Expected release Expected release date is Aug 1st 2026
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MERINO DM
The knife you'll actually carry.
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MERINO DM
- SKU:
- 202017-IPG
Merino Line · The Story
You remember the day you bought
your first real knife.
Better steel than anything you'd carried before. A locking mechanism so smooth it felt engineered rather than assembled. The fit and finish of something made by people who cared. You put it in your pocket that first morning feeling like you'd finally got it right.
By the end of the day, it had scratched the side of your hand three times and made getting your wallet out an act of negotiation. You moved it to your back pocket. That lasted until you tried to sit in a car for forty minutes. The clip left marks on the chair at work. You started taking it out when you got in the car and dropping it in the cup holder — just temporarily — and then forgetting it there.
The calculation had quietly shifted: the awkwardness of not having a knife was easier to live with than the awkwardness of carrying that one.
The knife didn't fail you.
The carry failed you.
And you still needed a knife.
The Conviction
The Merino Conviction
Carry first.
Everything else follows.
Most of the EDC industry optimizes for capability and then asks you to make peace with the carry. More features, better steel, tighter tolerances — all of it real, all of it valuable, none of it useful on the days the knife is in the cup holder.
MERINO starts from the other end. Every dimension, every material choice, every mechanism is held against one question before anything else: will you actually have this with you? Not on the days you remember. Every day.
Why Merino?
No business
being this good.
Merino wool has no business being as good as it is. Light enough to forget you're wearing it. Warm enough for the mountains. Tough enough to last decades. It doesn't announce itself. It doesn't ask anything of you.
That's the standard. Not a tool that performs when you manage to bring it. A tool so right to carry that bringing it stops being a decision.
The Merino DM
You've made the
compromise before.
You carried the small knife because it was easy — light, slim, no thought required. And then you needed to cut something that actually mattered and the blade was too short, the handle too narrow, your grip a negotiation between your fingers and the knife's willingness to be held. You got through it. You always get through it. But you noticed.
Or you went the other direction. Carried something with real capability — enough blade, enough handle, a knife that felt like a tool instead of a concession. And then you crossed a state line and had to think about it. Left it behind before a flight and forgot to pick it back up. Felt the quiet weight of carrying something that might be a problem in the wrong room.
Either way, you chose. Capability or carry. Enough knife or no trouble. The industry built those as two categories and told you to pick one.
The MERINO DM is the refusal to pick.
Most knife restrictions begin at three inches. The DM sits just under that threshold — the largest blade you can carry unrestricted in virtually every jurisdiction. Not a millimeter wasted. Not a millimeter over. That tenth of an inch is a design decision that took longer than most companies spend on an entire knife.
Decisions, Not Features
Every spec is a choice made for a reason. The reason is always about the person carrying it.
| Spec | Value | The Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Blade Steel | CPM S35VN Cryo heat treated |
The same steel as the MM — because the DM isn't a different philosophy, it's the same one applied to a longer blade. Premium stainless that holds an edge through real work without becoming brittle. |
| HRC Hardness | 60–62 | Where S35VN performs at its best. Hard enough to hold an edge through real work, soft enough to sharpen on the equipment most people already own. |
| Blade Length | 2.9" | The largest blade legally carriable in virtually every jurisdiction. Not a millimeter wasted. Not a millimeter over. |
| Blade Type | Clip Point | The classic profile for a reason. A controlled point for precise tip work, a curved belly for slicing, and a spine that gives you something to push against when you need it. |
| Blade Grind | Flat | A clean grind from spine to edge. Slices through material with less resistance than hollow or sabre alternatives, and re-sharpens to the same geometry every time. |
| Weight | 2.4 oz | More capable than the MM without crossing the threshold where you start leaving it behind. Carries below the level of awareness after the first hour. |
| Thickness | 0.38" | Sits flat in a front pocket. Doesn't announce itself. A longer blade and fuller handle — none of it at the expense of the carry. |
| Handle | Machined G10 Full grip |
Room for your whole hand. The DM fits your full hand — so the blade can do the work without asking your grip to compensate for what the handle can't reach. |
| Lock | Ambidextrous Bar Lock | A 2.9" blade doing real work requires a lock you trust completely. Holds open with authority. Releases cleanly with one thumb — left or right. |
| Lock Strength | 700–1,000 lbf | Tested past anything a folding knife will encounter in real use. The lock holds because the geometry is right, not because we asked it to. |
| Deploy | Kick Deploy One-hand open/close |
Smooth, repeatable, one-handed — refined for the DM's longer profile. Operates with a partial grip so your other hand stays on whatever it's holding. |
| Pivot Bearing | Steel Thrust Bearing | Hardened steel races with a captive bearing cage at the pivot. Smooth from the first deploy, smooth after a thousand cycles. Cleans with compressed air, lubes with a single drop of oil. |
| Pocket Clip | Deep Carry Fully Reversible |
Disappears below the pocket line. On a longer knife, this matters more, not less. |
| Finish | Titanium Nitride | Hard, low-friction coating that reduces drag on the draw and holds up to daily use. |
In the Field
What Owners Say
Real owners, unedited.
The Maker
Beren McKay
Founder, Pepperwool
15 years in professional knife design
Beren McKay spent fifteen years building products at the highest level of the industry — including leading the team that turned SOG into a brand worth caring about. When new ownership took it in a different direction, he didn't find another company. He built the right one from scratch. Self-funded it entirely. Took three years to get it right. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Read his full storyMore from Pepperwool
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MERINO LINE
MERINO MM
The knife for the person who wants to forget — until they need it. And then wants to feel it arrive in their hand like it was built to be there. 2.9" blade. Full hand on the handle. Not a millimeter wasted. Not a millimeter over.
Shop MERINO MMThat knife on your dresser?
It deserves to stay there.