Reccomend me an Emerson!

CJZ

CJZ

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2012
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I've always been put off by claims of bad fit and finish for the price, but I got to handle a well used Roadhouse today and long story short, I loved it! I need an Emerson now. But, I like so many, which one should I get? I need some feedback on the better models. So far, I'm looking at:

CQC7
8
15
Commander
Roadhouse

So which of these would you guys recommend the most? Thanks! Also, other recommendations are welcome too!
 
Mini commander. Tough as nails (then again any emerson is) and love the recurve blade. What's your intended use?
 
lol man what a tough decision!! roadhouse is very sexy!! commander is such a classic and the ergos are just phenomenal! good luck!
 
I never really liked Emerson knives before, mainly due to his chisel ground blades. My interest sparked after reading a thread on another forum about someone's positive experiences with a Mini CQC-15. In the post was the first pic of an Emerson with a symmetrical ground blade that I'd seen and thought I might like, although as I know now the edge bevel itself is still asymmetric, which works well for me.

Emerson Knives had a table at NYCKS back in the fall, so I stopped by to see and handle a few of the production folders, including the Mini CQC-15, which fit my hand perfectly. I bought the plain edge stonewashed version and once I took it apart for a cleaning and re-oiling, it's now very smooth, the fit & finish is very nice for a roughly $200 production folder, great sharp edge, good detent & tight lockup, and perfectly centered... Love the knife, enjoy the wave feature, and it has stolen a lot of my other folders' pocket time.

In short, I only have one (so far :)), but I fully recommend the CQC-15 in whichever size and version that fits you best.
 
Roadhouse is sexy and the 15 is nice if you like recurves. I don't like the commander since it's not very stabby....but that's my preference.

Good luck,
 
Can't go wrong with either the 15 or the Commander; alhough personally my grail knife would be the custom cqc-14 long blade. It looks simply amazing!
 
I was in the same boat as OP. Holding back on buying an Emerson for a few reasons.
I picked up a cqc 15 and several years later, I sit here thinking "I never carry this because I hate the chisel grind, I'm not fond of the thumb disk, the wave feature is neat but really unnecessary, and I could have had much more knife for the $ with one of my dozen favorite makers.
154cm and g10 are great, but not for 2 bills.
That said...If I could do it over again, I would pick up a Gentleman Jim. The GJ is more sleek and not so brick-like.
 
My favorite Emerson is my Horseman, it fits perfect in my hand, and pocket. The mini cqc-15 is also pretty sweet.
 
CJZ said:
I've always been put off by claims of bad fit and finish for the price, but I got to handle a well used Roadhouse today and long story short, I loved it! I need an Emerson now. But, I like so many, which one should I get? I need some feedback on the better models. So far, I'm looking at:

CQC7
8
15
Commander
Roadhouse

So which of these would you guys recommend the most? Thanks! Also, other recommendations are welcome too!
Click to expand...
I really like the Commander but, if you're looking for an edc, then I think you need to be looking at a 7 as a small folder or a Journeyman as a larger folder. As much as I really enjoy my Super Commander knife, the Journeyman meets my edc needs in a much better fashion -- unless I need a more Illinois-sheople-friendly blade like my cqc-7.

Thing is -- with Emerson you have options. It just depends on what you like or, possibly more important, for what you need it.
 
CJZ said:
Nah. Just regular pocket carry, I love overbuilt knives
Click to expand...

LOL - Same here! With that in mind, I agree with a few of the folks here with recommending the 10. Beautiful design and a great all purpose blade shape. If you want something a bit more aggressive, I really like the 8. These two also possess a deep choil. IMO, a very important attribute for any knife. Cheers and good luck. Let us know what you go with!
 
I have been EDCing the mini commander lately. Great knife. I have the satin/stone wash version and it looks great. It also has great ergos, fits my hand great. It is slowly becoming my favorite blade. I am looking to get a CQC 7A as well. I like the blade shape of the 7A and it's waveless. Can't go wrong with either.
 
This.^
The recurve must be experienced.
If not the Mini C, go for a 7, chisel or V.
rolf
 
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