Bending Emerson Clips

E

EDCanAdamas

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Sep 8, 2013
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Today I was playing around with my dog when the dog's leash rode up the right leg of my jeans, caught my Emerson Sheepdog's pocket clip, and managed to go under the clip. I don't think I could replicate the particular variables that led up to my clip getting bent if I tried. After realizing that the clip was not tight, I took it off with a Philips P1 driver and then used two pliers to slightly bend the clip back into shape. My clip was not really bent that much, and I figured that anything I order from Emerson might require minor tweaking anyway.

Should I expect the clip to "work loose" and bend easier now? I noticed that the G10 under where the screws are has been impressed/flattened by the clip, is that normal? Lastly, have you ever bent your Emerson clip and fixed/replaced it?
 
You should not have to worry about it. They are made from spring steel, you'll be fine.

The flattening of the G10 is normal. It is from the end of the clip flattening it down.

As far as bending the clips, I bend every one of mine out slightly so it is not as hard to insert or remove from my pocket.

When I hear about guys sanding their G10 below the clip, I cringe. All they are trying to do is create more space between the clip and the handle scale to make it easier to insert and remove the knife from their pocket; it is far simpler to just bend the clip out a hair and do the same thing, and your G10 is still pristine. Think about it.

You'll be fine.
 
These clips seem pretty strong and spring steel can take a lot as long as its not bent in a extreme manor. The g10 probably looks flattened because it very textured. This is why we own emersons. They are not cheAp knives with low grade materials.
 
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I've bent several of my clips. I use a vise- I insert the screw side of the clip into the vise and then use my hands to bend the clip back to where I want it.


Boom Shaka Laka
 
jmclfrsh said:
You should not have to worry about it. They are made from spring steel, you'll be fine.

The flattening of the G10 is normal. It is from the end of the clip flattening it down.

As far as bending the clips, I bend every one of mine out slightly so it is not as hard to insert or remove from my pocket.

When I hear about guys sanding their G10 below the clip, I cringe. All they are trying to do is create more space between the clip and the handle scale to make it easier to insert and remove the knife from their pocket; it is far simpler to just bend the clip out a hair and do the same thing, and your G10 is still pristine. Think about it.

You'll be fine.
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True, but that cheese grater g10 still shreds the inside seam of your pocket. I sand the whole scale on that side, and leave the clip tight.

OP. The best way to make sure you have optimal tension is to check how the clip sits on a hard flat surface. If the plane of the screw contact area sits flat, the curve where the clip hits the pocket should just touch the table too. You can press down with your finger to see if it rocks or springs back up in order to reference if you've bent too far to too little. Makes things easy to reference.

Knock on wood, I've never bent my Emersons, but I've done this to several other Spyderco (no, my buddies aren't awesome enough to understand Emerson) clips for my buddies numerous times. It works flawlessly.

Sorry about the sloppy explanation. I'm terrible at written communication. But hopefully common sense will take care of the holes between the lines.
 
Jamesh Bond said:
True, but that cheese grater g10 still shreds the inside seam of your pocket. I sand the whole scale on that side, and leave the clip tight.

OP. The best way to make sure you have optimal tension is to check how the clip sits on a hard flat surface. If the plane of the screw contact area sits flat, the curve where the clip hits the pocket should just touch the table too. You can press down with your finger to see if it rocks or springs back up in order to reference if you've bent too far to too little. Makes things easy to reference.

Knock on wood, I've never bent my Emersons, but I've done this to several other Spyderco (no, my buddies aren't awesome enough to understand Emerson) clips for my buddies numerous times. It works flawlessly.

Sorry about the sloppy explanation. I'm terrible at written communication. But hopefully common sense will take care of the holes between the lines.
Click to expand...

This actually is a really good tip. I tried something like that last night prior to pulling out the tools.
 
I'm sorry to say your knife is now unusable and should be thrown out. Send your knife to me and I will see to it that it is disposed of properly.
 
So far my rebending job is holding nice and tight. Emerson makes one of the best pocket clips in the industry, wide enough to be strong, not a flashy color, and a nice shape that isn't trying to be trendy.
 
EDCanAdamas said:
So far my rebending job is holding nice and tight. Emerson makes one of the best pocket clips in the industry, wide enough to be strong, not a flashy color, and a nice shape that isn't trying to be trendy.
Click to expand...

It's the clip that other clips wish they could be.
 
Yep. The best pocket clip that ever clipped pockets. And the ANTI deep carry clip if there ever was one.

Deep carry clips piss me off.

K. Thx.
 
Just bent my clip today at work. I let out a Nooooo! But... But... Grabbed a small philips, bing bang boom problem solved. Love emerson hardware.
 
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Once again, the Emerson clip design reigns supreme. Today at work I scrapped mine against a painted steel railing. The clip scratched the RAILING's paint!
 
I am unsure about the impression under the clip, but a few months ago I walked a little too close to a fence board and bent the clip of my Horseman out pretty drastically. Much like yourself, I simply removed the clip and used a pair of pliers to bend it back. It was easy enough and never had a problem with it again. They seem to be some of the most durable clips out there in my opinion.
 
I have caught most of my clips on something like other people have. I removed them re bent them and re installed with no ill effects.
 
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