Standoffs and back spacers performance differences?? After useing both......

M

mystro

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Aug 26, 2010
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Now that I have had a few Emerson knives with the standoffs and have a few with the original back spacers, I dont see any performance or toughness differences.
Curious if anyone else has??
I dont question Ernest as he is the undisputed expert in this field. If he wants to use standoffs then I believe him.
As a user the standoffs are a bit easier to clean out. I field dressed a few deer over the years with different Emerson models and my Jungle 8 was a bit easier to clean out but not significantly over the back spacers. I see some have questioned the strength of the stand offs but only in "theory" and not any empirical evidence to question their strength that I have seen documented. As a long time Emerson fan and owner there is something nostalgic and alluring to the original back spacers. I suspect the stand offs will draw in new owners since so many other knives use them. I find it a draw between the performance of the two systems. I would buy a Emerson with either system without hesitation and not question their toughness.
I would love to get Ernest take on the difference between the two and his opinion of the two systems.....



 
I only have the Vindicator....so far....but I love the look of standoffs vs. backspacer. It's also so much easier to clean.

Nice 1911 btw!
 
There are a couple advantages of the standoffs that I can see.

Less model specific parts to make and stock, and less labor making the individual spacers.

The screws go into the standoffs instead of the opposite liner so if you strip one you can just get another standoff instead of shipping the knife back to have the liner repaired or replaced if the threads in the liner get stripped out.

Plus as mentioned it may appeal to more buyers and it is easier to clean without disassembling.
 
So long as the backspacers are done right, I prefer them. The problem is that there are a lot of cuts that must be done perfectly, some on an angle, and finishing so it is very difficult to make a perfect backspacer. One slip during finishing ruins the piece :(

The backspacers on the recent run of waveless CQC-8s were perfect, the knives looked far better than they could have with standoffs.
 
I have Emersons both ways. I don't really have a preference and I haven't noticed any performance difference in my uses.
 
The advantage of using standoffs lie in the uniformity of production and assembly, as compared to backspacers. That said though, I prefer backspacers on my non-framelock Emersons. They're just more solid that way.
 
I have owned both and I prefer the backspacer. In my experience Standoffs create an additional "hotspot" as compared with a backspacer.

But I can understand why Mr. Emerson made the switch.
 
I like the feel of one's with backspacers. However, I like how it's easier to take down a model with stand-off's. I don't think one is weaker than the other in regards to supporting the liners.:)
 
I do tend to look for models that have the back spacer, as I do dabble a bit in Pekiti Tirsia, and the practice of being trained in using a knife in many grips is a key concept.

I will say though, that I feel the Bulldog would benefit more in terms if grip if it had a back spacer. Though it's a smaller knife, it seats very well in the reverse grip. With a back spacer, it would be even better.
 
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