New Commander- Got it boys!

P

Peter Ervin

Joined
Oct 27, 1998
Messages
178
I recieved my new satin finish Commander tuesday our time and after a couple of days with it here are my initial impressions.
What a blade! It is one serious cutting tool, that belly and recurve is outrageous.I was also surprised by the tip, It has a lot more point to it than the pictures suggest. The wave works great.
The lock-up is ok but not perfect, a little bit of vertical play but it should seat itself in over the next week or so hopefully.

I was surprised at how thin the handle is, about the same thickness as an AFCK I had lying around. The liners are thinner than the liners on my Raven which is a bit odd. I would much prefer the older Commander with the thicker/sturdier handle.

The part of the tang that meets up with the liner lock is at a much steeper angle than I've seen on other knives. It doesn't seem to affect the lock-up and should result in the liner-lock taking more time to wear across the tang.

The blade doesn't sit quite in the center of the handle,a bit to the clip side. I've pulled it apart and bent the handle slightly while retensioning the internal screws and fixed the problem to a degree. Bending the handle too much in this direction affects the lock-up and it's a compromise. As it is now, the liner locks up about a fraction over the center of the tang. By the way, Emerson has squeezed 4 screws into the rear of the handle - I'm impressed.

The blade is easily the sturdiest blade I've seen and still very,very sharp. I can't say enough about this blade, It's a beauty. The grind lines are perfect and even on both sides, the only blemish? is some rough looking grind marks on the very edge of the spine. It sort of adds to the usability of the knife I guess.

The box it came in says it has a satin finish, but if it is it's the weirdest satin finish I've seen. From all reports and pics I've seen I reckon this is a chrome-nitride? coated blade. The finish is very good and very smooth and I'm not complaining but the box should have CN on it instead of Satin.

All in all This is the best knife bar none that I have seen let alone bought. It has a great handle and one of the most interesting and effective blades I've seen.

Thanks for all your help guys in answering my questions and helping me to bite the bullet and fork out the readies for a Commander. It was worth it.

Cheers

Pete

 
Pete,

Welcome to the club! I am glad that you like your Commander so much - beware there is proberbly a custom out there with your name on it!

Regards,

Ed
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Peter

Congratulations!

The Commander will ruin you for all other knives.

Good eye on the Satin Commanders actually being coated blades. They're Hard Chromed and unmarked.

The CN Commander I have is marked on the box and on the blade as being CN coated.

The two look very similar and the only way, other then the CN marking, to tell them apart is to hold them side by side. The CN blade is a hair darker.

HTH

John
 
John, is CN and Hard Chromed the same thing? I thought Emerson only does Chrome Nitride and the black T coatings.If CN and Hard Chromed coated blades are different- what is the difference? Is one harder than the other and more wear resistent? It seems odd that they would sell coated blades and call them a satin finish. My only guess is that someone on the assembly line put the wrong knife in the wrong box.

Pete
 
Chromium Nitride and Hard Chroming are two different things. My understanding (and I could be wrong here) is that Emerson is no longer producing CN blades. What's out there is out there.

As stated before, the "Satin" blades are actually Hard Chrome plated.

Honestly I'm not knowledgeable to give you the differences in the two coatings.

Here is a picture of a few Commanders. Top is CN, Middle "Satin" and Bottom is Black-T.

John
 

Anyone know the rationale for going to the hard chroming? It may well be that hard chroming is less expensive so therefore Emerson can make the knife cheaper and pocket the extra profit.

The hard chrome does look pretty in the picture though. How does it hold up to fingerprints and such? My CrN coated Microtechs look like crap after people come over, fondle them, and get the blades all finger-printy...

PM
 
The part of the tang that meets up with the liner lock is at a much steeper angle than I've seen on other knives.
Click to expand...

A steep angle on the lock does give longer wear, as you point out. But steep tang angles are also one of the primary causes of liner lock failures due to torquing, spine pressure, or spine whacks.

If you do believe in doing the spine whack test, could you give it a try (no more than medium hard, with a quick whippy snap) and let us know what happens?

If you don't believe in the spine whack test, or don't want to subject your new knife to it, would you be willing to try just putting some palm pressure on the spine to see if the lock starts creeping down the tang? Keep your hands out of the way in case the blade closes!

Given the slightly shakey lockup you're already seeing, it's probably worth breaking the lock in, opening 50 times or so, first.

Joe
 
Congratulations on you new Commander, was it a plain blade or Combo? My favorite Commander is still the plain blade Green-T. I bought it directly from Emerson and the action is perfect!
 
mr44

I don't think I would consider coating the blades a bad thing. Hard Chroming the blades creates a very durable, good looking finish.

rfrost

Please . . . that picture was aweful. I do my own photos and am learning as I go. I'm getting much better with a scanner and with a Digicam.

John
 
Guys, my model is a combo edge, hard chromed blade.

Joe, I've tried to defeat the lock with all known methods and it hasn't failed yet. I thought the same as you initially but to my surprise it held every time. I will tinker with the set-up though to see if I can get a better mating of the liner and tang. I would prefer it to lock up a little closer to the near side.

John, thanks for the info regarding the blade coatings. I definately think Emerson Knives should advertise these blades as Hard Chromed and not Satin.However I am very impressed with the Hard Chrome finish, It is very smooth, seems ALOT more durable when it comes to scratches than the Black coatings and does not leave finger prints at all and is VERY easy to clean - just wipe it on your shirt/pants.

I wish the stores other than Emerson Knives had real satin blades, I have never had a blade rust on me. A little tender care goes a long way. I must say though, the Hard Chrome finish is the best coating I've seen so far.Every black blade I've had scratches just by lookin' at it.

I'd love to know the difference between Hard Chromed and CN coatings, they seem to have the same properties ( more durable than the Black finish ). Derek, if you're out there, I'd like to hear your views on this.

Cheers

Pete
 
Peter,

I am glad you are stoked with your knife. I carry a chromed Commander every day. It is what I call my "social" knife.

Coatings- I generally refer to the HC&CN blades as "non-black". Calling them satin really just lets everyone know that they are not black.

I think that the HC should prove to be more durable than the CN. The CN was a MAJOR pain in the ass. The HC is much better. Right now, my favorite knives are the OD Green handles with the HC blade.

Take care,
Derek

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Emersonknives.com

The #1 Hard Use Knives In The World
 
Thanks for the reply Derek. I'm very impressed with the hard chrome finish, it's very durable and easy to keep clean.
What problems have you found with the CN finish?

Pete
 
well, i recently got a Commander, too! got it Friday 8/3/00. it's a '99 model. the dealer, (i couldn;t fet it @ any internet store), had 1 '99, and ~ half doz. of the 2K mdls. i chose the 99 cause of what i've read here about the different blade geometry, and the liner thickness, and the aleged rubbing of the blade against the liner when opening. i prefer beefy knives. but this has gotta be the ultimate cutting tool ever! i've got a Spyderco Scimitar, which is extrEmely sharp, and, well, all my knives are very sharp, but the Wave feature is, imho, the fastest opening device ever. just gotta get the hang of it! BTW--i should've played w/it over a cardboard pallet, instead of concrete....that thing can dance!!!
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'course, i jes hadda cut mah thumb
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.. nore later. john

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yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah
 
The hard chrome finish is one tough finish. The pic below shows a S&W M19 that was originally blue and was hard chromed about 22 years ago
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That alone says alot about the durability of the finish. Here it sits next to my "satin" commander.
View
 
What's that thingie next to the Commander in the picture - is it one of them "revolvers" John's talking about?
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OK Guys,

I went back to my safe and dug out a more modern 13 year old hard chromed auto to sit next to my "satin" commander
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. Hey John, whiteout wasn't invented yet, it was used to hold a couple of magnum "erasers".

View
 
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING...Aren't the above pictured items "dangerous" and all but illegal in San Francisco? You are clearly running an underground weapons locker and photo studio. I may have to do my citizen's duty and turn you in to the local authorities for the threat you are to the children...

-Scott
 
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