Emersons Sales vs ZT Emersons

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Look at some of the custom makers who have had their knives made by Kershaw, Spyderco, or Benchmade, I imagine it actually increased demand for their own knives. Having your designs produced by a major company increases awareness of your own product and gives your own products more prestige. People may eventually want "the real thing". I'd say it was a smart move by Emerson and KAI to do collaborations.
 
Its worth noting that Mr. E is no stranger to collaborations. Benchmade, Gerber Auto, Protech Auto, and wasn't the Auto Commander a few years ago a Kershaw?
 
The ZT Emerson hurting Emerson sales? Let's not forget Emerson is probably one of the best knife marketers there ever was/is. Ernie's had his knives featured in numerous TV shows and movies in addition to his martial arts training "He did an emerson hold!". For all we know Emerson could be receiving a portion of each sale, but I'm sure whatever exactly the deal is that he's worked out its a good one based on his past marketing decisions. I think the fact that your local sporting good store is now gonna have knives on the shelves with Emerson's name on them is gonna attract a swarm of new customers, and maybe bring some of you guys who go on about the reasons you'd never buy an Emerson to actually buy one after you've experienced some of the designs.
 
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OnionPoptarts said:
I don't know why some of you think the ZT one is somehow less expensive than an Emerson. On the website it says $250 so realistically you should be able to pick one up for around $200 which is the same price as just about any Emerson.
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The ZT 0620 with Elmax/G-10 will sell for about $200 on the street and the ZT 0620CF with M390/CF for $240. They're a relative bargain compared to the Emerson Comrade CQC-12 SFS also with titanium frame lock which goes for $400. Actually, there are quite a few Emersons selling for more than $240 and most are titanium liner locks with 154CM steel.
 
I guess that's true if you wanna compare frame lock to frame lock. The custom Emerson's aside which go for thousands are incomparable its the average production folder currently in production by Emerson that retails for under 200, and some of the classics like the 7 and the 100 go for a little over a 100. I don't really consider anything beyond the production knives relative to compare. It's like saying the mean price of a VW product is $200,000 because VW also owns a few high end company's such as Bugatti, which is why I edited my post. The 12 I guess is relative to compare, although I'm not a 100% sure that it isn't also a custom. There's also the Les Baer bowie looking emerson that I think goes for $600, but I think this is out of production. There are also quiet a few ZTs for over $200 and well into and over the range of the 12, but once again I'm talking average production folder.
 
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Honestly, when I saw them, my first thought was "finally, an Emerson that will be centered, have smooth pivot action, better blade steel, and perfect lockup." All of which are problems I have had with Emersons in the past. The price doesn't seem to match the materials and build quality.

But these collaborations do. Ironically, having owned the real deal makes me want the collaborations... because they'll likely be considerably better.
 
Comeuppance said:
Honestly, when I saw them, my first thought was "finally, an Emerson that will be centered, have smooth pivot action, better blade steel, and perfect lockup." All of which are problems I have had with Emersons in the past. The price doesn't seem to match the materials and build quality.

But these collaborations do. Ironically, having owned the real deal makes me want the collaborations... because they'll likely be considerably better.
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This.
 
The auto commander was Kershaw I am pretty sure.

It looks like the blade length is 3.6 inches..... id buy it if it was 3.4 inches but I guess ill just get a mini cqc-7.
 
I just don't want to see the knife community buy out all of these new ZTs and jack the price up. I want the ZT/Emerson m390, but not at twice the price just because I didn't pay upfront. I see too much of that with a lot of ZT models, and it has really put me off of them.
 
If it wasn't gonna make any money for them, Emerson wouldn't have partnered with KAI. I expect they're going to make a fair amount from it.
 
RemyKaze said:
I just don't want to see the knife community buy out all of these new ZTs and jack the price up. I want the ZT/Emerson m390, but not at twice the price just because I didn't pay upfront. I see too much of that with a lot of ZT models, and it has really put me off of them.
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You don't have to worry about that. These are all production pieces and Kai is a bigger company than Spyderco, so you don't need to worry about supply.
 
sh00ter01 said:
Nah, Emerson has never been at a loss for customers. If anything the new Kershaws might introduce the end users to Emerson Knives when they may not have previously know about them, which could easily equate to new sales for Emerson.

If you never would have bought an Emerson before, then they're not losing anything through you buying a ZT, in fact they're still gaining, cause it's a ZT/Emerson colab after all.
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The best Emerson I've ever bought is the Protech Emerson. Certainly the highest most finished out folder with an Emerson blade I've purchased. If anything it maybe will cause Emerson fans to see what a knife with a better finish looks like with their blade in it. Some might find a bit of enjoyment over not seeing so many burn markings and laser cut lines with burr edges that need trimmed. Heck it may even be refreshing enough to demand a repeat for those of us fed up with having to finish each EKI we buy before its ready for the pocket!
 
Ernest is an excellent businessman and I don't think he really has to worry about anything.
rolf
 
EDCanAdamas said:
Personally, I would not have bought an actual Emerson, but I am willing to buy a ZT-Produced Emerson. I personally don't buy into the hype that seems to sell regular Emersons (all that Macho sounding military stuff they market their knives with) but I like some of their designs, so I would buy one made by ZT.
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I agree too. I like the EKI designs but don't care for their marketing or price. Getting the ZT or even Kershaw import designs in affordable, well made blades is going to be great.
 
JOELSM said:
My first $175+ knife was an Emerson CQC 11 - maybe 9 years ago. I then started buying Benchmade and ZT knives, and when comparing all aspects (material, fit, finish and value) I became underwhelmed with the Emerson. I really like the wave feature, but not enough to bring me back to the brand. The Spyderco wave knives didn't really do anything for me either, just didn't like the look of them. The Emerson ZT collaboration is exactly what I've been waiting for. ZT build and materials with the Wave. Doesn't take a customer away from Emerson, because I doubt I would have ever bought another Emerson. As mentioned above, Emerson gets a bite of the apple with the ZT sales so this can only be a win for both companies.
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After really thinking about this and giving what you said a second look I might just pop the gun on this one... With the carbon fiber and m390 if they don't sell like hotcakes.
 
Comeuppance said:
Honestly, when I saw them, my first thought was "finally, an Emerson that will be centered, have smooth pivot action, better blade steel, and perfect lockup." All of which are problems I have had with Emersons in the past. The price doesn't seem to match the materials and build quality.

But these collaborations do. Ironically, having owned the real deal makes me want the collaborations... because they'll likely be considerably better.
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This X2

Don't forget Emerson has been down the collaboration road before, as far back as the mid-90's when the first 'high-end' folding knife I ever purchased was a Benchmade CQC-7. That particular collaboration probably helped far more than it hurt, because I had never heard of Emerson before then.
 
This looks like a win-win for those of us that would like a more affordable Emerson design with the Wave-Opener and no chisel-grind edges.

Plus the premium materials are a step above his usual production line.

I am surprised that this hasn't happened a lot sooner.

Emerson has a lot of other projects going on and having another knife company offering his designs should really help him and knife fans.
 
Just to add a visual to what many here have mentioned with regard to build and materials. This is the liner lock on a CQC11 compared to a ZT0200:

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This is a pic of the CQC11 blade center (or lack of) compared to the blade center of a ZT0200:

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I chose to compare the two because both have the same blade steel, both have liner locks, both have similar blade lengths. I bought both around the same time (within a couple years). The Emerson cost me $179. The ZT0200 cost me $129. The pictures speak for themselves as to build quality. Needless to say, I'm very much looking forward to the ZT / Emerson collaberation.
 
Emerson does small batch runs and sells out of most non-standard models(The Persian, etc.) every batch run. His sales will be fine. As for those looking at the marketing: EKI supplies knives to military units. There is a SEAL team that uses the EKI skull logo but I buy Emerson knives because the designs are unique and the ergos are unmatched. Those of you that assume people who purchase Emersons to feel "high-speed" or whatever clearly don't pay attention to jack. Half of the knife companies that people patronize use military-based marketing. Christ, ZT stands for Zero Tolerance. You think that's a reference to their machining capabilities? The old ZT boxes were covered with soldiers, topographical maps, and helicopters. One of Spyderco's biggest sellers ever is called the Military and they have their new Opfocus stuff, or whatever it's called. Before you go so far as to judge people or deem them wannabe operators, perhaps you should allow the pendulum to swing back upon yourself. If you did that, maybe you wouldn't come out of these threads looking so poorly.
 
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