- Joined
- Jun 29, 1999
- Messages
- 9,847
Been considering getting an Emerson for some time; years, actually, but never could bring myself to shell out $200+ for a knife with a rather pedestrian (by today’s standards) 154CM steel. Nothing wrong with 154CM, but it’s nothing special these days. I hope some day Ernie does a special run in, say, S35Vn. Plus, Emersons are hard to find in Canada, and most places ask a premium price if they do have them.
My interest mainly is Emerson’s iconic CQC line. My only other chisel grind is a massive Ivan Campos American Standard Tanto, a ¼” thick slab of unbelievably sharp D3 you can chop through a 2x4 and then shave a peach, but at about a pound, it’s not really conducive for pocket carry.
A while back I read a post on these forums about the Kershaw-Emerson collaboration. Emerson design, Kershaw construction, and Kershaw blades are top quality IMHO. Made in China, and while I’d rather buy North American given the chance, it’s difficult to buy anything that’s not made somewhere overseas these days. So I picked up a nifty little CQC-8K down at Cutting Edge Cutlery at North Market Mall in Calgary for $59; not bad considering the Canadian Loonie is currently worth about 89 cents US. It’s a close replica of the real CQC: single-bevel tanto blade with black-oxide non-reflective coating, textured G-10 handles. It’s got the patented Emerson “Wave” and a thumb disk, even has the cool little Emerson glowering skull logo on one side of the blade and on the clip. Unfortunately, it says CHINA on the other side of the blade. Nylon washers, no problem; nylon has a natural lubricity and works beautifully in this application. The blade is perfectly centred and so is the very stiff steel liner when opened. Blade length: 3.5 in.; open length 8.1 in; Weight: 5. The blade is 8Cr14MoV, a Chinese-made steel, which according to others on these forums is pretty close to AUS-8, with less corrosion resistance, which the black oxide coating should compensate for. I’ve always liked the AUS8 in my CS Voyagers, so OK. It came hair-shaving sharp. Five minutes on the DMTs, followed by a lick on the flat side on a chromium-oxide impregnated strop took it to hair-popping.
The brochure that came with it comes with warns that using the Wave on dress trousers might rip light fabric. The pocket clip, however, was so tight I couldn’t even force it over the seam of my jeans pocket. Probably would have torn the patch off with a fast draw. I had to tweak the clip in a vise to be able to use it at all. Interestingly, it came with three extra screws for the clip, which can be mounted on either side. Lanyard hole, too. Once in pocket, the Wave works as advertised: flipping open with a satisfying KLACK. Neatest/fastest opener I’ve come across. The brochure it came with warns you to “Stand well away from other people as you withdraw the knife from your pocket”, which is probably a good idea unless you want to incite a sheeple stampede. This is a wicked-looking little knife.
The usefulness of the unique Emerson chisel grind is an ongoing topic here, particularly if you’re right-handed, as I am. I haven’t had any problem using it for food prep. If you hold the knife at a 90 degree angle with the flat side of blade toward whatever you’re cutting, it works great. So far I have defeated in CQC a stubborn block of cheese, several cardboard boxes and some sticks of soft pine. Holds an edge well as the 154CM in my Grippie.
In a word, Nice. This is a cool knife that most people can afford.
My interest mainly is Emerson’s iconic CQC line. My only other chisel grind is a massive Ivan Campos American Standard Tanto, a ¼” thick slab of unbelievably sharp D3 you can chop through a 2x4 and then shave a peach, but at about a pound, it’s not really conducive for pocket carry.
A while back I read a post on these forums about the Kershaw-Emerson collaboration. Emerson design, Kershaw construction, and Kershaw blades are top quality IMHO. Made in China, and while I’d rather buy North American given the chance, it’s difficult to buy anything that’s not made somewhere overseas these days. So I picked up a nifty little CQC-8K down at Cutting Edge Cutlery at North Market Mall in Calgary for $59; not bad considering the Canadian Loonie is currently worth about 89 cents US. It’s a close replica of the real CQC: single-bevel tanto blade with black-oxide non-reflective coating, textured G-10 handles. It’s got the patented Emerson “Wave” and a thumb disk, even has the cool little Emerson glowering skull logo on one side of the blade and on the clip. Unfortunately, it says CHINA on the other side of the blade. Nylon washers, no problem; nylon has a natural lubricity and works beautifully in this application. The blade is perfectly centred and so is the very stiff steel liner when opened. Blade length: 3.5 in.; open length 8.1 in; Weight: 5. The blade is 8Cr14MoV, a Chinese-made steel, which according to others on these forums is pretty close to AUS-8, with less corrosion resistance, which the black oxide coating should compensate for. I’ve always liked the AUS8 in my CS Voyagers, so OK. It came hair-shaving sharp. Five minutes on the DMTs, followed by a lick on the flat side on a chromium-oxide impregnated strop took it to hair-popping.
The brochure that came with it comes with warns that using the Wave on dress trousers might rip light fabric. The pocket clip, however, was so tight I couldn’t even force it over the seam of my jeans pocket. Probably would have torn the patch off with a fast draw. I had to tweak the clip in a vise to be able to use it at all. Interestingly, it came with three extra screws for the clip, which can be mounted on either side. Lanyard hole, too. Once in pocket, the Wave works as advertised: flipping open with a satisfying KLACK. Neatest/fastest opener I’ve come across. The brochure it came with warns you to “Stand well away from other people as you withdraw the knife from your pocket”, which is probably a good idea unless you want to incite a sheeple stampede. This is a wicked-looking little knife.
The usefulness of the unique Emerson chisel grind is an ongoing topic here, particularly if you’re right-handed, as I am. I haven’t had any problem using it for food prep. If you hold the knife at a 90 degree angle with the flat side of blade toward whatever you’re cutting, it works great. So far I have defeated in CQC a stubborn block of cheese, several cardboard boxes and some sticks of soft pine. Holds an edge well as the 154CM in my Grippie.
In a word, Nice. This is a cool knife that most people can afford.
I gotta stop visiting this forum and watching youtube vids
& I think they forgot to sharpen it 
but once sharpened it doesn't feel like a cheap knife, it's almost good enough to make me forget about my missing CQC-7BW.
