The fall of Emerson Knives

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Another thing to consider is that a great deal of Emerson enthusiasts left BF years ago and started the USN. The brand is still going strong. It's just that they are not represented here at all too well. Actually, essentially the same can be said of Strider knives.

EKI's popularity is still going strong and the customs even more so. Whenever the customs come up for sale they go pretty quickly. You think getting a Grimsmo Norseman was tough a year or two ago? It's nothing compared to how hard it's always been to acquire a CQC-6 for a reasonable price.
 
I like some of the designs but never felt the price for the materials were worth it. If they were priced more in the $130-150 range I may have tried a few. To many awesome knives with better steels for better prices. Just my opinion. It is great to have so many options.
 
lol! 2 - 3 years ago is but a footnote in the emerson annals stretching back to the '90's :)
ups and downs is usual for any brand.
stagnation hsppens when a company don't
create buzz.
usually picks up when new developments
in product or corporate stir interest.
yeah, there is only so much hype one
can create about tactical knives heavy with
links to navy seals and special operatives.
it limites iong term interest significantly to
just the selected hardcore diehards.
in the long run only phil hartsfield can pull off a phil hartsfield signature raw semi finished utalitarian japanese look.
but emerson knives will survive and live on
to fight another day for as long
as mr emerson and his fans do.
it is inevitable that with the passage of time
things will reach a plateau
hopefully it hasn't peaked just yet.
 
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not2sharp said:
Emerson is probably suffering from a changing marketplace. Who needs to worry about catching the edge of the blade on their trousers when fully automatic knives are now becoming more available? Protec, Benchmade, Microtech, and recently even Spyderco and Buck are making autos.

n2s
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I have lots of autos, nothing is faster than a wave. That said, speed of deployment is not a concern for me no matter what knife I buy.
 
Silent H said:
I would disagree with you on that one. I think getting his designs into more people's hands helped sales on the EKI side. Several people I know (myself included) never considered buying an Emerson until owning and handling the Kershaw versions. Also I love the Hollow grinds on the Kershaw/Emerson knives I have, I've never seen am Emerson cut like those do.
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I would like if the kershaws were original designs. As is they are really close in patterns to the Emersons. Glad they can be a gateway though!
 
Eli Chaps said:
I never understood why they got popular to begin with.
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Only game in town/moment in time kind of deal.

I have a couple, they're fine knives. I don't really have an urge to buy more or to dive into the over the top expensive versions.

Would still like to come across a Persian though.
 
I’ve never owned a true Emerson, just an Emerson designed Kershaw. That seemed decent enough. I really can’t pass judgment here. Still something about that micarta scaled s35vn sheep dog appeals to me. Anybody own one? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
 
GeofS said:
Still something about that micarta scaled s35vn sheep dog appeals to me. Anybody own one? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
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Yup, it's a great knife with a great action. It's the only non-kershaw Emerson I've ever owned. As long as you're not looking for something super slicey, it's a great knife.
 
I was never crazy about their folding knives, but I am curious about their fixed blades. With fixed knives, at least you don’t have to worry about bladeplay, blade centering, detent, etc. How’s the fit and finish on the Emerson fixed blades.
 
2-3 years ago really is a blip in their history. I like some of their designs and as someone who enjoys sharpening, 154cm is one of my all time favorites for a work knife. If anything, I think the constant chasing of the newest steels is a kind of fool's errand. People paying premiums and scouring the secondary takes away a lot of the fun out of this hobby for me. I much prefer to think about the overall design, and Emerson has some solid ones. I have a couple and a few more are on the ever growing to-buy list

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I still enjoy Emersons. Just because there is less talk around here doesn’t mean the company has “fallen”.

It looks like just the other day they released a new knife that was so popular it sold out and now they are taking back orders for it.
 
I used to support EKI fully. They were great knives back in the day when they weren’t priced absolutely ridiculously. You used to be able to pick up Emersons on the exchange for $80. I had quite a few.

Now that they are priced ridiculously, and still made of meh materials, I’m no longer interested.

The ergonomics are excellent. The fit and finish is “ok”. The materials are “ok” too. That said, a properly broken in Emerson is a thing of beauty. They’re buttery smooth, fit your hand extremely well, and get the job done.

Like has been mentioned earlier, they aren’t going anywhere. They have their supporters, as they should. The only bone I have to pick is their insane prices for what you get.
 
I have nothing against Emerson Knives, but they didn’t work out for me. Between 1999 and around 2002 or 2003, I owned 7 or 8 Emerson knives, and gave each a fair try. Yes, I got them for the hype at the time, not to mention it was during the period when I used to buy lots of knives. Most of them felt great in the hand, but I didn’t really care for them for MY uses. And on a couple of them, the liner locks wore prematurely, very quickly, and developed lock slip with light hand pressure to the blade spine. The only liner locking knives I’ve ever owned that ever had that happen. I know I could have sent them in for warranty work, but I just never did; that was on me. I also didn’t find them to be any more suited to ‘hard use’ than a lot of other companies’ knives.

That said, they have their loyal following, and I wish them the best.

Jim
 
It seemed like they were starting to get things really “going” with bearing flippers, S35VN, the ZT models and the Launch 5 auto ... then it all kinda stopped.

Now it’s more of the same 154CM excessively heavy and crudely built knives for high prices.

I think they (he) really damaged his image a lot when he started writing some of his opinion pieces ranting about millennials, Muslims and the decline of American workers while at the same time licensing his designs to Kai to produce in China...hypocrite much?

In the end, what you get from EKI can either be seen as “character” or “really bad value”.
 
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