An honest Emerson review

capt_cope

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Sep 14, 2005
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15
Well haveing read too many posts about emersons to remember, I felt I'd try my best to adress the troubles others had expressed worries about concerning Emerson Knives, as I have now had the delight of buying a Super CQC-7.

The first and most blatently wrong thing I read (actually made me think twice about buying an Emerson) was that due to the Chisel grind they were not sharp, and could not be sharpened. I read about a man who said he literaly threw the knife in the trash and left it after attempting to sharpen it. Still others have consoled distraught Emerson owners as they ask for help sharpening, by saying "even if your knife can't shave or cut paper, it's still sharp enough to do what it needs too." Perhaps I just got the one magical Emerson that can take an edge, but I doubt it. I managed to ding up my blade pretty damn bad yesterday, but in 20 min. with a spyderco sharpmaker (literaly I watched the time) my Emerson is now sharper than out of the box. It could be the sharpest knife I own right now, and I'll be damned if it didn't take an edge easily. Now can I shave with this knife? YES. Can I cut newspaper? I can slice a piece in half while it floats. Don't buy into the scam that tells you your Emerson can't be sharp, it will be as sharp as you can make it. Haveing trouble sharpening your Emerson? Let me give you some advice: Regardless of the sharpener you use, go to wally world and pick up a cheap chisel grind knife to practice with, you should be able to find one for under $20, I allways like the CRKT KISS knife, but buy one that appeals to you. As soon as you get home, cut the hell out of some cardboard boxes untill that knife is as dull as a butter knife. Sharpen it untill you are satisfied it's damn sharp. Reapeat steps one and two untill you are comfortable sharpening chisel grinds, then take on your Emerson.

Next myth: Emerson's use of plain slotted and phillips screws is a sign of how lame his knives are.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard a statement similar to that. Perhaps it's just me, but it makes perfect sense to me to have Phillips and Slotted screws on your "hard-use" knife. Just think, do you cary a leatherman or likeminded utility tool? If you don't how many of the people you hang out with or work with do? I carry one most places, most of the people I know carry them, and you know what if need be I can take apart and clean out and foreign media in my Emerson in the field, thanks to those ugly screws. How many people do you know that regularly carry around Torx screwdrivers or a full set of allen wrenches? I don't know a single person, yet many people have been bitching that Emerson should use Torx screws in his knives. Doesn't make much sense to carry a folding knife that could be rendered useless because you got a bunch of sand/mud/dirt/****/anything potenially binding into every crevice of your knife.

Then the classic bitchfest about QC comes up.
While I certianly agree that even one product out the door that is substandard is completely unsat, I understand things from a manufactures point of view. I used to work at a small bio-med company, we made all the tools used when you are in surgery, though we specialized in screwdrivers, of the ratcheting type. Keep in mind our tools are used in literal life and death situations each and everytime. I can tell you right now that we shipped defective products, sometimes knowingly sometimes none the wiser. Might have been a little thing like a sticky ratchet one way, but it was "good enough." Emerson Knives gets alot of flack because their $300 knife is a little loose right away, but someone was getting a screwdriver that didn't work one way, and he was paying closer to two thousand for his. You know how long the waiting list was to get your defective merchandise repaired? I saw parts that were to be fixed three years back. Yet Emerson will gladly right your wrongs and have a turnaround of, at worst a month, but in most cases a week. I agree QC is a big deal, but unless you buy from Emerson Knives online, the only person you can bitch at is the ******* who sold you the knife. As soon as that dealer takes posession of that knife he should inspect it for any problems, if any arise he should deal with Emerson Knives, and get you, the buyer a perfect knife, and himselft a repeat customer.

I am done ranting for this morning, and after I get a chance to really put my CQC -7 to use I'll put up an actual review, but at the moment I haven't used it enough.
 
Well done!!!!

I agree 150%.

Emerson blades are some of the best self defense blades ever designed.

They are also so easy to sharpen to a hair popping edge its fightening.

People who are ignorant or have a lower IQ complain about Emerson, thats about it.

Skam
 
while I don't own an emerson, I do own the older Benchmade CQC7 with the chisel grind and I have never had trouble getting it very sharp with the sharpmaker. I have never understood what the problem is with sharpenning that style of knife.
 
Cobalt said:
I have never understood what the problem is with sharpenning that style of knife.

Jigs and v-rods are not well suited to one obtuse angle. Freehand it makes no difference.

-Cliff
 
I will agree that Emerson makes some very good knives. I like the designs quite a bit. There are a few whose ergonomics can't be touched. However, I have to say that while I have heard the complaint about the sharpening, which is a complaint that I feel has no merit, I have to say I have never heard the one about the screws. I have been around The forums for quite some time and have missed that one completely.

As far as a defective knife- If the maker/manufacturer makes any claim about the quality or toughness of there knives as part of their advertising, I feel they are 100% responsible for the product, not the guy selling it. Now, if the guy selling the knife used it as a display model, then he is now responsible. He has essentially used the knife.

Skammer, very broad statement. I have complained about Emerson knives in the past and still have some issue with some of the engineering. While my IQ may not put in the Mensa Society, I am not ignorant. Many complaints about Emerson Knives are well founded. Most are not.

Currently I won a production CQC-10 (excellent versatility and very adaptable handle) and an very early La Griffe. In the past I have owned cutoms 8s and 9s. I have had production 8s, all variations of the Commander, 7s, SARK's and a few others.
 
From my experience with Emerson knives, I have to disagree with a couple of your points. The SOFCK I bought was very dull and remained that way even after sending it back to Emerson for sharpening. Wouldn't even begin to slice paper. It was from a combination of an extremely short, obtuse grind, and very thick blade.

Also, I experienced quite a bit of liner wear after about 6 months of use. I was seeing quite a bit of vertical play in the blade. However, the new owner of the knife did send it in, and the liners were replaced under warranty.

I could also see that the liners weren't finished at the same level as some similarly priced Benchmades that I owned. Granted, those were only cosmetic issues, but still, it would have been nice to see the effort taken to smooth out the tool marks.


Also, I feel that quality control is the responsibility of the manufacturer. Sure it's nice to find a dealer that will inspect a product before it reaches the consumer, but ultimately, shouldn't the manufacturer be responsible for making sure defective items never reach the dealers? It seems like it would save them money in the long run.

It disturbs me to think that your company knowingly sent out defective products, especially at that price.

All that being said, I do like the fact all I need is a phillips and standard screwdriver to take apart an Emerson. I also think the Spec-war handle is the most comfortable design I've ever held. If I could get the SOFCK in a regular ground blade, I'm pretty certain I'd buy another one.






edited for grammar and spelling.
 
capt_cope said:
Next myth:I can't tell you how many times I've heard a statement similar to that. Perhaps it's just me, but it makes perfect sense to me to have Phillips and Slotted screws on your "hard-use" knife. Just think, do you cary a leatherman or likeminded utility tool? If you don't how many of the people you hang out with or work with do? I carry one most places, most of the people I know carry them, and you know what if need be I can take apart and clean out and foreign media in my Emerson in the field, thanks to those ugly screws. How many people do you know that regularly carry around Torx screwdrivers or a full set of allen wrenches? I don't know a single person, yet many people have been bitching that Emerson should use Torx screws in his knives. Doesn't make much sense to carry a folding knife that could be rendered useless because you got a bunch of sand/mud/dirt/****/anything potenially binding into every crevice of your knife.

You're on the money with this one, and so is Emerson.

I don't own one, I'm not planning on owning one, but I wish more knifemakers would start using screw head patterns for drivers that're commonly available outside of one's home or workshop. I don't recall ever seeing an Allen wrench or a Torx driver in the woods, or out fishing, or hunting, or on the ship, or wherever, but there's always a multitool hanging on my side and it's got those old-fashioned Phillips and slotted deals...

I'm not even concerned about cleaning...I'll do that when I get home. I'm concerned about the damned screws loosening up and falling out in an inhospitable location. If I can't find the proper driver to tighten them back up then they're as good as gone. Every so often one can successfully improvise but the usual result is that the screws fall out anyway and if they don't, the heads are nerfed from torquing with the wrong tool. I've been down this road a few times before.

Pet peeve of mine. Torx is great, Allen is great, but one size fits most is better than one size fits one when you're not at home. Just my opinion.
 
Great Review, Capt Cope!

I own a few Emersons and love his designs. I know they are not for everybody, but I've never had a problem owning, using, sharpening, and working on my Emerson's. In my opinion a very user friendly/hands on hard use knife.


-Scott
 
Dirk said:
Skammer, very broad statement. I have complained about Emerson knives in the past and still have some issue with some of the engineering. While my IQ may not put in the Mensa Society, I am not ignorant. Many complaints about Emerson Knives are well founded. Most are not.


You are the exception Dirk, most complaints about the brand are truly and ignorantly unfounded, usually by people who have never even handled one.

The quality of the blades are very consistent. While you one may have an issue with an individual blades design, it hard to find fault with their form, function and finish.

For what they are designed for, (utility/self defense) they are superb and a fair price for what you get.

SKam
 
skammer said:
People who are ignorant or have a lower IQ complain about Emerson, thats about it.

I'm entertained. :rolleyes:

Does anyone beside me think that a 154CM blade between two slabs of cut out titanium and G10 not equal nearly two hundred dollars ($165 street), especially when companies like Benchmade and Spyderco are delivering much more for much less money?

Does it bother anyone that so many of them are basically the same thing just cut out in different shapes and named something different?

How about that their liners are thin enough to flex fairly easily?

Or that they don't bother to finish off the water jet marks left around the liners and blades?

How about the fact that if you loosen the pivot enough so that it will easily "wave" then the blade rubs the inside of the liners?

Oh, they're good working knives, alright. They're good $100 knives.

And, yes, I've owned plenty. :cool:

.
 
fulloflead-price on an Emerson, for what you are getting is on the high side. Like many other manufactured items, the value of the name adds to the cost of the product. Price will generally be as high as the market will bear. This can be said of many manufacturers and custom makers. I definitely don't begrudge Ernie his success, I congratulate him for it.

As for the blade rub, while many folders will do that under similar circumstances, that is one of the engineering issues I still have with Emerson folders. His older folders circa 98 early 99 didn't seem to have this problem. This issue has crept in. Ernie has even made an attempt to correct it with the little tab and bearing cut out of the non lock liner. This has helped, but not completely resolved the issue. It could be that he used to use .060" liners and has gone to ..050" liners. :confused: While I am not an engineer nor have I made any folders at this time, I have learned from a few makers that there is a lot more that goes into making a folder work right than a cool design and thick material.

My short wish list for Emerson would be for him to go back to .060" liners, eliminate the thick bushings and go to bronze. And screw the knife together through stand offs or posts that are fitted to the liner and get away from the off set screws that secure in the liners.
 
Dirk said:
My short wish list for Emerson would be for him to go back to .060" liners, eliminate the thick bushings and go to bronze. And screw the knife together through stand offs or posts that are fitted to the liner and get away from the off set screws that secure in the liners.

If Emerson built those designs the way Al Mar makes the SERE 2000, Shrike or Nomad, they'd really have something. :thumbup:

WITHOUT making tempting broad statement, I wonder how many fans of Emerson production knives have owned Al Mars. Same concept. MUCH better executed, IMHO. Al Mar knives deserve the press Emerson gets, IMHO.

.
 
Chisel ground blades are not my preferred blade style, but I don't have a problem sharpening them. However, I can see why someone might be wary of Emerson blades due to the grind.

All knife companies let a few knives slip through QC. The Emerson knives that I have examined had QC issues that should not be found in a knife of that price. I think that there are several other companies that produce an all-around better knife for less.

There are a lot of Emerson fans though, so apparently Emerson is capable of making a decent knife. Based on my experiences, I would have to handle the Emerson knife in question before purchasing it.
 
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