Talk To Me About Emerson Knives

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I thought about it at one point. I do not like the wave opener, the steel is subpar both on heat treatment and value. The ones I've handled the g-10 was insanely rough and the fit & finish made me think the had drunk baboons working there. And I can't stand chisel grinds. I'd buy a chisel if I wanted that.

Years later, tactical knives do nothing for me. I am not tactical not will I ever be. Well maybe when playing GoldenEye with my nephews...
 
The Aflac Duck said:
Usually Emerson, Strider, and sometimes Medford threads go this way.
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Well, I love all three of my Medford’s. There’s nothing about them not to love. I like the industrial look of them, they cut well (all S35VN) and hold and edge well.

Not as refined as my Shiro’s. And I’m good with that.
 
As other people said, a ZT Emerson is the way to go. Plus there are a lot of custom scales available for the 0640.

I owned an S30V SnG at one point, but would never support that company again.
 
OklahomaOutlaw said:
Well, I love all three of my Medford’s. There’s nothing about them not to love. I like the industrial look of them, they cut well (all S35VN) and hold and edge well.

Not as refined as my Shiro’s. And I’m good with that.
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This entirely depends on the forum you’re asking. The green forum will defend Emerson and Strider. Blue tends to go the opposite way. I have owned 7-8 Emerson Knives. I sold a few because they didn’t get carried. I will say this: the models that are using stand-offs instead of backspacers usually have significantly better fit and finish. The titanium still has mill lines, as EKI doesn’t polish the liners, but my specimens are flush, blades are sharp, and all have fine lock up with no stick. The market skinner is a new model, so I think every single one of them falls into the stand-off category.

The problem with this forum specifically is that a lot of the members have an axe to grind. Again, blue tends to be heavily anti-Emerson and anti-Strider; green tends to be the exact opposite.

Your best bet is to peruse both forums and YouTube, see if you can get your hands on one to try, then make a decision. I imagine your opinion, like most, will land between the two extremes.
 
I own 1 Emerson. Overpriced for what you get. Paying for the brand more so than the knife. I like the design (Gentleman Jim), but it has lock slip and fit/finish is bad.

Like has been stated already, ZT/Kershaw makes a better Emerson than Emerson does.
 
Murdamook said:
This entirely depends on the forum you’re asking. The green forum will defend Emerson and Strider. Blue tends to go the opposite way. I have owned 7-8 Emerson Knives. I sold a few because they didn’t get carried. I will say this: the models that are using stand-offs instead of backspacers usually have significantly better fit and finish. The titanium still has mill lines, as EKI doesn’t polish the liners, but my specimens are flush, blades are sharp, and all have fine lock up with no stick. The market skinner is a new model, so I think every single one of them falls into the stand-off category.

The problem with this forum specifically is that a lot of the members have an axe to grind. Again, blue tends to be heavily anti-Emerson and anti-Strider; green tends to be the exact opposite.

Your best bet is to peruse both forums and YouTube, see if you can get your hands on one to try, then make a decision. I imagine your opinion, like most, will land between the two extremes.
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It's absolutely not "an axe to grind". That is an attempt to dismiss very real, valid criticisms of EE and his products. Both are worthy of criticism. EE's extreme arrogance has lost him more fans and customers than his subpar "designed in the early 90s" knives ever have. Also, USN is Ernie's forum, where he and his sycophant underlings control the entire narrative, so of course it "tends to be the exact opposite" of this place, come on now.
 
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Quiet said:
It's absolutely not "an axe to grind". That is an attempt to dismiss very real, valud criticisms of EE and his products. Both are worthy of criticism. EE's extreme arrogance has lost him more fans and customers than his subpar "designed in the early 90s" knives ever have.
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100% agree, I wasn’t going to go there since he’s a member here and discussing other members might get this thing shut down. However, yeah. He is quite a clown.
 
I've been an Emerson user off and on since the 1990s. I really enjoy his custom pieces, but his production stuff has been very hit/miss for me over the years. Lock fit and gritty actions being my main complaints. I'm a diehard CQC8 fan, and I'll always keep a few of them around, but when the ZT Emerson collabs were nicer than an Emerson, it was time for me to move on.
 
Quiet said:
It's absolutely not "an axe to grind". That is an attempt to dismiss very real, valid criticisms of EE and his products. Both are worthy of criticism. EE's extreme arrogance has lost him more fans and customers than his subpar "designed in the early 90s" knives ever have. Also, USN is Ernie's forum, where he and his sycophant underlings control the entire narrative, so of course it "tends to be the exact opposite" of this place, come on now.
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I never said you had an axe to grind, I stated many in this forum do. I don’t find Ernie abrasive, thus I judge his products based on their merit and my usage. I currently own a Commander, a Mini-Commander, an 11, and a 7. Aside from unpolished liners, the g10 on every model mates up well, no lock rock or play, no stick, and overall rather good fit and finish.

My point regarding the “axe to grind” comment is that he can be off-putting and I get that, but I don’t think the merits of his product should necessarily hinge on his attitude.

Ex. I have had very bad interactions with Rick Hinderer in which he completely overreacted to statements made on the Hinderer FB group about locating product. I don’t use those interactions to color my experience with his product, nor would I say his product is trash based on said interactions.

Do people have real criticisms of EKI products? Sure. But there’s also a contingent that simply doesn’t like the owner that is hellbent on trashing the brand for that reason.
 
Quiet said:
It's absolutely not "an axe to grind". That is an attempt to dismiss very real, valid criticisms of EE and his products. Both are worthy of criticism. EE's extreme arrogance has lost him more fans and customers than his subpar "designed in the early 90s" knives ever have. Also, USN is Ernie's forum, where he and his sycophant underlings control the entire narrative, so of course it "tends to be the exact opposite" of this place, come on now.
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I agree with a lot of what you say, but the USN is most definitely not "Ernie's forum". I know that was a bit of hyperbole on your behalf, and you know the history, but just to be clear for those who don't.
Without going into too much detail, the USN (aka the green forum) was founded by Emerson super fans who were not happy with how things were going here and on other forums. So they decided to create their own forum.
Does Ernie give them preferential treatment? Absolutely! However, I can say from my own observations that criticisms there are much more accepted than praise here when it comes to Emerson's products. Strider shows an ESPECIALLY dramatic difference in members attitudes.
Personally, I enjoy spending time on both the USN and BladeForums equally. Each has it's (IMO Significant) place in the knife community.
 
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