Thoughts on Emerson Commander and Spyderco P'kal

Peroni1973

Peroni1973

Joined
Mar 25, 2010
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707
Guys,

I posted a while back about getting mugged whilst working in Shanghai on the Spyderco sub-forum. Whilst I remain really keen to keep the machismo and ninja stuff to a minimum - as a consequence, I have picked up my training. I am regularly training in Muay Thai and Kali here in Malaysia.

As a direct consequence, I have ordered both of the aforementioned folders - namely the Emerson Commander and the Spyderco P'Kal. I intend to carry both wherever possible and was just interested in your experiences in the use of these knives. I know that there are some concerns about the QC on Emerson but I specifically wanted the wave features on these knives and am less worried about edge retention as neither knife will be used for EDC purposes.

All thoughts and experiences welcome.

Thanks,

Ben
 
Never used the pkal myself, but I have an emerson commander. For some reason trying to wave it on my jeans just doesn't work reliably. I did the ziptie mod to my spyderco PM2 and it worked 100% but for some reason the Emerson just doesn't.

Let me say that I love the philosophy behind Emerson knives but honestly I am a little disappointed considering I bought the knife for self defense (like you) and the wave isn't reliable. Maybe it's my Levi jeans, maybe I have bad luck, I don't really know. The point is--with my PM2 ziptie'd, it works 100% of the time and has never failed me. The commander works 50% of the time or less.

I have no doubts people will say that I probably waved my Commander too hard (when it actually works..) but I just do the technique I am supposed to and the lock is at 75-85% lockup already and I've only had the knife for 3-4 months (waved maybe 20-30 times).

The lock does not fail any test I've done, and the fact that it's a titanium liner is great--because it sticks better (thus making it harder to fail, i believe), but it does get annoying over time because when I am actually able to wave it, the lockbar engages pretty hard and it gets pretty difficult to close the knife one handed after a wave.

Further, I had to tighten the shit out of the pivot to make it not have blade play. When the blade was easier to deploy, it was nice and smooth (and would probably be easier to wave) but it still had noticeable blade play and I don't think that a "hard-use knife" should have any.

I have EDC'd this knife since I got it and it has served me in more of a self-defense capacity because I have a smaller knife for regular cutting so it is almost new. I want to love the knife because the ergonomics are great, it is a nice blade shape and is super grippy and tough, also like I said--I like Ernest Emerson and EKI, but it honestly is a little disappointing.

I am at the point now where I would probably rather have a fixed blade for EDC for quick deployment/self defense. I'm also considering trying out the matriarch wave to see if it works better, but I still am really disappointed the Emerson didn't work as I expected, because I absolutely love it other than the fact I can't get the damn thing to wave.
 
The P'kal is a nasty weapon in the right hands, mine opens quite reliably on the draw, check out Southnarc's videos on deployment and use, he says draw it with your fingers and then roll it into your palm, turning the sharp side inward, took me a while to get that down.

If you are looking for SD I would recommend the Perrin LaGriffe, ounce for ounce it's probably the most lethal blade I've seen, you could carry it on the belt, in pocket, or as a necker.
 
I have a larger variant of the commander and I totally recommend this knife. In terms of stated use, I cannot advise; I train in a few martial arts as well, and I've learned that doing my best to not be in a fight is the best way to always come out ahead. That said, if it went down and I had to reach for a folder, it would be this one:

24w95pt.jpg
 
I have no training, and would rather run if I could. Since I cannot run, I carry a glock or smith 5-shot. I understand that you have different laws there. I have owned Emerson and did like the wave feature. As long as I carried the knife in extreme right-hand corner of pocket, it was flawless in operation. I an no fan of 154 cm, but realize that is not the issue.
I love spyderco, but have no p'kal experience.
 
Some knives inherently wave easier than others, while some take some practice. It has to due with the knife design, specifically blade design and corresponding spine angles. Take a look at the great picture Aias posted, the downward convex angle of the spine makes waving the Commander more difficult than others. Compare that to the CQC-13 in the picture directly behind his Super Commander, it has a straight spine, so that knife is easier to wave. The CQC-8 is known to be one of the easiest, and that can be attributed to the blades concave spine that drives the wave into the pocket corner.

The Commander will simply require more practice, as some forward wrist pronation is required for reliable waving.
 
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Just my opinion, but if I had to use a knife for SD, I would probably want a little more than a 3 inch blade and the upswept tip on the Commander may be useful.

Besides, Commanders are cool.
 
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cncpro11 said:
Just my opinion, but if I had to use a knife for SD, I would probably want a little more than a 3 inch blade.
Click to expand...

A point driven technique will do much more damage than a 4 inch blade used in an edge driven style...think stab and rip. :)

Of course, it will all come down to user skill. ;)
 
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singularity35 said:
A point driven technique will do much more damage than a 4 inch blade used in an edge driven style...think stab and rip. :)
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but honestly I wouldn't use a knife for SD....think Glock 19.

In all seriousness I know that both blade designs are proven, but I would prefer the extra length.
 
cncpro11 said:
Perhaps, but honestly I wouldn't use a knife for SD....think Glock 19.

In all seriousness I know that both blade designs are proven, but I would prefer the extra length.
Click to expand...

Yes, well that seems like a good reply when talking about 2 knives. :D

And this discussion is probably not suited for General Knife anyway.
 
Aias said:
...I train in a few martial arts as well, and I've learned that doing my best to not be in a fight is the best way to always come out ahead. That said, if it went down and I had to reach for a folder, it would be this one:

24w95pt.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks guys, I completely agree about avoiding any confrontation at every opportunity (hence requesting to keep the machismo stuff to a minimum). I get the reference to alternatives but often times there are no better alternatives.

Sonnydaze, I appreciate you comments too and have heard concerns about 154CM but as it isn't intended for anything other than SD I think it'll be less of an issue.

Thanks all for your thoughts and contributions!

Ben
 
I really don't think you will find a folder that's better suited to SD than the Spyderco Civilian, followed by the Matriarch (especially the Emerson version). Unfortunately, none of them are really useful for general EDC use, they're really just for disemboweling people!

The Tasman Salt might make a nice compromise choice.
 
Another reason I like the Commander is that the blade design excels at SD and utility work.
 
I have no problem waving my commander, but all the Emerson's wave a little bit different and so far i found the ETAK models to be the easiest to wave between different pant styles.
 
If SD is all the knife is acquired for I would look at knives made for that purpose ... Civilian, Yojimbo, etc. "Normal" blade geometries don't matter when it comes to SD.
 
Thanks again for thoughts, etc.

John_0917 and Nellem, I was seriously considering the waved Matriarch 2 but will see how I get on with these two for now...

Cheers!

Ben
 
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