Another Six up for sale

John, thanks for the heads up. What's going on here. All of a sudden there seems to be all of these 6's for sale. That's the fourth one I saw for sale this month.
 
I purchased an Emerson from Bontay last year, and he's a good guy in case any interested buyers had concerns. His price seems pretty fair, too.

David - I think we're seeing more 6s for two reasons. One is Ernie's "announcement" - which merely reflected the physical reality of his situation - has heightened interest, and sellers feel its a good time to take advantage of that. The second is that Ernie is making knives again, and a lot of the buyers were speculators trading time (waiting for their knife) for money (cost = $475, selling price = $1,000+). I think its noteworthy that very few of the Emersons coming to the market are "rare" ones. Les has (had?) a left handed 6, which I definitely put in the RARE catagory, and it should command a premium because of that. But most of the Emersons for sale at the moment are the standards as far as I can see.
 
Jbravo has hit the nail on the head with his assessment.

Here are some other things to consider. There is no reality in the Emerson Custom Knife market. It is all perception.

Emerson is quoted in the current Blade Magazine that he makes 30 custom knives a month. Thats 360 custom knives a year boys and girls. Im sure those who follow the custom side of Emerson's business had a good laugh when they read that. Those SEAL's must be getting a hell of a lot of knives, because the civilian side is not getting them.

Then almost immediately after the Blade Show is over Emerson announces he is no longer taking orders (about time). However, the orders he has taken over the last two years he has been quoting 3-5 year wait.

Ive known several makers who had that wait and when it came time to deliver the knives they found the following:

No forwarding address,
Divorced,
Married,
New Hobby,
Unemployed
Kids in College,
New house
Etc.

Point being most people won't want the knife 5 years from now.

So if Emerson is going to focus on custom knives and produce more then the price will start to come down for the run of the mill custom Emerson.

As JB pointed out, some have realized that the market may have peaked and it is time to get out and move on to something else.

The reality of the custom knife market is that most knife buyers are no longer buying an Emerson to use. For two reasons: 1)they buy them to sell them and make a profit. Nothing wrong with that, it is capitalism at it's finest. 2) There are many custom tactical folders out there that are superior and cost less money.

It was nice to see Emerson put into print what I have been telling people for years that he ground the blade on the left side because it photographed better. Not because that was a better design.

Another thing that is and will continue to impact the market. As Emerson moves many of his custom knife operations to the factory, in the mind of some consumers the line between factory and custom may get blurred. This will have a negative impact on the new knives, but will help drive the price up of the old knives. The dreaded and feared secondary bevel is already having a negative impact on sales of new CQC6's. The same with the bead blasting of the blade. Knives with this feature are slow to sell because they are less desirable.

Those who frequent this forum are aware of all of this and are seeking out older knives.

Of course as well know, the truth changes. So what is in print today, both in magazines and in this froum is only the truth for the moment. But for now perception is reality.

So what you can expect near term is a flurry of CQC6's for sale, prices will be lower than in the past. But once those have been sold, prices will go back to where they are now.

The main victim in this will be the CQC6's with secondary bevel's, bead blasted blades and now that new mark on the blade "the date". This date will for the collectors become part of their Lexicon. You can expect to hear the question asked "date or no date".

Speak up Usual Suspects, lets hear your thoughts on this.




------------------
Les Robertson
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com

"Nobody throws me my own guns and tells me to run, nobody!
 
I prefer the satin finished CQC6's not because it's worth more, but mainly because of the following two reasons: I don't like bead blasted blades due to rust. Secondly, the grind of the bead blasted blades are less aggressive looking then the satin ones. (Kind of stubby looking)

As I've stated before, The newer 6's look machine made. Meaning the production side would be able to crank these out in numbers. And if they did I would still buy one to use as an everyday knife. I really don't care as long as the price was reflected for a production knife; not a production unit trying to be passed off as a custom.

I must admit that I purchased the CQC "67" due to the fact that it's a rarity & will or might go up in value. ( I really don't know what you guys think of this.) It's basically a newer 6 marked with the date of 99' and CQC7. Oops.

Heck, with the current prices of the 6's I'm even thinking of buying a fourth one just to use as an everyday knife. ( Well, that was what 3# was for but it wound up in the safe to keep the others company
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[This message has been edited by David T (edited 06-14-2000).]
 
Ahh speculation is creeping around the perimeter again. What I do know is this: A knife in hand beats two on order. Until the "flurry" hits Ernie's knives will be worth alot of money. And if the "flurry" does hit I wouldn't want to place any bets on the knives getting much cheaper. Remember, there is a great demand for these knives.

As far as the different variations on the custom Emersons go I think its pretty straightforward. Old EMERSON Logos will continue to command the highest dollar with the single bevel SpecWars next and finally the beadblast, secondary bevel, dated SpecWars in tow. The exception to this rule will be any RARE or new models that Ernie may turn out for the NAVSPECWAR community a la the ESM-1. Any verboten high speed, low drag knife from Ernie will command the big bucks no matter what.

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Usual Suspect http://www.freeyellow.com/members8/arkhamdrifter/index.html


[This message has been edited by arkhamdrifter (edited 06-14-2000).]
 
Let me jump in and show a couple of examples of Ernies most recent knives.

Both knives shown were purchased a week and a half ago from Ernie, at the Blade Show.

I apologize for the grainy picture, it was taken the night of the purchase in the hotel room
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Link

For the non-usual suspects, the top knife is a CQC7 and the bottom is a CQC5. Both are marked "Emerson Specwar Knives" and 2000. Both are satin finished. Both have satin hourglass pocket clips. Neither has a secondary grind. The CQC5 has file worked bolsters. Neither is for sale.

Personally, I collect knives because I like them. If I wanted "investments", I'd play in the stock market.

I doubt, no matter how industrious Ernie is, that the value of the knives will go below retail. Worse comes to worse, I have a great cutting tool.

Ernie makes a great knife. Is it a $1000 to $3000+ product? I'd ask the same of Phil Hartsfield, Dan Fogg, Jerry Fisk, Bob Loveless, Walter Brend, ect, ect. To collectors of their knives, yes they are. To my girlfriend, no their not.
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Any item is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it. I can put a $3000 price tag on a "Tickle Me Elmo", but until someone cuts the check, it's still a $29.95 doll.

Happy collecting.

John Hollister
 
John, Does that Tickle Me Elmo have the original laugh or the newer high pitched laugh?
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Hey John- For those people who are non-usual suspects (me included), I've got a better name: un-usual suspects.
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Donald.
 
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