Has Emerson taken it up a notch?

ebidis

ebidis

Joined
Jun 23, 2012
Messages
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We all know the old hoopla about EKI fit and finish. It seems to me that since 2013 or so (about the same time that they stopped using back spacers, and switched to pillar stand offs), that the F&F has improved. Better blade centering, better fitted scales, early lockup, etc.

All of my 2014 and 2015 Emersons are excellent. And some, like the signature series, the Iron Dragon, and The Sheepdog seem to be really raising the bar.

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not saying Emersons were by any means bad before, only that there may have been a conscious effort towards improvement. That can never be a bad thing.
 
For me/to me, no. I personally haven't really seen any changes of that in regards to fit/finish, lock up, detent and centering. The fit of the scales to the liners have always been the same to me, no issues for the 14+ years I've been a user. Lock engagement point is no different ranging from early to "send it back for warranty" late. Blade centering been mostly good but have had a couple that do not want to center. Another thing is the closed detent alignment where the blade can simply move a little bit while closed not sucking the blade into the stop pin. Then again, I've owned easily twice as many EKI's as I have the next closest brand that I have collected and probably 10x more than the 3rd brand I have collected. Probably have bought over 90 Emerson's in my life so far and plan on more. Fan of the brand but lemons do pop up every now and then.
 
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My new Emerson RH is the only knife I own that doesn't get razor sharp no matter what I do. All the others shave hair like a razor using DMT diamond and spiderco ultra fine ceramic followed by strop. I've tried different angles..you name it I've tried it and still a letdown. It sits in a drawer while it is supposed to be my everyday use and abuse blade. I see why many don't want them
 
Bludgeon said:
My new Emerson RH is the only knife I own that doesn't get razor sharp no matter what I do. All the others shave hair like a razor using DMT diamond and spiderco ultra fine ceramic followed by strop. I've tried different angles..you name it I've tried it and still a letdown. It sits in a drawer while it is supposed to be my everyday use and abuse blade. I see why many don't want them
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That's odd, because you should be able to put a good edge on any blade, as long as the correct angle is used. If i cannot take a good edge, the bevel may not be done correctly. Even then it would just need to be re profiled. If yours is not beveled correctly, you can send it back to Emerson, and they will fix it. It would be a shame for a nice RH to sit in a drawer forever.

All of my Emersons are at least razor sharp. I find they tend to be sharper out of the box than most other brands. Maybe you just got the odd one that has a problem.
 
rayster357 said:
For me/to me, no. I personally haven't really seen any changes of that in regards to fit/finish, lock up, detent and centering. The fit of the scales to the liners have always been the same to me, no issues for the 14+ years I've been a user. Lock engagement point is no different ranging from early to "send it back for warranty" late. Blade centering been mostly good but have had a couple that do not want to center. Another thing is the closed detent alignment where the blade can simply move a little bit while closed not sucking the blade into the stop pin. Then again, I've owned easily twice as many EKI's as I have the next closest brand that I have collected and probably 10x more than the 3rd brand I have collected. Probably have bought over 90 Emerson's in my life so far and plan on more. Fan of the brand but lemons do pop up every now and then.
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I hear ya. Let me clarify the question a bit.


I've never had much problem with F&F with my Emersons. Just a few from around 2011 or 2012 that were a bit "rough around the edges", had some centering issues, and maybe some exess machining marks. Nothing I was worried about, and my experience does not go any further back than that.

It's just that I have 7 Emersons from 2014 and later that have no issues, have F&F as good as any other knives that I have experience with in the same price range, and none of the "problems" that I read about so often. Of course these "problems" are always from internet sources, and many of them (from my observation) come from a lack of knowledge/experience with the brand, or just overly knit picky knife people. so I do take them with a grain of salt.

In all honesty, I have had a few samples of knives from other companies that have raving fans, that have had worse issues than anything I've ever seen on an Emerson.

I was just wondering, since I personally have owned 11 Emersons, and still own 9, and have never experienced any of the horrors that I have read about, if something had changed, or was it always just hype/haters.
 
Never understood the fit and finish debate, all knife company has their issues. Believe me, different manufacturers have the same issues.
 
Uh, not that I've ever noticed, but I've never had a problem with any of mine when it comes to fit and finish.
 
Good, but could be even better considering the price.

Consider Microtech's folders which are roughly on par with Emerson in terms of retail cost. Those have extensive 3D machining on both the handles and locking bar, premium steels, and fit and finish at extremely high levels for production knives, second only perhaps to CRK.

Now, the custom knives on the other hand have an amazing level of fit and finish with regard to their table price.
 
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ebidis said:
We all know the old hoopla about EKI fit and finish. It seems to me that since 2013 or so (about the same time that they stopped using back spacers, and switched to pillar stand offs), that the F&F has improved. Better blade centering, better fitted scales, early lockup, etc.

All of my 2014 and 2015 Emersons are excellent. And some, like the signature series, the Iron Dragon, and The Sheepdog seem to be really raising the bar.

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not saying Emersons were by any means bad before, only that there may have been a conscious effort towards improvement. That can never be a bad thing.
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I'm trying to remember where I saw this, but I believe that a family member (daughter??) became took a high level position at the shop about this time frame - perhaps a factor?
 
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IMO, yes. I had two particularly bad Emersons a number of years ago and I've been super critical of their F&F ever since. That said in the last two or three years I feel like it has very noticeably improved. Every one I've handled has been much, much nicer than the previous Emersons I've owned. Maybe I just got a few lemons, but it seems to me they have really stepped it up.
 
Me too. My 2014 Horseman and A100 are flawless compared to my older ones. Really too nice. Going to sell them and just keep my older users. I really feel guilty scuffing up the 2014's:o
 
My Iron Dragon is marginally better than the 6 or 7 other Emerson's I owned that were 2011-2014 models, but that may be a virtue of it being a framelock and not a liner lock (less parts to go wrong). Nevertheless, it still has issues I did not expect from the price it commanded. There are things it gets very right though (insanely smooth).
 
Just got done putting a brand new out of the box CQC15 back together. The ball in second detent was locked up. Before that I had a Appalachian with no signature, although it was the smoothest Emerson I'd ever handled. Before that I had the issues with the Sheepdog, so I'd say there game is about the same. The F&F doesn't bother me, it is actually one of the reasons why I buy them. I don't mind dropping them or getting them beat up, cause they already look it. LOL The other reason I like em, is they are easy to sharpen, and I'm lazy when it comes to sharpening.
 
Misanthropia said:
My Iron Dragon is marginally better than the 6 or 7 other Emerson's I owned that were 2011-2014 models, but that may be a virtue of it being a framelock and not a liner lock (less parts to go wrong). Nevertheless, it still has issues I did not expect from the price it commanded. There are things it gets very right though (insanely smooth).
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What issues does it have? My Iron Dragon is practically flawless. In fact, I would say it's very comparable to anything in its price point.
 
The newest Emerson I have is a 2013 Mini A-100 w/ standoffs. Machining marks on the liners are still there, standoffs aren't keyed, but it locks up and works fine. I like the company and love some of the knives, but I would never pay full retail for one again.
 
ebidis said:
What issues does it have? My Iron Dragon is practically flawless. In fact, I would say it's very comparable to anything in its price point.
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The lock failed quite easily on mine at first, which was fixed by giving the lockbar a bit more tension. It's also permanently offcenter because the pockets for the bearings are milled at different depths.
 
rayster357 said:
Lock engagement point is no different ranging from early to "send it back for warranty" late.
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I have a Super CQC-8 from 2008 that has really late lockup. The locking liner almost touches the other side. Is this something they cover under warranty? Always thought it would prob be some bucks to send it in to be serviced.
 
^^Late lock up doesn't necessarily mean it's a warranty situation. If the lock can actually move past the engagement zone on the blade tang, I would send EKI a email or give them a call inquiring about it. What I know is so long as the knife remains untampered with or unmodified, EKI will stand behind their product and take care of any serius issues. The have a warranty section on their website. I personally have had ones that settle late in lock up but haven't chaged much over the years. One of the benifits of having the only sharpening stones at work is the opportunity to check out my friends knives and how they fair. Most settle in sand stay at that point. If you're at all concerned about your Super-8, contact EKI by phone or email. Nice folks there.
 
tr.slate said:
I have a Super CQC-8 from 2008 that has really late lockup. The locking liner almost touches the other side. Is this something they cover under warranty? Always thought it would prob be some bucks to send it in to be serviced.
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I just sent in a mini a-100 that had play in both directions. I'd say lockup was 90%. It costs $14 for USPS return shipping. There are several return shipping options (different prices) and several different options for service (different prices). Up to an including a blade replacement which was $90-$120, IIRC.
 
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