Is there a lack of interest in Emerson Knives?

I'm with Joe on this one.
I will not buy an Emerson because I don't like liner-locks.
Of all the knife locks available the liner-lock is the only one that I cannot trust.

Allen.
 
I have an Emerson Lagriffe that I think is an excellent knife/sheath combo, very well executed and fine workmanship. The EK folders I have handled have varied considerably in there quality and I also am not a huge fan of liner locks, they don't keep me from buying a knife but I need to have confidence in the companies consistent quality and I haven't found that with Emerson. I also think they are over priced. Spyderco and Benchmade and others offer excellent folders in g10 and s30v at lower prices then Emersons blades and I have found the quality on these companies prodects to be higher then that of Emerson. There fb karambits are interesting but again 200.00 for a fixed blade? I like the wave and some of the designs very much but they just don't seem to doing anything better then other knives of equal or superior materials and lower prices.
IMO of course
 
Ray Bair said:
Spyderjon, what EKI model do you have with a liner lock as thick as that of a Buck/Strider? (Or, perhaps I should ask, what Buck/Strider model do you have?). I've read that the later models of the Buck/Strider have a thinner liner than the original (with which I am familiar). Ac ouple of my observations:

1) The ONLY liner lock I've seen with a thickness that rivals the original Buck/Strider is the Benchmade Gravitator.

2) My Emersons (admittedly, only 2, a Commander and a PSARK, with hands-on examination of another Commander) exhibit flimsier locking liners than other makers' liner locks in the same (or lower!) price range (Benchmade, notably). All three of these Emersond fail a light "bump" test! A light, sharp strike of the back of the blade on the palm of my hand causes the liner lock to snap out of the way, and the blade slams shut. I have no such experience with a number of Benchmades (including an old M975, Emerson-licensed model).

3) The primary advantage of a frame lock over a liner lock, in my experience, is that a firm grip strenthens a framelock's security, by using the strength of the grip to maintain the locking bar in position. The handle scale of a liner lock does not offer this.

Again, not a slam on EKI, and based only on the 3 specimens I noted above. On the other hand, a 100% failure rate means I never carry an Emerson (despite my genuine appreciation of the "Wave" feature).
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Man, either I am VERY lucky, or you all are VERY unlucky.... :) I have 6 Emersons t this time, but have had more. I have a 97 & 99 Raven, 99 CQC7, 99 Commander(Chromium Nitrade blade), a 05 CQC8 and 11 and NONE of them have weak linerlocks... I have bump tested all but the CQC8 and have never had a failure. My Commander and 99 Raven have the best linerlocks.... The 98 Commanders have linerlocks easily as thick as any knife I have ever seen, and come close to a REAL Strider's frame lock... Unfortunately, I don't own one.. :( Again, I still say, if you need a knife to take abuse that can cause a titianium linerlock to fail, you shouldn't be using a folding knife....

Thank you for the clarification on the ability of framelock. I still don't understand how it is less likely to unlock if twisted in the hand... Seems that the palm would drag and cause it to unlock..... Like I said, It can do this on a linerlock as well, just seems handle scales would help this a little., but I have NO experience with framelocks at all, so I am not bashing them..... They seem to work, so if ya all like em, keep using em... I've just never had problems with linerlocks. On any knife... Emerson, Benchmade....etc.....

Seems I am definitely in the minority here.... :p But like i said before... It is all a matter of opinion and experience... Some have had good experiences with Emersons, and some(most it seems :( ) have had bad experiences. Someone here said that many Emerson fans on other sites would except issues with a knife just becuase they are fans of the maker or manufacture. I can tell you, I am not one of those people. I might give Emerson 1 chance if I got a bad knife, but after that, I would look elsewhere. If I pay anything, let alone $200+ one chance is all ya get. All the Emerson's I have EVER gotten have worked flawlessly.

I am enjoying this conversation... I hope noone has taken what I have said as arguing or trying to stir something up, I am just curiuos as to why so many people don't like Emersons and have had so many bad experiences... I am lucky and have not... Believe me, I understand, if a knife has failed you, get rid of it.. It is not safe to use.

Whatever knife you have and use.... Use it and enjoy it....
 
Eh, like has already been said, Emerson has a very strong web presence thriving on other forums.

I've had quite a few Emersons, and it's always the same thing...the dang liner locks! I had quite a love/hate relationship with them for quite awhile. Excellent design, fantastic ergonomics, and even the chisel ground blades have thier place at times, but those freakin' liners... :mad: :mad:

I've had quite a handful of Commanders, and a P-Sark that went South on me with the liner locks. coincidentally, I've also had three CQC-7s that never had a liner lock problem.

To be honest, I don't think Emerson liner locks inparticular are that cursed, as much as any knife that is opened with the "wave" type of action. If ya' think about it that slams the hell out of a knife, and plus it's an addictive action. I used to run around the house constantly with my waved Emersons "Snap! Snap! Snap!" all freakin' day long...I don't think that was a good thing for the liner locks.

At one point when I had decided Emersons were innately evile I got a Benchmade AFCK liner lock and had it converted to tip up carry, and put zip ties around the opening hole. worked awesome for pocket openings, but...wore the liner lock out in about six weeks. Also did the same thing with a Spyderco Wegner.


IMHO, if they're going to use the wave, they need a beefier lock. Either the ones like on the '98 Commanders, or a framelock. For now there's just alot better options out there currently for the money IMHO.

Incidentally, I also wonder about some of the production choices. All the other major companies are using VG-10, S30V, and all these other awesome steels, and all the Emerson production pieces are STILL 154-CM Nothing innately evil about 154-CM, but it might be time to evaluate a steel upgrade.

Also, they thinnned the liners down after '98, now they're getting rid of the hard chrome finishes that have been so popular.

I just don't see that as a way to produce a superior product and thrive in todays modern industry.

But...what do I know? I'm just small town white trash typing this from my cluttered little log home, while Mr. Emerson continues to enjoy enormous success with his knives.

JMHO and all that jazz.... :D
 
Runs With Scissors said:
To be honest, I don't think Emerson liner locks inparticular are that cursed, as much as any knife that is opened with the "wave" type of action. If ya' think about it that slams the hell out of a knife, and plus it's an addictive action. I used to run around the house constantly with my waved Emersons "Snap! Snap! Snap!" all freakin' day long...I don't think that was a good thing for the liner locks.

At one point when I had decided Emersons were innately evile I got a Benchmade AFCK liner lock and had it converted to tip up carry, and put zip ties around the opening hole. worked awesome for pocket openings, but...wore the liner lock out in about six weeks. Also did the same thing with a Spyderco Wegner.


IMHO, if they're going to use the wave, they need a beefier lock. Either the ones like on the '98 Commanders, or a framelock. For now there's just alot better options out there currently for the money IMHO.



Also, they thinnned the liners down after '98, now they're getting rid of the hard chrome finishes that have been so popular.
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Interesting thought.... I had never thought of that.... My Emerson's do get opened and shut MUCH more than any of my knives due to the "wave" feature... It is just plain fun to play with :) I could see the linerlocks going bad before a like made knife from another manufacturer. Mine haven't, but I could see it happening.... I too wish they would have stuck with the pre-98 liners.... Not sure why they changed($$$$ :rolleyes: ) Also, I don't understand why they dropped the Chrome finishes...... It's like every company in the world(not just knives) When they finanlly get a product everyone likes... They change it or remove it from the market...... :confused: :confused: There has to be some marketing genius there somewhere??? :rolleyes: I myself and not a fan of the "satin" production blades(I prefer the Black-T), but I know they are popular, and my 99 Commander with the Chromium Nitrate blade is 5yrs+ old and shows NO wear and I haven't had a problem with rusting... I do with other 154CM and ATS34 "satin" blades...... That is mainly why I prefer the Black-t... However, I also think they look more "tactical". :eek:

I'll stop babbling now.. :yawn: :p
 
Emerson does make a framelock, the HD7. One side is G10 and the other side is Ti. I really want to buy it but the price is very high. If you have the cash check it out.
 
My interest in Emerson knives ceased when Benchmade quit making them. The CQC7 (made by Benchmade) is one of the hardest users in my collection. Then I saw some Commanders (already made by EKI) just falling apart and never looked at another Emerson knife again.

David
 
mkent20 said:
I am not a fan of the axis lock, and find it "awkward" to unlock one-handed.
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Weird, once I broke mine in I found I could just thumb the button and roll it open or closed without even touching the blade stud. It did take a while to break in though......

As to the actual topic of the thread, I was talked into buying one of the 'last' <cou-bullpoop-gh> Benchmade CQ7's to be produced (that day apparently, still see them everywhere) and while it's pretty in a stealth bomber sort of way it's not a patch on my dirty old Crosslock Solitaire or a bought-on-a-whim Spyderco Endura Clipit (full serrated climbers model) for daily use. The Spydero in particular is amazing on cardboard as long as you dont mind cleaning it daily (tape stains and such).
 
Once I couldn't deal with Emersons, especially the tanto chisels, mostly because the naysayers influneced my judgment.

Once I stopped trusting my stock 1911 because all the rag writers told me I needed something more modern, better materials, better locks, safer mechanisms.

Then one day I came to my senses. I sold all my handguns except my old 1911's and sold my knives and started over on Emersons.

Emersons and 1911's are a lot a like. Simple, ergonomic, easy to tear down and assemble, easy to repair, and tested over time. And if you do take one apart, you won't void the warranty.

Knives and handguns are very personal tools. There is no best knife only the best knife for me.

I won't slam other knife manufacturers. People should spend more time using knives to find what is their best knife rather than building up what they have by tearing down other brands or depending on a forum to structure their opinions.

I am very satisfied with my Emersons.
 
From my impression you don't see as many dealears carring Emerson knives online. Anyone have any links to online dealers that offer a good selection of Emerson knives?

I hear more bad than good about their knives on these forums so I've never really had an interest in buying one. I don't know what they'd offer over a BM Axis lock knife.
 
David1967 said:
My interest in Emerson knives ceased when Benchmade quit making them. The CQC7 (made by Benchmade) is one of the hardest users in my collection. Then I saw some Commanders (already made by EKI) just falling apart and never looked at another Emerson knife again.

David
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I have heard that was due to fasteners made in house that were no good. AFAIK, they buy their fasteners now, but that bad taste seems to have lasted.
 
WadeF said:
From my impression you don't see as many dealears carring Emerson knives online. Anyone have any links to online dealers that offer a good selection of Emerson knives?

I hear more bad than good about their knives on these forums so I've never really had an interest in buying one. I don't know what they'd offer over a BM Axis lock knife.
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This site offers Custom, semi-custom, and production models.

http://schmuckatellico.com/
 
Thanks for the links. No offense to the Emerson fans, but those are some UGLY knives. They make my BM710 look pretty. :) I'm sure they keep the mall ninja's happy.
 
Years ago there were daily threads on this board about Emersons but over the last 2 years there are very few threads and very few replies to the Emerson threads in the Manufacturers area of this board.

I really wanted to buy the Super CQC7 but the regular production versions have the terrible new ceramic satin finish and I am not in to the black coated finishes.

Emerson should thicken the liners, bring back the hard chrome satin finish, and price the knives competitively against the competition.

I love the HD7 but at that price I would get a strider folder.
 
David1967 said:
My interest in Emerson knives ceased when Benchmade quit making them. The CQC7 (made by Benchmade) is one of the hardest users in my collection. Then I saw some Commanders (already made by EKI) just falling apart and never looked at another Emerson knife again.

David
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crazy as it sounds the one emerson i have had liner probs with was a BM 975SBT, go figure. i have about 8 EKI's and 2 specwars.
 
I think my Mini-Commander is one of the best folder designs on the market (it does have a secure liner lock, just like my customized CQC-7).
 
I believe that most of the pre-2000 Emersons had fairly thick liners. Around 2000 they switched to thinner stock. Not 100% sure but that seems to be what I've read. I remember buying a production model in 1999 and being thouroughly impressed with the thickness of the liners.

As far as framelocks go.........a firm grip is going to push in on the locking bar helping to prevent accidental closing. The handle on linerlocks will prevent gripping on the lock bar. A clockwise twist of a right handed framelock would tend to cause a push in of the lock bar, while a counter clockwise twist would go a long ways in pulling the lock out of engagement.
 
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