***Mods, I am reposting this in the Emerson forums, as I thought it would do some good here as well as in the review forums, if you feel it is out of place, please delete it.***
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.
Eric
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.
Eric
. Instead, I got a BRAND NEW ONE! Yes, that's right, a brand new custom because the old one wasn't fixable. That's why I carry Emerson knives.
).
