Maybe this is why...

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dalefuller

dalefuller

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There's an interesting thread over in General Knife Discussion about a broken tip on a ZT620 (http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1257135-I-ve-said-this-before-about-ZT0620-s-tip). I couldn't help but to think "Maybe this is why Ernie sticks with 154CM steel and thick blade geometry for the 'real deal' Emerson tools". I'm not gonna do it with any of mine, but I do wonder if a CQC7B or another one of the tanto tip Emersons wouldn't have survived in much better fashion.
 
But but I need the latest and greatest steel guys!!!

ETA

Speaking from anecdotal experience, I have dinged up my Emersons a fair amount, specifically my 15. I have pried, stabbed through sheet metal, cut tar paper (no shingles), some more prying and abuse, etc. Really all what I walked away with was a rolled edge which was remedied soon after getting home.
 
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V ground tips might cut a little better but chisel ground tips are a lot stronger. The tip on my CQC9 is thick and it's difficult to make make the first cut with it. But when I dropped mine onto tile blade first it came away with just a couple of scuffs. I don't think any of my V ground hawkbills could survive a fall onto a hard surface without a tiny bit of the tip snapping off.
 
Yeah, I have broken the tips off other brands over the years. Having done so left me selling most off those other brands over the past to replace them with Emersons. Emersons have been very reliable and is my top pick for work use. Worst case would a little bit of a curled edge from the worst stuff I have put them through only to sharpen up really fast so no big deal there. Emerson's 154CM is great stuff and I do have ZT's with these "super steel" but end up doing edge repair at the end of the workday where a Emerson goes for a couple days before sharpening (not repairing chipped edge). Emerson 154CM continues to impress me to this day and I have been a Emerson user for the past 14 years.
 
Yep, I've stabbed a super cqc7 tip into seasoned firewood and then pried just to see how strong the tip was, didn't break.. And honestly I don't think many of the Emerson models tips would break by just being dropped onto a pallet. But, just my opinion.
 
Etak b is pretty similar in shape. Anyone want to volunteer to try that with one?
 
Jim Ankerson tested a cqc 13--among the tests, he did the light prying and stabbing of wood, and the tip did not break. The 13 has pretty much a needle-like tip, especially for Emersons, and it help up just fine.
 
CarterR said:
Yep, I've stabbed a super cqc7 tip into seasoned firewood and then pried just to see how strong the tip was, didn't break.. And honestly I don't think many of the Emerson models tips would break by just being dropped onto a pallet. But, just my opinion.
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Even when an Emerson is unnecessarily abused, the tip won't break....

[video=youtube;TEevz-fh7cU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEevz-fh7cU[/video]

[video=youtube;5ED58nK6Gpc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=85027636&v=5ED58nK6Gpc&x-yt-ts=1422503916[/video]
 
Seeing and hearing that Spyderco snap at the tip a couple times brings back not so fond memories of mine and some other brands. Good thing I laughed when it happened and took it with a grain of salt. Emerson Knives ROCK!!!:thumbup:
 
That is a odd looking break on the Mini-15. Reminds me of broken aluminum things(parts and mechanical bits). All of my broken blades were clean snaps without any form of angle to it if you will. Very interesting and the 1st I have ever seen of a broken anything on a EKI blade. Glad to see that EKI took care of the guy with a choice of a replacement blade or another knife/model. Best customer service I know of so far in the knife world!:thumbup:
 
It's not hard to break the tip of a knife if you use it inappropriately. Even 154CM has had it's fair share of broken tips.
 
despite the use of what many consider "better steel", I never had any interest in the tanto model, but the 630 (I think that's the model number) caught my eye. BUT, I think im gonna stick with the real deal. I already have enough ZT framelocks, and IMO they've become quite boring. despite the wave feature and the blade designs its still a ZT knife to me. just my .02
 
tokerblue said:
It's not hard to break the tip of a knife if you use it inappropriately. Even 154CM has had it's fair share of broken tips.
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Indeed! I myself have broken the tip of blades from other brands that have 154CM blades. I just haven't seen a broken Emerson blade tip till this thread.
 
...anything that can be made, can be broken! The intentional drop that I referenced in the OP seems to approximate fairly closely a real accidental drop. The forces applied to the tip would seem to be different than the forces applied in an intentional stab as referenced in the other thread by chickenfried and marcinek. My point was simply a response to the threads wondering why Emerson doesn't update his material choices and HT. They come up pretty regularly on the Emerson subforum and it just seemed to be a possible justification for his choice of a tried-and-true SS & HT that favors toughness over edge holding. I never intended to say that Emersons can't be broken... just that they seem to be built with the intention of having a better chance of surviving something like the ZT drop than if they were made of a different steel or had a different HT.
 
marcinek said:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/951147-UPDATE**I-just-broke-the-tip-off-my-new-mini-CQC-15/page2
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Meh....exogenous inclusions ie: impurities formed within the steel during the steel making process, it happens no matter how superb your QC and test equipment is. As for the picture of the karambit type blade with the tip broken, well, that doesn't surprise me. If you watched the videos, it is apparent that the CQC-7 was subjected to far greater abuses then the OP of the other thread subjected his knife to, so I'm going with contaminated steel as the culprit.
 
How do you KNOW that the OP of the other thread is telling the whole story? Elmax is tougher than 154cm even at higher hardness. How do you KNOW that elmax blade didn't have an inclusion?

Educate your self on different steels, don't bury your head in the sand of ignorance. There are tougher stainless than 154cm that out perform it in every way. And remember ANY steel can break under the right circumstances. As some very notable makers will say "s*** happens".
Alnamvet68 said:
Meh....exogenous inclusions ie: impurities formed within the steel during the steel making process, it happens no matter how superb your QC and test equipment is. As for the picture of the karambit type blade with the tip broken, well, that doesn't surprise me. If you watched the videos, it is apparent that the CQC-7 was subjected to far greater abuses then the OP of the other thread subjected his knife to, so I'm going with contaminated steel as the culprit.
Click to expand...
 
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