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Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
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Is Emerson Worth the Price
- Thread starter AusLoX
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I believe that would be the included "portion" part he was referring to
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All these knifemakers like to make it rain cash with their fancy Cee en Cees.
I get this vision in my head everytime these questions are asked...knifemakers makin' it rain money..
Jarbenzas are where it's at!
I get this vision in my head everytime these questions are asked...knifemakers makin' it rain money..
Jarbenzas are where it's at!
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Lol he speaketh the truth
Unless ZT added to their Emerson line up, the blades on all of them are quite short. Given the option I'd buy an Emerson so that I could get a larger blade and handle.
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Well, whatever you say, business seems to be booming for emerson. I guess he doesn't give a rat's behind what you think about him and his product.
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I think they are over priced for what you get, fit and finish is at best mediocre. Blade steel is ok not great. Especially for the price. That said I love the Commander and Mini commander, just great designs. Some of the marketing is a bit on the "you don't like them because your not high speed low drag enough" and thats a turn off. They are decent knives and if ZT made a commander or mini commander with their level of fit and finish and steels I'd be on it like ugly on a ape.
As to how much Emerson gets from his collaboration with Kershaw and ZT who cares thats his business.
As to how much Emerson gets from his collaboration with Kershaw and ZT who cares thats his business.
Saw your post in the Emerson forum and figured you might have one over here.
I haven't read all these responses so may be repeating a few things but.....
First you need to define "worth" it is a relative term
Is fit and finish important
Is ease of sharpening important
Is edge retention important
Is country of origin important
Is the companies character important
Is cool factor important
Is warranty important
Is ease of take down important
Anyway you get the idea
Next
Are you a knife lover, knife user, or possibly both?
Many guys on here just like knives and don't really use them, so keeping the thing pretty is important. I've been guilty of this, but as I age I am coming to the conclusion of what good is a knife I just flick open?
If I have a user knife I want something easy to sharpen like 154 or A2, because I have used every steel out there, and guess what? They will all get dull QUICK if being used. Emersons are EASY to resharpen.
I also like a knife if I am "using" it, I don't mind dropping or getting dirty. Emersons fit that bill too.
Speaking of dirt I'd much rather clean an Emerson than a bearing system on a ZT/
I also like supporting American made products, and yes other makers are American made, but Emerson meets that criteria for me as well.
I also appreciate Ernest Emerson's personal journey in the martial arts. His pedigree is impressive.
Lastly I am a military contractor, and it cracks me up when people talk about what the military uses and how it all works. I've seen contracts for both the DoD and DoS with Moras, Benchmade, Gerber, Leatherman, Strider, Emerson, and Kershaw.
Contracts can be drawn up by hot little women in the private sector who know nothing about knives. I have found that most guys whether they are reservists or DEVGRU have their own preferences, and usually carry what they like when it comes to knives. I've also noticed too that they all prefer function over fit and finish.
It would be cool if you could post some pics of your knives that you actually use, so we could all see your favorite users. I have a feeling you have some pristine ZT's
Take care
I haven't read all these responses so may be repeating a few things but.....
First you need to define "worth" it is a relative term
Is fit and finish important
Is ease of sharpening important
Is edge retention important
Is country of origin important
Is the companies character important
Is cool factor important
Is warranty important
Is ease of take down important
Anyway you get the idea
Next
Are you a knife lover, knife user, or possibly both?
Many guys on here just like knives and don't really use them, so keeping the thing pretty is important. I've been guilty of this, but as I age I am coming to the conclusion of what good is a knife I just flick open?
If I have a user knife I want something easy to sharpen like 154 or A2, because I have used every steel out there, and guess what? They will all get dull QUICK if being used. Emersons are EASY to resharpen.
I also like a knife if I am "using" it, I don't mind dropping or getting dirty. Emersons fit that bill too.
Speaking of dirt I'd much rather clean an Emerson than a bearing system on a ZT/
I also like supporting American made products, and yes other makers are American made, but Emerson meets that criteria for me as well.
I also appreciate Ernest Emerson's personal journey in the martial arts. His pedigree is impressive.
Lastly I am a military contractor, and it cracks me up when people talk about what the military uses and how it all works. I've seen contracts for both the DoD and DoS with Moras, Benchmade, Gerber, Leatherman, Strider, Emerson, and Kershaw.
Contracts can be drawn up by hot little women in the private sector who know nothing about knives. I have found that most guys whether they are reservists or DEVGRU have their own preferences, and usually carry what they like when it comes to knives. I've also noticed too that they all prefer function over fit and finish.
It would be cool if you could post some pics of your knives that you actually use, so we could all see your favorite users. I have a feeling you have some pristine ZT's
Take care
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Good for you. It is great that you made a decision of what you expect in a knife and how much you are willing to pay.
Also good is that Emerson will do just fine without you as a customer.
If you're looking for pure cost effectiveness I think the production line might not be your first choice, as there is much qualified competition at their production knife price range. However, that does not make them bad knives. With all the talk of fit and finish and blade steel, sometimes ergonomics and balance is forgotten - both are very important for comfort if you intend to use a knife, and both are aspects that Emerson gets right.
If fit and finish are what you're after, buy one of his custom knives - they have excellent fit and finish.
If fit and finish are what you're after, buy one of his custom knives - they have excellent fit and finish.
AusLoX
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Well until we know their financials we don't really know if they're over charging. What percentage profit is considered over charging on a knife? In my business 10% is all that that competition will allow. Although supply and demand kick in during busy times and I can pull more profit, we generally sit around 10%. I deal with much larger numbers than the knife industry so dollar wise I might make more, but percentage wise I doubt it.
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Until you start and make a knife company successful, I'm guessing your opinion about finances relating to knife companies don't carry much weight.
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As for me, I dont like them. Only think I can say I do like is some of the blade designs, and definitely the thicker blade stock he uses. Other than that, not so much. Way overpriced to begin with. The designs he uses are very basic, and I'm not a huge fan of that either. Ergonomic aren't great, and he doesn't bother to do anything outside of peel-ply G10. His thumbstuds are placed horribly, and opening them is a chore. Most customers struggle with them as well. Its even worse when he uses the undersized oval hole openings. The "wave feature" is kinda cool, until you consider its use. The movement is too exaggerated to be tactical. Nothing says "I'm going for my knife" quite like snapping your arm *backwards* to open it. Also, many circumstances you dont need the knife to snag your pocket and open, in which the opener is a nuisance. I also find it ironic that Spyderco's Emerson opener works WAY better than Ernie's. I've seen many models where the blade heel portrudes erratically from the handle while opening (the cqc 8, if I remember correctly), which again points to poor design. Emerson did what companies like Surefire have made famous: they give tons of free knives to the military and police communities. For many of them, its the first non-china knife they've ever had, so they rave about it. Regular people see this and just have to have one. I have many people come into our store ready to buy an Emerson, but once we go over their other options, they generally leave with something else. And yes, we do sell Emersons, so we're not going to sabotage our own products. For most people it makes more sense to buy a Benchmade. Get a knife with the exact same steel, better warranty and customer service, stronger lock, and easier to open and close all for 1/3 the price of the Emerson.
AusLoX
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All are carried in rotation. I only own one ZT and plan to buy more of the new line for 2015. I don't collect knives for a case. Anything else you would like to Assume?
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I'm enjoying my CQC-7A (no wave). It's a good, solid, well-designed tool, nothing fancy. Very ergonomic grip, holds a decent edge and is quite easy to sharpen. Didn't care for the chisel edge so I changed that to a conventional V (mostly on a coarse diamond DMT, but if I had to do it again I'd just use my Ryobi (Japanese Dremel). Fit and finish are perfectly fine, no wobble, excellent lockup. My Sebbie is a bit better finished, holds a better edge (S35Vn), the tolerances may be a bit tighter, but then again it cost about twice as much.
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Based on your post in the Emerson section and this one, you clearly have no interest in open discussion. It seems you are more interested in feeding a discussion that bashes Emerson knives for whatever they are (or aren't). I'm glad you like ZT knives, I like them too, quite a lot in fact. I also like Emerson knives quite a lot and I own a bunch from each manufacturer. Worth is one of the most subjective terms that exists. Take into account need, income, collector vs user, etc and you may get close, but not really.
If someone had enough time, interest and contempt I am certain they could point out several flaws with each model, from packaging, to fit and finish, to price, etc. I sure hope there is more to this than the obvious attempt to troll and create some dissension.
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Really,..this was my point in posting this. They can charge what the market will bear. I believe you brought this up in another thread.
Telling anyone what they can charge for their product is somewhat of a slippery slope when they have no issues selling them. They took the risks for their business and are reaping the rewards for success as well as any failures they might have.
AusLoX
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Except most finance is the same. Its a universal language played by different rules. I can look up finances of knife company from publically traded companies. not hard at all if you understand finance. I plan on putting several knife companies within my holdings, just not sure the ROA will be worth it. I might start a thread on that when I'm done researching.
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