How about them Emersons? (and how about them Tantos?)

[YoungCutter]

Howdy fellas,

I was just poking around and i'm curious... these Emersons any good, i've been specifically looking at the SPECWAR and Raven models...

Also, in a loosely related topic, how do you guys feel about Tanto blades, what are their advantages and disadvantages? Please take combat factors into consideration also.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

There are a lot of knifeknuts who really admire Emerson knives. So you might want to bring up these questions on the Emerson Knives Forum, also.

I've got a Benchmade Emerson 975, which is a version of Ernie's CQC7 they made before he opened his own production line. Great knife, tough, sharp, locks up tight. It has taken some hard use. And it is a tanto. I think it would still be a regular carry if it were a clip or spearpoint, though. The tanto is just not as generally useful, and I don't do combat.

Emerson tantos are chisel-grind. This makes them formidably sharp, without making a delicate edge. Other manufacturers do tantos with more common edges, like Cold Steel's hollow grind on both sides of the blade.

I've also got a La Griffe, which is a different sort of knife altogether, his hawksbill neck knife. Nice little utility knife and security backup.