New to the forums and looking for some advice!

nosaj03

nosaj03

Joined
Sep 15, 2010
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235
Hello my fellow blade lovers! New to the forums and looking for some advice from you seasoned blade vets. I've been looking for a new everyday use edc as well as something for practical self defense. I think Emerson knives is exactly what I'm looking for. Unfortunately indecision is getting the best of me but moreso the lack of knowledge with different blade companies. I would like to know what you folks opinions are on emerson's knives in comparison to zero tolerance. I've heard great reviews on both but I'm leaning more towards the emersons. I apologize if this is not the proper place for this question but considering I'm leaning towards emersons I thought it would be appropriate. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ohh and btw Im looking mainly at the cqc14 because of the short strong blade. I figured it would be less alarming to others if i use it in public yet effective in close quarters.
 
i dont know if it is fair to either company to compare their knives, but i can give you some pros/cons of each:

emersons:
-great ergonomics
-easy to sharpen
-wave opener
-plain edge or partial serrations available
-black or grey coating, or stonewash finishes
-easy to dissasemble and clean
-some think the linerlock is too thin
-few scale options unless you go custom
-either full or partial chisel grind
-prices range from about $100-$250
-lots of models to choose from
-no choice of blade steel
 
zero tolerance:
-thick liner and frame locks
-good ergonomics
-wide blade profiles
-thick and heavy
-some of the clips are too small, imo
-steel variety
-color and scale variety
-black or camo coating, or uncoated blades available
-not as many models as emerson, but several coming out before the end of the year
-prices range from $105-300
 
just my opinion, but much of what people prefer in either brand is very subjective.

kind of like saying which is better, ford or chevy? honda or toyota?

i have both, and like both, for different reasons.

i think what you will find though, are far fewer complaints of poor fit and finish from zero tolerance.
 
Emerson ergonomics are as good as any. The trouble is in their QC. I would be very careful when buying EKI over the 'net. Best bet is to try one out in person, if possible.
 
I was selling Emerson on my site but I had so many complaints and returns I stopped selling them. I personally was never a huge fan for various reasons, but I carried them on my site because I know some like them and will buy them. After some complaints and returns because of quality I just stopped selling them. I have never had a knife with that many complaints and returns and still don't. My main supplier is no longer offering that brand once what they have is all sold. That says allot about a brand.
 
Not much more to add. I own two older Emersons and love them both, but the QC issues of late have become a serious concern. Hardly a week goes by here where I don't read of someone with a problem with their new knife.

I don't own a ZT, so I can't speak to that. Morimotom is one of our finest "seasoned blade vets," though, so I'd pay close attention to what he says.

I think if I were looking for another Emerson, I'd try to find an older used one in the exchange here at this point. Just my two cents.
 
I've used a CQC-14 daily for 6+ months or so.Didn't care for the wave - so sawed it off. Didn't care for the clip - so replaced that.That's it. Other than that - it got used and sharpened . Chopped ,pried and used as a hammer ( while closed) - finish on blade is pretty scuffed up. Edge is surprisingly intact for the kind of use my folders get.
Something I really like about this knife is that is has always been easy to reshapen with nothing more than sharpening rods. In 50+ years of using knives - if you use them - they get dull. Easy sharpening is a BIG plus.
Opening and CLOSING. I'm spoiled - I want to open a knife easily ( this includes with gloves on) and close it easily/quickly ( will concede that with gloves on - few knives are great on the closing cycle). The Emerson Disc is great.
Big handle -short blade - I really wish more designers would take a serious look at this. So many municipalities have less than 3" blade limits -personally i can use a less than 3' blade every day - I can't use a abbreviated handle. BTW -self defence is not part of my use.
What didn't I like. The asymmetric grind.There were some tasks this worked brilliantly for - cutting outer sheaths off of multi-conductor comm cables were a breeze. Trying to cut cardboard packaging in a straight line - not so good.Cuts very well - just not in a straight line.
Recently replaced the 14 for daily use with a Strider SNG - possibly not a fair comparison given price and size.
The only ZT's I've owned have been MUDD knives - bought sold -bought sold.These are best knives for use wearing gloves that I've ever used.Really wish they would have kept these the size of the original G&G Hawk MUDD (still own one of these for winter use). The ZT's are heavy -too heavy for me.They're KAI products -big plus in terms of my experience with their customer service .
 
TKAZ said:
I was selling Emerson on my site but I had so many complaints and returns I stopped selling them. I personally was never a huge fan for various reasons, but I carried them on my site because I know some like them and will buy them. After some complaints and returns because of quality I just stopped selling them. I have never had a knife with that many complaints and returns and still don't. My main supplier is no longer offering that brand once what they have is all sold. That says allot about a brand.
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Do you have any left or are they all out?

I've never had an issue with my Emersons and I've owned 7 so far.
 
I have a dozen or so Emersons. Among them is a CQC-14. Unless you have a legal need for a short blade, I wouldn't pick that as a first or only choice. The grip isn't short; just the blade. For someone to see the knife folded, it appears as large as any other. While one can get by without much difficulty with the short blade (most of what you'll likely need it for will work just fine with a shorter blade), it seems like a bit of a waste to me to have the additional grip without any extra blade to put in it.

My personal favorites by Emerson are the Commander and Mini-Commander. I like the recurve blade, without serrations. I've got several that have been re-worked by Tom Krein, with a blade regrind to give it the blade grind I'd have preferred to see from the factory. Having said that, the factory grind works exceptionally well, and I do have a number of Emerson knives with the factory grind. It works fine.

I haven't experienced these quality control issues, but others here have. Fit and finish certainly isn't a Chris Reeve Sebenza, but that may be part of the reason that my Emerson knives have been carried all over the globe into abusive environments, while my Sebenza sits at home. The Sebenza is fine; an excellent pocket knife, but it's the Emersons I've carried when I want something that will hold up, that I trust my life to, and that I don't mind risking damage or loss. I don't see them as show pieces, but working knives; I don't expect them to be pretty. Just to work. In my experience, they do.
 
When you guys mention qc issues what exactly are you referring to? I have to be honest the responses are what I expected but I appreciate the honesty. For the price on the used market I will more than likely go for a ZT. Yes they are overwhelmingly big especially to the public eye but I'm not buying the knife for everyone else. I want a strong well built knife that I won't have any issues with when using it in rough conditions. Perhaps the smaller zt0350 would suit my needs and maybe I can find one on these boards. It's a shame because I was genuinely interested in the cqc14. I just don't wanna spend the money and have it not meet my expectations or even worse.
 
I just realized I have actually owned four different CQC-14's. One had a Krein regrind - the other three were completely stock. ALL were purchased used - so initial condition was not attributable to the Emerson factory.
I did disassemble and clean each of these and substitute a very small amount of Chris Reeve grease for the black grease that they came with from the factory. One of these used knives did have screwed up washers - I bought replacements from Emerson and they were shipped reasonably promptly.
I'm a user not a collector - so very possibly I could miss condition issues that would be horrific to a collector. I am obsessive about lock up and blade/pivot play. All four of the samples I owned had solid lock up and no play - neither vertical or S2S.While only one individual knife has been used enough to even begin to make any judgement about durability - that one CQC-14 is still tight.
Can't speak to their other knives or overall quality of the line - but my experience with the 14's is very positive.The price is reasonable for a useful tool.
 
I have owned four ZT 0300 series, one ZT 0500 and three different Emersons (HD7, HD12, CQC13).

Overall, from my experience, i would prefer ZT knives. I do however, have to admit that i love how emerson knives look and feel in the hand.

I don't have much complaints about ZT knives except that they are quite heavy to carry daily.

I do not like how the wave feature eats up the lock bar so quickly and the fact that they only come with 1.5mm thick locking liner. The framelock emersons are imo poorly designed in the sense that it doesn't provide secure lock engagement surface. The lock-bar cut out is too deep and long too, which weakens the lockbar.

and for the same material and workmanship, Emerson knives are quite expensive.

Well, i'll skip the QC issue since it's already been covered.

Not that i'm Anti-Emerson or anything, it is what it is. I still appreciate Emerson designs, but given the choices, i'll go with ZT. In your case, a ZT0350 or 0550.

PS: If you really want an Emerson, i would suggest you contact a gentleman by the name STR, he does framelock conversion of folders, and that will fix most of the shortcomings.
 
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I think I'm gonna go with a zt and I may be getting one from a gentlemen on these boards. It's the 0200 which is a beast of a knife but the price is too good to pass up. I can't seem to find anyone selling the 350 300 301 or 302.

If I can find an Emerson at a decent price I wouldnt pass it up
 
sns3guppy said:
it seems like a bit of a waste to me to have the additional grip without any extra blade to put in it.
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The idea is to have a fullsize handle so you can control the knife better, like a scapel. For someone used to larger handles or wth larger hands the typical reduction in handle size is a big issue.
 
I don't have a ZT but from the quality of my Kershaw knives, I trust that they will excede your standards.

I do have 5 Emersons +1 on preorder. I don't see any QC issues in any single one of them. They are well made and feel very very robust. The bottom line is, once you buy 1 Emerson you will see why these things are so popular, and you will then buy more. So take the step and get the Emerson.
 
The idea is to have a fullsize handle so you can control the knife better, like a scapel. For someone used to larger handles or wth larger hands the typical reduction in handle size is a big issue.
Click to expand...

I get that, but it's a little like putting a full size grip on a snub nose revolver. It generally runs contrary to the whole concept of downsizing.
 
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