The CQC7 is one of, if not the, simplest knives on the market.
Most knives these days are way too...complicated. A knife is a tool you deploy, use, and put back. It's not a complicated tool per se but there are a plethora of knives on the market with super steels that are impossible to sharpen without proper sharpening tools (and difficult to sharpen with them). They also have as torx screws that require a specialized tool to tighten/ dissemble/etc.., and ball bearings that create super smooth openings but can either seize or require you to dissemble the knife and be oh so careful not to drop the bearings. You need to start carrying tools for your tool if you want to spend any significant time with it alone.
I understand, knives are cool. We're in a golden era of custom knives and amazing production designs. But the only reason these designs are coming out and adding one "cool" feature after another is to SELL. To make PROFIT. So if knife manufacturers claim that 154cm and VG10 are no longer super steels and that you need to upgrade and buy the latest and greatest in designs, its for a designated reason.
For collectors or people that open the odd package or two (but want to do it in style), this plethora of knife choices serves them well. But for the individual that intends to carry and use a tool and spend more time using it for what it is (a tool to cut things) and as little time on maintenance, all these knife choices on the market today do nothing except provide useless features that detract from what a knife is meant to do: cut.
If your knife opens 0.38s faster than an Emerson CQC7 because of the radical ball bearings or if your knife has a "spanto" multigrind ninja warrior blade, then explain to me of what use this is to the actual act of cutting compared to the premium price you just paid for this level of badassery. None. A sharp knife will cut. A sharp comfortable knife will probably cut better. A sharp comfortable and easily maintainable knife will cut longer.
But what about super steels? What about the fact that they can go 5 times longer without sharpening? That's a sharp knife that can stay sharp...Great, and it also takes 5 times longer to sharpen and let's not begin talking about reprofiling....
Emerson hit the jackpot when he came up with his design for the CQC7. A 3.3 inch tanto chisel ground blade will open packages, cut zipties, cut rope/cloth, and do all the tasks a double bevel knife will do but will require less tools to maintain and less time to sharpen/reprofile. Most people complain of Emerson's "horrible" fit and finish, but it's fitted and finished for functionality and comfort, no more no less. The handle doesn't have any stupid deep choils that pressure your fingers into a small area creating hot spots and while choils are a tactically sound option, proves a poor choice on a practical hard use level where the knife is used for a long period of time and when the handle requires a strong grip for the task at hand.
This box-like handle distributes the pressure onto an even flat area and is the most comfortable handle I've ever held. The tanto blade shape is extremely useful, especially the secondary tip. Being a tanto it has a strong tip which lends itself to creating a stabbing tool if used in a tactical role, it's not designed to slash very well. The blade being narrow and short does extremely well when on practice stabs on jeans/meat and goes all the way to the handle early everytime.
The fact that it's chisel ground makes it easy to sharpen and reprofile (you can slice a yellowpage paper after a few minutes sharpening it on the back of a ceramic cup and create a hair shaving edge with a bit more time). And with a bit of practice you can cut straight and avoid a chisels tendency to veer to one side. Also, I've heard complains saying it's ground on the wrong side. This might be legit concern if this was a sushi knife, but makes no difference whatsoever on day to day chores. Having the grind on the left also makes it easier to sharpen.
Obviously, the knife won't excel anywhere in the kitchen, but then again Emerson makes clear of that fact on his website. So if you need a knife to slice and dice some onions, you might want to look elsewhere. It does fairly well outdoors though, the chisel lends itself quite well to shaving wood for fire.
One other particular feature are the nylatron washers, graphite impregnated washers that require zero oil to function. Again, simple and no messing about with oils.
The CQC7 is my most used knife, and has quickly become my favorite. Ignore the latest knife trends, ignore the complaints on fit and finish (who cares if the inside of the handles are showing machine marks) and ignore the "impracticality" of the tanto chisel. This is one knife you have to try to believe in.
Thanks for reading, Godspeed!
Most knives these days are way too...complicated. A knife is a tool you deploy, use, and put back. It's not a complicated tool per se but there are a plethora of knives on the market with super steels that are impossible to sharpen without proper sharpening tools (and difficult to sharpen with them). They also have as torx screws that require a specialized tool to tighten/ dissemble/etc.., and ball bearings that create super smooth openings but can either seize or require you to dissemble the knife and be oh so careful not to drop the bearings. You need to start carrying tools for your tool if you want to spend any significant time with it alone.
I understand, knives are cool. We're in a golden era of custom knives and amazing production designs. But the only reason these designs are coming out and adding one "cool" feature after another is to SELL. To make PROFIT. So if knife manufacturers claim that 154cm and VG10 are no longer super steels and that you need to upgrade and buy the latest and greatest in designs, its for a designated reason.
For collectors or people that open the odd package or two (but want to do it in style), this plethora of knife choices serves them well. But for the individual that intends to carry and use a tool and spend more time using it for what it is (a tool to cut things) and as little time on maintenance, all these knife choices on the market today do nothing except provide useless features that detract from what a knife is meant to do: cut.
If your knife opens 0.38s faster than an Emerson CQC7 because of the radical ball bearings or if your knife has a "spanto" multigrind ninja warrior blade, then explain to me of what use this is to the actual act of cutting compared to the premium price you just paid for this level of badassery. None. A sharp knife will cut. A sharp comfortable knife will probably cut better. A sharp comfortable and easily maintainable knife will cut longer.
But what about super steels? What about the fact that they can go 5 times longer without sharpening? That's a sharp knife that can stay sharp...Great, and it also takes 5 times longer to sharpen and let's not begin talking about reprofiling....
Emerson hit the jackpot when he came up with his design for the CQC7. A 3.3 inch tanto chisel ground blade will open packages, cut zipties, cut rope/cloth, and do all the tasks a double bevel knife will do but will require less tools to maintain and less time to sharpen/reprofile. Most people complain of Emerson's "horrible" fit and finish, but it's fitted and finished for functionality and comfort, no more no less. The handle doesn't have any stupid deep choils that pressure your fingers into a small area creating hot spots and while choils are a tactically sound option, proves a poor choice on a practical hard use level where the knife is used for a long period of time and when the handle requires a strong grip for the task at hand.
This box-like handle distributes the pressure onto an even flat area and is the most comfortable handle I've ever held. The tanto blade shape is extremely useful, especially the secondary tip. Being a tanto it has a strong tip which lends itself to creating a stabbing tool if used in a tactical role, it's not designed to slash very well. The blade being narrow and short does extremely well when on practice stabs on jeans/meat and goes all the way to the handle early everytime.
The fact that it's chisel ground makes it easy to sharpen and reprofile (you can slice a yellowpage paper after a few minutes sharpening it on the back of a ceramic cup and create a hair shaving edge with a bit more time). And with a bit of practice you can cut straight and avoid a chisels tendency to veer to one side. Also, I've heard complains saying it's ground on the wrong side. This might be legit concern if this was a sushi knife, but makes no difference whatsoever on day to day chores. Having the grind on the left also makes it easier to sharpen.
Obviously, the knife won't excel anywhere in the kitchen, but then again Emerson makes clear of that fact on his website. So if you need a knife to slice and dice some onions, you might want to look elsewhere. It does fairly well outdoors though, the chisel lends itself quite well to shaving wood for fire.
One other particular feature are the nylatron washers, graphite impregnated washers that require zero oil to function. Again, simple and no messing about with oils.
The CQC7 is my most used knife, and has quickly become my favorite. Ignore the latest knife trends, ignore the complaints on fit and finish (who cares if the inside of the handles are showing machine marks) and ignore the "impracticality" of the tanto chisel. This is one knife you have to try to believe in.
Thanks for reading, Godspeed!
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