Cold Steel vs. Emerson

I prefer the wave-less Emerson models and I'm a fan of liner locks for ergonomic reasons. Since the "Fit and Finish" thread hit the Emerson forum, the quality has improved. Cold steel Voyagers for example, are a far better purchase for the money and I have to say that I have never seen a model that had poor fit and finish. Unless you're strictly an EKI fan, Cold steel is a better buy.
 
I own a multitude from both makers, but would consider myself much more of a Cold Steel fan. Much of my preference centers on my perception of value, in addition to the recurrent difficulty in obtaining Emerson products. As an example, I would absolutely buy an Emerson Super CQC-8 right now (which are sometimes unobtainable) at a street price of $150. But at $282, its just crazy. Emerson knives are just made from G10 and "decent" steel (154CM) just like every other knife out there, and lets face it - they have good but not superior fit and finish. So in my view, they have priced themselves out of what a normal buyer would be willing to pay.

Now, I obviously don't know what I am talking about, because Emerson seems to be raking in the money and doing just fine. So someone must be paying $282 for that knife. Its just not me. You can get a "similar" knife with similar performance from Cold Steel (XL Recon 1, XL Espada, large or XL Voyager) for $100. So what's the price difference for? To me, its pretty much just for the cool factor - which is purely subjective. I know that an Emerson guy would say there is no similarity between a Super CQC-8 and a Recon 1 XL, but to me they are practically speaking the same knife.

I just ordered a Cold Steel medium Espada (polished bolsters) for $123 shipped. I'm comparing apples and oranges here, but the fit, finish and lockup on a polished Espada are far superior to any of my liner lock G10 Emersons.

I have nothing against Emerson knives but the price. Its just hard for me to drop that kind of coinage on a knife that is not objectively twice as good as a Cold Steel knife costing half as much. Subjectively, to many buyers the Emersons are far superior, and I get it. I salute you guys for loving your Emersons.
 
Wunderbar said:
I prefer the wave-less Emerson models and I'm a fan of liner locks for ergonomic reasons. Since the "Fit and Finish" thread hit the Emerson forum, the quality has improved. Cold steel Voyagers for example, are a far better purchase for the money and I have to say that I have never seen a model that had poor fit and finish. Unless you're strictly an EKI fan, Cold steel is a better buy.
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Both my Emersons are waved. Now that im past the novelty of waving my next one will be waveless. Prolly a Mini A-100

Cold steel has changed their game with the steel upgrade. Pretty excited about that too!
 
I agree that it's an apples to oranges comparison.

It's not fair to Emerson to compare a Cold Steel with better steel, a much better lock, and a street price that's probably going to be 50% of the Emerson.
 
I love Emerson's design but the essentials of his design & philosophy can be found in the more economical Cold Steel products. The is no arguing that Emerson wave works better than CS thumb plate, but Emerson liner lock do not hold candle against CS mind-blowing Tri-Ad lock, which I think is much more essential in a fighting design. Furthermore, material and workmanship-wise, a lot of Emersons simply do not justify their very expensive price tag whereas I have yet to buy a CS products that is not superbly finished for its price point. Always handles Emersons in shops but find it very hard to pull the trigger. CS does not use premium materials (until now, that is) but neither does Emerson. For a Roadhouse, I can get 3-4 CS folders that will undoubtedly perform as well if not better in certain situation. In a perfect world, Emerson would design the blade while CS would produce it, but that is one near-impossible, ultra long shot not likely to happen anytime soon...
 
This! Comparing a tri ad lock to a liner makes me chuckle lol triad by a super ridiculous mile long win..
David From NC said:
I agree that it's an apples to oranges comparison.

It's not fair to Emerson to compare a Cold Steel with better steel, a much better lock, and a street price that's probably going to be 50% of the Emerson.
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Cold Steel is the dominant brand, and while people complain about the steel, that is a nothing change they could have been made at any time. They can buy whatever part of the market they want. If they want your part, they have the brand to get it. Upgrading the steel made sense to someone, and now all the people who criticized the blend of features they brought to the table are going to have to deal with the fact that there is less to talk about.

If you are talking real tactical uses, I want something that while I will use it like a tool, abuse is for wannabes, I don't have to worry about any more than I would a shovel. And I want several of them.
 
Emerson's ergonomics and just plain cool blade grinds are cool, no doubt about it. The Coldsteel's though? That's a whole new level of coolness!
 
David From NC said:
I agree that it's an apples to oranges comparison.

It's not fair to Emerson to compare a Cold Steel with better steel, a much better lock, and a street price that's probably going to be 50% of the Emerson.
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Now that Cold Steel may be moving into another level of quality with the steel upgrades, it will be interesting to see how Emerson and other tactical makers respond. The value factor wont be overlooked by the knowledgeable buyers. And those are the ones that pay big bucks for knives. Agree with Powernoodle.
 
Also i feel like cold steel is were mall ninja meets practically making one heck of an awesome knife Emerson while nice in a more polite way don't got that same edge (pun intended) as the cold steels especially now that cold steel is employing better steels in their knives
 
when it comes to pure value, its really hard for cold steel to be beaten by most other companies. cold steel will give you a strong reliable knife for a pretty low price.

i love emersons, but you can get a knife like a voyager, vaquero, or rajah 3 for a fraction of the price and it would be just as reliable, probably more since the triad lock should be stronger than a regular liner lock.
 
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There are some of Mr. Emerson's blade designs that just give me a fit cause I want one so bad! The super roadhouse, Vindicator, govt mule fixed, iron dragon, combat systems fighter etc. I just wished they had a triad lock. This is going to be Coldsteel's year!
 
I like both CS and Emerson but the fit and finish on the Emersons are a little rough and i'm not the biggest fan of lock back knives. It is hard to dispute the Recon 1 is awesome and I think the CQC-7 is sort of a timeless design. so I guess i like them both but not love them.
 
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