Emerson Knives, any opinions?

ReconTech

ReconTech

Joined
Dec 3, 2002
Messages
316
I love the way they look, feel, and I have heard great things about them. What is the best place to look for them? And how about any competitors to the Emersons, such as benchmade?

I'd like a straight edge Tanto, is there any reason not to have one? I have a partial straight edge, partial serrated tanto right now from S&W, and I like it, probably would get more use out of a full straight edge...

I've looked at onestopknifeshop.com, but they seem expensive when I look at ebay prices...

Thanks for the info...Btw, any pictures of straight edge tanto recommendations would be great..
 
I agree with your assessment of straight sersus combo edges. I much prefer straight edge. I am not crazy about tanto's though, it just doesn't work for me as well as a drop point or clip point. If you want a tanto I would strongly look at the benchmade 722. You get a straight edge tanto, and the axis lock. You also do not get chisel grind. Here is a pic:

bm-722.jpg


As far as places to buy, I would recommend www.newgraham.com www.toptexknives.com www.knifeworks.com
 
- The Chisel Grind

The chisel grind is a knife which is not ground at all on one side. So it is completely flat on one side, and has a bevel on the other. It is simple to produce (the maker need only grind one side), and simple to sharpen (it is sharpened on one side only, then the burr is stropped off the other side). It is also typically very sharp, due to the single bevel design. Whereas a blade ground on both sides might be sharpened at 20 degrees per side, for a total of 40-degrees edge angle, a chisel ground blade is often ground at around 30 degrees, making for a thin (and thus sharp) edge.

Accurate slices are very difficult with the chisel grind, due to the fact that the non-symmetrical design forces the knife to curve in the medium being cut.

Taken from Bladeforum's FAQ :D

NsB
 
ReconTech, welcome to Bladeforums.

One specially good place to look for knives is One Stop Knife Shop, the store that sponsors these forums. You can see their Emerson knives here - http://www.onestopknifeshop.com/store/emerson.html

HOME | TUTORIALS / FAQ's | STORE | T-SHIRTS | KNIFEMAKING KITS
is the very top line of the Bladeforums screen. STORE will bring you to One Stop Knife Shop. TUTORIALS / FAQ's will bring you to a lot of basic information about knives. Go to the Knowledge Base where you will find Knife FAQs.

A chisel grind is sharpening only one side of a blade, leaving the other side flat. This means the knifemaker is only doing half as much work :) but it also means the edge is half as thick as a v-grind, therefore twice as sharp.

Most blades are v-ground, that is, sharpened symmetrically on both sides. But this refers to the primary grind. The very edge of the blade is generally also ground secondarily, and this too can be either a v-grind or a chisel. When you slice with a chisel ground edge, it may tend to pull to the side, so many people prefer a v-grind. On Emerson knives like the Commander, the primary grind is a v, but the secondary bevel is a chisel.
 
Ask on the Emerson Forum, or on USN for greater response. Those of us that have them are big fans. I have several customs, which I don't use for obvious reasons. The owners of the production models seem to like them a great deal as well.
 
Emerson is OK for a knife that you plan to abuse a lot and work hard.

On the other hand, there are a LOT of other knives that fit the bill for a lower price. I, personally think, Emerson is about 40% too high a price for what you get.

For example, Benchmade will offer you a much better knife for a lesser price.

When I got my first Emerson for $160 (a Wave Commander) it wasn't even CLOSE to the quality of the Benchmade Axis AFCK I picked up on Ebay for $90.
The Emerson had a LOT of visable machine marks, bits of metal attached to the serrations, etc.

Besides that, as others have told you, Emersons are Chisel ground. Despite the merits you might have been told about, I think it's plain lazy. There's NO WAY a chisel-grind can match the cutting ability of a nicely sharpened Benchmade.

If Emersons were priced about 40% less I'd call them great knives. I'd rank them just under Benchmade but somehow they get away with charging more with MUCH less attention to detail.

If you're going to spend more than $100 for a knife and you don't collect then I'd DEFINATELY say that Benchmade is the best knife you can get for the money.

I recommend the Ares or Stryker.

If you want to spend $200 on a folder than that's a different story.
 
I'm not a fan of EKI's chisel grind but I do like his designs though. My favourite knife right now is probably my waved Commander.
 
I have one of these along with 2 commanders. For the money, i'd go for the cqc-7. You can find them for $85-100.
 
I had two cqc-7's they both had bad grind lines, on one the handle wasnt shaped right (did not match other side). I called emersonand asked if they ever sold seconds, they said they didnt.
I was hoping they would say yes since the ones I had looked so bad.
You could catch your finger nail in the grind lines on both that ran horizontal to the blade (int he middle of the blades).

...perhaps I just got a couple bad ones. My opinions of the ones I had though....:(
 
Ok, so far I guess the Benchmade is better than Emerson, how does Benchmade compare to SOG?

Since I'm asking a newbie question while I do a search and read the forums, are masters of defense worth the price?
 
Don't be so quick to say that Benchmade is better than Emerson!!! Thousands of people have Emersons and have no complaints. Don't form an opinion based on what a couple of people have complained about in this thread. I've had and extensively used benchmades in the past including the stryker, nimravus, md42, AFO, and AFCK, I've even had the benchmade version of the Emerson cqc7. While all good knives I've broken, retired, or given away every one of them. Today I carry and use Emersons (cqc7, Super Commander, cqc8. To date I've had no failures or breakages. I also have no complaints and feel they are well worth the extra dollars.
 
Before everyone scares you away from Emersons based on price, I thought I'd mention that you can get some models for under $100.

For example, I got a new mini-commander for $100 shipped. You can get waved CQC7's for under $100 too.

If you're willing to get a second hand piece, you can probably get an excellent deal on a Commander, Socfk, etc on the exchange forums.

I personally have found Emerson knives to be top notch, and at least the quality of Benchmade. And, it's hard to beat the wave.

Emerson is also coming out with a cheaper line of non-waved knives called the "Hard wear" series that look good.

You might want to give them a try.

-- Rob
 
Love the designs,hate the chisel edge.Shop around I have got cqc7's new for $75.But that was with the dreaded Botach....;)
 
I have a Custom Emerson Viper model 5 that is a great knife. This was made in 1988 before the Chisel grind phase. I have looked at the Emerson production line and while I think they are good, I much prefer Vee ground blades.

My last folder along the lines of the Emersons was a Microtech LLC. I really think this is a good knife for the money. Good overall fit and finish, 154CM blade with good grind lines and good lockup. The Blade shape works well for me.

mt-300205-300206_sm.jpg
 
I may be able to help on this. I own both brands and have used them exclusively both for hunting and general purpose stuff. That being said I think the bigger bang for the buck is definetly BM knives. First and formost the axis lock is probably one of the best locking systems out there. The relative sharpness of the blades themselves and ease of sharpening has to go to BM. I have owned or own at the present time an AFCK, a 550 Griptilian, and a 710. The AFCK is the only liner lock of the BM's I own. It is the 2nd generation AFCK when they started tapping the screws through the liners. One helluva knife even now. The 550 is what I carry most of the time and the 710 I have used alot in the past for hunting and such.

I have owned at one time or another a Mach1, CQC7A, Commander, and a LaGriffe. I now have a mini Commander. First and foremost the fit and finish on the BM knives far exceeds the EKI's I have owned or currently own. Very few tool marks on the liners or the blades themselves. Ergonomics might be a bit better with the EKI's. Sharpness and general user friendliness go with BM's by a wide margin. A knife is a tool and as such I believe it should perform what it is designed to do with ease and little effort on the user's part. Read that as handle ergonomics(as stated EKI's by a slight margin), blade resharpenablility in the field, taking and edge and holding it, ease of deployment, and pride of ownership. I have found the BM's I have give me all of this. The EKI's I have owned and currently own give me some these things but not on a consistent basis as do the BM's.

When I owned the above mentioned EKI's, the Mach1, Comm, LaGriffe, and CQC7a I put them to a little test. I stuffed an old Carhart with newpspapers and went at it with the knives. I am no martial artist by any stretch but what the heck just cutting up an old coat I figure anyone can do. Well the only one that performed half way decently was the CQC7. Actually if memory serves me correctly I don't think I tested the LaGriffe on the coat. Anyways not to belabor the point but these are supposed to be self defense knives primarily. Least ways that is what everyone says is there primary purpose is. You know they cut meat and are intended for that purpose. Well if you can't cut through a jacket espically where I live in the NYS in the winter well what good are they. Especially if you are getting a knife for that purpose. I used a zytel Magna and one other I can't recall here but the Magna absolutely cut rings around all the EKI's.

I know there a thousands of EKI afficianado's out there and rightly so. I have just never found them to be easy to use for much of anything. They don't open mail well, the don't do well in a hunting situation cause of the chisel grind and I can't get them as sharp as I think they should be, and the wave although a novel idea seems to tear the hell out of my pants pockets and if you are not with your shirt tail out you will rip it. Also you have to careful as to who is behind you when you do deploy the wave. Have I mentioned the BEST commercially made knife out there yet? No well for me it is without adoubt the SERE2K. It is a custom quality liner lock that is a brute with wonderful steel that takes and hold an edge like no tomorrow. I have used this knife literally beating on the back of it to dig arrows out of tree stumps. It has held up more than well. Anyways these opinions in no way reflect the thoughts or sentiments of anybody else on the board except me. Keep'em sharp
 
Recon Tech,

Well, as you have seen, opinions on our knives vary a bit.

It is true that we are not producing the finest finished knives on the market. We are not trying to either. What we do offer is the very best in hard working knives and a knife that is also 100% made in the United States. NO grey area here, with the exception of the screws that hold it together, our knives are US Made. Even the steel we use is milled here.

Our customers include every branch of the United States Military as well as for many of our allies. Our knives are currently being given out by the Department of the Army as diplomatic gifts. Secratary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's office has recently contacted us about doing the same. Our knives have seen duty as the official knife of the International Space Station program. There is even a video clip on our website that was shot in zero-G from the station itself.

A program that we pioneered with a local law enforcement agency has garnered national attention and is singularly responsible for the current wave of interest in knives for law enforcement from an administrative standpoint.

Our knives are designed by people who use knives FOR people who use knives. I addition to being a knife manufacturer, we also provide realistic training concerning the use of edged weapons. Unlike a few other companies out there who have contracted with outsiders to provide training under their company's banner, we actually provide the training ourselves. Ernest developed the system from the ground up as an amalgam of many different diciplines. I am also one of the Combat Systems Instructors. Our next scheduled class is a military only class in Florida for Naval Special Warfare.

Lastly, we offer one of the best warantees in the business. An Emerson Knife is guaranteed forever, period.

Enough soap box for one evening. I do suggest that you go out and get a few more opinions but also to get some of the knives into your own hands. You really will be able to tell what suits you by how it feels to you.

If you have any questions that I might assist you with more personally, please give me a call anytime at the shop 0800-1700 M-F. (310)-212-7455.
 
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