For big bucks it should PERFECT!

L

longbow

Joined
Jan 9, 1999
Messages
4,350
OK my birthday is coming up next week and my ol'lady asks me what I want. Usually I say nothing or underwear and socks. But this year I says buy me a Super Commander, I'll pick it out. So I go on line and order one at a pretty decent price but well over 200 bucks not including shipping, from a reputable internet dealer I have dealt with numerous times in the past. I get the p.e. sf/sw blade.

All is good and I rec. this beasty and am a happy camper until I really start to check it over. Lots of tooling marks left on the ricasso area of the blade, the rouned part that the lock face is cut into. The liners are really finished poorly too. Lots of elongated milling lines in them across the surface. All the bevels on the g10 is well done though. Anyways have been buying and trading quite a few knives over the past couple of months and am used to some pretty nicely finished liners, blades etc.etc. The edge is done very well on this so that is something positive to consider and it is big, and I think the biggness more than makes up for the price you pay for the Super vs. the regular Commander.

It had the typical gritty action out of the box with the black water proof grease they use, so of course I took it all apart and cleaned everything with WD40. Put a bit of gun grease on the washers and voila butter smooth now with no hitches in the gittyup. Still I would think for the price one pays for a knife of this magnitude that EKI could get its proverbial production QC shit together and just make sure the knives are cleaned up of tooling marks like they should be. Ok rant over, keepem sharp
 
they all come like that. No offense, but it is important to do your research before buying, it would save you a lot of grief. In any case I hope you enjoy the knife
 
They are WORKING knives - not show pieces. What you got is one of the best hard use knives available. If you wanted something to look at, you shoulda bought something else.
 
hmmm... don't take this personally but I thought when I read the title and it said "big bucks" that you had gotten one of Mr. Emerson's custom from the online auction. It's not really all that much money for a knife, back a few years ago, I would have been in the same boat as you but have been looking around. And I'm sure it will function very well, as most of his knives do. If you are going to use it, then it only needs to do it's job, and if you wanted it to look great, you should choose to get a gentleman's knife. So just use it like you want to, hard and whenever you want to and should it fail, it does have a great warranty and they will take care of you should it fail to function. Good luck and enjoy!
Dan
 
cevtv said:
They are WORKING knives - not show pieces. What you got is one of the best hard use knives available. If you wanted something to look at, you shoulda bought something else.
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No offense, but such a condescending attitude doesn't help out.
I have a few Emersons, including the coveted CQC-12:thumbup:, and I can say that the OP does have a point.
The knives would not be less of a "working knife" if they sanded the laser cuts (or whatever machining process they use).
Now, if Emerson were to cut the price in order to get more "working knives" into the hands of we the people, I'd be less critical of leaving them unfinished, for lack of a better phrase.
The ergonomics are wonderful, no doubt; they make the knives nice to use for actual cutting tasks, tis true. BUT, when one pays the same price that procures a knife from other companies which stand up to hard use just as well and have attention to finish, made in the USA or Japan, one has every right to expect a similar level of finish.
To get all huffy at those who mention such facts is to leave the level of satisfied customer and jump right into fanboy territory.
Just something to think about when crafting your responses.:)
 
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My only gripe with Emerson knives is the F&F. I don't care if you think an EKI is expensive or not, they cost enough to have one expect something a bit cleaner IMO. Removing the laser cutting marks from the liners and getting the G-10, spacer and liners all flush usually takes me all of 15-20 minutes. I doubt the extra "cleaning up" would make a dent in the EKI production process that would be worth even mentioning.

This whole "it's a working knife so it's OK" excuse is BS. ALL knives are working knives, they're one of mans oldest tools for goodness sake ! That fact dosn't mean you should just bump off the finishing touches and say "it's good enough".

I obviously like Emerson knives and will continue to buy and use them as I have for years now but I have always had the same thoughts about the F&F, as many EKI users do.
 
You guys is killin me. I have probably owned more Emersons through my knife lifetime than I care to recall and more probably than any other prod. brand. Some have been pretty darn decent out of the box cosmetically and some haven't, this one ain't. To think that a knife that is over 200 bills, well over 200 bills isn't perfectly finished well to me that just speaks of shoddy QC plain and simple. You can say all you want to about well they are Emerson's and they aren't his customs. You're kiddin right? I also noticed the stop pin has kind of a loose fit to it. Not sloppy loose but not as secure lets say as my CQC7b by BM. Anyways I don't buy for a second in this day and age any excuse for shoddy prod. QC, so there ya go. keepem sharp
 
stabman said:
No offense, but such a condescending attitude doesn't help out. [ ... ]
To get all huffy at those who mention such facts is to leave the level of satisfied customer and jump right into fanboy territory.
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And there, ladies and gentlemen, at long, long last, is the perfect definition of "fanboy".

Thank you, stabman.
 
longbow said:
You're kiddin right? I also noticed the stop pin has kind of a loose fit to it.
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I did disassemble my 10 to smooth out the pivot. I noticed that the stop pin is not secured by a screw - it's a solid cylindrical piece of metal. Its diameter was slightly narrower than the holes in the liners, which would contribute to some play.
 
longbow said:
I also noticed the stop pin has kind of a loose fit to it. Not sloppy loose but not as secure lets say as my CQC7b by BM.
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The loose stop pin is a design feature of Emerson knives. It is done with the intention of having the
blade hit a slightly different spot on the stop pin every time and so helping to reducing wear.

CRK had a similar idea when using a sleeve that can spin on the Sebenza stop pin.
 
I have heard that about the stop pin. That definitely doesn't make sense to me. I've owned a couple of sebbies too and haven't seen that feature on either one. It seems that you would have to hit that stop pin pretty hard over thousands upon thousands of time with a good deal of oomph behind it to make it wear I think. If it did wear I'd just spin it myself. But I have never ever had a stop pin wear like that. Not even my Axis locks which I snap open hard. Ok that's it keepem sharp
 
I agree the attention to detail should greatly improve, but I think PERFECT is a little strong.
 
Nope I'm thinking perfect fit and finish. For instance looking at my Black Rhino from CS who people love to bash, well this knife on closeout went for 60 bucks plus shipping. The fit and finish is beyond reproach. Beautifully dove tailed bolsters that fit PERFECTLY with the g10 handles. Blade perfectly ground and razor sharp with probably the best lock out there today in the triad lock. Just sent back a Kershaw VOLT to Jason at 2Brothers knives and this VOLT was a second, but I myself could find nothing wrong with it at all save for I didn't like the clip as it dug into my palm. Point being is that the fit and finish on these two knives, although much less expensive than my Super C, are way ahead of the Super C in that aspect and that just shouldn't be.

Liu Kane I don't know where you get you money from, but 240 bucks and shipping is pretty darn expensive for a knife of any kind especially a prod knife. What investigating would you suggest I do? It's not like you can actually handle one especially in the city I live in as the knife stores are pretty much non existent for what I like. I own a bunch of custom stuff too but most bought on the secondary market so I know what makes a good knife and from your post I take it you have come into some money over the last couple of years so the 240 bucks isn't that much for you to spend and be semi disappointed.

Sticking by my guns on this one fella's. Emerson's QC could definitely be better than it is bottom line.

Now just to show you that I ain't all that much of an asshole when it comes to Emerson knives and designs I have a 970 that is pretty much the quintessential edc/s.d. knife that started it all. I also have a Super 7b pse in all black ti that is stellar too. So it may be a hit and miss type of thing with the QC but still for the bucks spent and what I expect just kind of disappointed. keepem sharp
 
Yea, I was right where you were about two years ago where $200 was a lot of money for a knife. But well, I have gone much higher end stuff now, so if I was going to buy a Emerson, it would have to be a custom from Mr. Emerson himself.
Most good knives are not found in stores, they are bought and sold on the internet and the huge downfall is that you don't get to hold them so you can look at the specs and see the pictures of them but that's about all. But like all good knives, they come with warranties so did you call the people at Emerson and let them know your dislikes? Nobody is perfect so sometimes people may slip, but you should give them the option to fix it. Your other option is to read what other people's reviews are before hand of the good and bad, but usually with most brands, the reputations proceeds the knife, and that's why the price/demand is so high on certain knives. Good luck.
 
Liu Kang said:
But like all good knives, they come with warranties so did you call the people at Emerson and let them know your dislikes? Nobody is perfect so sometimes people may slip, but you should give them the option to fix it.
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+1 If you spent that much on a knife, and are unhappy with it, it's your own fault for not even bothering to try to get it taken care of.

As for the fan boy comments.....:jerkit:. I have 5 Emersons and they are all perfect. It's not MY fault that you people are too lazy to bother contacting them - oh, I forgot, it's easier to whine on the internet about stuff that they would fix. :rolleyes:
 
Ah the fan boy has spoken. I bow to your knowledge on Emerson knives. Here's the deal fb, my gripe is not about fit but about finish on a knife that costs about 250 bucks with shipping. To me it seems that all the cosmetic concerns should be addressed at the factory. Is it enough to send it back, probably not cause I don't think for a minute unless I rec. a coated blade knife from EKI it would be cosmetically up to snuff. At least not compared to other prod. knives. It is a good user, it is very ergonomic which are big pluses to me, especially the ergonomic thing. So there you go. Also it would seem that with the amount that is written on EKI's and the finish concerns folks have that they would address that problem. No worries like I said, disappointed in the finishing end of it but the user end is just fine like someone pointed out. keepem sharp
 
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