Mercworx's knife designer

[Frotier76]

Years ago I decided to squeeze the trigger and acquire an old folder by Mercworx.A former dealer had the Clotho model (smallest from the Three Fates Series).I couldn't help but ask the guy 'who makes these designs'?You have to admit there's a lot of shrouded mystery behind the identity of the designer of Mercworx for many years.

That dealer swore up and down the knives are designed by a man named Mike Irie.I looked up Mike's custom knives by himself and there's a lot of identity between his design and Mercworx really in models and identical big bellied spear point.Though the existence of Mercworx and him selling his own knives is a mystery.I'm curious if Mike Irie's stuff was sold as a Mercworx product (co-owner maybe) and decided to branch out on his own or what.

 

[RBid]

It’s common for designers to sell designs. For example, the Olamic Wayfarer (original) was designed by Mike Vagnino, produced and sold by Olamic. Mike still designs and produces customs on his own.

There are endless examples.

 

[The Whip]

Years ago I decided to squeeze the trigger and acquire an old folder by Mercworx.A former dealer had the Clotho model (smallest from the Three Fates Series).I couldn't help but ask the guy 'who makes these designs'?You have to admit there's a lot of shrouded mystery behind the identity of the designer of Mercworx for many years.


That dealer swore up and down the knives are designed by a man named Mike Irie.I looked up Mike's custom knives by himself and there's a lot of identity between his design and Mercworx really in models and identical big bellied spear point.Though the existence of Mercworx and him selling his own knives is a mystery.I'm curious if Mike Irie's stuff was sold as a Mercworx product (co-owner maybe) and decided to branch out on his own or what.

Yes, knife maker Mike Irie is the primary maker for MercWorx. I confirmed this with him at Blade Show this year. He only grinds and makes knives for the company, however. MercWorx is run by someone else. Mike Irie as a custom maker pre-dates MercWorx by many, many years.


He told me that he makes all of the fixed blades currently (not sure if that was true from the company's inception). He also ground the blades for many of the folders over the years (particularly the Latalis, but he didn't construct the Latalis). As for the Three Fates folders, Mr. Irie didn't know specifically who constructed them, but I think you'll find the work of custom maker Alex Shunnarah worth examining. His A.R.S. BG-42-bladed titanium folders even came in three different sizes....


For what it's worth, I love MercWorx knives. I think they're some of the most beautiful, well constructed "production" knives (if you can even call them that) out there. I wish the company would start offering folders again.


-Steve

 

[SpySmasher]

A bit off-topic but some interesting info about Mike Irie: his father-in-law was the late, great knifemaker Barry Woods. Mike apprenticed under Barry and later in Barry's life, the two co-produced knives.

 

[Frotier76]

Yes, knife maker Mike Irie is the primary maker for MercWorx. I confirmed this with him at Blade Show this year. He only grinds and makes knives for the company, however. MercWorx is run by someone else. Mike Irie as a custom maker pre-dates MercWorx by many, many years.


He told me that he makes all of the fixed blades currently (not sure if that was true from the company's inception). He also ground the blades for many of the folders over the years (particularly the Latalis), but he didn't construct the Latalis. As for the Three Fates folders, Mr. Irie didn't know specifically who constructed them, but I think you'll find the work of custom maker Alex Shunnarah worth examining. His A.R.S. BG-42-bladed titanium folders even came in three different sizes....


For what it's worth, I love MercWorx knives. I think they're some of the most beautiful, well constructed "production" knives (if you can even call them that) out there. I wish the company would start offering folders again.


Nigel Taylor if the owner of Mercworx...but most likely Nigel and a small staff do the assembly/parts work.As far as Alex Shunnarah's offering I think his stuff came out not long after the Three Fate Series was discontinued and ARS's 'models' were made from remaining inventory.Shortly put they scooped off the swelling at the handle front from the original design so Alex's contracted offering wasn't completely copying the Three Fates design signature of Mercworx.Rehashed as a 'new design'Alex etched his company's name on the blade and pawn it off as his own.Even the blade bottom serial# approach of ARS and same stamp font indicates it's a Mercworx blade.Here's the problem...

I feel like I 'semi' owe an apology to Alex Shunnarah regarding my experience with his 'Large Utility Folder'(a relabeled/slightly modified Atropos) , the edge work and blade machining issue which falls back on Mercworx.Unfortunately this might be a topic on the occasional QC issue I've heard about on Mercworx many years ago regarding in their folders.With the experience I had on the ARS model conjures up that story but my Clotho doesn't...(shrugging shoulders).So it's a question if Alex Shunnarah machined the blade base or not.Where that apology thought goes out the window is if I contracted another company to produce knives for me and putting my logo/company name on it, and I was flipping them for $400 and not checking them on QC ? you really gotta take shrapnel for any backlash that occurs.

 

[The Whip]

Frotier76, you know more about Alex Shunnarah's brief interaction with MercWorx than I do. What you said jibes with something Mike Irie mentioned when I asked asked him about Shunnarah. He said that he wasn't sure, but he thought Shunnarah had purchased leftover parts from MercWorx. It sounds like that's exactly what happened. I mistakenly thought Shunnarah had supplied MercWorx.


I should have known better. Like you, I purchased two of Mr. Shunnarah's A.R.S. Large Utility Folders, thinking that I was getting custom versions of the Atropos. They were both so poorly constructed that I returned them (something I almost never do). To his credit, Mr. Shunnarah called me and wanted to re-fit/refurbish them to make them right. But I didn't think he could accomplish it without basically remaking the knives, and I didn't think it worth the effort and wait. He said he'd recently hired shop help and was still training the new employee(s) in quality control. Regardless, I couldn't get over the fact that the knives had gone out the door in the condition they were in.


You said, based on your same experience, that you might assign some of the blame for the substandard A.R.S. construction to poor quality parts, as supplied by MercWorx? Hmmm. All I know is that I've never held a MercWorx knife that was anything less than immaculate, including several Three Fates models. Now that I know that Alex Shunnarah didn't make knives for MercWorx, it explains a lot. But we're still left without an answer as to who made the Three Fates (assuming that Mike Irie supplied the blades).


-Steve

 

[Frotier76]

Frotier76, you know more about Alex Shunnarah's brief interaction with MercWorx than I do. What you said jibes with something Mike Irie mentioned when I asked asked him about Shunnarah. He said that he wasn't sure, but he thought Shunnarah had purchased leftover parts from MercWorx. It sounds like that's exactly what happened. I mistakenly thought Shunnarah had supplied MercWorx.


I should have known better. Like you, I purchased two of Mr. Shunnarah's A.R.S. Large Utility Folders, thinking that I was getting custom versions of the Atropos. They were both so poorly constructed that I returned them (something I almost never do). To his credit, Mr. Shunnarah called me and wanted to re-fit/refurbish them to make them right. But I didn't think he could accomplish it without basically remaking the knives, and I didn't think it worth the effort and wait. He said he'd recently hired shop help and was still training the new employee(s) in quality control. Regardless, I couldn't get over the fact that the knives had gone out the door in the condition they were in.


You said, based on your same experience, that you might assign some of the blame for the substandard A.R.S. construction to poor quality parts, as supplied by MercWorx? Hmmm. All I know is that I've never held a MercWorx knife that was anything less than immaculate, including several Three Fates models. Now that I know that Alex Shunnarah didn't make knives for MercWorx, it explains a lot. But we're still left without an answer as to who made the Three Fates (assuming that Mike Irie supplied the blades).


-Steve

Regarding the handle design of the Three Fates line, most likely Nigel Taylor of Mercworx designed them.Now on the ARS model I was more or less emphasizing on my dissatisfaction towards the blade only.Everything was well finished on mine save for the edgework on the blade and the contact grind at the blade base for the liner lock... who was responsible for that..ARS or Mercworx?an answer I'll never get.

Just a gut feeling but I don't think this transaction went well between these two.Alex eager to buy up the inventory of the discontinued Three Fates knife parts and blades.The money probably sounded great for Mercworx...but they probably became suspicious of Alex's intentions.The scooping out of the front swell was most likely Mercworx's doing and mandatory in the transaction.Something to make sure Alex wasn't going to be a legal liability and flip clones under the ARS name.

It makes a lot of sense why Alex didn't just offer to replace yours and mine with problem free ones...he was too cheap to eat the cost.