Spyderco Military vs. Emerson CQC-8

singularity35

singularity35

Joined
Mar 1, 2010
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How would these two compare? I would appreciate any thoughts on how you feel these two knives stack up against each other. Thanks.
 
I have both and they are both great knives. The CQC-8 has full titanium liners and is quite a bit heavier, the liner lock is also thicker. 154 vs. S30V steel. I have to touch up the 154 on the CQC-8 much more often than the S30V but I've had the S30V chip on the Millie when I hit bone dressing out an elk. The CQC-8 is a thicker knife than the Millie but they both feel great in my hand. In fact they are probably the 2 best feeling folders I have. The Wave on the CQC-8, I thought it was a gimmick before I bought it. I was wrong! If you need the knife open fast The Wave is the way to go. Millie is definitely smoother. The liners of the Emerson have the marks from the waterjet/bandsaw or whatever cuts them out. The edges are smoothed off but the looks put some people off. I think it looks kind of cool but some folks like smooth 90 degree edges. I think the CQC-8 could take more abuse of the two because of the beefier build and the steel seems tougher. Both knives are a home run in my book.
 
The Emerson build should be able to take significantly more abuse than the military, based on specs and how they've felt in hand. The tradeoff is that the CQC weighs almost twice as much.

As far as warranty service, I've never had to deal with either.

Outside of that, everything else is IMO preferential.
 
CQC-8: Stronger Tip, wave opening, harder to find, rougher F&F, Saber Grind, chisel ground edge
Military: About $50 Cheaper, Smoother, Better Edge holding, easier to find, lighter, good f&f, hole opening (doesn't get in the way of sharpening), FFG (imo better cutting abilities), thinner tip.

I see them as pretty close to the same, 4in blade, G10, linerlock, etc, but with the Military you get a step up in steel, and less worry about F&F while still paying $50 less, so really unless the Emerson design is worth the extra money and step down in steel, I'd go with the Military. I will say that I have really thought about getting a CQC8, I really like the design, but just can't bring my self to pay $180+ for 154cm and a linerlock with rough F&F. If they were around $100-125 I probably would, look at the Manix 2 same g10 and 154cm for around $70, or if they had F&F you would expect from a $200 dollar knife, S30V, CTS-Xhp, M4, I would pay the 180-200 for it. You could also even try to track down the Brown G10, CTS-XHP sprint coming out this week or next for a even better steel (IMO) for around $150.
 
A good friend of mine carried a Emerson cqc15, now he carries a military. Like others have said for less money you get superior customer service, fit and finish, and blade materials with the milli. The onlything superior on the emerson is the ti liners, but for the same money you can get a ti framelock military!
 
How is the customer service superior? I've never dealt with Spyderco but I've sent in a knife to Emerson and got great service.
 
From the ones I have seen the Militaries have better F&F, the Emerson's are on the rough side.
 
The CQC 8 has a stronger tip, but otherwise I greatly prefer the Millie. Cuts better, is lighter, better steel and F&F, plus you're not losing much strength due to the nested liners. The steel liner lock of the Military will wear significantly slower than the softer titanium on the Emersons.

If you have any issues, Sal and crew are all class acts and will take care of you.
 
mongomondo said:
How is the customer service superior? I've never dealt with Spyderco but I've sent in a knife to Emerson and got great service.
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X2. How is the customer service better? I can see the other advantages of the spyderco, but not customer service.
I've had great experiences with Emerson's CS.

I have a para military 2 and an Emerson Commander. The PM2 definately has a more "refined" feel and action but the Emerson has more of a heavy duty feel to it. I love both of them, and both get use but coming from subjective a standpoint, if I had to pick just one to carry, I would go with the emerson. I agree with most of what the others said about F&F, edge holding, etc. but when I go to grab one, it's usually the emerson. That's just my preferences though.
 
mongomondo said:
How is the customer service superior? I've never dealt with Spyderco but I've sent in a knife to Emerson and got great service.
Click to expand...

When I called Spyderco, they picked up the first time listend to how when I was working on my knife I lost a screw, the clip eventually got hung up on something at work as a result and was bent badly out of shape. Even thought it was obviously my fault that the screw was lost and my fault that the clip bent out of place the customer service at spyderco sent me new screws and a new clip at their expense. They included a small note in the box that read "Use Loctite!"

A similar problem happend to my friends CQC15 pocket clip, When we contacted emerson to see if they would mind sending us new screws for it, nto even a new clip they informed us that we would have to purchase a whole new clip kit to get it done. Called Emerson the next time on a fit and finish issue. The locking surface of their knife was poorly milled to the point where the only way to stop bladplay was to tighten the pivot to the point that the knife would not open or close. The blade was also so poorly centered that it was rubbing on the scale making a noise every time it was open and closed. After getting ahold of Emerson I was told I would have to send the knife in at my own expense to have them fix it. On top of this, while the distributor I bought the knfie from was willing to ship to NY, I was informed that if I sent them the knife they would not send it back. This has not been resolved as of yet, but I will have to have my grandfather recive the knife in PA IF my friend sends it in so we can get it back.
 
CQC-8 Pros:
Blade shape
Ergonomically excellent
Wave
Various sizes
Strong/reinforced tip
Thicker liner (Ti)

Cons:
Blade steel (too soft)
Liners are different materials
Weak detent (has been documented in various threads)
Fit and Finish is consistently off, and proud of it.
Availability is sparce at best
Limited clip positions
Very sharp out of the box
----------------------------------------------------------------
Military Pros:
Excellent liner lock design
Ergonomically excellent
Fit and Finish
Multiple handle materials
Multiple steel options
High availability
Blade steel (great heat treat)
Value for the money

Cons:
Limited pocket clip positions
Blade cannot be replaced if broken
Clip style is not deep carry friendly (observed by many owners)
Satin finish shows scratches very easily (a stonewashe/tum,bled finish would be a great option)
Non reinforced tip worrys many users
Non Ti liner (steel has worked pretty well so far though, no complaints)

dman62 said:
I have both and they are both great knives. The CQC-8 has full titanium liners and is quite a bit heavier, the liner lock is also thicker. 154 vs. S30V steel. I have to touch up the 154 on the CQC-8 much more often than the S30V but I've had the S30V chip on the Millie when I hit bone dressing out an elk. The CQC-8 is a thicker knife than the Millie but they both feel great in my hand. In fact they are probably the 2 best feeling folders I have. The Wave on the CQC-8, I thought it was a gimmick before I bought it. I was wrong! If you need the knife open fast The Wave is the way to go. Millie is definitely smoother. The liners of the Emerson have the marks from the waterjet/bandsaw or whatever cuts them out. The edges are smoothed off but the looks put some people off. I think it looks kind of cool but some folks like smooth 90 degree edges. I think the CQC-8 could take more abuse of the two because of the beefier build and the steel seems tougher. Both knives are a home run in my book.
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No it doesn't. The locking side is Ti, the non locking side is stainless. If you doubt it, grab a magnet and any Emerson knife and touch it to the liners. Titanium is non ferrous and the magnet won't stick. A long time ago they used to both be Ti.
This has the potential to create a problem due to the way the liners are designed. There is a small tab on both sides that creates the detent. Ti has a much better memory (it can spring much more with significantly less fatigue on the material), stainless can spring too, but for some reason this particular design it doesn't work as well as in other designs. This can be argued ad infinitum, but my point is it should have been left Ti from the start, given the price point.
 
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Thanks for the the input guys. I have a couple of millies but I do feel the CQC-8 calling a bit and I wanted to get an idea of what to expect if I got one. You've all been very helpful.
 
LondonBridges said:
Revdevil:

Spyderco doesn't offer any type of service that would allow for a new blade?
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Nope, never have that I am aware of. Mainly because the designs evolve and as refinements are made the older designs are discontinued. Makes stockpiling blades cumbersome. I'd still think it would be a good move on their part. At least for the knives that are not changing anytime soon.
 
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It's got nice style but you would be happier with another millie.
 
I'd go with the Military for sure. That's one of the few sub-Sebenza-priced folder I'd want to carry (in addition to the Para-military 1/2), if I had to choose. Other than that, I'd probably check out ZT's Rick Hinderer designed offerings.
 
My CQC-8 (bought this past March I believe) and my Mini Commander (purchased last month) both have full titanium liners. Magnet does not stick to either side. If someone else's has Ti on one side and stainless on the other I don't doubt it. Materials change. It's also not chisel ground. It's V ground with an asymmetrical edge. Didn't know if I'd like it but I think it makes it a little quicker to put an edge on it. Trade off is it's a little harder to make long straight cuts without the blade wandering. My ultimate knife would be a CQC-8 with a laminated steel blade. You'd have the best of both worlds, edge retention plus toughness. If anyone is in the Washington state area and wants hands on with any of these knives I'd love to meet. I don't know anyone in person with "the addiction".
 
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