Emerson CQC-10 First Impressions

Pilot1

Pilot1

Joined
Sep 24, 2005
Messages
2,110
I am not a knife expert and relatively new to better knives in general. Up to a year or so ago all I had was a SAK Huntsman, Leatherman Multitool and a Buck 119 for hunting. In addition, I now have a few Benchmades (710, 551 and 940), a CRKT and now the Emerson.

First impression out of the box is that its a bit crude, especially for the $150 price tag. No where near as nicely finished as my Benchmades and the action is not as smooth nore easy to operate and open. The blade seems very sharp and I like the spear point. 154CM steel is used and while its fine, for the price point, I would expect something a little better. The blade size at 3.6 inches is fine for my needs as a basic utility and survival knife. Overall the jury is still out until I use this knife. I haven't cut anything with the CQC-10 and when I start using it, I may really like it. Here's a brief summary:

Pros:

Built like a tank
Sharp spear point blade of optimal size for carry
Wave feature is OK, but not a big deal to me
Seems like a rugged yet light knife due to titanium liners
Very ergonomic, the grip is great and G10 scales grippy

Cons:

Seems cheaply made for price
Action is not as smooth as some others (this may be a break in issue and I have not lubed it yet)
Liner seems like it does not engage far enough (this may also be a break in issue)
No LAWKS
 
Does that have a regular V-ground edge, as well as a V-ground blade, or is it still a chisel ground edge?
 
Chris Mapp said:
Does that have a regular V-ground edge, as well as a V-ground blade, or is it still a chisel ground edge?
Click to expand...

Its a double V grind.
 
A couple of pics. This knife is growing on me.

OK, how do I post pics from my hard drive?
 
Pilot1, I personally hate the LAWKS system, but it doesn't really matter, since only CRKT are legally allowed to use it on productions knives, due to copywrites, patents or whatever.
 
Actually, the CQC-10 has a V-ground blade, witha chisel-ground edge/secondary bevel.

Peace.
 
Pilot1, I recently purchased a CQC8 and the finish fairly standard on all production Emersons. On mine, the G10 scales were slightly above the liners and the liners had sharp edges inside.

I spent about 30 minutes radiusing the inner edges of the liners and sanding down the G10 - now its one of my favourite knives and smooth as after several hundred openings.

Ergos are outstanding, but I really wish they'd put a bit more effort into the finish, considering the price they are charging. Still, it seems they have no problem churning out knives at the current prices.

Luckily the blade was wickedly sharp and the lock up was perfect, so it's a keeper.
 
Daniel L said:
Luckily the blade was wickedly sharp and the lock up was perfect, so it's a keeper.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I really like the CQC-10 after living with it for a while. I watned something rugged in a folder and it is sharp.
 
Chris Mapp said:
Drat. That's what I was afraid of. :(
Click to expand...

It's not that big a deal. If you want, it's pretty simple to reprofile the edge into a standard v-grind. Simply sharpen it as you would any other knife, and with each succesive sharpening the blade will be closer to the type of edge you want. It takes a little while to do it this way, however (the easy way takes a while, the more difficult way provides immediate results). You could kust sit down with a coarse stone and work it until it's exactly how you want it. Many of us who are obsessed with sharpening reprofile a knife as soon as we get it, even if it's brand new. :D

Peace.
 
puukoman,

I actually had an Emerson knife reprofiled to a v-ground edge at one time, and though it was sharp, it wasn't as sharp as it could have been due to the blade's thickness. Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind the next time I get to handle one.
 
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