How long did it take you to buy an Emerson?

[AusLoX]

Knifewhore , I'm not sure I'll go that far equating Emerson to Rolex. Does that mean all my CRKs are Patek Phillips now? [emoji38]
Hey guys just bought my first Emerson, a cqc8 with satin blade
I first saw them a few month back and was really surprised at their poor fits and finishes(I'm in manufacturing, so machining lines and misaligned scale tend to stick out as a bit of an eye sore for me) never thought I would ever spend money on one, but the local dealer is having difficulties moving them so I got a great deal on one (same price as a spidy military)

I understand(and agreed with) some of the complains out there on Emersons, like shoddy workmanship, lower grade steel, poor fits and finishes, pricy... But augment can also be made that because of its many flaws, it actually gave the knife a character of its own, and at least deserve a place in any knife enthusiast's collection.

I went through and checked at least 20 emersons at the shop before I settle on this one, so it's as good as any Emerson can be ( no major issues, except a very sticky lock, tried pencil lead but no improvement, any suggestions?)

So the itch is finally scratched and I'm crossing Emerson off my list( for now) ..until I can get a good deal on a karambit [emoji23]

But seriously guys, I don't mind buying more at full retail price, if Emerson can bring its quality standards up to match his competitor at the same price range (Benchmade, Taichung spydercos, and ZTs)

I'll post some feedbacks in a few weeks time after I put it through its pace. Maybe I'll finally understand what Emerson is all about.

I used to feel the same way. Used to think it's overpriced for what you get(materials wise). I think the main difference is Emerson doesn't build his knives to look "pretty", he's not after fit and finish. When you buy an Emerson, you're buying the blade. The grind is almost always perfect. In no way is the steel "lower grade" it's time tested and been in the hands of many skilled military personnel. It's a combat knife company. I love my ZTs, Striders, benchmades, spydercos, hinderers, and so on but Emerson just feels like nothing else IMO.

I'm glad you're giving it a shot and it does seem to grow on you. I've had several new knives shipped to me in the past month, but I always have an Emerson in my bag and it seems to find its way into my pocket. My favorite design is the Apache at the moment. I now have 3 (don't ask, it's a sickness) and it seems to be the smoothest Emerson, not on bearings, that I own. Most likely due to the location of the detent being on the lockbar. It waves like a champ though.

 

[lai77120]

Hey guys, so when I said I'm going to put my cqc8 through its pace, I actually meant cutting a few packages and remove tags for my wife when we go shopping 😆

So here some of my thoughts on the knife (it's probably nothing new)

First the bad...
There is obviously some serious cost cutting going on with this knife, it seems no effort were made to polish the liners or jimping on the thumb rest (the most ugly jimping I've ever seen).
The G10 scale don't lined up with the liner (I mean how hard can it be to cut a piece of G10 to match the liner, with modern CNC equipment?)
Why not tap for left tip up carry as well? The extra labor cost should be negligible.
Plastic washers? Like on cheap non brand Chinese knives!
Out of box action is tight and a little gritty, Don't wave open as well as my ZT620 and similarly wave tiped spyderco. With the worst lock stick ever! 😢
The finishes on the G10 is rough, rough rough! Pocket on my shorts were pretty messed up after half a dozen wave openings(might just as well, I really need some new pants 😂
The pivot screw also got loose really fast and the blade would drop out with very little force.

So that aside, I really like the knife...
Amazing initial sharpness, the relatively easy to sharpen steel together with the single bevel edge, really make it a light sabre. It cut just as well as my para 2 and other dedicated slicers. (and shave some skin off my thumb with ease). The blade itself is very well done with consistent grind lines and very cool stone washed flats. (but that ugly jimping is just criminal! 😂

After some DIY and TLC with the knife ( which I enjoy doing), i flushed out whatever it was causing the grittiness (is that the correct word?) with a few squirt of WD40 and apply some CRK fluorite grease. It's now smooth enough for flicking without any wrist action, and it wave beautifully. locktite the pivot, so the screw is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Also after a few hundred hard opening and closing, the lock stick is pretty much gone.
The design just scream TACTICAL! it impress my non-knife buddies more than my CRKs and damascus blades.

So would I buy another one? Oh yeah! If the price is right, I love to add a karambit to my collection.
Would I recommend it to a knife novice? Absolutely Not. The Amount of DIYs required would probably irritate and frustrate someone who is not familiar with knife cares in general.
So please Mr Emerson just past some of that cost saving down to your customers (or make it pretty for us pansy, non hard user, collectors out there) maybe a midtech line? with S110V/M390,textured carbon fibre scale, fit and finishes like a CRK, cost 400 USD.. One can dream right? 😅

 

[AusLoX]

Hey guys, so when I said I'm going to put my cqc8 through its pace, I actually meant cutting a few packages and remove tags for my wife when we go shopping [emoji38]

So here some of my thoughts on the knife (it's probably nothing new)

First the bad...
There is obviously some serious cost cutting going on with this knife, it seems no effort were made to polish the liners or jimping on the thumb rest (the most ugly jimping I've ever seen).
The G10 scale don't lined up with the liner (I mean how hard can it be to cut a piece of G10 to match the liner, with modern CNC equipment?)
Why not tap for left tip up carry as well? The extra labor cost should be negligible.
Plastic washers? Like on cheap non brand Chinese knives!
Out of box action is tight and a little gritty, Don't wave open as well as my ZT620 and similarly wave tiped spyderco. With the worst lock stick ever! [emoji22]
The finishes on the G10 is rough, rough rough! Pocket on my shorts were pretty messed up after half a dozen wave openings(might just as well, I really need some new pants [emoji23]
The pivot screw also got loose really fast and the blade would drop out with very little force.

So that aside, I really like the knife...
Amazing initial sharpness, the relatively easy to sharpen steel together with the single bevel edge, really make it a light sabre. It cut just as well as my para 2 and other dedicated slicers. (and shave some skin off my thumb with ease). The blade itself is very well done with consistent grind lines and very cool stone washed flats. (but that ugly jimping is just criminal! [emoji23]

After some DIY and TLC with the knife ( which I enjoy doing), i flushed out whatever it was causing the grittiness (is that the correct word?) with a few squirt of WD40 and apply some CRK fluorite grease. It's now smooth enough for flicking without any wrist action, and it wave beautifully. locktite the pivot, so the screw is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Also after a few hundred hard opening and closing, the lock stick is pretty much gone.
The design just scream TACTICAL! it impress my non-knife buddies more than my CRKs and damascus blades.

So would I buy another one? Oh yeah! If the price is right, I love to add a karambit to my collection.
Would I recommend it to a knife novice? Absolutely Not. The Amount of DIYs required would probably irritate and frustrate someone who is not familiar with knife cares in general.
So please Mr Emerson just past some of that cost saving down to your customers (or make it pretty for us pansy, non hard user, collectors out there) maybe a midtech line? with S110V/M390,textured carbon fibre scale, fit and finishes like a CRK, cost 400 USD.. One can dream right? [emoji28]

Try this one out next...I think you would enjoy the Iron Dragon. The price is still up there but it won't rip your shorts. It's smooth and on bearings. No lock stick due to the insert. Quite thin compared to other Emerson's.

 

[Sosa]

It took me a few spydercos, cold steels, and conversations with a knife nut to finally pull the trigger. And yeah the cost was the main factor but I figured what the hell.

 

[lai77120]

Thanks AUSLox. But I don't think the local dealer have something like that. (its the usual cqc7, 8,commander and the occasional karambits) Emersons are a really tough sale here in South Africa, most dealer don't have them and I suspect they don't get the philosophy either. Most of them will try and steer you to another brand. But I'm definitely less dismissive of them now that I bought one.... It's in my pocket this whole weekend, which is a first ( I'm that guy who change his knife twice to three times a day like it's some sort of accessories 😊kinda like my wife and her bags)

 

[lai77120]

And that iron dragon.. Smooth G10, steel lock Bar insert, and on bearing.... it sound awfully similar to a ZT630😆
I like my Emerson just the way it is, rough and dirty!

 

[AusLoX]

And that iron dragon.. Smooth G10, steel lock Bar insert, and on bearing.... it sound awfully similar to a ZT630[emoji38]
I like my Emerson just the way it is, rough and dirty!

Very true. And I agree with you on the rough and dirty style.

 

[skypilot7103]

Keep up with the #2 pencil lead on the sticky lock and it will eventually work itself out to be your own.

 

[knifewhore]

No, I would consider the CRk's the Rolex Daytona.
Fancier, harder to find, and sell like hot cakes when priced right.

 

[FullMetalJackass]

Too much time... Wish I had tried them earlier

 

[wazu013]

My story is a little strange. I had little knowledge about Emerson and had no intention of ever buying one. They just didn't appeal to me. Then one day I went to my local gun dealer to see what he had going on and I notice a big bowl filled with cheap knives. Sticking out of it was a lanyard that looked pretty cool so I pulled on it and found it attached to a knife that someone used either Cerakote or Gun-Kote to lay on a camouflage pattern. The knife looked familiar to me but I didn't know what it was. The blade was off center, it had a funky grind and it deployed like a rusty gate. I thought since it was dirt cheap and the lanyard was cool I may as well buy it. Once I got home I hit the interwebs to find out what I had. It turned out to be a Mini- Commander. I immediately pulled it apart and cleaned it then centered the blade. Now it's a great knife and I EDC it often. I can't say that I'll ever buy another Emerson but I get the attraction.

 

[Urban redneck]

For me, I had wanted one for quite a while. It had always been a hard sell, though. There wasn't, and still isn't, a local store near me that sells them so i never was able to hold one in my hand. Other brands like Spyderco and Benchmade are plentiful, but no Emerson. About a year ago, an opportunity came up and I traded one of my benchmades for a CQC-7. Once I received it, everything changed. It just felt right in my hand. From that point on, I kind of lost my desire for other brands. I still have other brands, but I've gotten rid of a lot of them and have replaced them with Emersons. I, too, have the Sheepdog and you are right - the fit and finish are excellent on this knife. It is easily the smoothest flipper I have, or have had. I'm now up to 6 Emersons and the hunt is on for a couple of very special ones.

Welcome to the addiction

Uh oh! Now I feel kind of responsible for ur addiction! Lol! Glad u like the 7 though!

 

[UDIVER]

After getting into knives, it didn't take long to pick up a CQC-7

I sold that CQC-7 a while back and was without an Emerson for about 2 years (stupid mistake) needless to say I'm now 100% obsessed with the brand, haha

I did sell off a good bit of my collection for some other knives but I still have about 7 Emerson's/Collaborations, there should be more coming in the near future.