Medford Knife & Tool OD Green Merc-1 D/E Automatic OTF D/A (3.5in Tumbled Plain S45VN) MKT-MERC1-003

The Merc-1 is Medford's first entry into the OTF world. This is the production version with the arrow motif on the handle scale. The handles are anodized aluminum, the clip is titanium, and the glassbreaker is titanium with a ball insert.

Our take on this knife:
This knife is a solid OTF and is actually impressive. While you may find the handle to be fairly square, this allows the handle to be thin while giving you great control. The button, as with most OTFs acts as a placement for your thumb for control and to prevent slipping forward.
The internal locking mechanism has been upgraded beyond what you would find in your standard OTF knife. The angled lock faces allow for maximum forward movement of the blade so that the blade cannot be pulled further out of the handle. This is important for pull cuts where the blade can be grabbed by the material and then would snap back into position. This blade remains in position and is sturdy during those tasks.
The effort needed to deploy the blade is substantial due to the strength of the spring. What you get is a loud "thwack" during operation. The effort needed for retraction is reduced slightly when compared to deployment however.
Tolerances are tight and you will find the least amount of blade play for this knife compared to others on the market, with the exception of "Zero blade play" models available.

Overall this Merc-1 OTF from Medford is a solid, robust, no nonsense workhorse of a knife and we can stand behind it.