Couldn’t decide between Emerson cqc7 and southern grind bad monkey so I got both. One has to go back. Need help to decide on my first “quality” knife.

Smiffman said:
Hahaha yes I wish I could keep both! Unfortunately the lady said I had to choose one and it’s my last knife purchase for awhile (we will see about that lol).
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Until I read that I was I was going to say wake up and smell the roses my man. You have already spent Inkosi money, get rid of both and move up.

However that post has two points that will stop you from coming to the dark side and both originate from the same concern…


The Lady

1. Returning one takes my play out of the book.

2. Buying your first CRK will never be your “last knife purchase for a while”

Be a smart man and listen to the lady. They tend to be correct.
What the majority of us CRK guys have in common is ladies that have come to terms with being married to an idiot.


Oh and go with the Emerson. You will not break it.
 
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I get the qc issues and less than premium materials. On the qc issues if there’s any problems they will cover it under warranty. Sure it’s a pain in the ass but they don’t leave you out to dry.

On the premium materials, only the blade steel can be considered less than premium but still a great steel that was the standard at one time. I see nothing wrong with g10 and titanium liners? Also, personally I think g10 is the best handlematerial when it comes to functionality.

On fit n finish I don’t see any problems with mine and would like to hear what the complaints are?

When buying an Emerson your getting excellent designed blades with beautiful grinds. Your getting some of if not the best ergonomic handles in the business. And the wave feature stands alone in deployment innovations. Your getting a nearly indestructible knife that’s easily repairable if ever necessary and very easily maintained.

People love to hate Emersons and complain about the negatives but completely disregard and ignore the positives. Imo of course.
 
mitchnola said:
I get the qc issues and less than premium materials. On the qc issues if there’s any problems they will cover it under warranty. Sure it’s a pain in the ass but they don’t leave you out to dry.

On the premium materials, only the blade steel can be considered less than premium but still a great steel that was the standard at one time. I see nothing wrong with g10 and titanium liners? Also, personally I think g10 is the best handlematerial when it comes to functionality.

On fit n finish I don’t see any problems with mine and would like to hear what the complaints are?

When buying an Emerson your getting excellent designed blades with beautiful grinds. Your getting some of if not the best ergonomic handles in the business. And the wave feature stands alone in deployment innovations. Your getting a nearly indestructible knife that’s easily repairable if ever necessary and very easily maintained.

People love to hate Emersons and complain about the negatives but completely disregard and ignore the positives. Imo of course.
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I feel you on this, but in my humble opinion.. the negatives out weigh the positives.

Cons:
1.Price for what you get
2.Locks that wear very fast when waved as the knife is marketed to wave.
3.Rougher fit and finish than it's competitors
4.Left hand chisel grinds for right handed people (even on v ground models it's a chisel edge)
5.Low edge retention due to soft heat treat
6. Soft body screws
7. Destroys clothing lol*

Pros

1. Ergos
2. Grippy g10 lol*
3. Blade that can be dinged recklessly into things because it's soft
 
shinyedges said:
I feel you on this, but in my humble opinion.. the negatives out weigh the positives.

Cons:
1.Price for what you get
2.Locks that wear very fast when waved as the knife is marketed to wave.
3.Rougher fit and finish than it's competitors
4.Left hand chisel grinds for right handed people (even on v ground models it's a chisel edge)
5.Low edge retention due to soft heat treat
6. Soft body screws
7. Destroys clothing lol*

Pros

1. Ergos
2. Grippy g10 lol*
3. Blade that can be dinged recklessly into things because it's soft
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I have had a few where the lock has traveled to the other side (3 out 10). That is covered under warranty and they will replace it. On the other 7, once broken in the lock settles and doesn’t move any further no matter how hard ya open it.

Agree on the left handed chisel

Have taken apart all of mine plenty of times and never broken any screens

Destroyed clothing is a right of passage 😉

What exactly is the fit n finish issues?

Low edge retention but easily sharpened

Addtl Pros:
The wave feature
Designed for function over form
Indestructible
Easy sharpening n maintenance

I get there not for everyone and to each their own. I guess I just don’t get the hate they attract.

There are knives out there I don’t like and don’t buy and I also don’t talk about em. I prefer to talk about what I do like. Have any of you heard of Les George! 😎
 
mitchnola said:
I get the qc issues and less than premium materials. On the qc issues if there’s any problems they will cover it under warranty. Sure it’s a pain in the ass but they don’t leave you out to dry.

On the premium materials, only the blade steel can be considered less than premium but still a great steel that was the standard at one time. I see nothing wrong with g10 and titanium liners? Also, personally I think g10 is the best handlematerial when it comes to functionality.

On fit n finish I don’t see any problems with mine and would like to hear what the complaints are?

When buying an Emerson your getting excellent designed blades with beautiful grinds. Your getting some of if not the best ergonomic handles in the business. And the wave feature stands alone in deployment innovations. Your getting a nearly indestructible knife that’s easily repairable if ever necessary and very easily maintained.

People love to hate Emersons and complain about the negatives but completely disregard and ignore the positives. Imo of course.
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Don't get me wrong, I dig the designs and ergonomics but that's where it ends. That said, I have lots of Emersons but every single one of them has been modded and customized to what I think they should be.

Old pic, but these are some that have had framelock conversions, for example (I still have a couple that have remained linerlocks):


16367057246_3be4e8f834_o.jpg
 
What a dilemma! It's like having to choose if you want a million dollars in tens or twenties. Woe is me to be forced to choose. (lame humor attempt) If its an EDC as opposed to a type of concealed carry I would suggest carry comfort: how well does it fit in my hand. What I know is the CQC-7 fits great in my hand.
 
gooeytek said:
Don't get me wrong, I dig the designs and ergonomics but that's where it ends. That said, I have lots of Emersons but every single one of them has been modded and customized to what I think they should be.

Old pic, but these are some that have had framelock conversions, for example (I still have a couple that have remained linerlocks):


View attachment 2318924
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Beautiful but those are worth a lot more than the 2-300 range.
 
I guess technically I’m a fanboi of Emersons but I’m also pretty fair in acknowledging their flaws. Personally I think the haters aren’t so fair in acknowledging what they do well.

I also love that Ernie doesn’t give a poop what any of the haters think.
 
mitchnola said:
I guess technically I’m a fanboi of Emersons but I’m also pretty fair in acknowledging their flaws. Personally I think the haters aren’t so fair in acknowledging what they do well.

I also love that Ernie doesn’t give a poop what any of the haters think.
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Ernie is lucky, honestly. His business model only works due to the fanboy support. Imagine if Benchmade or Spyderco made all their knives in chisel ground 154cm and 95% of them in sandpaper black G10? I’m not hating on the dude, but those conditions would not be a recipe for success anywhere else. His following and customs have created a perfect storm.
 
King of the Cheese said:
Ernie is lucky, honestly. His business model only works due to the fanboy support. Imagine if Benchmade or Spyderco made all their knives in chisel ground 154cm and 95% of them in sandpaper black G10? I’m not hating on the dude, but those conditions would not be a recipe for success anywhere else. His following and customs have created a perfect storm.
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Again, cause his knives are nothing but 154 cm and sand paper g10! 🙄

If you knew any better you would know that the g10 smoothes out with use to an absolute perfect grippiness. I have a few spydercos that the g10 wore in and became almost slippery.

That’s a pretty big assumption that he doesn’t have new purchasers and future fan boys! We all know what they say about assumptions.

Yet somehow his conditions are a recipe for success. He participates in the same market as every other company.

Btw, every company has their fan boy following so I guess that’s the only reason any company stays in business.
 
mitchnola said:
Again, cause his knives are nothing but 154 cm and sand paper g10! 🙄

If you knew any better you would know that the g10 smoothes out with use to an absolute perfect grippiness. I have a few spydercos that the g10 wore in and became almost slippery.

That’s a pretty big assumption that he doesn’t have new purchasers and future fan boys! We all know what they say about assumptions.

Yet somehow his conditions are a recipe for success. He participates in the same market as every other company.

Btw, every company has their fan boy following so I guess that’s the only reason any company stays in business.
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If he was some fat guy named “Joe Blow”, and not Ernie Emerson, you’d never buy the knives and probably would criticize them just like me.
 
mitchnola said:
I have had a few where the lock has traveled to the other side (3 out 10). That is covered under warranty and they will replace it. On the other 7, once broken in the lock settles and doesn’t move any further no matter how hard ya open it.

Agree on the left handed chisel

Have taken apart all of mine plenty of times and never broken any screens

Destroyed clothing is a right of passage 😉

What exactly is the fit n finish issues?

Low edge retention but easily sharpened

Addtl Pros:
The wave feature
Designed for function over form
Indestructible
Easy sharpening n maintenance

I get there not for everyone and to each their own. I guess I just don’t get the hate they attract.

There are knives out there I don’t like and don’t buy and I also don’t talk about em. I prefer to talk about what I do like. Have any of you heard of Les George! 😎
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Of the 3 or 5 emersons I've had, waving them open fast pushed the liner deeper towards the other side and caused it to be very difficult to disengage repeating this is what leads to accelerated wearing of the liners. Yes they will replace it if you send it in, but why? I used ZT emersons for years and never had that issue.

Fit and finish issues? Compare a real emerson to the zt emersons of which I've had multiples of every model for 7 or 8 years. Quality of machining, smoothness of edges, blade centering, finishing of surfaces inside.

Soft screws have been documented here for idk how long.


Now, I've had these conversations about emersons many many times on this forum going back. People who love them, love them. Despite the facts above. Which is cool. Not everyone has to like the same things. It just ticks all the right boxes for some folks.

Hell, even I like the designs and ergos on many of the knives he puts out. I don't care for ernie for several well documented and discussed reasons and I don't find the knives worth the price because I can make any knife wave. To each his own.
 
I've told this before but it's kind of funny. Some years back at the Blade Show, a couple of folks on the elevator mistook me for Ernie. (Even though I'm taller and much better looking, but I digress.) I was tempted to let it go further but I just said "good morning" and got off at the next floor.

Told Ernie about it later on and we both had a good laugh. (I'm not sure which of us should have felt bad about the mistake. 🤣 )
 
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