Q and A for an Industry Icon

I doubt anybody wanted to say he's not an icon. But calling oneself an Icon and greatest knife maker is a bit unusual.

There are some who call their knives the best but calling oneself the best is one level above in my opinion.

Does it matter? Not to me. but I understand if it causes an reaction in many guys.
 
The Whip said:
I have a few questions, but they aren't for Ernest Emerson.

1) Anyone else tired of an exceedingly vocal minority on these boards turning every thread into a juvenile name-calling, brand-bashing session?

2) Anyone else sick of a chosen few telling the rest of us why some brands are for the cool kids and other brands are for us unenlightened plebeians?

3) Anyone here on Blade Forums:

a) Had a successful custom knifemaking career spanning over 30 years?
b) Been so successful making custom knives that you:
1. Had to stop taking custom orders?
2. Can only sell knives via lottery at shows?
3. Created your own production knife company to meet demand?
c) Received a U.S. patent for a knife feature you invented?
d) Designed a knife that everyone in the knife world recognizes as yours?
e) Had successful collaborations with over a dozen companies?
f) Seen your knives used in movies and TV shows?
g) Had one of your knives assigned a National Stocking Number for issue?
h) Had one of your knives selected by NASA for use on manned space missions?


If you can answer yes to ALL of question 3, I think that qualifies you as an industry icon. Ernest Emerson has earned that title.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, critique those who can.

-Steve
Click to expand...

I'm not, I find the selected few quite funny
 
The Whip said:
I have a few questions, but they aren't for Ernest Emerson.

1) Anyone else tired of an exceedingly vocal minority on these boards turning every thread into a juvenile name-calling, brand-bashing session?

2) Anyone else sick of a chosen few telling the rest of us why some brands are for the cool kids and other brands are for us unenlightened plebeians?

3) Anyone here on Blade Forums:

a) Had a successful custom knifemaking career spanning over 30 years?
b) Been so successful making custom knives that you:
1. Had to stop taking custom orders?
2. Can only sell knives via lottery at shows?
3. Created your own production knife company to meet demand?
c) Received a U.S. patent for a knife feature you invented?
d) Designed a knife that everyone in the knife world recognizes as yours?
e) Had successful collaborations with over a dozen companies?
f) Seen your knives used in movies and TV shows?
g) Had one of your knives assigned a National Stocking Number for issue?
h) Had one of your knives selected by NASA for use on manned space missions?


If you can answer yes to ALL of question 3, I think that qualifies you as an industry icon. Ernest Emerson has earned that title.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, critique those who can.

-Steve
Click to expand...

Not trying to be an a$$ but just had a few thoughts on some of your points.

a) Had a successful custom knifemaking career spanning over 30 years?
b) Been so successful making custom knives that you:
1. Had to stop taking custom orders? - I sure he's not the only one
2. Can only sell knives via lottery at shows? - Yeah not buyin, we all lived through the "i only sell to firefighters" marketing to drive prices up, artificial exclusivity can be a powerful tool.
3. Created your own production knife company to meet demand? - There's that many commandos needing pocket knives before they fly out to kill bad guys? I'm sure the SEALS had knives before Emersons
c) Received a U.S. patent for a knife feature you invented?
d) Designed a knife that everyone in the knife world recognizes as yours? - I'd say Spydies are more recognizable than Emersons
e) Had successful collaborations with over a dozen companies? - Again there would be others also
f) Seen your knives used in movies and TV shows? - So has Spyderco and Cold Steel, they usually use what looks cool and/or scary for movie purposes
g) Had one of your knives assigned a National Stocking Number for issue?
h) Had one of your knives selected by NASA for use on manned space missions? - This literally means nothing, i don't think they were waving knives out their space suit pockets, a $2 boxcutter will cut in space
 
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Say what you will. Emerson is a good marketer.

If he wasn't catering to the Seal-wannabe demographic someone else would be.
 
Mick_1KRR said:
Not trying to be an a$$ but just had a few thoughts on some of your points.

a) Had a successful custom knifemaking career spanning over 30 years?
b) Been so successful making custom knives that you:
1. Had to stop taking custom orders? - I sure he's not the only one
2. Can only sell knives via lottery at shows? - Yeah not buyin, we all lived through the "i only sell to firefighters" marketing to drive prices up, artificial exclusivity can be a powerful tool.
3. Created your own production knife company to meet demand? - There's that many commandos needing pocket knives before they fly out to kill bad guys? I'm sure the SEALS had knives before Emersons
c) Received a U.S. patent for a knife feature you invented?
d) Designed a knife that everyone in the knife world recognizes as yours? - I'd say Spydies are more recognizable than Emersons
e) Had successful collaborations with over a dozen companies? - Again there would be others also
f) Seen your knives used in movies and TV shows? - So has Spyderco and Cold Steel, they usually use what looks cool and/or scary for movie purposes
g) Had one of your knives assigned a National Stocking Number for issue?
h) Had one of your knives selected by NASA for use on manned space missions? - This literally means nothing, i don't think they were waving knives out their space suit pockets, a $2 boxcutter will cut in space
Click to expand...

Not to belabor this, but you missed my point. Emerson hasn't achieved one or two of those accomplishments; he's achieved ALL of them, along with plenty more that I didn't bother mentioning. Whether you like his knives or not, whether others are ascribing the title to him or he's pulling the mantle on himself, Ernest Emerson is a knife industry icon. Anyone who says otherwise is misinformed or delusional.

I have to correct one of your contentions.

Mick_1KRR said:
h) Had one of your knives selected by NASA for use on manned space missions? - This literally means nothing, i don't think they were waving knives out their space suit pockets, a $2 boxcutter will cut in space
Click to expand...

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Literally every ounce of every mission payload is documented, accounted for, and justified. If NASA planners could get away with sending a lighter weight, more compact, less expensive boxcutter instead of a $200 knife, they would. Emerson's knife was not chosen randomly.

-Steve
 
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His achievements are not in question, just the fact that he called himself an icon. Most icons in a certain business refrain from self praise and the best craftsmen and inventors are usually quite modest because they spend most of their time actually doing what they love instead of talking about how good they are at doing it.
 
The Whip said:
Not to belabor this, but you missed my point. Emerson hasn't achieved one or two of those accomplishments; he's achieved ALL of them, along with plenty more that I didn't bother mentioning. Whether you like his knives or not, whether others are ascribing the title to him or he's pulling the mantle on himself, Ernest Emerson is a knife industry icon. Anyone who says otherwise is misinformed or delusional.

I have to correct one of your contentions.



Nothing could be further from the truth. Literally every ounce of every mission payload is documented, accounted for, and justified. If NASA planners could get away with sending a lighter weight, more compact, less expensive boxcutter instead of a $200 knife, they would. Emerson's knife was not chosen randomly.

-Steve
Click to expand...

I think you will find if you ask the right people, the reason the emerson was carried was because someone on the mission wanted that specific knife, not because of some NASA think tank utility analysis. And there's nothing wrong with that.
 
KingMC said:
His achievements are not in question, just the fact that he called himself an icon. Most icons in a certain business refrain from self praise and the best craftsmen and inventors are usually quite modest because they spend most of their time actually doing what they love instead of talking about how good they are at doing it.
Click to expand...

He explains in the first video that he admires Muhammad Ali, who referred to himself as "The greatest."
He is following the same sort of approach.
 
stabman said:
He explains in the first video that he admires Muhammad Ali, who referred to himself as "The greatest."
He is following the same sort of approach.
Click to expand...

Ali was a great self-promoter, and let's give Mr. Emerson his due. It may be a little spammy, but in the "no such thing as bad press" model he's winning if we're talking about him and his company, right? He's a brilliant marketer, those videos are 100% marketing (is there one actual question about the knives answered that a fan would want, like "will you make the mini A-100 again?" or "why is the chisel grind on the wrong side for use, but the right side for tactical photos?") and we're here talking about them.

If there was an elite operator on the forum that didn't know about Emerson, I'm pretty sure they do now; seems like great marketing to me. The kind of person who gets excited by the SEAL mentions or hearing about the Emerson warrior code (the Gecko45 type folks) probably buys a knife after watching those videos, assuming they don't have an Emerson or seven already.
 
The Whip said:
Nothing could be further from the truth. Literally every ounce of every mission payload is documented, accounted for, and justified. If NASA planners could get away with sending a lighter weight, more compact, less expensive boxcutter instead of a $200 knife, they would. Emerson's knife was not chosen randomly.

-Steve
Click to expand...

Are you saying that out of every cutting tool available in the world, NASA found it best to go with an Emerson "tacticool" knife in outer space? That no better suited, lighter weight more capable cutting instrument was available? Next we'll have heart surgeons performing operations with Medfords. Please....
 
NASA does pick up off the shelf items for space duty but I highly doubt they set up a committee to come up with the best knife to take to space. Thank goodness they didn't try to create their own niche of a folder. This used to happen like the "need" for a space pen with pressurized ink cartridge. Mind you, I use these pressurized ink cartridges in many of my pens but sometimes a simple off the shelf solution isn't half bad. The Russian's simple answer to the pressurized ink cartridge was the pencil. Works great in zero gravity.
 
Did Ernest ever mention Phill Hartsfield?
I enjoyed Phill's interviews.
rolf
 
All jokes aside...

Why do we banter so much about a PR/marketing... special operation?

What bother me the most is, I pay good money to be on a good AD FREE forum, or with designated marketing areas, and this is posted in the genpop area.
 
RamZar said:
NASA does pick up off the shelf items for space duty but I highly doubt they set up a committee to come up with the best knife to take to space. Thank goodness they didn't try to create their own niche of a folder. This used to happen like the "need" for a space pen with pressurized ink cartridge. Mind you, I use these pressurized ink cartridges in many of my pens but sometimes a simple off the shelf solution isn't half bad. The Russian's simple answer to the pressurized ink cartridge was the pencil. Works great in zero gravity.
Click to expand...

http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp

There was an earlier version of that legend that claimed in WWII the Allies spent a fortune developing the ball-point pen for bomber crews while the Germans used pencils. That version is also false.
 
The Whip said:
I have a few questions, but they aren't for Ernest Emerson.

1) Anyone else tired of an exceedingly vocal minority on these boards turning every thread into a juvenile name-calling, brand-bashing session?

2) Anyone else sick of a chosen few telling the rest of us why some brands are for the cool kids and other brands are for us unenlightened plebeians?

3) Anyone here on Blade Forums:

a) Had a successful custom knifemaking career spanning over 30 years?
b) Been so successful making custom knives that you:
1. Had to stop taking custom orders?
2. Can only sell knives via lottery at shows?
3. Created your own production knife company to meet demand?
c) Received a U.S. patent for a knife feature you invented?
d) Designed a knife that everyone in the knife world recognizes as yours?
e) Had successful collaborations with over a dozen companies?
f) Seen your knives used in movies and TV shows?
g) Had one of your knives assigned a National Stocking Number for issue?
h) Had one of your knives selected by NASA for use on manned space missions?


If you can answer yes to ALL of question 3, I think that qualifies you as an industry icon. Ernest Emerson has earned that title.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, critique those who can.

-Steve
Click to expand...

You seem upset. I would relax, as I said before, Mr. Emerson has afforded himself enough respect to let the rest of us off the hook.
 
Cougar Allen said:
http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp

There was an earlier version of that legend that claimed in WWII the Allies spent a fortune developing the ball-point pen for bomber crews while the Germans used pencils. That version is also false.
Click to expand...

Good to know. After it went into space and to this day Fisher refers to itself as the space pen although there are a number of other pressurized ink cartridges now. Off the shelf items are best after some vetting and testing. Who can forget the veritable duct tape and Apollo 13.

http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/greatest-space-hack-ever
 
The wave is nifty, yes, but he still hasn't gotten credit for his greatest achievement. He managed to combine the utility and combat prowess of a folding knife with the entertainment value of one of these:
a-0307.jpg


That's exactly what the last Emerson I had felt like. Blade click-clacking back and forth like a party favor.

I like a lot of his designs, I'd just prefer to have Protech make them. Love the auto cqc-7.
 
RamZar said:
The Russian's simple answer to the pressurized ink cartridge was the pencil. Works great in zero gravity.
Click to expand...
Yes, because its highly desireable to have pencil shavings upset the delicate balance of a space capsule system ... not.
 
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