly polished finish, though more expensive to produce, makes cleaning salt water etc a minimal chore, and darkening a blade on those occasions where non reflectivity is critical is easily done, and easily cleaned off. In Sudan, where portable radio communication among troops is almost non-existent, the SPLA prefer a bright finish because it can be deliberately used as a signal mirror, and in a 19 year guerrilla war that has cost over two million lives and has evinced an unprecedented use of edged weapons in a "modern war," their commanders cannot cite a single instance where a soldier was compromised as a result of reflection from his blade. When a Mercworx blade is handcrafted, it is in fact brought up to a fine mirror finish, so it can be easily inspected for any surface scratches or flaws in the overall finish in the metal. Then, it is brought down to a beautiful "satin finish" (if your blade is scratched up in the field, you can restore this pewter finish yourself by simply hand rubbing your blade lengthwise with a 3M Light Duty Scotch Bright 6448 Pad, it only takes a moment or two). This process is laborious and time-consuming, but commensurate with the Mercworx goal to provide you with top quality, hand made combat blades at a very reasonable price point. It ís for these reasons that Mercworx designers opted for the more expensive satin finish. When a dark, non-reflective blade is a must, it ís a common practice for operators to spray-paint their blades, just as they do their load bearing gear in order to camouflage it to their particular surroundings (any sniper will tell you that all-terrain camo is a fantasy). Are Mercworx knives handmade? Yes. Each Mercworx knife is handmade from start to finish by a single knife maker. Does the same knife maker make all Mercworx knives? No. There are several Mercworx Knife makers, each very skilled and experienced, and all dedicated to Mercworx' same uncompromising high standards of quality. Keep watching this sight, as their names will be posted very shortly. Why a smooth handle? One of the timeless conundrums faced by knife makers has been whether to craft smooth handles, in order to better serve the user who spends countless hours with his knife in hand, using it as a daily working tool, or providing a sure grip handle that provides tacky retention in the hand during a life or death encounter, when slippery palms due to body fluids are virtually a given. Mercworx demanding clientele are insistent in their desire to have both of these sterling qualities in a single handle, necessitating considerable time and energy being put into designing a handle that is smooth in the hand, like a good, well worn tool, but ergonomically contoured to provide a sure grip in wet and hurried conditions. Additionally, a Mercworx handle is purpose designed to eliminate the possibility of any fluids absorbing into the handle material, behind the scales or underneath the guard. TOP Why have a radius thumb stop instead of a traditional ninety degree-angle guard? The entire grip area has been carefully thought out, up to and including the radius thumb stop style integral top hilt, which in conjunction with the ergonomics of the silhouette and scales, allow for a comfortable and serviceable grip. Should the wielder opt for an extended saber grip, he will be able to do so comfortably, by pressing his thumb along the stop, which will allow him to cant the knife forward so that his blade extends along the same centerline as his forearm, thus providing him greater thrusting reach, and making the blade feel like an extension of his forearm. When you invert your Mercworx Knife in an ice-pick grip, the thumb stop fits the hand much more comfortably and naturally than a traditional style guard, which juts out at a 90 degree angle, instead of contouring to fit the edge of your bottom-fist like our thumb stop does. Why a flared tip? The tip flares in order to cut flesh, arteries, etc, upon penetration, in order to create a larger more devastating wound channel. This is essentially the same principle behind a hollow point or semi-wad cutter bullet design, which cuts a wide swath through flesh, rather than an FMJ bullet, which has a greater tendency to push highly elastic tissue and arteries out of the way, leaving a significantly attenuated permanent wound cavity. At the same time, tip strength is crucial to a rugged tactical knife, and because the blade is hollow ground, Mercworx Knives maintain a .25î median thickness up the point taper, so that they have excellent lateral strength for prying duties. TOP Why a recurve? A recurve on a blade maximizes its useable edge surface area, while enhancing its performance when utilized in a draw or snap cut type motion. Particularly on the Equatorian and Sniper, the recurve affords both blade designs enough forward weight to provide superb chopping characteristics, while adding a shearing affect to any chopping or slashing motion, which maximizes the depth of each stroke. How are the Micarta scales attached? The process is two-fold. First, the tang and scales are primed, and then attached with a silicon based adhesive product. The reason epoxy products are not used, is they are vulnerable to freeze/fracture, which is an issue for an operator on a HALO or HAHO op. Unlike epoxy, the silicon based adhesive contracts as he jumps out into the freezing upper atmosphere, and expands as he rapidly drops to warmer climes. The second part of the attachment process involves flared metal tubing in the drill holes. These are a redundant backup system, which also provide holes for a lanyard or lashing to a pole for a makeshift pike or spear. Why so much land area? The land, or flat area on the sides of the blades, makes for a heavier blade for chopping, and much stronger blade for prying. TOP Why no "working choil"? The benefits of a large working choil have always been nebulous at best. Our designersí goals were to engineer blades with as much working, or cutting surface as possible. A double-edged recurved blade with minimal choil area does just that. The idea of "choking up on the choil for maximum control" may sound good, but if you think about it, why not make the handle (which is purpose-designed as a gripping device) closer to the blade, and just "choke up" on that? Although it ís a bit more difficult to grind the cutting edge closer to guard/handle Mercworx feels this is the best way to provide you with as much useable edge surface for the overall knife-length as possible. Feedback from our users has overwhelmingly agreed. The minimal choil on a Mercworx knife is only there to raise the grind line, and give you a better sharpening angle. Why a hollow grind? Again, although this is a more expensive process, the hollow grind provides for an edge that is easier to resharpen, and chops better without "wedging" like a flat ground blade has a tendency to do. Of course, it also allows for the substantial "land" area that you see on a Mercworx Knife, which provides great prying strength, and superb aesthetics. Further, Mercworx knives are hollow ground "beyond peak" which gives you an optimal angle for a strong, sharp edge. TOP How can the price be kept so reasonable for a large, hand ground, custom finished blade? One of the reasons is that our custom makers are making one particular model at a given time. This makes them faster than if they were making one or two of a certain style, and then switching to another. Also, unlike most other custom makers, Mercworx craftsmen don't have to spend large amounts of their time on the phone talking with potential buyers, they are free to do what they do best; make superb quality tactical knives. Why use 154CM as your knife steel? 154CM is an excellent, tried and true, field tested stainless steel, well suited to knife making. Rugged in the extreme, it has earned an enviable reputation as the ideal steel for a hard use tactical/field knife. Although Hitachís ATS-34 is essentially identical in itís characteristics to 154CM, we use 154CM because it's an American product. Thank you for your questions, and if you have any more questions of your own, please don't hesitate to call us at (908) 619-1013, or e-mail us at info@mercworx.com. Customer service is our top priority, and our time is your time. TOP |