Emerson appeal??

J

jmorton10

Joined
Apr 5, 2014
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438
A buddy of mine & I where having a friendly argument about Emerson knives the other day.

He comes up with the same complaints about Emerson that we've all heard a million times, they are overpriced/the fit & finish sucks/lousy quality steel etc.etc.etc.

All those points make sense to some degree, but as Emerson owners we know all that but we still keep buying them. At last count, I had 8 different Emerson knives & will probably still buy more at some point.

What I think is amusing is the same folks who think that $180 for an Emerson is overpriced, will think nothing of dropping $400-$500 on a Sebenza & say it's worth every penny..........

I get the Chris Reeve quality argument, I own a large snakewood inlay Sebenza 21 & the quality certainly is there, but if you're going to call any Emerson knife overpriced you need to include the Sebenza in the same breath.

The funny thing is, even though I own the "Sibby 21" I have no real desire whatever to buy another one, but I can always justify buying another Emerson........ :-)

~John
 
those quality points keep me away from emerson, ill likely pick one up someday, but i can get spyderco's tiwanese knives in that price range with worlds better fit and finish.

in that price range, you shouldnt have those issues.
 
I haven't had any fit issues in any of the Emersons I own (6). The finish issue doesn't bother me as I can easily sand the liners if I wanted to. Love the wave and love the ergonomics.
 
I have one Emerson that I bought a couple years ago and it's one of my favorite knives the only thing I don't care for is the wave. I think Emerson has a lot of really amazing designs, but they are not a lot of bang for your buck. I would much rather buy a Spyderco and get better steel and choose from a variety of different locking mechanisms for usually less than an Emerson costs. Every time I think about buying another Emerson I just think that I can get more for my money with a Spyderco or ZT.
 
As many have pointed out, affinity towards Emersons can be very subjective as far as fit/finish for the price. Sure, Sebenzas are wonderfully manufactured, as are Spyderco offerings from Taichung around the price range of many Emersons. The thing is, and which is something I've noticed several times, is that I don't freak out when any Emerson gets dropped or falls off the table. Unless it's one of my customized Ti conversions :eek:

It's like when you first get a new car, you're neurotic about scratches, dings, driving it hard, and you find yourself parking it all the way out in BFE where hopefully no one parks next to you. However, after a while when you're past all that, you tend to really use the car without giving any thought to the things that you were so meticulous about before. An Emerson is there already. Use it hard out of the box.
 
I can see the appeal, and Ernest runs the type of business that I would love to support. Fit and finish issues don't really bother me, as long as the knife functions the way it was designed to. My problem is there are only a small handfull of Emerson designs that interest me, and those are the ones that have an opening hole. Couple that with the quality control issues I've been seeing (not f&f) and I have a hard time dropping a tad over $200 on a knife that I kind of like and may or may not function properly. I'm aware that you can return the knife for warranty service, but who wants to go through the hassle on a brand new knife? All this being said, I will still probably purchase either a CQC-10 or Endeavor sometime in the future.
 
jmorton10 said:
A buddy of mine & I where having a friendly argument about Emerson knives the other day.

He comes up with the same complaints about Emerson that we've all heard a million times, they are overpriced/the fit & finish sucks/lousy quality steel etc.etc.etc.

All those points make sense to some degree, but as Emerson owners we know all that but we still keep buying them. At last count, I had 8 different Emerson knives & will probably still buy more at some point.

What I think is amusing is the same folks who think that $180 for an Emerson is overpriced, will think nothing of dropping $400-$500 on a Sebenza & say it's worth every penny..........

I get the Chris Reeve quality argument, I own a large snakewood inlay Sebenza 21 & the quality certainly is there, but if you're going to call any Emerson knife overpriced you need to include the Sebenza in the same breath.

The funny thing is, even though I own the "Sibby 21" I have no real desire whatever to buy another one, but I can always justify buying another Emerson........ :-)

~John
Click to expand...

That last sentence says it all does it not? ;-)
 
Gooeytek nailed it imo. I don't care about beating on my Emersons. They're working man's knives. I know they will do everything I ask of them, sharpen up easy, and I don't feel bad about dropping one off a roof. I know they're backed by an iron clad warranty and I love that everything, even the screws are made in the USA.

Nothing against Spyderco or CRK, they're exceptional manufacturers in their own rights and I have nothing but love for Spyderco but as of the last year Emerson is all that I own.
 
Good thread topic John. When someone gets into knives, to the point that they join the biggest baddest most respected forum about knives on the net it kind of IMO seperates them from other knife users. Just my opinion.

Once you start buying a knife here and there and you don't either own an Emerson or you start reading about them - - sooner or later you will makes the choice to get one and keep it or not. If you don't have a local knife store then it's a pretty big leap IMO to just blindly take the word of people you don't know.....but even if you knew some people personally - - a knife is a very personal choice and not everyone is the same. I learned this with the Para2. Greatest knife in the world yada yada. I didn't think so. I felt I had been had actually. *THAT* is when I figured this "knife thing" out. <---- For me I did.

One of the many true things I have read in this Emerson group is I think Rolf said, and many others too "you just gotta get one". That is a pretty simple statement. I know enough about knives and how I feel when I see a specific piece live and in person and the very different feeling (for me at least) of setting the knife in my hand for the first time.

I also know (for me at least) that the longer you handle and study your specific piece all the sudden you notice little things, that can be good and bad. I own now 9 knives. Six different companies. Every piece for a specific reason like most of you all. No impulse buys for me, not with knives at least and everyone will get used and used hard and I don't flinch when I drop one of them either. It Is A Knife. Other than one other specific knife I own The7 grabbed a hold of me " and I understood."

Though I wished I had more actual length with which to cut, the situation that day of my purchase didn't allow it - there were two 7's the little one and the regular and I wasn't leaving that cutlery store without a 7. And unfortunate for me just to rub salt in the wound she had serrations in her. Ha!

Like many in here know there is just "something" about an Emerson knife. I only have the one - so I only have that specific experience to pull from. What I am curious to know is - - - - is it going to be this way with every Emerson piece I get? Because if so, that would make it (for me at least) my favorite knife company and I didn't even see this coming. 47yrs. old and I didn't think I could be snuck up on like that. Heh. ;-)

What I think is cool is that "feeling wise" when it comes to knives, I thought I experienced every feeling that could be felt, for me at least. Then thanks to you guys and reading what you said and your experiences - I said to myself "Self. Let's see if they are all either on drugs or brainwashed." I'm still trying to figure that first one out with some of you all but knife wise I now understand and it is not hype. At least for me it isn't. I'm strictly going with what I know and my own experiences.
 
I was out running some errands today on what I call the other side of town from where I live, I ran into this little Knife & Pen Shop I had heard about, but never visited.

I was also told they stocked some Emerson's, so when I went in. After drooling over some high end custom stuff, I would refer to as Safe Queens.

I looked at about 4 or 5 of the different Emerson they had in their display case. To me the Emerson's all looked fine as far as fit and finish.

I also understand Emerson's are made to be used, are a tool first, are not like a SAFE QUEEN Knife you take out of the safe, and display for your friend to drool over. Than after you wipe the drool off the knives, they are boxed up and put back in the safe for safe keeping.
 
I find Emerson knives to be a mixed bag.
The Good
Great designs. I would rank Mr. Emerson behind only Sal Glesser as a designer of production knives.
Ergonomics range from good to great. Not every one will fit your hand, but the one that does will melt into it.
The Wave. Nothing more need be said.
The grinds. I've heard of some people getting bad grinds, but every example I've handled has had near-perfect, symmetrical grinds.
Stonewash finish. The finish they put on is incredibly good. Probably the best I've seen on any production knife.

The Bad.
Poor finish. Machine marks on the liners, uneven jimping, uneven chamfering on the edge of the scales. Primarily aesthetic issues and, IMO, not a big deal.
Poor fit. These are the issues that put me off. VERY sticky locks, some of the worst pivot action I've experienced and a pivot screw that can back entirely out in a few days of use if you don't use loctite.
Value. Materials and build quality are not the best you can get for your money.

Now this is based on a relatively small sample size and I may have gotten lucky on some things and unlucky on others, but that's been my experience with the knives. I like them, but right now other companies are just offering too much value for me to justify spending my money on an Emerson. Nothing wrong with other people liking them, though.
 
I have a ton of Emersons. I just love them. But guess which one I carry most of the time? The Benchmade /Emerson colab 970 and 975. Why? Because the fit and finish and I like the tip down carry. Also it opens a closes easier and is lighter in weight. Otherwise it is an Emerson to me.
 
Everything I was to say about this topic has already been mentioned.
When I look into my collection of knives the only thing that grows are customs and emersons. Every other brand has been slowly decreasing.
The only thing I can actually complain about would be "bang for buck." You don't necessarily get much with an Emerson knife, but I just like em... I know some of you may be feeling the exact same way ;)
 
Call me crazy. .. I've certainly been called worse, but I have had my eye on emersons for a while and always had something more import to spend a couple hundo on. Recently I got a particularly large paycheck and thought. ... Why not? Is time to move.

It's One of the most expensive knives I own. And I collect a lot. ... I love knives, what can I say? And I always thoroughly take care to wipe them off and make sure they stay unmolested.

When I got my emerson cqc15, the first thing I did was sand the scales so they weren't so detrimental to my pocket fabric, and scratch up the blade and pocket clip so it wouldn't hurt my feelings when it got scratched during use. It's supposed to be the #1 hard use knife, and for what it cost, I sure as hell intend to use it as such.

So far so good. It's a tough assed knife.
 
I'm new to Emersons, but Rolf said it best... the formula works perfectly for me (materials). I have yet to experience the negatives some have written about; granted I only have one Emerson so far... a cqc 13. It is perfect in terms of craftsmanship and function; my super 7 should be here soon... I'll update when it arrives. I've had more expensive folders with (arguably) better materials, but they didn't work for me ultimately.
 
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