- Joined
- Apr 5, 1999
- Messages
- 460
Dear Members,
Well, I guess the cat is now well out of the bag. Most of you have now become aware of the Emerson Kershaw Knives. Due to a family emergency we (the Emerson family) were not able to attend the SHOT show or participate in the pomp and circumstance of the debut of the Emerson-Kershaw partnership. But it looks like everybody did our job for us in lieu of our absence. Thank you.
At the BLADE show in June 2013, we had a meeting with Craig and Thomas of Kershaw knives. Over the last two decades the name Emerson has grown from the simple name of a knife company into the most coveted of categories, a Lifestyle Brand. As such, that put us into a category alongside of names like Harley Davidson, Body Glove, Jack Daniels, etc. where the name no longer represents just a product, but a much broader category, a lifestyle that people identify with. When a company brand achieves that status, the brand itself becomes a symbol of status much as wearing a Rolex watch became the symbol of personal success. When a brand gains such respect and value, many opportunities manifest that are not available to the status quo. Over the years, as the name Emerson developed this cache, we were approached by a number of companies interested in purchasing our company outright. Some of these came from within the Cutlery Industry, some from the Tactical Industry and several from interests completely outside of our world. The amounts have been tempting, in fact big on a scale that my Great Grandchildren would never need to work. But, as a family we all felt we were not done yet, so we kept our company.
Another aspect we faced as the brand grew was the constant approach by companies that wanted to co-brand, license or carry our product. Over the years these have included, the Military Exchanges (AFEES), Cabelas, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro, Costco, Amazon, all the Big Box stores and even Home Depot. All the major firearms manufacturers and all the top shelf names in the tactical industry have approached us to either build product for them or co-brand product with them. Unfortunately, we were hamstrung by our own success. Because of the ever increasing demand for our product, we carried at all times, a two year backlog of orders. No matter how much we grew the company or increased our production, the orders increased in parity with our growth. All of this with no advertising. The problem was that we could never take advantage of the solicitations from those companies. We knew that we would never be-able to supply enough knives to meet their demands so we graciously declined. Rather than ever burn any bridges we would simply say, Sorry, not now, but perhaps in the future if you would still be interested. Well, theyre still interested, but we also know that nothing lasts forever.
Which brings us to Kershaw. Kershaw had been in contact with me for several years and we had played with several designs but I had never pulled the trigger on a collaboration, because I wasnt after a collaboration, I was after a partner. After several meetings at the BLADE show, Kershaw was who we chose. They knew the power of our brand and the Emerson name and they had the horsepower to make big things happen. In fact Kershaw was more than eager to work with, The father of the tactical knife industry, as they put it.
Now, I knew a few things before we got started. One of the most important was this, as well-known as we thought we might be, we knew it was to a small school of fish in a great big ocean. There were millions who had never even heard of Ernest Emerson or Emerson knives. Secondly, we knew that even as well-known as we were in our world, there were tens of thousands who knew of us and wanted an Emerson but were unable to afford the substantial price for an Emerson original. And Kershaw agreed. They saw the potential for expanding the Emerson name into markets previously untouched. Kershaw also knew they had the manufacturing capacity to address all of the opportunities that would manifest as a result of our partnership. And the die was cast.
After all the contracts and signatures were done, it was time to decide where to start. Kershaw came down to my company to choose the introductory models. How was that done? Well, over the last several years I have designed a portfolio of approximately 150 knives. And, be aware that those are not just sketches or drawings. These are fully proven, prototype designs and actual working pieces. So when we sat down we merely had to pick the knives we wanted from the portfolio. We had also decided that we would introduce the budget priced knives at a price which would make Emerson Knives available to all. And of course, there had to be a Zero Tolerance model because, well there just had to be. These are all my designs, 100% start to finish and the only changes were to the mounting hardware so they would fit with the Kershaw manufacturing process. So if any one questions whether I approved of the designs, they are my designs, so I guess you could say I approved them.
Some may also ask, Why did I approve of a partnership with Kershaw? First and foremost, because they are honest. Second, Kershaw makes a tremendous product regardless of where they are manufactured and they are big enough to handle the volumes we anticipate. Third, they showed me the respect that I have earned. And, again, they are honest.
This is not a collaboration, this is a partnership and the result of this unique and first of its kind union promises to be one of the landmark events in the history of the cutlery industry. Emerson Knives will continue to thrive and grow just the same as it always has and all Emerson Knives will be made the same as always right here in the Emerson Knives factory. Ernest Emerson custom knives will also continue on, handmade by me as they always have. Hell, I might even make some custom versions of the Emerson Kershaw models.
So there you have it, the story of the new alliance between Kershaw and Emerson. I hope you like what weve started. If you do therell be more to come.
My Best Regards,
Ernest Emerson
The compound
January 2014
Addendum: Some have asked why I have designed so many knives in the last few years. Well you never know whats going to happen and another reason is that I could get sacked. I have received around a dozen death threats over the last decade or so, of which, 3 were serious enough to involve both international and domestic agencies to subvert. The most recent being a hit ordered by a group right here in the U.S. Why would there be entities interested in killing me? For the answer to that, youll just have to read the book after Im dead. In the meantime, getting all these designs in order is my insurance policy for both my family and my company.
Well, I guess the cat is now well out of the bag. Most of you have now become aware of the Emerson Kershaw Knives. Due to a family emergency we (the Emerson family) were not able to attend the SHOT show or participate in the pomp and circumstance of the debut of the Emerson-Kershaw partnership. But it looks like everybody did our job for us in lieu of our absence. Thank you.
At the BLADE show in June 2013, we had a meeting with Craig and Thomas of Kershaw knives. Over the last two decades the name Emerson has grown from the simple name of a knife company into the most coveted of categories, a Lifestyle Brand. As such, that put us into a category alongside of names like Harley Davidson, Body Glove, Jack Daniels, etc. where the name no longer represents just a product, but a much broader category, a lifestyle that people identify with. When a company brand achieves that status, the brand itself becomes a symbol of status much as wearing a Rolex watch became the symbol of personal success. When a brand gains such respect and value, many opportunities manifest that are not available to the status quo. Over the years, as the name Emerson developed this cache, we were approached by a number of companies interested in purchasing our company outright. Some of these came from within the Cutlery Industry, some from the Tactical Industry and several from interests completely outside of our world. The amounts have been tempting, in fact big on a scale that my Great Grandchildren would never need to work. But, as a family we all felt we were not done yet, so we kept our company.
Another aspect we faced as the brand grew was the constant approach by companies that wanted to co-brand, license or carry our product. Over the years these have included, the Military Exchanges (AFEES), Cabelas, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro, Costco, Amazon, all the Big Box stores and even Home Depot. All the major firearms manufacturers and all the top shelf names in the tactical industry have approached us to either build product for them or co-brand product with them. Unfortunately, we were hamstrung by our own success. Because of the ever increasing demand for our product, we carried at all times, a two year backlog of orders. No matter how much we grew the company or increased our production, the orders increased in parity with our growth. All of this with no advertising. The problem was that we could never take advantage of the solicitations from those companies. We knew that we would never be-able to supply enough knives to meet their demands so we graciously declined. Rather than ever burn any bridges we would simply say, Sorry, not now, but perhaps in the future if you would still be interested. Well, theyre still interested, but we also know that nothing lasts forever.
Which brings us to Kershaw. Kershaw had been in contact with me for several years and we had played with several designs but I had never pulled the trigger on a collaboration, because I wasnt after a collaboration, I was after a partner. After several meetings at the BLADE show, Kershaw was who we chose. They knew the power of our brand and the Emerson name and they had the horsepower to make big things happen. In fact Kershaw was more than eager to work with, The father of the tactical knife industry, as they put it.
Now, I knew a few things before we got started. One of the most important was this, as well-known as we thought we might be, we knew it was to a small school of fish in a great big ocean. There were millions who had never even heard of Ernest Emerson or Emerson knives. Secondly, we knew that even as well-known as we were in our world, there were tens of thousands who knew of us and wanted an Emerson but were unable to afford the substantial price for an Emerson original. And Kershaw agreed. They saw the potential for expanding the Emerson name into markets previously untouched. Kershaw also knew they had the manufacturing capacity to address all of the opportunities that would manifest as a result of our partnership. And the die was cast.
After all the contracts and signatures were done, it was time to decide where to start. Kershaw came down to my company to choose the introductory models. How was that done? Well, over the last several years I have designed a portfolio of approximately 150 knives. And, be aware that those are not just sketches or drawings. These are fully proven, prototype designs and actual working pieces. So when we sat down we merely had to pick the knives we wanted from the portfolio. We had also decided that we would introduce the budget priced knives at a price which would make Emerson Knives available to all. And of course, there had to be a Zero Tolerance model because, well there just had to be. These are all my designs, 100% start to finish and the only changes were to the mounting hardware so they would fit with the Kershaw manufacturing process. So if any one questions whether I approved of the designs, they are my designs, so I guess you could say I approved them.
Some may also ask, Why did I approve of a partnership with Kershaw? First and foremost, because they are honest. Second, Kershaw makes a tremendous product regardless of where they are manufactured and they are big enough to handle the volumes we anticipate. Third, they showed me the respect that I have earned. And, again, they are honest.
This is not a collaboration, this is a partnership and the result of this unique and first of its kind union promises to be one of the landmark events in the history of the cutlery industry. Emerson Knives will continue to thrive and grow just the same as it always has and all Emerson Knives will be made the same as always right here in the Emerson Knives factory. Ernest Emerson custom knives will also continue on, handmade by me as they always have. Hell, I might even make some custom versions of the Emerson Kershaw models.
So there you have it, the story of the new alliance between Kershaw and Emerson. I hope you like what weve started. If you do therell be more to come.
My Best Regards,
Ernest Emerson
The compound
January 2014
Addendum: Some have asked why I have designed so many knives in the last few years. Well you never know whats going to happen and another reason is that I could get sacked. I have received around a dozen death threats over the last decade or so, of which, 3 were serious enough to involve both international and domestic agencies to subvert. The most recent being a hit ordered by a group right here in the U.S. Why would there be entities interested in killing me? For the answer to that, youll just have to read the book after Im dead. In the meantime, getting all these designs in order is my insurance policy for both my family and my company.
