A few Emerson questions

Vince_PL

Vince_PL

Joined
Aug 29, 2003
Messages
720
Hello,

I would appreciate your answer to few of my questions regarding Emerson Knives. Recently after two or three years of break from Emersons I am considering buying Commander again (I once had one and sold it with regret).

Is it true that emersons from year 2007/2008 have thicker liners ? Does this include The Commander as well ? Could you help me find a Commander 2008 in some reliable store with international shipping ?

Thanks for all your answers in advance!
 
Some knives do have thicker liners than others.
I think it just depends on the Ti stock EKI secure from year to year and, I suppose, when the batches of specific knives are made.

There are many shops that will ship internationaly and I cant see you having much trouble finding a commander.

:thumbup:
 
Just get another Commander. Don't fret over a micro-differences in the liners. :)
 
There was some talk about switching from Ti liners to stainless steel....but only on the non-locking side. This is an economy measure, seeing that Ti is horifically expensive these days.

As far as I know, the most recent run of Karambits came this way. If you go to the web site, some models say that the "lock" is titanium, and others say that the "scales" are titanium. I would e-mail Emerson, and inquire about this if it is something that concerns you.....
 
Just get another Commander. Don't fret over a micro-differences in the liners.
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Yeah... I'm trying to spot one right now but it's not so easy task (I'm looking for BT PE version).


As far as I know, the most recent run of Karambits came this way. If you go to the web site, some models say that the "lock" is titanium, and others say that the "scales" are titanium. I would e-mail Emerson, and inquire about this if it is something that concerns you.....
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That to be honest doesn't make any difference to me. Frankly I would prefer all SS liners over ti, cause I find them more reliable, but I supose that's more like a psychological reason...
 
reconranger said:
There was some talk about switching from Ti liners to stainless steel....but only on the non-locking side. This is an economy measure, seeing that Ti is horifically expensive these days.

As far as I know, the most recent run of Karambits came this way. If you go to the web site, some models say that the "lock" is titanium, and others say that the "scales" are titanium. I would e-mail Emerson, and inquire about this if it is something that concerns you.....
Click to expand...

IIRC they all again have the ti liners, the price of ti went down i suppose.

also IIRC not many ever had the SS liners, i would imagine they will eventually become collectors items.

and like ya said it was always only gonna be on the non lock side so it really didnt matter much anyway.

but anyway, point being, IIRC, they are now back to ti on both sides.
 
Vince_PL said:
Frankly I would prefer all SS liners over ti, cause I find them more reliable, but I supose that's more like a psychological reason...
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How in the world would SS be "more reliable"??? Ti is stronger than steel and lighter...what is not to like about that????
 
reconranger said:
How in the world would SS be "more reliable"??? Ti is stronger than steel and lighter...what is not to like about that????
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Ti is defo. lighter (~40%) and dosnt rust but steel is actually stronger and has better wear resistance than Ti so is actually not a bad choice.
The thing steel wont do it "gaul" or "grip" the lock face like Ti does, IMO this makes Ti better but you do have less wear resistance because of this.

I persoanly prefer Ti for a few reasons but steel is still not a bad choice :thumbup:
 
Ti certainly has an acceptable wear resistance and does work or Ernie would have changed over to stainless steel a long time ago. I like stainless and have several Kershaws and Spydercos using stainless locks that are jim dandy folders. If the contact is correct stainless does have better strength and wear resistance and more importantly more 'impact resistance' but even stainless is not full proof of course. Stainless is less forgiving if the contact angle is not right so that galling property of titanium to tend to stick better can make a lock work that in stainless may be less than appreciated. Both materials have pros and cons. Ti has many advantages for sure over stainless, one being the galling properties and the other the lighter weight as mentioned by Haze. Then of course there are the others being the ability to color anodize ti, the memory of the spring tension to pop back to its original shape even after it looked to be deformed to such an extent that a stainless one would be shot and the fact that titanium does not need heat treated.

OK, Better EDIT Here: When I say 'doesn't really need heat treated I'm referring to H/T in the traditional sense using an oven to treat it like you would stainless. When we heat up the lock face of the contacts on titanium locks with a torch its really 'heat anodizing' the material from the inside out, as opposed to doing it 'electrically' when we color it which basically anodizes the outer surface. The anodized or colored layer of the titanium is near ceramic in hardness compared to the rest of the material so anodizing it with heat this way does in fact harden it from the inside out to make the lock wear better all the way in but again this type of H/T takes place in a few minutes as opposed to a traditional heat treatment which is much more lengthy and involved. Didn't mean to leave that out or mislead anyone there with that statement about H/T. :thumbup:

I don't know that Ti has gone down any in price but it does fluctuate. I must have bought at the wrong time to restock I guess. :D Personally I've never cared for the thinner liners on any make of liner lock and one of my favorite knives is the HD12 from Emerson. If Ernie offered the HD7 in the A blade I'd own several though! I always cringe a bit when I see the liner flex under load to the blade spine or tip of the blade when opened so no I'm not a fan of thin. Some will tell you the flex really doesn't matter but in my testing when the lock gets loaded up with that kind of tension to flex it you just can't really predict how it will behave sometimes and it can surprise you all at once.


I've always set the standard by which I judge all Emersons by the one 1998 SpecWar model I own that still blows the doors off many of the newer ones I own and it has both a flatter more reliable contact angle on the blade interface of about 8 degrees and a thicker lock and liner side hovering just over .060" thickness. I have always appreciated how well this knife is built even though its old and probably due for retirement from being about worn out but I do still pull it out and carry it from time to time. I got a 1999 version of the same model only in the A blade and its a fine contact but with the noticably thinner lock and liner and the lock can be seen to flex in allowing me to see a gap from the blade and the stop pin pretty easily with little pressure. However the lock has always stayed put on that one unlike some other liner locks I've had here like that recent Buck 882 model sent to me by a customer. It goes without saying which one is my first love though when you compare both my 98 and 99 SpecWar models. Its true that sometimes when I don't feel like there is much use for a tanto chisel grind like I did in my more youthful days that I swap out the blades so I can use my 1999 A blade in the thicker liners of the 98 model. Although the lock travels in a bit further in this configuration I have been guilty of enjoying the blade using those original thicker liners that Ernie started out using in 98 on that one. Truth be told, I'll probably make it a frame lock before I allow it to see retirement though. :D

STR
 
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Ti is defo. lighter (~40%) and dosnt rust but steel is actually stronger and has better wear resistance than Ti so is actually not a bad choice.
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My point exactly!

My Spyderco Military is my referrence point into well made liner lock.
 
For me, a "tactical" knife only has to last through one fight. All it has to do is save my life one time and it has done its job....I can always go out and buy a new one the next day!

So, I am looking for light and fast over anything else! The knife doesn't have to be so overbuilt like it was intended to be a wilderness survival knife, or something like that. I think Emreson pretty much has his designs spot on....
 
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