Emerson blades chip a lot?

batosai117

batosai117

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Does anyone else's Emerson knife chip a lot more than other knives? My Emerson Commander is very nice and one of my favorites to carry around, but it seems to chip really quickly and I don't even put it to "hard use." If this has happened to you, feel free to leave your input.
 
I have one small chip in my 2003 year model Emerson Commander. Still one of my favorite knives though.
 
I used the end of my Commander to pry a tack out of a wall and it has 2 small nicks in the blade now. I'm sure they'll come out when I touch it up on the sharpener as soon as I can dull it a little....
 
I'v chipped a 7 on the point where the 2 edges meet by droping it on my chainsaw guide bar and lost a bit off the tip of my La Griffe when i kind of stabbed the ground with it:o Never had any problems with chipping other than that. i have had edges roll or get a "flat spot" from cutting tougher materials or finding something hard unexpectedly when cutting, but that will happen with any knife, not just EKIs.

what do you mean by chips ? is a bit actually missing or is it a flat spot from a rolled edge ?
 
i havent experienced any chipping. ive carried my emerson's daily for several years.

perhaps yours is from a batch that received poor heat treatment?
 
I've had some benchmade griptilians and I've used the 154cm leatherman knife models and they all work out fine, with no chipping or deep indents left behind from cutting things. The edge on my emerson commander doesn't seem to roll over, that part of it is fine, but my blade already has about 6~7 little nicks in it and I've only had it for less than a year. I rotate my knives a lot, so it doesn't see too much action, but when I have used it, it ends up with a new 'nick' in the blade that I have to sharpen out. They are still visible, but can be kind of covered up by simply sharpening the blade. Compared to my other knives (including the 154's and the other blade steels) this one in particular seems to be the only one with that problem. Perhaps it is what you said, morimotom, could have had a bad heat treat. If anyone else has had this problem, feel free to explain, J.
 
there shouldn't be anything specifically about an emerson knife's edge that would make it more prone to chipping than any other. is it also fair to assume that you are using the emerson in the same manner as the grip?

id call the shop and send it in.
 
I guess I'll just try to monitor myself the next time I carry it to see what exactly it is that seems to be causing the knife so much anguish. I do love that knife though, I can't seem to find any other kind of knife with the same grip and handle shape, fits like a glove, no...even better than a glove!!! Does anybody know if the emerson should do alright with small chopping?
 
should be fine with light infrequent chopping. but i wouldnt really chop with a folder. the hinge will be absorbing much of the impact, and the hinge is the inherent weak point on any folder.

you may also be putting undo stress on the lock.
 
If you chop with a liner lock, you will probably see it force the lock over until it's hard to close. Depending on what you're chopping, it might not do much more harm than that. Emerson's are pretty tough.

I had a Commander that locked up really tight anyway, and chopping weeds and small branches off with it got it so I almost needed a prybar to close it. :)

Here's something you might consider with that chipping: Even a properly heat treated blade can see the cutting edge harden a bit too much compared to the back of the blade. But just behind the very edge, the steel should be OK. So give it a good sharpening, not just a just-enough touch-up. This will remove the brittle steel from the edge and get you cutting with the better steel inside the blade.
 
Thank you guys for your valuable input. I wouldn't want to cause undo stress to my commander, just wondering how it would hold up if I got lost in the bush (another thread somewhere in wilderness survival). I am also glad to hear about the brittle edges trick, I'll be sure to give it a good go around with the diamond rod and see how it goes. Thanks again, J.
 
When it comes to wilderness, all bets are off, since we have people here who could destroy a tough fixed blade! :D

Seriously, if you baton carefully instead of chop, even a slipjoint can get the job done. If your Commander is all you've got between you and a survival situation, use it. It's got a strong broad blade, so you can dig with it. You'll trash the finish, you may damage the lock, but it's not an office knife.

Keep this in mind. Being able to sharpen doesn't only mean getting the blade to cut well again. It means being able to determine what kind of knife you will have.

The Emerson has a very sharp chisel edge. But that thin edge will be more delicate than a more obtuse edge. If you run it on the Sharpmaker as if it were a v edge, it will eventually become a v edge, strong but less than razor sharp -- but more durable, too.

Do you want a demonstration blade for push cutting or a work blade? Then give it a sood sharpening with the medium rods at 40 degrees, not the fine. You will have a toothier edge that will grab most materials like a micro saw.
 
I'll try that trick out too once I beat down the edge that is on it. Thanks again for your help, J.
 
I have a Super CQC 7 and I have a few nicks on the edge and a tiny part of the tip is missing. Its still a good knife but I rotate it now with another to see if I'm prone to doing that with all my knives or its just the Emerson (personal experiment).
 
Razorwind said:
I have a Super CQC 7 and I have a few nicks on the edge and a tiny part of the tip is missing. Its still a good knife but I rotate it now with another to see if I'm prone to doing that with all my knives or its just the Emerson (personal experiment).
Click to expand...

I'm doing the same with my knives. Let me know how yours goes, and I'll be sure to post how my commander does.
 
I find their thick edges are particularly difficult to chip.

Rolling, on the other hand, seems to be inordinately easier due to the single-edge design, especially on the chisel-ground versions.

-j
 
I just gotta ask: If your knife edge is chipping or rolling--- what in the hell are you doing with it?! I NEVER had a knife edge chip or roll. I'll get blasted for bringing this guy up but Phill Hartsfield told me if you use the right steel and heat treat it correctly it won't chip or roll unless you are abusing the knife. I know 154-CM is a HARD steel. Maybe that's where the problem lies. Emerson's are damn tough knives but if you abuse them they'll show it.
Lycosa
 
Phill Hartsfield's blades will chip as well as they are on the harder side of things. If you do dumb things with any knife that it was not intended and designed for, it will chip.
 
I have heard from another forum member, that one of his emerson's has chipped as well before. Maybe just too hard of a blade.
 
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