Talk me into the commander

T

Timothy 75

Joined
Aug 11, 2011
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Well i've loved the emerson brand since before i even owned one and my collection has filled out nicely. The one emerson i never really gravitated to however was the infamous commander. I love the older designs and the emerson history and lore but have never been able to pull the trigger on one. From what it looks like it, its a long wide blade that wouldnt pierce very well? For utilitarian purposes it seems a smaller thinner blade would be more useful, and as a weapon a pointier version of the several recurves would seem more logical. But im all ears and i adore the brand, so if im missing something let me know fellas.
 
The commander is an iconic Emerson design. It's a tad big for my edc tastes so I opted for the mini version however. Kept it for a while, carried it and sold it. Even the mini took up a good bit of pocket room with the wide blade shape and as you said, piercing isn't its strength. Depending on how you use your knives and your carry preferences, ymmv. If you like to collect Emerson's I'd say go for it, it's the first knife to ever have the wave and there's a lot of history there.
 
It is an iconic Emerson and I own a bunch of them, but recurves just seem like more hassle than they're worth. They are cool nonetheless, if that's important.
 
Speaking for myself. The Commander grip is the most comfortable in the hand.
 
colubrid said:
Speaking for myself. The Commander grip is the most comfortable in the hand.
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I must agree, the grip is something to, um, behold. :D The instant you grab one, you'll see. That said, I've often thought about some sort of bowie regrind to make the tip more useful for typical EDC tasks.
 
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A great alternative if you can find one is the Iron Dragon, a commander-ish shape without the tip canted down and less recurve, in a slimmer RIL/framelock design. Viewed beside this (Super) Commander, I think the similarity is apparent.

Iron-Dragon-Front.jpg
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To big for me to use daily.. I still own it tho, just because I consider it a «must-have-Emerson» :)

But you have a point regarding the bladeshape, and I prefer pointier bladeshapes, like the 8 and 7 for utilitariam uses..
 
I have a micro commander for when I want to go Emerson but need something abit smaller.

The full sized and mini are very comfortable in hand. Honestly it is a purpose designed knife that is abit big. If you don’t mind sharpening recurves then it is a great knife.

I much prefer the cqc7 family simply because it is smaller and thus for me, living in the city, it is more practical.

Officer's Match Officer's Match I notice that alot of Emerson knives seem like he has a box of handles and a box of blades. He digs through the box and picks a handle, and then picks a blade, combines them and voilà! A new Emerson is born.

The Iron Dragon is a beauty. Good luck finding one though. I wish Emerson would produce his frame locks more regularly. I have an HD7 i just got used from a very generous member and those framelock Emersons are just the most amazing knives I have ever seen. To me perfect in Every way. I am however not loving that the new ones are coming on bearings....

PS: You want me to talk you into a Commander? You know you want it! Buy it now!

Atleast it is an Emerson that stays in production. Alot of his knives if you miss it then you are hosed.
 
Timothy 75 said:
Well i've loved the emerson brand since before i even owned one and my collection has filled out nicely. The one emerson i never really gravitated to however was the infamous commander. I love the older designs and the emerson history and lore but have never been able to pull the trigger on one. From what it looks like it, its a long wide blade that wouldnt pierce very well? For utilitarian purposes it seems a smaller thinner blade would be more useful, and as a weapon a pointier version of the several recurves would seem more logical. But im all ears and i adore the brand, so if im missing something let me know fellas.
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I would say that I agree with some of your worries...it's not my most useful Emerson (have the mini and had the full size) but I enjoy owning it. Some of my Emersons I own are just because I enjoy the design. For example, I love the Persian but never carry it. I say get it and enjoy it for what it is.
 
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