Questions about Emerson knives

I started with emersons and spydercos in the early 90's. Then got rid of my emersons. Went thru all the mid techs and every imaginable knife you can imagine. Hinderers, striders, Chris Reeeve, multiple ZT's customs.. etc, I had a lot or all the brand names and models known to most.

Then went full circle back to emersons and sold almost everything else. Now I just keep building my collection of emersons..

The thing I like most about emesons is that they are self defense tool first and a utilitarian tool second. That is the major point to understand for anyone buying one. I discovered that I can get the great utilitarian use out of an emerson but you can't get thyself defense aspect out of another knife! If a person who buys an Emerson can get that one fact thru their head it would help them appreciate the knives so much more than any other. So the wave feature is paramount to me. The ergos of the handle and fantastic blade grinds are the best. There just aren't any imitators. When you see an Emerson you know it is an emerson.

PS
Anyone with a slightly off centered blade just sell it to me. It is a ridiculously easy fix. I would love to take it off your hands . So just PM me.
 
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colubrid said:
I started with emersons and spydercos in the early 90's. Then got rid of my emersons. Went thru all the mid techs and every imaginable knife you can imagine. Hinderers, striders, Chris Reeeve, multiple ZT's customs.. etc, I had a lot or all the brand names and models known to most.

Then went full circle back to emersons and sold almost everything else. Now I just keep building my collection of emersons..

The thing I like most about emesons is that they are a SD tool first and a utilitarian tool second. That is the major point to understand for anyone buying one! I discovered that I can get the same utilitarian use out of an emerson but you can't get the SD aspect out of another knife PERIOD!. If a person who buys and Emerson can get that one fact thru their head it would help them appraciate the knives so much more than any other. The wave feature is paramount to me. The egos of the handle and fantastic blade grinds are the best. There just aren't any imitators. When you see an Emerson you know it is an emerson.

PS
Anyone with a slightly off centered blade just sell it to me. It is a ridiculously easy fix. I would love to take it off your hands . So just PM me.
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Idk, my Spyderco pikal is a pretty good SD knife first.

But I agree the cqc7 series is one of my all time favourites because it offers a SD quality that most other knives can not. And yet still it does fine for the 99.9% of the time it is just doing edc tasks.
 
Silent H said:
I really wanted an Emerson Sheepdog about a year ago. I looked at a lot of them but the fit and finish wasn't great, but the detents were always pretty decent. I finally found a dealer exclusive one with S35VN steel and micarta handles. This one has amazing fit and finish, a snappy detent, and an upgraded blade steel, all for $30 more than the original. If you really want an Emerson, I would definitely look into one of these.
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Action Concepts, I think. It's been on my list for a long time, but I want the satin finish bowie and it hasn't been available. They look great, though.
 
Lapedog said:
Idk, my Spyderco pikal is a pretty good SD knife first.
.
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That is one I have not tried. Of course I had the ZT with wave and sold it because the detent was real hard and I hated to take it apart. I love Spydercos and never tried a Pikal. So now I have to hunt one down. Thanks to you :)
 
colubrid said:
That is one I have not tried. Of course I had the ZT with wave and sold it because the detent was real hard and I hated to take it apart. I love Spydercos and never tried a Pikal. So now I have to hunt one down. Thanks to you :)
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Its only worth it if you are willing to learn to use the Southnarc reverse edged grips. It isn’t as good at the utility role as the Emersons.
 
GermanyChris said:
Great..that means tonight I need to take my Emerson out and silence a sentry, go shoot something, then hit the gym in the morning to understand my knife. That sounds like WAY to much work
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I know that people mock the fact that 99.99% of the time you won’t need a knife for self defense. However that 0.01% of the time is the time your life might depend on it.
 
GermanyChris said:
Great..that means tonight I need to take my Emerson out and silence a sentry, go shoot something, then hit the gym in the morning to understand my knife. That sounds like WAY to much work
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I travel to South America for extended periods at time. And that is where you really want a knife to open (with the wave) and feel comfortable with opening a knife fast. Surprise is everything in a life and death situation. As long as you are close enough to touch someone the fast opening of the wave feature can save your life when it is a dire situation. I am not talking about fair knife fights or anything stupid. But a scenario where you will be killed and the surprise is your best element of SURVIVAL.

It is kinda like a fire extinguisher in your car or your house. You might not ever need one. but when you do need one, you need it BAD!

The only difference between the fire extinguisher and the emerson knife is the Emerson has a secondary use. The fire extinguisher does not have a secondary use like as a microwave or lawn mower. But the Emerson does have a secondary use. That is really how you have to look at emersons. They play both roles really well but Self Defense is the primary role and untiltarian secondary. I can get utilitarian use out of my Sebenzas. But is not what I want to carry all the time.
 
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Thanks to a device called the Snaggletooth MF, many blades with removable thumbstuds can now be waved.
 
Thanks for posting the article bobobama,
Sums up why whenever I 'need' a knife I'll pick up an Emerson. The tools first approach, and the top warranty is what makes them perfect for me.

Hope you enjoy your emi, post some pics if you can.

Matt


bobobama said:
Guess I'm allowed to post this here:

https://emersonknives.com/emerson-blog-project/the-fit-finish/

Interesting take from the master himself. Should keep the Emerson lovers loving and the haters hating.

I just bought a new Emerson Endeavor from a local authorized dealer, and got a decent price on it (had some undetectable scratches or something, really couldn't see anything wrong). It's too early to form any opinions on it, but it seems tight with no blade play and a solid lock-up and detent. It's a 2013 model, and what really sealed the deal is the serial number is my area code. Awesome!

I did notice one fit/finish anomaly (like that word better than flaw)- the one liner is thinner than the other, has a fair number of tooling marks, and is not the same width at the rear as it is in the front. Kinda odd, but what the hey.
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IMO, they are not worth it.

Overpriced compared to other options
Lackluster fit and finish
Chisel grind on wrong side
154cm being sold as high end steel

I’d look at a spyderco military or paramilitary, benchmade, Gerber military line, or cold steel before Emerson Again. I’ve had a few Emerson’s and all have been the same. I have yet to need to adjust any of my knives past the first couple of days, locktite and their good so the easy to adjust hardwear is moot. Emerson knives seem like their trying to squeeze the most money out of a product because “military”. I’ve yet to meet many military members who can/want to drop 200$ plus on an knife when there are so many other great options for less.
 
That’s the issue people have though, it’s not that it’s a “show piece”. It’s that you can get a knife that cost significantly less that’s finished better with nice materials.
 
rightushook said:
That’s the issue people have though, it’s not that it’s a “show piece”. It’s that you can get a knife that cost significantly less that’s finished better with nice materials.
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But those knives lack the design of the blade and great ergos of the grips. Which kinda makes up my mind.

Also you don't have to put up with propiatery tools just to take the knife apart or the warranty being void.

As far as nicer materials used..I don't agree with that. Maybe call it the newest blade material.
 
This is probably not an easy question and I doubt anyone not working in Emersons administration deparment could provide a fair answer but...

WHICH IS THE PROFIT EMERSON GETS OUT OF EACH KNIFE SALE (on average) VS ANY OTHER US BASED BRAND?

I am asking because while I do own an Emerson Aftershock (and I like it!) I also have the feeling it is somewhat expensive (and I bought it on the Exchange... had I bought it at retail price, it would have been even more expensive). Expensive in the way that I am getting lesser materials than i could get from another brand for that money. Fit and finish is ok with me, no complains in that deparment.

Seems like most of the crowd who does not like Emerson, are either complaining about the fit and finish issues, or the knives being overpriced or both. I am trying to figure out the "overpriced" bit of this equation.

The price does not reflect the materials used because the use inferior (read, cheaper) materials than other brands and also the price also does not seem to reflect the outmost care in material finishing, chamfering of scales outher edges, hardware, etc.

Do they make such a few knives that all the I+D for a new model must be paid within small runs? Are the wages of the employees the best there are in the industry? Or they are just pocketing a 300% profit in each knife purchase?

Just asking...
 
colubrid said:
But those knives lack the design of the blade and great ergos of the grips. Which kinda makes up my mind.

Also, you don't have to put up with proprietary tools just to take the knife apart or the warranty being void.

As far as nicer materials used..I don't agree with that. Maybe call it the newest blade material.
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Plenty of knives out there with better F&F - QC, Materials, and Design that don't require proprietary tools that will void your warranty. All for less and some are even made in the same country.
 
Mikel_24 said:
This is probably not an easy question and I doubt anyone not working in Emersons administration deparment could provide a fair answer but...

WHICH IS THE PROFIT EMERSON GETS OUT OF EACH KNIFE SALE (on average) VS ANY OTHER US BASED BRAND?

I am asking because while I do own an Emerson Aftershock (and I like it!) I also have the feeling it is somewhat expensive (and I bought it on the Exchange... had I bought it at retail price, it would have been even more expensive). Expensive in the way that I am getting lesser materials than i could get from another brand for that money. Fit and finish is ok with me, no complains in that deparment.

Seems like most of the crowd who does not like Emerson, are either complaining about the fit and finish issues, or the knives being overpriced or both. I am trying to figure out the "overpriced" bit of this equation.

The price does not reflect the materials used because the use inferior (read, cheaper) materials than other brands and also the price also does not seem to reflect the outmost care in material finishing, chamfering of scales outher edges, hardware, etc.

Do they make such a few knives that all the I+D for a new model must be paid within small runs? Are the wages of the employees the best there are in the industry? Or they are just pocketing a 300% profit in each knife purchase?

Just asking...
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It's 154cm Ti/Steel and G10

154cm can be sharpened on just about anything therefore it's a superior material for their design/purpose
Steel is cheap and can give the Ti some rigidity since it's just liners again great for the purpose
G10 is resistant to just about everything i.e. the best for the purpose
 
I still don't understand why anyone would buy an Emerson when it's still easy to find wildly superior Zemersons like this customized 0630:

bXvmeWW.jpg


I own multiple examples of both, and I don't see how anyone could think ZT's Emerson collabs aren't better built than Emerson's own knives.
 
evilgreg said:
I still don't understand why anyone would buy an Emerson when it's still easy to find wildly superior Zemersons like this customized 0630:

bXvmeWW.jpg
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Depends on if you want the overall design of the particular Emerson.

I have a ZT 0630 and ZT 620CF.
The 0630 is nice, but does not have the exact same design of my Emerson Super CQC-8 (the Emerson has a longer blade too).
My Emerson Super Commander is completely different design (handle and blade) than either of the ZT designs.
The CQC-12 is also completely different than either ZT...the only similarity is the Wave feature and a frame-lock.

As for "weapon viability" versus other brands, I don't really care.
Besides, sharp blades cut the same as other sharp blades; there is no magick to Emerson's that make them better weapons anyway.

But my Super CQC-8 did great at cutting the adhesive foam and tape on Saturday when I helped my dad install his new window air conditioner. :D
That evil foam and tape did not stand a chance at all. ;)
 
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