MERINO DM
The knife you'll actually carry.
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MERINO DM
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Merino DM · The Story
You've spent long enough choosing
between the knife you'll carry
and the knife you'll use.
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.
Capability or carry.
Enough knife or no trouble.
The MERINO DM is the refusal to pick.
The MERINO Line
Carry first.
Everything else follows.
Every MERINO starts from one question: will you actually have it with you?
The MERINO convictionThe Merino DM
Not a round number.
A line.
The MM proved the case for carry-first at 2.125 inches and 1.6 ounces. The DM answers the harder version of the same question — the one that starts with enough blade, and a handle with room for your whole hand, so the blade does the work without asking your grip to compensate.
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.
Open it one-handed. Close it the same way. You'll do both more than you need to.
A 2.9″ blade you can still open and put away without a second hand — the closing being the half most knives make you use two for.
Decisions, Not Features
Every spec is a choice made for a reason. The reason is always about the person carrying it.
Select a part of the knife — or a tab below it — to read the decisions behind that part.
Open profile
Closed · clip side
Spine · 0.35"
Pepperwool · MERINO DM
Decisions, not features
Blade Steel
CPM S35VN · US-melted · 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. A stainless steel 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.
Edge Angle
20–25° inclusive · 10–12.5° per side
Honed to the same angle on every Pepperwool — keen enough to bite on the first pass, obtuse enough to hold up to daily cutting without the edge rolling. Learn to sharpen one and you can maintain them all.
Finish
Titanium Nitride
Hard, low-friction coating that reduces drag on the draw.
Blade Stock
3/32"
Thin stock is a carry decision. Less material through the blade means less weight and less bulk in the pocket, and a finer geometry that slices with less resistance.
Handle
Machined G10
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
Lab-tested on the DM itself. The MM’s lock, tested the same way, broke at just under 900 pounds.
Deploy
Kip Deploy™ · One-hand open/close
A kick deploy on a bar lock — two mechanisms that rarely share a knife, and are harder still to make work together. Smooth and repeatable in both directions, refined for the DM's longer profile. One hand opens and closes it — the other 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.
Weight
2.0 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
0.35"
Thinner than a stack of three house keys — the same as the MM. The longer blade and fuller handle cost nothing in the pocket.
Pocket Clip
Keeper Clip™ · Deep Carry · Fully Reversible
Hard to lose and easy to draw usually trade against each other. It catches the hem so it can’t leave without you. It lets go the moment you mean it. Deep carry, configures left or right. Patent pending.
Choose your carry
DM or MM?
Same steel, same lock, the same Kip deploy and Keeper clip. The difference is how much knife you carry.
MERINO DM
MERINO MM
Choose the DM if you want real capability — and refuse to earn it with inconvenience.
Choose the MM if you want to disappear into your routine.
Questions
Asked before carrying one.
Do I need 2.9 inches, or will the MM do?
If your cutting is boxes, tape and packaging and you’d rather forget the knife is there, the MM does it at 1.6 ounces. If you want enough blade for work that matters and a handle with room for your whole hand, that’s the DM — 0.4 ounces more, the same 0.35-inch thickness.
Will it fit my hand?
Closed, the DM is about 98 mm — roughly 3.9 inches. The handle was sized to give your whole hand room, so the blade does the work without your grip compensating for what the handle can’t reach.
How hard is it to open?
It takes a firm, deliberate press on the kick tab — 1 to 2 pounds of force — to move the blade past its detent. From there a flick of the wrist carries it open and locked. Closing is its own motion: release the bar lock with your thumb and flick it shut. One hand does both.
Could it open in my pocket?
With no press on the kick tab, a flick won’t open it. Through the first 25 degrees or so of travel the blade is biased back toward closed, so a blade nudged slightly open closes itself. Once the tab has been pressed past the detent, a wrist flick carries it the rest of the way. Accidental opening was part of factory testing, and it passed.
Is it legal to carry where I live?
Most knife restrictions begin at three inches. The DM sits just under that threshold — not a millimeter over. Laws vary by city, state and country, so check yours before you carry.
I’m left-handed. Does it work for me?
Yes. The kick deploy works from either hand, the bar lock releases with either thumb, and the Keeper clip configures for left or right carry.
How do I look after it?
Keep it clean and dry. The pivot bearing cleans with compressed air and takes a single drop of oil. Every Pepperwool edge is honed to the same 20–25° inclusive angle, and S35VN at 60–62 HRC sharpens on the equipment most people already own. More on knife care.
Where is it made?
Holding the standard makes the map a little complicated. Design and prototyping happen in Washington State. The blade is US-melted CPM S35VN, and almost all raw materials come from the US. A manufacturer Beren has worked with for years, based in Singapore, coordinates production, and final assembly happens in southern China — so the label has to say China.
What if something goes wrong?
Every Pepperwool carries a Limited Lifetime Warranty against defects in materials and workmanship, for the original purchaser. Warranty details.
In the Field
What Owners Say
Real owners, unedited.
The Maker
Beren McKay
Founder & CEO, Pepperwool
Nearly two decades building products
Twelve years at SOG Knives taught Beren which compromises the industry assumes you’ll accept. The DM refuses the one most knives make without saying so: that a blade big enough to use has to be a blade you think twice about carrying.
Read his full storyMore from Pepperwool
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Slim enough to disappear into a front pocket. Light enough you stop noticing it's there. The knife you'll actually carry — every day.
Shop MERINO MMThat knife on your dresser?
It deserves to stay there.