The Commander is just too cool! I got my first one at an auction, and once I played with it, I immediatly sold a collector's piece of mine and ordered three more!
The handle is the most comfortable and well designed I have ever seen in a folder, and I don't recall fondling a fixed blade that feels this good in saber grip either. Most handles take me hours of meticulous Dremeling to get comfortable. This one was perfect right out of the box...and that is a first for me! I would even like to see a fixed blade version of this knife.
All the corners are beveled nicely, and the fit and finish are flawless. Having handled many Emerson customs including the Banana, I cannot see where one of his custom folders in G-10 is any different than this. It has the same beefy feel and quality as the Emerson customs.
The liner lock pops perfectly in place, and I have no problems with it disengaging under any tests except an extreme twist where I really had to force it. Filing down the liner leaf a couple millimeters would not be a bad idea just in case.
The ball detent was a little weak, and I like my blade to stay in, so I took my Commander apart with my Leatherman and Dremel drilled out a deeper ball detent.
The knife cuts like the dickens, even though I would be perfectly happy without the recurve, and just make the whole thing one big belly, although it is cool and useful how it is too.
It is not chisel ground, it is V-ground or saber ground just like any other knife, but just the every edge is only sharpened on one side. This gives the best of both worlds: it is very sharp but does not have so much trouble cutting straight. If you desire, it would be easy enough to just sharpen the edge on both sides and make the edge "normal" double ground.
This, IMHO, is the best designed folder currently produced as far as pure handle comfort. If it only had an Axis lock and a tool steel blade, it would be the only folder I would ever need or want.
thaddeus
[This message has been edited by thaddeus (edited 03 January 1999).]