Questions about Emerson knives

colubrid said:
I owned three of the ZT 0630 and the detent was to hard on them to flip. Which means I could only wave them. That is like carrying a gun that jams on you. I wouldn't depend my life on it. So I sold them.
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Mine was the same way. You just have to keep opening and closing them numerous times and they break in. Mine is perfect now.
 
Here’s something I have long wished for. If Emerson is going to use one steel liner and one titanium liner on their more recent knives; why not use the steel liner for the lockside and the titanium liner of the nonlocking side?

That way you get the wear advantages of a steel linerlock. If you’re going to put one steel liner in why not put it on the side where it will have some benefits to the knife?

I think it is largely so they can still advertise their knives as titanium liner locks.
 
Lapedog said:
Here’s something I have long wished for. If Emerson is going to use one steel liner and one titanium liner on their more recent knives; why not use the steel liner for the lockside and the titanium liner of the nonlocking side?

That way you get the wear advantages of a steel linerlock. If you’re going to put one steel liner in why not put it on the side where it will have some benefits to the knife?

I think it is largely so they can still advertise their knives as titanium liner locks.
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certainly an interesting thought.

You might be onto something with that. I don't know enough about steel vs Ti liner locks. Maybe someone that knows more about this stuff can chime in on that.
 
colubrid said:
certainly an interesting thought.

You might be onto something with that. I don't know enough about steel vs Ti liner locks. Maybe someone that knows more about this stuff can chime in on that.
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Well part of the reason so many steel lockbar tabs have been appearing on titanium linerlocks these days is because steel makes a better surface for resisting wear.

I think any real Emerson fan who has been a fan of his knives will admit that the lockup is probably the one thing that most needs improvement. Especially those people who only carry one knife around all the time, that lock will travel over pretty quick.

Some seem fine and seem to wear to a sweet spot then virtually stop. Others seem to wear right over very quickly. Either way, consistent good lockup is not something I seem to find on Emersons.
 
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I thought Ernie stuck with the ti for the lock as it galls with the backside of the blade making for a more secure lock-up.

I remember reading something about how he followed the way mr walker intended.
 
Spyderco uses steel on the Military and IMO have one of the best liner locks out there.
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matt009au said:
I thought Ernie stuck with the ti for the lock as it galls with the backside of the blade making for a more secure lock-up.

I remember reading something about how he followed the way mr walker intended.
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Yes, Emerson does attempt to build Mr. walker’s linerlock as perscribed by the man himself. Walker had also believed that lockstick was a feature not a flaw of a proper linerlock.

There are better ways to make liner locks today as jill Jackson pointed out on her military.
 
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Lapedog said:
Well part of the reason so many steel lockbar tabs have been appearing on titanium linerlocks these days is because steel makes a better surface for resisting wear.

I think any real Emerson fan who has been a fan of his knives will admit that the lockup is probably the one thing that most needs improvement. Especially those people who only carry one knife around all the time, that lock will travel over pretty quick.

Some seem fine and seem to wear to a sweet spot then virtually stop. Others seem to wear right over very quickly. Either way, consisten good lockup is not something I seem to find on Emersons.
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At one time I had about a dozen Emersons and this was my experience. They all had inconsistent lockup and some developed issues like lock rock very quickly. My brand new Horseman had terrible vertical play after two weeks of light duty. They fixed it under warranty but I sold it after I got it back. I sold all of them because I just didn’t trust them.

I can deal with the subpar finish (for the price point), but it’s the subpar fitting of the parts that I can’t tolerate. I think that’s part of what leads to these issues. I took a few of them apart and they never went back together the same way twice. There was just too much slop between the parts. I think as they get used the parts move too much in relation to each other.

That’s just my opinion of them. I gave them a fair shot and tried many examples but they were not for me. It’s a shame because I loved many of the designs. The Horseman could have been one of my top EDC blades. I will say their customer service process was very good.

The only ones that stayed with me were:
  • A karambit trainer because it’s nice to have one and I got it cheap. If its lock fails it won’t cut off my fingers.
  • A Multitasker EDC-1. It’s not actually Emerson-made. They were produced in China and have a better fit & finish than any of my US-made Emersons had. I think it’s a neat design.
  • A heavily modded CQC-14 by ferrrk. I got it for a steal and it’s very unique. I think the only original part is the blade and even it was modded with a Krein regrind.
i.ashx
 
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Lapedog said:
I’d be nice if they did more collabs with Emerson. One knife design with two blade variations is not enough. (Not counting steel differences like the 620cf)
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I’ve said it many times, if ZT made the Emerson designs for less than $200 I’d buy several of them. Liner lock, 154CM are fine with me. Build them just like the ZT 0200 but with the various Emerson designs. I’d take at least a CQC-8 & 10 and a Horseman.

i.ashx
 
All very entertaining. People like what they like, whether it's the best product in it's class with verifiable advantages, or something else with the intangibles that flip all the right switches.

Lots of folks buy cars that get terrible perfomance/maintenace/etc. reviews, but they do so because they are brand loyal, or it's American made, or they just like the way the car looks and how it makes them feel. Or something else.

If knives were made and purchased purely based on a performance/value/cost analysis, this hobby would be boring.
 
After seeing the post above about the new 2018 Commander model, I decided to give Emerson another shot and to pick up a new 2018 CQC-15 to see if they had improved at all since the 2012 Roadhouse I had before (one of the worst made knives I've ever owned, at any price point).

Sadly, it was an even worse experience than when I had my 2012 Roadhouse. Out of the box, the knife exhibited the same horrible finishing and fitment of parts, lousy and gritty action that was stiff but still allowed for some blade play, a complete and dangerous lack of detent (and it still had the same double-detent system rather than the single detent, for some reason), and utterly atrocious lock stick that nearly required a prybar to unstick. Unlike last time, however, this knife also came with a fairly dull edge and a liner lock that, after a handful of openings, started engaging past 100% if you opened the knife with any authority. I immediately returned it, and I think I've seen enough with this company to know better than to give them a third chance.
 
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Lapedog said:
I’d be nice if they did more collabs with Emerson. One knife design with two blade variations is not enough. (Not counting steel differences like the 620cf)
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I doubt they will. Ernie probably reali
photoman12001 said:
I’ve said it many times, if ZT made the Emerson designs for less than $200 I’d buy several of them. Liner lock, 154CM are fine with me. Build them just like the ZT 0200 but with the various Emerson designs. I’d take at least a CQC-8 & 10 and a Horseman.

i.ashx
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Yes!!! I’ve been saying that for years. I love the ZT 0630 but if they would build an exact copy of the CQC8 I would be in heaven.
 
marrenmiller said:
After seeing the post above about the new 2018 Commander model, I decided to give Emerson another shot and to pick up a new 2018 CQC-15 to see if they had improved at all since the 2012 Roadhouse I had before (one of the worst made knives I've ever owned, at any price point).

Sadly, it was an even worse experience than when I had my 2012 Roadhouse. Out of the box, the knife exhibited the same horrible finishing and fitment of parts, lousy and gritty action that was stiff but still allowed for some blade play, a complete and dangerous lack of detent (and it still had the same double-detent system rather than the single detent, for some reason), and utterly atrocious lock stick that nearly required a prybar to unstick. Unlike last time, however, this knife also came with a fairly dull edge and a liner lock that, after a handful of openings, started engaging past 100% if you opened the knife with any authority. I immediately returned it, and I think I've seen enough with this company to know better than to give them a third chance.
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I've just had the opposite experience, I ordered a CQC-15 direct from EKI roughly two months ago.

Perfectly centered out of the box, very smooth to open with no blade play, detent is just fine even though it still has the double detent... I would like to see EKI go to a single detent for all of their knives, just a personal preference.

Lock up settled in right at 50% and hasn't budged, this has been a EDC for work since I've received it and it also does have a little bit of lock stick which I prefer.

No complaints about the sharpness either, it would easily slice newspaper out of the box.

I'm not sure what year mine is though, EKI hasn't dated their blades since 2015. I do believe they have made a minor tweak to the logo for 2018 but mine doesn't have it.
 
HowAmI said:
Torx and Allen aren't proprietary. Flat Head and Phillips are horrible designs, easy to slip, easy to strip.

Wave feature is useless. Unless you're in the heart of Chicago or Detroit you don't need a wave even then you'll be shot before you pull out your knife and attack.

Don't try and defend Emerson when there's nothing to defend.
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The wave feature isn't useless, it's just not to your personal preference so let's not get it twisted, ok? It usually makes people look ignorant when they try to state their personal opinions as facts.
 
jceckrosh said:
All very entertaining. People like what they like, whether it's the best product in it's class with verifiable advantages, or something else with the intangibles that flip all the right switches.

Lots of folks buy cars that get terrible perfomance/maintenace/etc. reviews, but they do so because they are brand loyal, or it's American made, or they just like the way the car looks and how it makes them feel. Or something else.

If knives were made and purchased purely based on a performance/value/cost analysis, this hobby would be boring.
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Excellent post.
 
Boru13 said:
I've just had the opposite experience, I ordered a CQC-15 direct from EKI roughly two months ago.

Perfectly centered out of the box, very smooth to open with no blade play, detent is just fine even though it still has the double detent... I would like to see EKI go to a single detent for all of their knives, just a personal preference.

Lock up settled in right at 50% and hasn't budged, this has been a EDC for work since I've received it and it also does have a little bit of lock stick which I prefer.

No complaints about the sharpness either, it would easily slice newspaper out of the box.

I'm not sure what year mine is though, EKI hasn't dated their blades since 2015. I do believe they have made a minor tweak to the logo for 2018 but mine doesn't have it.
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Yeah, the new logo for 2018 looks very distinct. I'd bet yours is a 2018 model if it's from EKI.

It's good to see that not everyone is disappointed with theirs, but I was just blown away by how bad both of mine came from the factory. They look neat, but I don't think I can trust an Emerson knife unless it's made by another company.
 
marrenmiller said:
Yeah, the new logo for 2018 looks very distinct. I'd bet yours is a 2018 model if it's from EKI.

It's good to see that not everyone is disappointed with theirs, but I was just blown away by how bad both of mine came from the factory. They look neat, but I don't think I can trust an Emerson knife unless it's made by another company.
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I have something like 23 Emersons at current from a variety of years and none of them have ever failed me. I'd daresay that you got two lemons. Uncommon, but it happens. They aren't perfect, and they are essentially made from materials which were top of the line materials on a bright sunny day in late 1998, but they are all capable knives. They aren't for everyone, and that's ok. Many people aren't fans, and that's also ok. Are there better values out there? With regard to materials, I'd absolutely say yes. But designwise, Emersons give up nothing to other manufacturers in that area.
 
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