Emerson is here and WOW!!! but, sharpness question???

Runsalone

Runsalone

Joined
Oct 22, 2003
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1,150
Well my cqc 7 is finally in and its awsome so far. But I kinda thought it would be sharper than this? It wont shave or cut paper clean.





Has anybody experienced anything similar?? Is this normal like a utility edge or something?



Also out of curiosity Ive heard that some batches of Emersons have had a few QC issues. Is there any way for me to tell where mine came from??





Other than a few curiosities this is the coolest knife Ive seen yet!!!
 
Most Emersons have what I describe as a 'working' edge.

Chisel edges typically don't feel all that sharp, but they will cut. You can try touching yours up a bit, and see if it 'feels' any sharper. it is just a matter of personal preference.

As far as QC issues go, I have had a few of my Emersons that needed some adjusting. I sent them back to Emerson, and each was returned in perfect condition. Check your knife for tight lockup, side to side play, and liner rub. Barring any of these issues, you should be good to go.

Enjoy your Emerson. I sure enjoy mine.
 
Bottom line, the reason why you can't shave or cut paper clean is because they are not sharpened the way knives are supposed to be. I like Emerson's designs and and own a few of them (Raven, CQC-7A, Mach-1, LaGriffe). There are no QC issues on my samples, but they're certainly not the sharpest knives out of the box. Like Code 3 suggested, try touching up the edge.
 
I personally love the blade design of the CQC7 B...one of my favorites (hate everything about the handle though).
The chisel grind is the easiest and fastest knife to sharpen, you just can't screw it up. It can also be sharper than a v grind. Look at it this way.... the profile of the chisel grind at 30 degrees looks like this: \|
While a conventional v grind with a an angle of 30 degrees on each side looks like this: \/ (or more acurately like this \ /)
For a v grind to be as sharp as a 30 degree chisel grind you'd have to sharpen each side at 15 degrees.
 
the only time my CQC7 shaved was a few years back, when I got a 2001 model. Since then, I've handled 3 CQC7s and a mini-commander and they had sucky edges. EKI does seem to have a sharpening QC problem, I think.

I was really happy with the 2001 model I had. BUt not with the later models.

Ergonomics-wise, Emersons rock!
 
autonomos said:
For a v grind to be as sharp as a 30 degree chisel grind you'd have to sharpen each side at 15 degrees.
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When someone says they sharpened a blade to 30°, they usually do mean 15 per side.
 
GarageBoy said:
Screw the factory edges, make your own!
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Do I HAVE to change the bevel to get it sharper or should I just touch up the factory angle--will that work? I dont like the idea of changing the bevel much.(Probably cause its so new :( )
 
Depends, if the factory edge is too thick for you tastes, your gonna have to grind down, but I think Emerson keeps them thick so they don't chip under hard use conditions
 
GarageBoy said:
Depends, if the factory edge is too thick for you tastes, your gonna have to grind down, but I think Emerson keeps them thick so they don't chip under hard use conditions
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Yeah I think your right. I REALLY dig that ;) I think ill try to polish whats on it and see if that dont get me that little extra "bite" Im thinking of. (I hate taking a new knife to the stone for the first time :grumpy: )


Maybe Ill leave it alone for now and see how the factory grind holds up to normal use :confused: .

BLADEFORUMS: Home of confused anal knifiacs everywhere! :cool:
 
The angle has nothing to do with the sharpness. If it isn't sharp, it's because the two bevels aren't meeting \.| instead of \|, and you need to grind \ until it meets | evenly along it's length. Sharpen until you get a burr on the | side, and give it a swipe or two laying flat, or nearly so on that side to get rid of the burr.
You can get the chisel grind screaming sharp, and once you're used to it, it's not hard. Getting Emerson's backwards chisel grind to cut the way you want it to in thin materials may be another story.
Not my favorite cutting tool by far, but the 7 looks and feels great, and is actually pretty good at rough cutting jobs.
I don't go for the hype, mystique, or any of that stuff, but there are alot of things about Emerson's I like, and I like the CQC7-B the best. Just "something" about it...especially waved with a plain edge CN blade on green G-10. Really wish I hadn't sold that one:(
 
OwenM said:
The angle has nothing to do with the sharpness. If it isn't sharp, it's because the two bevels aren't meeting \.| instead of \|, and you need to grind \ until it meets | evenly along it's length.
You can get the chisel grind screaming sharp, and once you're used to it, it's not hard. QUOTE]


Thats what I was hoping for! I know if it can be a laser beam....I can make it a laser beam ;) . You know how it is with a new knife, that first big ol swipe on a diamond stone after its good and dull...... bye bye factory edge......sniff :(
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i agree, the chisel grind can be hard to sharpen till ya get the hang of it, but ya can get them plenty sharp for gen'l use, just gotta know how.

i use a spydy extra fine stone, and polish the bevel till it gets a SMALL burr, ya can barely feel w/your thumbnail, then i LIGHTLY strop the backside w/the knife as flat as possible on a henckels steel, ya have to do it several times to get it right, but it does work, for me anyway. the knife will shave! of all my EKI's my CQC8 got the shatrpest, followed by my I&I tanto. imho the steel works better than cardboard, but a leather strop would work great too i think, i just dont have one right now.

a chisel g isnt gonna get sharp like say a BM AFCK/etc, but will get sharp enough for sure. the emerson zero bevel knives, by the way, are the sharpest knives i have seen bar none, the ROCK.

hope this helps

greg
 
I have had both of my CQC7's sharpened professionally and it is the best thing I ever did for the knife and for myself. They are extremely sharp now and easy to keep that way. On the green handled one I carry the most it has a "true" chisel grind. The edge angle is probably around 15 deg. It is a PSE blade so the width of the angle of the non pse is just about as wide as the serrations. Cuts like a laser so to speak and is easy to keep that way too. The point will actually stick too. Didn't before. The ergo's of the knives are very good to. Now I have an older BM 975 in ATS34 steel tanto point. This this is easily as sharp as my CQC EKI. Why Emerson doesn't do that in the first except on his custom stuff and some of his higher end prod. stuff is beyond me.

AS for being the #1 hard use knives in the world well I don't buy that for a minute. I have several folders that I think are much better rough house knives than what EKI prod. knives are. Case is in point are my S2K and my Buck/Strider mini. Matter of fact the BM 975 I have seems to be more robust than the CQC that I normally carry, due to thicker liners and just being a bigger knife. Ergo's are superb on both variants. All this being said you have to look at it this way, you should never ever pry with any folder unless your life depends on it. Then if it works when doing so who cares. Keep'em sharp
 
I had a MACH1, and it wouldn´t go sharp. The edge was at about 40 degrees, I could have gone riding on it without a single cut....
 
Try using Ernie Emerson's sharpening methods, found HERE His method works well for me, and My Emersons are plenty sharp.

When using the link, go to the menu on the left side, and click on 'sharpening'.
 
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