RR: Emerson Commander

Spark

HPIC - Hatas gonna Hate
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Have an associate on the Tactics emailing list who would like to know about this knife, the production version.

Let's hear the goods and bads: Fit, finish, edge geometry, etc.

Spark

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Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
Spark,

I have one. I love it. Fit and finish on mine is excellent. It is perhaps one of the finest knives I have. It cuts like crazy and I would depend on it to save my life, no matter what.

The only thing I don`t like is the Wave feature. It`s cool as hell if that`s the way you want to open the knife, but if you want to clip it in a pocket and withdraw it closed, it takes too much thought.

I`m awaiting a second Commander and am actually thinking about filing the little Wave hook off.

Tell your pal to get one. He won`t regret it.

Now tell me about the Tactics mailing list, please.



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Allbest,

Jim Six
Adventure, Intrigue & Cheap Thrills
 
Jim, does it have a chisel grind or what? Also, how is the liner lockup on it? I've been hearing mixed reviews.

Spark

P.S. The Tactics list can be found at Comtech.com, it's a pretty good resource, you'll see some familiar faces there.

Spark

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Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
I love mine. That reverse curve makes it cut
better than any folder I've used. Lockup is
very solid (I got it to close once doing the
whap the spine test, I've never been able to
repeat it) The flat screw construction make it easy to maintain. It also carries very well for such a big folder (It's one big mother!). Fit and finish is not up to the standards of the best production knives, tool
marks are prominent on the liners of mine, but on a heavy duty user, this is not an issue to me. Grind lines are perfect. The blade is ground on both sides, but the edge bevel is only ground on one side. If your looking for a great using knife, and are in a situation where you can carry a LARGE folder, I recommend it highly.
 
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).]
 
I bought a commander at auction.
One of the best feeling handles i have. The recurved blades loves to cut. Overall its an excellent knife. The only thing i dont like is that wave feature.
I removed it with my multi-tool. Made the knife even better.

Tom
 
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