Emerson...

dalefuller said:
OK... so it was a serious question. Here's my take on Emerson's production line, FWIW. He makes knives for users. They aren't meant to be "pretty". He doesn't cater to knife afi's that like the latest materials, whistles, and bells. I've had 4 Emersons, still have and carry my mini-CQC15. They've all been outstanding user blades. Every one of them has been exactly what Emerson advertises them to be and they've done what a knife is supposed to do... cut things (as Rev has pointed out). They remind me of the old Bic stick pens. Nothing fancy, not the newest technology, but they work... first time, every time.

Personally, I like Emerson's philosophy of materials and design. The blade steel is tried and true, Emerson's HT favors toughness a bit over edge-holding, and the handle fits my hand really well. His knives are easy for me to operate and maintain and there's nothing I wouldn't do with one because it's priced reasonably enough (could be better here, but they're still OK) for me to be comfortable replacing one if I have to. I even like his sharpening style. My mini-CQC15 can be used all day and quickly touched up at the warehouse if necessary with some stuff I keep there. I like the mini-15 enough to carry it over my Paras and large Sebenza. Nothing has ever been a serious challenge to my Para 1s and 2s, but the 15 is taking their place right now.

But... what do I know? My fav FB is an Izula. I carry and use that more than my Barkies and customs. There's just nothing I wouldn't do with it and that's more important to me than anything else when it comes to my tools. I don't want anything that I think I have to baby.
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Good stuff. Thanks for the serious reply. I like a large folder. Was looking at the 15 but dont like tantos. So 8 or 11 looked cool. Anybody carry one of these daily? Pros and cons?
 
I carry a 15, 8, 7, and 10 all the time, if you give tantos a chance they are actually pretty practical, as long as you can properly sharpen them.
 
I don't know it was bad luck or what, but I really hated my first Emerson. It was a Horseman with a super sticky lockbar that just didn't want to break in. I sold it, but the Emerson calling persisted.

I now own three Emerson's and love them all. I love the wave feature and the blade grinds on all Emeson's are just beautiful, including the Horseman I let go. They even cut things! ;0).

Emerson customer service rocks too. Bought a used mini commander with late lockup. They swapped the liner lock side for me and put in a bigger stop pin. Good as new. Got it back in a week. They also went above and beyond the call of duty to repair a knife I screwed up. All under warranty.

My only complaint is the super rough G10 they use. I always end up doing my own work to smooth it a bit, as the factory G10 will eat your jeans pocket in short order. I wish they offered "civilian friendly" G10 handles. Heck, I'd pay extra for them.
 
Decent knives with, at best, mediocre fit and finish that are 40%-60% too expensive for what you get. I wouldn't spend the money unless you're in love with one particular model. I absolutely love my super CQC-8 and so I was willing to overpay for it, but it's tough to justify spending $70 more than a Spyderco Szabo.
 
I agree. I wish I had been turned on to Emerson knives two years ago when I first got into knives. Now I have 14 knives going onto eBay and I'm keeping the 4 Benchmades and 3 Emersons only.

And I haven't carried any of my Benchmades since I got my first Emerson, a Horseman. Still like the Benchmades I have, though. And they're from the USA.
 
Allen R. said:
they are tactical , combat grade knives,
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....this is always where I struggle with the description of anything.... just what defines "tactical" and "combat grade" the first is the most overused term in history (perhaps) and the second subjective. But I do lobe my A100s..... :D :D
 
Andy the Aussie said:
....this is always where I struggle with the description of anything.... just what defines "tactical" and "combat grade" the first is the most overused term in history (perhaps) and the second subjective. But I do lobe my A100s..... :D :D
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Well, Andy, to my way of thinking, 'tactical' suggests an item suitable for field use by the military and 'combat grade' suggests the quality of construction is suitable for for the harsh conditions of a battle field. But that is just me.
 
A.P.F. said:
Well, Andy, to my way of thinking, 'tactical' suggests an item suitable for field use by the military and 'combat grade' suggests the quality of construction is suitable for for the harsh conditions of a battle field. But that is just me.
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Nail on the head brother, and also meant they are designed as a fighting knife first, Ernest designs knives for people who go into hell on earth on a daily basis, and these people may in a certain situation as a last resort, use a knife in a lethal force situation.(Talking soldiers not civilians), Although
when i was in the army the only thing i saw knives do was open mres, pry open ammo cans and on really boring days try to learn how to throw the things. Also they were pretty good at scaring Iraqis, you need to use your knife around a bunch of Iraqi men they scatter like roaches. FWIW, I got turned onto emerson knives by a certain SF group that can get you by Sea air or land, hint hint. I was issued a certain auto knife from a well known company and i hated it. After one of these operators let me check out his cqc-7 i was in love and told him I'd give my 2 autos I'd been issued for one cqc-7 he found me one, and I carried that knife with me everday while i was active duty and she never let me down.
 
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Call it tactical and itll be banned in a couple years. Im looking to pick up a cqc7 or roadhouse locally this weekend. Hope I can find one I like.
 
simplespeed said:
Call it tactical and itll be banned in a couple years. Im looking to pick up a cqc7 or roadhouse locally this weekend. Hope I can find one I like.
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You can't loose on either choice, my friend! Good hunting. :thumbup:
 
I was gonna post my emersons in order of ergos, but just put em all in hand and its too close to call the 8 fits like a glove , but none of them are uncomfortable there's a reason the term emerson ergos got coined.
 
CQC 7V part. serrated NEVER leaves my pocket...

Its as everyone else said on the love side: you can punish them and they keep on going.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Decent knives with, at best, mediocre fit and finish that are 40%-60% too expensive for what you get. I wouldn't spend the money unless you're in love with one particular model. I absolutely love my super CQC-8 and so I was willing to overpay for it, but it's tough to justify spending $70 more than a Spyderco Szabo.
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That 40-60% can be justified in my opinion, given that the knives are made entirely in the USA, from components made entirely in the USA, by a small family owned company in the USA (things that can't be said for most in the industry, including the Szabo you make comparison to). The reality is that making things in the USA is much more expensive that making them over seas, and that cost gets passed to the end user. I would also add design to the justification of that 40-60%... A big part of why I love my Emersons so much is that they are comfortable and intuitive to use over and over for long periods of time. Lastly, few others offer the kind of all-inclusive warranty/guarantee that Emerson offers. The customer service is second to none (though there are a few other prodo companies with similar policies, though for the most part you pay significantly more for the products ie. Strider). I have had to send a knife to Emerson to have the lock fixed (slippage, was my own fault) and within an hour of emailing Emerson regarding the issue, I had a personal response with detailed instructions on how to get my knife to them, a copy of the proper paper to fill out regarding my issue, and a message from someone apologizing for the inconvenience to me of having to send my knife away for repair. Sent it out later that afternoon via USPS, and had it back about a week and a half later. Before it was shipped back to me I got a phone call from EKI letting me know that my knife was repaired and was ready to come home. It arrived very quickly, and in flawless working order, and has had no problems since, despite heavy regular use. All of this for the price of the $5.75 or whatever it cost me to ship the knife to EKI. They did the repair free of charge, and shipped it back to me at their own expense, all as I said in about a week and a half. I know that Emerson isn't for everyone, and I risk of sounding overly "fanboy" here... but this kind of treatment is a big part of why I don't really have plans to buy knives from much of anyone else in the forseeable future, rather, my Emerson family will most definitely be growing...
 
Well I looked and walked away with a pro tech cqc7 auto. I love the dman thing. With emersons, I noticed right away the blade to handle ratio. I feel a larger blade for the handle sizes on the cqc7 would make me want it more. I realize its probably made this way for better grip In a combat situation but, something about turns me off. Maybe time spent with mh pro tech will help me get over it. I hope it does anyway cause those tan scLed v grinds are sick!

Also, I gotta comment on the chisel grind. Its very different and cuts strange but man its awesome. And that co.pley flat side looks amazing. Im very happy with my purchase.
 
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