Standoffs....Yuck

M

MatthewSB

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Feb 1, 2013
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I ordered a pair of CQC-7Bs and both came with standoffs instead of a backspacer. Are all CQC7s, or even all Emersons, being shipped this way?

I'm not sure why, but it just didn't seem to "fit" the knife.
 
Standoffs are on all new Emersons...I believe they started in 2013. I'm not exactly fond of them either but I trust Ernies choice.
 
ibute21 said:
Standoffs are on all new Emersons...I believe they started in 2013. I'm not exactly fond of them either but I trust Ernies choice.
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Thanks for the fast reply.

I guess I'll have to hunt down some old stock, which should be hard considering how fast Emerson knives fly off the shelves between batches.
 
I have a 2013 with the back spacer that I think fits and looks pretty good, I have been looking forward to getting one of the newer model with the standoff's. I will have to follow more posts on this thread to see more of what's up first.
 
I had two 2013 Emersons with standoffs. Only kept one. Give me the old backspacer any day.
 
I called Emerson, they said that it's only "some models" that have the standoffs.

The A-100s will have the traditional backspacer, so I ordered one.

To clarify, the standoffs bother me because, in my opinion, they are too shiny for the otherwise dull CQC-7 and make the knife look like an ebay fake.

I just got a really nice sander and a drill press, I need to start making my own handles. A CQC-7 would look awesome with a polished micarta handle, and matching backspacer :D
 
Not a fan of the factory standoffs either, but I do prefer them on my customized Emersons.
 
Standoffs don't bother me, I think the customized ones are awesome and if I can ever find some I'm going for it. But that's just my opinion.
 
Lycosa said:
You snob, you. ^
:D
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Yes.

20140214_202152.jpg
 
I have my first one with standoffs ordered. I specifically asked EKI to make sure I got it with standoffs as well. Both of my current Emersons have spacers and the spacers are not flush on either of them. I've actually ALWAYS wished they had standoffs. Easier to clean without having to do a full takedown, they look better, and on top of that there have been complaints in the past that Emerson's screws in the Ti slabs would strip too easily so I'm looking forward to seeing if the standoffs are stronger (and I have a feeling they will prove to be so).

Gotta say, I don't see any drawbacks to the standoffs.
 
Harder to center the blade with standoffs, but it is easier for manufacturing since they don't have to produce unique backspacers. The move to standoffs does follow the design logic though, having the same clip, pivot, screws, thumbdisks, and now standoffs, for all the production models.
 
I'm not sure I agree with standoff's being harder to center. I've had two factory standoff models so far and both had perfect centering out of the box. More thread engaged, "pinch" in all screw areas (rather than alternating tension), and replace-ability factor in the event of stripping all favor the standoff's IMHO.
 
Harder to center because now you have more screws to tighten vs the backspacer design. In the case of some models, you even have 8 screws vs 4. I like it simple.
 
I agree re: simple, just saying that being able to adjust tension on both sides should enhance centering adjust-ability IMHO.
 
I had 2 standoffs strip on me within the last 5 months or so. EKI replaced em for me without a problem. Never had a backspacer issue before...
 
Never had a problem with mine, or any other brand that uses standoff's. Maybe EKI needs to evaluate the quality of the standoffs they are using - there's no reason why they shouldn't be stronger than the thin Ti and SS liner threads.
 
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