Post WW2 Mercater K55K “Black Cat” Lockback Knife by ICEL

Here on offer is an unusual post WW2 Mercater K55K “Black Cat” lockback knife that was made by the famous Portuguese knife maker ICEL.

My understanding is that the Mercator K55K knife has been produced in Germany since around 1867.
They were mainly produced by HY Kauffmann, who where operational from 1856 to 1995.

The Mercator K55K knife is still made today in Germany by Mercator, now a division of Otter-Messer.

The Mercator K55K knife is actually made from a simple but effective construction:

The grip consists of a folded and riveted piece of sheet metal that was painted black and stamped with the image of a leaping cat and the legend "K55K", with the second "K" being shown reversed.

This I believe can be interpreted as follows:
The first "K" is for "Kaufmann", being the name of the original producer.
The "55" is for "Hochstraße 55", the address of the original company residence in Solingen, Germany.
Finally the reversed second "K" is for "Katze" which translates to "cat" - the knife's main emblem.

The steel blade has a nail-nick by which it may be grasped to pull it open and it locks in the open position, after which it may only be closed by depressing the lever at the back of the knife.

The blade still locks firmly into place with no wobble, just like the day it was made.

This knife gained popularity in the United States following WW2, 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 "K55K" or "K55" knife was described as the weapon of choice among the older teenagers of the US South Bronx in the 1960’s.

This example is an unusual variation as it was actually made by ICEL.



ICEL was born from a small family workshop created during the 1940’s, by three brothers in which carbon steel was forged and they made agricultural and kitchen cutlery items.

This workshop was located in Ribafria, a small village near Benedita in Portugal.
In the beginning, the product range consisted of pocket knives (K55K’s) and a few totally hand made knives.

By 1945 the small workshop had 25 employees and the decision was taken to establish a company called Indústria de Cutelarias da Estremadura, Lda. from which the first brand name ICEL was formed.

Now the knife itself has lost all the original black paint that would have been on the grip and there are some areas of light pitting to the bare steel.

The front has the famous leaping cat and K55K logo stamped on the front side.
The steel blade is in excellent condition and has much of the original cross graining remaining. There is some light pitting towards the tip on the reverse and some very light scratch marks. The single cutting edge is still sharp and doesn’t look like it has been sharpened.
The ricasso on the front is stamped with the maker’s brand, ICEL.

The blade measures 3.7” (9.1cm) long and the knife when fully open measures 7.9” (20cm).

It weighs 80g.

This is an opportunity to obtain an unusual maker version of the famous K55K knife. A real collectors piece,

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

Please see my TERMS OF BUSINESS regarding Deliver Charges and Insurance regarding additional insurance cover, should you require it, BEFORE the item is dispatched.

The responsibility lies with the customer to check with your Customs restrictions that this item can be imported into your country.

Code: 50550