Thoughts on the Kershaw Emerson Folding Knives?

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Nephron44

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Aug 20, 2015
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Hey everyone!

I've been eyeing up the Kershaw Emerson CQC-6K and am wondering if anyone has experience with these knives. How much abuse can they take? How's the lockup and detent? Are they decent for hard use? Any thoughts are much appreciated!
 
Mine has a bit of lock rock, but nothing that bothers me or gives me any qualms about the lockup. I think they're well done and you get a better design than the price would indicate and good construction thought not spectacular. Solid knives, particularly at the price, but if I wanted something to use hard for a similar price I would look at the discontinued AUS8 Cold Steel models.
 
Mine was perfectly centered and has about 30% lock up with no play at all. Very nice knife for the $$. I would guess it could stand up to some hard use. Look up that Russian dude on YouTube and see if he tested it :-).

Mike
 
I have a couple of them. Actually I had higher hopes with the Emerson name on them. But they are at least on par with their price. I have not picked up any of the ZT versions, but suspect them to be what I was hoping for....at a little higher price. It really is unreasonable to expect $300 quality in a $25 China made knife. But if you have not tried out the wave feature, they are a cheap way to try it out to see if it works for you.
 
My 4KXL has been perfect since I took it out of the box. I have heard bad things about the smaller knives, but, the 4KXL is my only experience with the line and has been flawless. A real keeper for me, and I have yet to encounter an Emerson knife I liked more for any reason. My 4KXL is centered, solid, and buttery smooth. I have never handled an Emerson that fit those criteria.
 
I like them. I have purchased a couple hundred dollars worth to give to friends in AA.
 
They're decent starter knives if you want to get an idea of what real Emerson's are about. The quality of the real thing is leaps and bounds above the Kefshaw models. For $30-$40 or so you can't go too wrong with picking one up if you're interested. The 6-K is a decent model, as are most of them. Just steer clear of the CQC-1K, I've heard a lot of bad reviews on it
 
I have had three of them. I have gifted or sold them all, but that's not inherently because they were bad. Actually, I thought they were decent for their price point, and it was a great way to sample Emerson designs without paying out for the $200+ Zero Tolerance collaborations, or an actual Emersons (which new, aren't good value in my opinion).

If I had to voice a chief complaint against them, it's that they are all too small with blade lengths shorter than I prefer. I had already gotten rid of all mine by the time the 4XL came out, so I haven't bothered getting one of those. I DID get to handle one at BLADE, and I recommend it for anyone wanting a fullsize Emerson replacement without the Emerson price.
 
Quiet said:
I have had three of them. I have gifted or sold them all, but that's not inherently because they were bad. Actually, I thought they were decent for their price point, and it was a great way to sample Emerson designs without paying out for the $200+ Zero Tolerance collaborations, or an actual Emersons (which new, aren't good value in my opinion).

If I had to voice a chief complaint against them, it's that they are all too small with blade lengths shorter than I prefer. I had already gotten rid of all mine by the time the 4XL came out, so I haven't bothered getting one of those. I DID get to handle one at BLADE, and I recommend it for anyone wanting a fullsize Emerson replacement without the Emerson price.
Click to expand...

I feel ya. I wish they'd make a UBR Commander type thing.
 
I like the CQC-5K and 6K a lot. The designs are awesome (functional and fun), and the build quality for all the ones I have are great. The CQC-6K is a good medium-sized knife and almost spot-on size-wise to the iconic CQC-7. The CQC-5K is a bit smaller and seems to have some similarities to the Micro-Commander (handle shape).

CQC7B_CQC7K_CQC6K_open_800x429.jpg


CQC-5K-6K_800x426.jpg


CQC5K_20150225_2_800x416.jpg
 
Picked up a 6K recently and its kicked my tenacious out of my pocket for a few weeks as a work knife. For $25 or so you can't beat it. The little unfinished things attest to the price but don't effect quality in my book. Would I reccomend one? Sure. Do I wish they would make a US made model a little higher quality for around $100? Absolutely. We shall see though. Dab of grease on the nylon washers made it a lot smoother, but pilfered washers from a storm 2 work even better.
 
I have a CQC-4K it's one of sixteen folders I kept when I switched to carrying traditional knives. I sold my Emerson Super Commander which was a great knife but kept this one for the wave feature. It is perfectly centered and smooth as silk. It was not very sharp out of the box but a strop with a little green compound fixed that right up. It's a lot of knife for the money.
 
I've been carrying and using the CQC-8K for a month now. At first, it felt a little bulky but now I really love it. If the rest of the range is anything like this I'd say you won't regret your purchase. The steel sharpens similarly to AUS8 and holds a very flat angle easily. Construction is sound. No give at the pin or whatever you call it. This liner lock is the best I've ever had. I've been using it every day and after 3 weeks it developed a squeak. Fixed it instantly with some mineral oil without having to disassemble it. By the way the screws are really tight. Be careful you don't damage the heads the first time you unscrew them. Also you should know that the oxide coating can get scratched fairly easily so be weary of that when you sharpen it up. I hope you get one.
 
I bought a bunch of them though I have only kept a few, they have served me well. These knives have Ernie's design and pretty decent materials and execution for the price. They are rugged and reliable and silly inexpensive.

I have a BNIB (clam pack, actually) CQC-6K if anyone is interested; $30 (net) shipped CONUS.

I bought two of them and only carry one - pretty good knife for the price point in my opinion.

If I get yelled at for mentioning that I have the CQC-6K for sale, I am at a membership level that allows selling, I just don't think I've gotten around to listing it and this thread gave me an opportunity to both remember and mention it. :rolleyes:

Would always consider a trade with a Becker, CRK or ???
 
I have and/or had the 4,5,6,8 and 4XL...I currently own the 5, 6 (different one with the black blade) and 4XL...The 8 is a disaster, for a myriad of reasons, stay away. The 4 is fine, just kind of small and the same could be said for the 5 as well. The 4XL is a nice size, buy I wish they had used the 6 as the basis for an XL model, the 4XL's blade shape isn't very useful despite it's size.

I generally like the Kershaw Emerson collabs but I see two major problems with the line in general:

1) The knives, especially the waves are just too small. I have only been able to get the 6 and 4XL to reliably open with the wave.

2) They are too slippery. Most of the models are frame locks, which isn't inherently bad, but having absolutely no texturing on the lock side is bad. They need to either make more liner lock models or add more grip to the existing frame lock ones. Unfortunately, the only liner lock models are too small (5K) and a disaster (8K).
 
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