Now this big, tough folder was first tested out by several guys who were not in regular units [Special Forces Army guys at Bragg]. The test pieces were pretty similar to the final design, with a deep 4" recurve blade, chisel ground, and full swedge. But the cool thing was they had a round hole opener. Ernie correctly felt that putting a hole in it made one less thing (a thumb disc) that could go wrong on the knife. But the feedback from the field was too strong to ignore: they preferred a disc. So the final product was the solid bladed, thunb disc version. (I wish I had tried harder to get that hole-opener version from Ernie way back when). The first batch was with black micarta handles, no bolster, and black ti blades. At least one knife from that batch "fell out of the box" and was delivered to me. The second batch of 100 followed about 8 - 9 months later, basically the same except with satin blades. Its a shame, but they were never numbered...
That is pretty much all the ones that were made for anyone, until much later. The ES1-C was supposed to be made simultaneously, for delivery to civilian customers, with the difference being they were not going to have a Wave. But that plan - thankfully - was dropped and all ES1s are waved.
-------------------- Its been told before, but the short version is that there were 5 test knives made to fill a request from a certain group of HSLD fellows for a SERE type knife. These were 4" bladed recurves, and featured a spydie hole opener. The test group was thoroughly met with approval, except that the testers all prefered a thumb disc to the hole. The 3rd Knife down in the pic is an exercise knife on making that design. You can see the improvements to it in the bottom knife, and the way the design solidified into the other two knives. That design became the ES1, and when scaled down to 3/4 size, the Commander. In terms of the success and influence of EKI, this may have been the most important model they've ever made.
Creating the SSDS
Navy personnel liked the CQC8, but they had something a little different in mind, With SEAL assistance, Emerson developed the SSDS model, a slightly larger, hooked (Rhino) blade fighter designed for one purpose: taking out sentries!
Unlike most lockbacks, the blade of the SSDS has a serrated, doubled-edged spine for most of its length, The blade folds below the level of the handle scales so the user cannot be cut by this extra edge.
I'm told the SSDS worked perfectly for its intended function in non real testing, but eventually the SEALs decided it was a little too special purpose for their needs, This doesn't really surprise me,
During this same period, Emerson was working on a SERE (Survival, Escape, Resistance, and Evasion) folder for troops at Fort Bragg. When officers from Naval Space Warfare saw the SERE folder they felt that with a few small changes it would also better meet their requirements. From evolution was born the ES1-M.
ES1-M Details
The ATS-34 blade on the Navy ES1-M is 4 inches long, .125 inches thick, Black-T coated, and Rockwelled to 57-59. In shape t is a long, wide clip point with a deeply recurved, chisel ground edge. Liners are titanium, and the handles are G-10, At the request of the Navy, a "bade catcher" was added to the back of the blade spine. For convenient carry, a spring clip is mounted on the side of the handle. Overall, this is a much better design than the SSDS for general-purpose fieldwork like cutting webbing, sharpening stakes and preparing scrounged rations.
All of this is pretty accurate. I don't believe there was a 200 piece order, or delivery of the same, ever. The Commander is a smaller, double ground version of the ES1, and it was, and is, a hugely popular knife for EKI.
BTW, I've never READ anywhere that either Emerson or Strider claimed to be an official SEAL knife, Ever anywhere. Neither of these two knife companies have ever made that written claim, and its utter bullshit to state otherwise.
That is pretty much all the ones that were made for anyone, until much later. The ES1-C was supposed to be made simultaneously, for delivery to civilian customers, with the difference being they were not going to have a Wave. But that plan - thankfully - was dropped and all ES1s are waved.
-------------------- Its been told before, but the short version is that there were 5 test knives made to fill a request from a certain group of HSLD fellows for a SERE type knife. These were 4" bladed recurves, and featured a spydie hole opener. The test group was thoroughly met with approval, except that the testers all prefered a thumb disc to the hole. The 3rd Knife down in the pic is an exercise knife on making that design. You can see the improvements to it in the bottom knife, and the way the design solidified into the other two knives. That design became the ES1, and when scaled down to 3/4 size, the Commander. In terms of the success and influence of EKI, this may have been the most important model they've ever made.
Creating the SSDS
Navy personnel liked the CQC8, but they had something a little different in mind, With SEAL assistance, Emerson developed the SSDS model, a slightly larger, hooked (Rhino) blade fighter designed for one purpose: taking out sentries!
Unlike most lockbacks, the blade of the SSDS has a serrated, doubled-edged spine for most of its length, The blade folds below the level of the handle scales so the user cannot be cut by this extra edge.
I'm told the SSDS worked perfectly for its intended function in non real testing, but eventually the SEALs decided it was a little too special purpose for their needs, This doesn't really surprise me,
During this same period, Emerson was working on a SERE (Survival, Escape, Resistance, and Evasion) folder for troops at Fort Bragg. When officers from Naval Space Warfare saw the SERE folder they felt that with a few small changes it would also better meet their requirements. From evolution was born the ES1-M.
ES1-M Details
The ATS-34 blade on the Navy ES1-M is 4 inches long, .125 inches thick, Black-T coated, and Rockwelled to 57-59. In shape t is a long, wide clip point with a deeply recurved, chisel ground edge. Liners are titanium, and the handles are G-10, At the request of the Navy, a "bade catcher" was added to the back of the blade spine. For convenient carry, a spring clip is mounted on the side of the handle. Overall, this is a much better design than the SSDS for general-purpose fieldwork like cutting webbing, sharpening stakes and preparing scrounged rations.
All of this is pretty accurate. I don't believe there was a 200 piece order, or delivery of the same, ever. The Commander is a smaller, double ground version of the ES1, and it was, and is, a hugely popular knife for EKI.
BTW, I've never READ anywhere that either Emerson or Strider claimed to be an official SEAL knife, Ever anywhere. Neither of these two knife companies have ever made that written claim, and its utter bullshit to state otherwise.
