Not super impressed by Emerson Knives

straitr said:
From years of reading threads just like this on various hobby boards that I frequent, from guns, knives, photography, bikes, and general outdoors, here is my conclusion.

For some reason, people are just not satisfied unless there is a "best, a "winner", and if someone says it's anyone other than our favorite pet brand, we'll argue blindly until they're assimilated or ran off, in which we claim victory.

It's why Al Gore invented the internet, embrace it.


Sent via the #1 Hard Use Tablet in the World - iPad.
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The Al Gore and iPad portions of that had me rolling.
 
^^I am thinking about getting a 10.
Looks like a pleasure to sharpen on the edge pro. Not that the others aren't, just don't have the wheel to take off.
Cheers
 
My little guy likes the stickers.



Ernie made an instant fan of him last year at Blade. He gave him a hat, t-shirt, and stickers after he took his picture with him and took time to chat with us.
Such a cool dude.
 
RevDevil said:
Realize that Emerson is not just a knife, but an entire brand from knives to jewelry to clothing, to sunglasses, to training seminars and other trinkets. The man built a pretty darn good business from just knives alone. Anyone that can do that has my respect, and he is a hell of a businessman. Do whatever works for you.
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That is extremely impressive. I had no idea you could buy Emerson jewelry. Good on him and his entrepreneurial spirit. I know next to nothing about the guy, so I cannot comment on such claims as his ego, but even if true, I'd have to respect him as a businessman.
 
RedLynx said:
That is extremely impressive. I had no idea you could buy Emerson jewelry. Good on him and his entrepreneurial spirit. I know next to nothing about the guy, so I cannot comment on such claims as his ego, but even if true, I'd have to respect him as a businessman.
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It seems that many makers seem to do well in this arena. They work hard at it as well, because there is a lot of competition. This is where Rick Hinderer is headed with the advent of the pens and optional fasteners and scales for knives that can be purchased.
 
RevDevil said:
It seems that many makers seem to do well in this arena. They work hard at it as well, because there is a lot of competition. This is where Rick Hinderer is headed with the advent of the pens and optional fasteners and scales for knives that can be purchased.
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It certainly makes good business sense if you can do it well. I'm often pleasantly surprised by many makers who specialize in [insert thing] also attempt to branch out and try to sell [insert other thing] and seem to do very well. I start to think they can only do this one thing and then suddenly they start doing more, and often just as well. Nice to see.
 
RevDevil said:
It seems that many makers seem to do well in this arena. They work hard at it as well, because there is a lot of competition. This is where Rick Hinderer is headed with the advent of the pens and optional fasteners and scales for knives that can be purchased.
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People think his knives are expensive, try freakin' $200 for a pocket clip!

 
I have owned one Emerson so no expert here. For me was a little heavy liner lock seemed a little thin not a fan of the wave feature. And the chisel grind is not for me not to mention the price but I am glad I had the opportunity to try one out. Not the first our the last knife I found was not my cup of tea.
 
cncpro11 said:
People think his knives are expensive, try freakin' $200 for a pocket clip!
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Yeah, Steel Flame stuff is pretty pricey. I think some of it is really unique, and cool, but most pieces cost more than the knife they're intended for. And the SF Jewelry gets into the thousands, crazy. Fun to look at though.

Nice looking Gentleman Jim.
 
The only Emerson specimen I've had experience was a cqc8 (my brother's). It developed lock rock within 6 months, and doesn't have great fit and finish.
 
I nearly bought an Emerson Mini Horseman but opted for a ZT 0350ts instead. I did handle my first Emerson recently at the Smoky Mountain Knife Works. The action was gritty and very tight. I couldn't open one handed, I was a little let down after handling my first Emerson. It didn't feel like a $150 knife but I'm new to knives and I'm not writing them off just yet.
 
From what I've read and then experienced with my CQC-8, "gritty and tight" is relatively common on new Emersons. They do break in, but if that's something people refuse to accept or can't wrap their mind around, steer clear of them. My CQC-8 slicked up with a couple weeks of fondling and cleaning, which I would have done whether it needed it or not, so I enjoyed feeling the daily (sometimes hourly) progression.

I think knowing what to expect, and then accepting it as part of ownership prior to purchasing, is key with a lot of things in life, Emerson Knives are no exception. For people that don't want to be bothered by it, or feel it shouldn't be necessary, there are other brands that should satisfy them, so no worries. Different strokes for different folks man.

Had I not known what to expect when I bought my 8, I would have been pretty disappointed when it arrived. These days, it's as smooth or smoother than either of my PM2's, but not quite as smooth as my 561, for reference.
 
JCB0802 said:
Yeah, but you can also see that they've bought Mora knives, SOG knives, Buck, CRKT, Condor, Spyderco, etc.

The fact that there has been a GSA contract doesn't really demonstrate a real and ongoing relationship with SF units, or that the knives are somehow so amazing that they are the only blades those SF guys will use.

My suspicion is that it went more like this: 25 years ago, Emerson is running around making custom knives. Some SF guy sees them, contacts him, and asks if he can make a couple of mods to one of his knife when he orders a custom blade. Emerson delivers, and the guy shows his buddies. They in turn purchase some of these blades. (which were probably much better when custom). Emerson then turns around and says "Oh yeah, the SF guys are using my blades. I have a great relationship with them, we worked together to design this super-uber-tacticool killing knife." Technically, yes, it is true. But that doesn't mean that "The SEALs" or "Delta Force" or "MARSOC" endorse and issue the blades. Or even that the guys that have them intend to use them as anything more than a utility blade.

For example, I ordered a full custom blade from Fallen Oak Forge. He had some great designs, but I wanted something different. I worked with the maker to design the exact knife I wanted. I have since ordered more blades from FOF, and we have a pretty good relationship. Additionally, I know that he has made several other blades for Marines. Now, he could easily tell people "I worked with Marines to develop blades for the specific tasks they needed to accomplish. They asked me to include several features and so we built this knife to their specifications. They're carrying my blades." Obviously that can be stretched as far as the marketer wants to stretch it.

On the other hand, it's not like I think Emerson is just lying about things. I'm sure he did or does have relationships with these guys, and I'm sure some of them have used his knives.
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Well you know if you read the News, an Emerson was carried by a Member of U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. Team Six on the Osama bin Laden kill mission.

That Emerson CQC-7 was donated by it owner to a charity auction that the result was. A $200.00 Emerson Knife because of where it had been sold for over 30K.

So let be fair and say One S.E.A.L liked the Emerson's so much he carried one. Lets also be fair saying Emerson does have a GSA Contract, and Uncle Sam buys some Emerson's.

I honestly think of a Emerson Knife like a Glock Semi Auto Handgun. Ugly, functional, dependable, nothing pretty, but design to work, and when needed works well for job at hand.

Not pretty like some safe queen knife you pull out of the safe queen knife, when your buddy come over, you get to blow some smoke at each other about your safe queen while sipping single malt scotch & puffing $30.00 cigars.

Than you buddy leaves, you polish the safe queen, she goes back in the safe until you need something to fell good about, or you need to impress the next friend with your safe queen.
 
straitr said:
From what I've read and then experienced with my CQC-8, "gritty and tight" is relatively common on new Emersons. They do break in, but if that's something people refuse to accept or can't wrap their mind around, steer clear of them. My CQC-8 slicked up with a couple weeks of fondling and cleaning, which I would have done whether it needed it or not, so I enjoyed feeling the daily (sometimes hourly) progression.

I think knowing what to expect, and then accepting it as part of ownership prior to purchasing, is key with a lot of things in life, Emerson Knives are no exception. For people that don't want to be bothered by it, or feel it shouldn't be necessary, there are other brands that should satisfy them, so no worries. Different strokes for different folks man.

Had I not known what to expect when I bought my 8, I would have been pretty disappointed when it arrived. These days, it's as smooth or smoother than either of my PM2's, but not quite as smooth as my 561, for reference.
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That was probably part of my issue. I didn't know to expect those things. I'm used to 200 dollar knives that come smooth and finished.
 
Akapennypincher said:
Well you know if you read the News, an Emerson was carried by a Member of U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. Team Six on the Osama bin Laden kill mission.

That Emerson CQC-7 was donated by it owner to a charity auction that the result was. A $200.00 Emerson Knife because of where it had been sold for over 30K.

So let be fair and say One S.E.A.L liked the Emerson's so much he carried one. Lets also be fair saying Emerson does have a GSA Contract, and Uncle Sam buys some Emerson's.

I honestly think of a Emerson Knife like a Glock Semi Auto Handgun. Ugly, functional, dependable, nothing pretty, but design to work, and when needed works well for job at hand.

Not pretty like some safe queen knife you pull out of the safe queen knife, when your buddy come over, you get to blow some smoke at each other about your safe queen while sipping single malt scotch & puffing $30.00 cigars.

Than you buddy leaves, you polish the safe queen, she goes back in the safe until you need something to fell good about, or you need to impress the next friend with your safe queen.
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That's pretty legit. I hadn't seen that before. Definitely a worthy cause.
 
straitr said:
Yeah, Steel Flame stuff is pretty pricey. I think some of it is really unique, and cool, but most pieces cost more than the knife they're intended for. And the SF Jewelry gets into the thousands, crazy. Fun to look at though.

Nice looking Gentleman Jim.
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Thank you.
The GJ is what gave me a real appreciation for Emerson's softer heat treat. I barely owned that knife 8 hours and dropped it tip first onto the concrete.

The tip didn't break but smashed in and I was able to repair it within 10 minutes.
 
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