Wave haters

jonshoup

jonshoup

Joined
Oct 8, 2004
Messages
226
Ok, before anyone throws rotten vegetables at me, let me say that I own waved Emersons and this is not a slam on EKI. I'm just curious to see how many people find no use for the Wave. I find it works different in different jeans, and it doesn't allow me to smoothly draw when seated. It is a neat trick but is it really practical?
 
i carried non waved emersons for yrs as most of his customs were not waved, ie my CQC8 and CQC6(most are waved at this time FWIW), so i am used to not having it, but its a nice option imho and i would rather have it than not have it myself, i love the wave on my '12 and always liked my SOCFK's wave but i just preferred to carry a custom, but since i started packing my '12 i would find it hard to go back to my non waved ones, i think its a great idea and all EKI's should be waved.
 
The wave is cool and works great but, I wish it was an option rather than being on all knives.

on my 14 it's more of a pain since I don't want the blade deployed EVERYTIME I pull it out.

I usually have to slide it forward in my pocket before pulling it out. I don't like having to concentrate on pulling on pulling different knives out in different ways.
 
I am in the Army, and the waved HD-7 works flawlessly in uniform. My personal opinion is that an Emerson is overkill for an EDC. Sure the wave offers great self-defense purposes, but I think of EKI as more of a "tactical" knife. One of my sexy Elishewitz customs serves more of an EDC purpose.
 
Good topic. I wish there was an option also> I'd probably get one without more often than with. It is a fact that my favorite EKIs don't have it. Of course some of them were made before it was even offered.

I am actually getting ready to remove the Wave hook from a CQC14 altogether and re cut the grip texturing for the thumb after I bring the blade down flush with the level of the thumb disc. Then I plan to bead blast the entire blade and resharpen it. I have found on this model that the Wave just doesn't work when I want it to and catches the pocket when I don't want it to opening the blade part way. Overall other than the Wave I love the knife. Especially since converting it to a frame lock but if I'm going to keep it and be happy with it I'm going to have to remove the Wave on just this one. On others I've actually added it but they work well.

I'd like to see a couple new things in the future from Emerson personally. One would be left hand tapping for pocket clips. It would be possible to do just the ti liner and leave the G10 solid and let the user decide if he wanted to take the holes through both. I think if Ernie knew how many guys send me their EKIs to tap for left hand carry he'd probably start offering it.

I'd also like to see him start offering a screwed down stop pin because of several I've owned that rattled. Maybe I am being picky there though.

STR
 
to be honest the only emerson's i would buy must be waved..except for the persian (which I am trying to get btw) because it doesnt come with a wave (unfortunately).
 
emerson does have a service for tapping the left handed holes in their knives..i had it done to my mini commander $32 shipped back to you
yea the stop pins do tend to rattle

are the persians that hard to find? i believe i know a store that has one....also persian with a wave..?? doesnt seem like a good idea..i could invision sticking yourself in the leg after waving it from your pocket...not to say anyone is careless but i think it was made waveless for a reason
 
I am hoping to get a persian of the buy/sell thread here...I think there are still some shops with them. I have never seen a waved one before. I reckon the wave would work ok, just gotta keep those fingers out of the way. If you wave it out properly, there is no risk of it cutting your leg. When I was practicising before I knew how to do it it was constantly hitting my leg because I was pulling it forward instead of back.
 
I had the idea that wouldn't it be nice if you could "clip unclip" the wave in a way or screw it on in a manner to the back of the blade? That way you can have the option on if you would like it on or not.
 
Right. I've been doing them that way for a couple of years now by replacing the thumb stud or the thumb disc with a pocket hook screwed in using the same screw.

These work pretty well to open the knives. Some, like my own SpecWar from 1998 that came without the Wave from EKI are the easiest opening Waved folders I've ever used. One of the things I really like about this is that no permanent modifications were made to the blade so it can always be taken back to original condition. To me thats the best thing about it. See pics at the links.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=62573&d=1163432759

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=62574&d=1163432778

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=62755&d=1163793772


STR
 
I think my biggest grudge against the Wave is deploying while seated in my truck. The Wave will catch on fabric and I have to contort myself to get it out. Surprised I never shredded my seats with my SOCFK. Everytime this happens I think about how it'd feel if I was in a wreck and couldn't cut/pry myself free because I don't have enough room to deploy the knife. That alone keeps the SOCFK and P-SARK's as house knives and my 7 year old CQC-7A as my EDC.
 
STR

How did you do the modifications on the third knife? I tried that idea on my M16 CRKT but couldn't get it right. I instead just used a cable tie and it works ok-ish. Don't get me wrong for copying Emerson, but if someone asks me where I got the idea I say EKI. Any. It would be nice if EKI brought out a model where you could screw on the wave or leave it.
 
jonshoup said:
Everytime this happens I think about how it'd feel if I was in a wreck and couldn't cut/pry myself free because I don't have enough room to deploy the knife.
Click to expand...

I clip mine on the shoulder strap. Lying on my side or hanging from a seatbelt, it could be difficult to even reach the knife's pocket, waved or waveless.
 
marthinus said:
STR

How did you do the modifications on the third knife? I tried that idea on my M16 CRKT but couldn't get it right. I instead just used a cable tie and it works ok-ish. Don't get me wrong for copying Emerson, but if someone asks me where I got the idea I say EKI. Any. It would be nice if EKI brought out a model where you could screw on the wave or leave it.
Click to expand...


That third knife is my pocket hook. If you imagine a flat L shaped piece of steel that has exaggerated length to make bending them easier, well thats how it starts out. What I used is titanium which you have to heat to cherry red to make each bend. Its a lot of work to make one of those. I then bend it down so it would fold at a 90degree angle and then drilled a hole in it with a #44 drill bit. This is the proper size fora 2-56 screw which is the size screw in most thumb studs including the one in that picture. I first check it to see that it fits and that the hole is in the right place. Remove the thumb stud and screw it down again with longer screw and tightent. Then mark my line where I will make the bend to make the Wave hook that will catch the pocket. I then make that bend and with some finesse and fine tuning after sanding with some drum sanders its a bead blasted and placed on permanently.

You don't need anyones permission to do anything to your own knife no matter what anyone tells you. Believe me I know. I sought legal counsel before doing these and even after being told I could make them for myself I wanted to clear it with the holders of the intellectual property.

When forum members started writing me to do them for them is when it changed. Once again I wrote Ernie Emerson and called Andy Demko and got their permission to copy and use their IP. Nothing wrong with being up front and letting them in on what is happening when its for yourself but its really a waste of their time to make them come to the phone or reply to it if its just for you. Both were more than happy to say have at it in my case because technically to do them for others and charge for it you do need permission. For yourself you don't.

STR
 
thats a good idea STR i outta try one of those.

jonshoup, i have never had any problems removing my waved knives from my pocket when sitting in a car or otherwise, and cant see how the wave would damage seats, ya lost me there, perhaps ya can clarify that??
 
I don't understand wht the big deal is. All you have to do is hold the blade when you draw it. Then it won't open. I don't even understand why this is even being talked about.
 
SIFU-Maybe I'm on my own here and that's fine, but on many occasions I've attempted to draw my SOCFK while driving and found that it wasn't gonna budge. I attribute it to the Wave being forced against the back-side pocket seam while still deep in the pocket. It's catching as designed, but it's just forcing the knife's spine against the inside of the pocket because it hasn't cleared far enough to allow the hinging motion. Now if I lean to the opposite side it allows me to move the knife away from seam, it slides out and it catches on the lip of the pants as intended.

sidenote- I'm 6' and 215lbs so it's not entirely a girth issue. Just thought I'd nip that one before it appeared. :)

As for the truck seats, I haven't actually punctured them yet. But you can see that when the Wave catches on the lip of the pants, the blade deploys to the rear of the user. When your sitting in a vehicle, what is imediately to the rear of the user? A seat. I completely agree that with adequate care this should never happen. But if we all exercised adequate care all the time, there would be a lot fewer stories to tell and wounds to dress.

To each their own, but I subscribe to the KISS principle. I carry a waveless Emerson for much the same reason I shoot a Glock, drive an old-ass Chevy and wear a Timex. Simpler is better.
 
I've asked Emerson about this a couple of years ago. I owned previous Emersons without the wave and that's my personal preference. I may not want to open the blade every time I remove it from my pocket. Yes, I guess you can hold the blade but it's one more step and I carry more than one type of knife - consistency. I've also heard the wave is pretty hard on pants. (Is this true because I don't know?)

This is being talked about because I'd like the option of not having a wave. I used to be able to draw and flick my Emerson open as fast as the wave - not even using the thumb stud. One more thing - the wave is an additional fixture to snag when drawing - if you don't want the blade opened.
 
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