Fit and Finish - A Long Story

That doesn't prove anything. If he personally supplied all those teams with the knives then yes, it's believable. However if he is just assuming they carried his knives due to past collaborations then it's a different story. Now, I don't believe Mr. Emerson ignorantly assumes things, I believe he is too intelligent to do that. However I do find it hard to swallow his claim of all teams that only carried his knives and no others when these events took place. A factor that plays a role in this is the fact that soldiers would be carrying fixed blades during combat and not folders. One, because they are issued fixed blades, and two because most soldiers would prefer to carry a fixed blade into combat. Now, if Mr. Emerson issued them a specially made fixed blade that was never released for civilian purchase in his production line then that would explain it all.

No, one is correct until we hear Mr. Emerson's response to this.

well said. just because he designed a knife specifically for SOME Teams does not mean EVERYONE in EVERY team carries his knife. To say his knives were present is one thing, to say NO OTHER manufacturers knives were present is speculation at best, bull***t at worst.
 
Ok, some of you (including Mr Emerson) are taking it too serious... Knifes are fun #1, just cool toys and a lot of fun to play with... You don't need an expensive knife to kill, you just need some skills and a lot of motivation !

I don't care about who choice EKI knives, could be LEOs, nerds & geeks, fu...ng terrorists... I don't really care !

EKI are very good knife but not everybody have to love the design, the spec, the price tag.

Personally I like this brand, I respect Mr Emerson but I don't agree with a lot of his ideas... In fact I don't care about his speech but I like his knives.

Pardon my English, it is too limited for long post, but the general idea is:
"take it cool, it's just knives"
 
Wow, you are really investing a lot of energy in this fight. Ernest Emerson has a pretty great reputation, so who are you? Maybe if you don't like his stories, knives etc., you could just say your piece and stop belly aching so much. That's not very impressive for a man......

So he knows where all of the products from his factory are currently? No. So he knows as a fact that not a single knife from another company like CRKT, Spyderco, or CR were carried in theater? No he does not. Maybe someone carried an Emerson in the operations described in the beginning of this topic but to say that no other brand knife was carried on these missions is purely hyperbole.
 
The Man has a close working relationship with the Teams. You do not.
Maybe he knows what type of underwear they wear too. I admire your loyalty but to state that no other brand of knife was present during the missions described at the beginning of this post is unrealistic. Maybe it's just his method of marketing. Like I stated earlier, I am an Emerson knife fan, but to say that only Emersons are carried on those missions is really "stretching the truth."
 
Maybe he knows what type of underwear they wear too. I admire your loyalty but to state that no other brand of knife was present during the missions described at the beginning of this post is unrealistic. maybe it's just his method of marketing. Like I stated earlier, I am an Emerson knife fan, but to say that only Emersons are carried on those missions is really "stretching the truth."

Theres no way Emerson knives were the only knives on scene at the time these battles take place, but I am willing to bet they were there. If I were a soldier I would have one on me but I would also have a good non-Emerson fixed blade and a Sebenza.
 
Theres no way Emerson knives were the only knives on scene at the time these battles take place, but I am willing to bet they were there. If I were a soldier I would have one on me but I would also have a good non-Emerson fixed blade and a Sebenza.
Precisely. No matter how tough the folder(even a Hinderer), it could never compete with the simplicity and low cost of a good fixed blade. And the more "hard use" the knife is, the thicker it is traditionally, and the less suited it is for pure cutting tasks. The best example is how my Strider WP-C cuts like a brick at 1/4" thick.

Wow, you are really investing a lot of energy in this fight. Ernest Emerson has a pretty great reputation, so who are you? Maybe if you don't like his stories, knives etc., you could just say your piece and stop belly aching so much. That's not very impressive for a man......
I think the topic of interest has less to do with his reputation or even the quality of his knives and more to do with his marketing pitch which stretches the truth to the breaking point and would make Lynn Thompson look like a humble and meek man in comparison:thumbup:.

And I wonder how Emerson makes the claim of "#1 Hard Use Knives in the World" without hesitation when Lynn Thompson regularly has guys doing pull ups using his folding Tri-Ad knives as a handlebar:D.
 
It could be #1 most popular hard use knives in the world. Doesn't necessarily mean #1 toughest.
 
It could be #1 most popular hard use knives in the world. Doesn't necessarily mean #1 toughest.
Knives in general? Doubtful. I'm pretty sure Ka-Bar is more widely used by far, at least in the military. In the civilian market, I'm pretty sure ESEE is more popular due to their warranty.

Maybe #1 for folding knives, though Cold Steel seems to have that market. But of course, Emerson never makes that specification, so I assume he's implying that his knives are more popular or more tougher than fixed blades, which is amusing indeed.

Still, I don't think any other knife company would ever make such an outrageous claim if they don't have all the numbers, and I sure as hell don't think Emerson even has a clue whether his knives are genuinely "#1" most popular before spouting that line.
 
I wouldn't doubt that all the guys that were on the ground in the Bin Laden compound were issued the NSAR knife or another knife of Emersons design.

If the Navy had a knife made for the SAR it's probably a safe bet he is making the standard issue knife for the teams also.

My 2 cent :)
 
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From reading Ernie's posts on this thread the image of Payette Rucker came to my mind.
 
I lusted after the Commander for years so finally popped the cork on a lightly used mini on BF. Was excited to finally get a grail knife. Got it and traded it away for a knife that cuts much better, looks much better, and is stronger. Mine came with very rough opening mechanics (that were not due to former owner abuse), obtuse edges (with factory grind), poor finish on the one side scales, and in general unimpressed with the execution. I was willing to give the brand another go until reading this thread. I refuse to support somebody that outright lies about the subject matter at hand, regardless of his connections- there is no way that his blanket statement in the OP can be known by him, and is therefore false (unless somebody provides a list of all members involved and an affidavit from each stating that the only cutlery they carried was Emerson). I will never understand fanaticism as is evident on this board (and many other manufacturer/maker forum), and it does shove people away (Strider, Busse are great examples of this). As owner, Mr. Emerson has the right to build as he sees fit, but his responses here to constructive criticism I feel was uncalled for, and his bravado about what he has done (OP) has absolutely nothing to do with people calling his fit and finish into question. Beating around the bush and treating people the way I perceive them is unbecoming of a man of his position. A simple "Thank you for your consideration, however 154CM best exhibits the properties that we are looking for. The level of fit and finish that we complete our product with is in line with our expenses and profits, and currently our business model works extremely well for us, and has in the past. Rest assured that our development department is always looking at ways to improve our product while maintaining the business profile that has led us to be successful for the past 20+ years. Thank you for taking the time to discuss your concerns with us, we hope your next Emerson knife is one that you will cherish for years to come, and beat the ever loving hell out of it as you do."

But I guess hardcores cannot be polite or considerate so must insult everybody that is not a hardcore fan, wants to ask a serious question or has some constructive criticism about how they feel the product could be improved.

I've always found the products to be overpriced, and once in hand I felt that the value for the dollar wasn't there. Now the over the top comments by the owner have taken this company into the "only if the trade is outstanding" category of adding to my collection.

My opinion, hate if you want, love if you want, but accept that it is my opinion based on numerous factors that I have used to determine how I feel on this matter. This thread did not help the manufacturer.
 
Thankfully this thread will not have an effect on the Navy calling Emerson the next time they want another batch of NSAR knives or when they need something new.
 
I've always found the products to be overpriced, and once in hand I felt that the value for the dollar wasn't there.
Well to be perfectly fair, the only knives I feel that are overpriced are the "Super" series and the karambits. Other than that, the Mini-Commander seems like a pretty sweet deal for under $150, speaking strictly as someone who mainly purchases knives in the $150-$200 range(and recently more into $400 ones).

Though it's not like the pricing gets any better when going from a Strider SMF to the XL folder, or from any Yuna knife to a Type S(though I can definitely understand that given that these are hand made).

The lesson here is to never go for the super size:thumbdn:.
 
I agree with CUTS LIKE A KRISS's post 100%. I did own a cqc-13 I liked the design, but the fit and finish was honestly unforgivable. I can understand not having the best finish, but bad fit is not acceptable by my standards.
 
Back to the original topic, I haven't had any finish issues except for my '09 A-100 and '10 Mini CQC-8 with satin/stonewash finishes. There are grind marks, possibly burns in the blades jimping. Purely cosmetic though. My '11 Mini A-100 has clean lines in the jimping but the thumb disk is cocked at an angle. Luckily the disk is cocked up on the opening side which makes it even more easy to open with my thumb than if it were level.
 
Let me get this straight,

A person is to a badminton racket as an EKI knife is to a fit & finish. This parallel, although clever, is flawed and mutually exclusive of each other.

Just because you beat 100 opponents in a badminton tournament doesn't mean everyone else can.. because they're not you. That's the first flaw. Second, instead of a badminton tournament, let's say it was a knife fighting tournament. Then by that logic, then a cheaply made junk knife wouldn't stop you from coming out on top right? This is why the logic is flawed. Someone else can then state, "what does a badminton tournament have to do with knife fighting tournament?". The answer is... absolutely nothing, just like the original comparisons.

I'm not rich, and live on a tight budget. But I have a knife addiction and enjoy saving up for a great knife. I also like knives to represent the money I pay for, to include F&F. Is there something wrong with my mentality? I've wanted a Super Commander for a while, but I can't dare question the F&F with its $250 price tag? I'm supposed to not care and feel that it's of great value because some SEALs opened some MREs with it or cut a seat belt with it from a downed helicopter? Let's be honest, a Spydie Tenacious can do that too. You say you reach out to your customers right? Stop hanging out with just your military elite buddies and reach out to us normal people as well. Trust us, we can give you some good feedback too. The F&F complaints based on the price tag aren't entirely hogwash. Complaints about F&F doesn't necessarily translate to complaints about function, but more towards price.
 
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