Talk To Me About Emerson Knives

Status
Not open for further replies.
Oklahoma Outlaw

Oklahoma Outlaw

BANNED
Joined
Apr 15, 2021
Messages
1,920
I’m semi-interested in a Market Skinner. I don’t know a lot about the man himself or his business model. It appears 154CM is the only game in town regardless of the model. I do NOT have a problem with that.

I’d be interested in hearing others experience with the brand in general (only his USA made offerings) and the Market Skinner if anyone has one. Does he offer custom models?

Now off to YouTube for the fan-bois and nit pickers.

Thanks in advance.
 
The blade steel is as hard as soft cheese and the fit and finish is stuck in 1993. Expect lock stick, and the liners will be finished to 10 grit sandpaper, basically they look like they got dragged down a gravel road. The grind is on the wrong side if you’re right handed.

Emerson himself has a deep following of fanboys who will tell you his knives are the best thing since sliced bread. Don’t believe them. Buy one and you’ll probably laugh yourself to death when you compare it to anything else in the same price range.
 
Great ergonomics, rugged, quite heavy, fit and finish only passable, 154CM steel mediocre, chisel grind fairly easy to sharpen and pretty good for scraping but awful for straight cuts.
 
Alberta Ed said:
fit and finish only passable, 154CM steel mediocre
Click to expand...

These things alone are huge issues. It’s 2021 and their knives are still built like knives were being built 30 years ago. Even still, I’ve played with and owned Microtechs that are like 25 years old that are far better than any Emerson I’ve ever held.

For once in my life I can actually say that Emerson’s would probably be better if they were made in China.
 
As a former Emerson water carrier* I’ll just say; No. Just no. Your money is better spent elsewhere.

* In fact, I’ve owned more Emerson knives and other detritus than 98% of any of the folks who might defend him here.
 
The Aflac Duck said:
The blade steel is as hard as soft cheese and the fit and finish is stuck in 1993. Expect lock stick, and the liners will be finished to 10 grit sandpaper, basically they look like they got dragged down a gravel road. The grind is on the wrong side if you’re right handed.

Emerson himself has a deep following of fanboys who will tell you his knives are the best thing since sliced bread. Don’t believe them. Buy one and you’ll probably laugh yourself to death when you compare it to anything else in the same price range.
Click to expand...

Quiet said:
As a former Emerson water carrier* I’ll just say; No. Just no. Your money is better spent elsewhere.

* In fact, I’ve owned more Emerson knives and other detritus than 98% of any of the folks who might defend him here.
Click to expand...
Yep. These posts sum up my thoughts nicely. I would add that Emersons are well designed and have great ergonomics. But they are poorly executed and use ho-hum materials.

ZT makes a much better Emerson than Emerson does.
 
I was under the assumption that he made his own (Emerson branded) custom knives. I guess that assumption was wrong.
 
The Aflac Duck said:
The blade steel is as hard as soft cheese
Click to expand...
Oh please :rolleyes:
The Aflac Duck said:
and the fit and finish is stuck in 1993.
Click to expand...
Can't argue with that, there's definitely better when it comes to fitting the liners and handles.
The Aflac Duck said:
Expect lock stick, and the liners will be finished to 10 grit sandpaper
Click to expand...
Personally I prefer the lock stick and yes, the liners are roughly finished to say the least.
The Aflac Duck said:
basically they look like they got dragged down a gravel road.
Click to expand...
There you go dramatizing again.

Oklahoma Outlaw Oklahoma Outlaw
There's two camps when it comes to Emerson's, you have the haters and you have the fanboys and both are quite passionate about their views.

The only way you're going to know is to buy one and form your own opinion.
 
biggest problem besides what's been said already is the price points. way out of line for what ya get. I like some of the designs and own a half dozen or so. pricing is all wrong though.
 
OklahomaOutlaw said:
I was under the assumption that he made his own (Emerson branded) custom knives. I guess that assumption was wrong.
Click to expand...
EE does make his own customs and his company here in the US does make Emerson Knives knives. However, he has also contracted out to KAI to make some of his designs under both Kershaw and Zero Tolerance and the ZT knives are objectively better by every metric. So, take that for what it’s worth.
 
If you can pick one up used at a decent price I say go for it.
I have one, a Horseman I got for 75 used, and it is an okay knife.

Sometimes I am tempted by them as there are some nice designs that they have but for what Emerson charges I always end up with something else.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top