What the hell?

stabman

stabman

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
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21,327
Just got a new Emerson Combat Karambit(made 2009) with the stone-washed finish.
The finish is cool, but the damn thing didn't really have a point!
I just spent 40 minutes putting a decent point on the damn thing, and I do NOT expect to have to do that with a knife I payed over $200 for.
Oh, the non-locking side liner has an unsightly bend near where the detent is. Also not cool.
I'm not exactly impressed with "American build quality" at this point(WHY does it cost more than the ones made in Taiwan? Huh?). My Comrade had a back-spacer you could use as sandpaper(had to sand the hell out of it).
Is build quality going DOWN lately? My Super Karambit didn't have this issue.
Not planning on buying more at this point.
 
That dosn't sound too good, got any pics of the messed up bits ?
 
Haze said:
That dosn't sound too good, got any pics of the messed up bits ?
Click to expand...

I can try and get pics of the bent liner(it's not extremely bent, but should show up if I get good lighting).
The point is now fixed, and I didn't take a picture beforehand so, other than the edge having a different finish near the tip, it wouldn't look different.
Looks like pics will have to wait, as my wife stashed the camera somewhere I can't find it(grrrr).
 
Being disappointed is always disappointing as they say.

Was the point damaged or just not finished or something ?

I had a La griffe that was sort of rounded at the point like it hadn't quite been sharpened properly.

The bent liner may have just been thought of as good enough to pass or
just over looked at QC. That will still come as no comfort to you obviously :)
 
Haze said:
Being disappointed is always disappointing as they say.

Was the point damaged or just not finished or something ?

I had a La griffe that was sort of rounded at the point like it hadn't quite been sharpened properly.

The bent liner may have just been thought of as good enough to pass or
just over looked at QC. That will still come as no comfort to you obviously :)
Click to expand...

Point wasn't damaged; I could tell it was just finished that way.
I had a Lagriffe that had a rounded point as well which I had to fix-this was similar, but a bit more pronounced. The point(on the Karambit) would skip off a flat wooden surface unless you came at it with a full frontal stab. Not cool.
I'd say that the liner probably would pass QC, as it's a slight bend which does not affect function.
But you are correct that it does not comfort me.
Now, if it only cost $120, that would be a whole different story...
 
I hear ya man, that would piss me off a bit too.

That's a bit of a bummer about the point but at least that was an easy fix :thumbup:
 
Lycosa said:
I would have had it replaced.
Sorry about that, Stabby.
Click to expand...

Maybe I should have, but I got woken up at 09:30 with the delivery, got excited, then disappointed, and decide to fix the point myself.
Maybe Emerson's just one of those brands which shouldn't be bought "sight unseen."
Which sucks, because there's no Emerson dealers around here for me to try them out in person.:mad:
On the positive, the lock-up is early.
 
yeah not cool. no such thing as good enough for an american knife company held in such esteem:mad: "THE #1 HARD USE KNIVES IN THE WORLD™" they didn't get that rep by letting things slip by.
 
mollyssurvival.com said:
yeah not cool. no such thing as good enough for an american knife company held in such esteem:mad: "THE #1 HARD USE KNIVES IN THE WORLD™" they didn't get that rep by letting things slip by.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I thought.
Better paid workers should ensure a better product, not just higher prices.
 
Yup, you can't really argue with that.

You could throw around the "every one gets a lemon" etc. but excuses don't fix problems.
 
Personally I dont cleave to the 'DIY' approach. I feel if the knife is below standard and you bought it new, then you should have returned it to EKI.

They will stand by their product and repair it or replace it. They do have a comprehensive warranty on their products, and you should have given them a chance to make it good.
 
If it was a factory issue with the manufacture of the knife I would have sent it back to Emerson. I have purchased several of the 2009 stone washed karambits in both combat and super karambit format this year with absolutely no problems found. I have also purchased the new stonewashed mini CQC-15 and mini-Commander with no problems found.

The lock-up on the new stonewashed models seems to be engaging earlier than some of the previous models and the tang has a nice sweep to it ( appears to be more so than the past) so that longer liner lock wear life should be appreciated.
 
Buffalohump said:
They will stand by their product and repair it or replace it. They do have a comprehensive warranty on their products, and you should have given them a chance to make it good.
Click to expand...

I try to avoid cross-border shipping of folding knives as much as possible.
Besides, on a knife which costs over $200, this should not have been an issue I had to deal with myself OR through warranty.
No more buying of Emersons sight unseen anymore, that's all(which means I probably won't be buying many more at all).
Plus, shipping the knife, IF it made it through customs, would put me out the shipping fee, and I say screw that.
 
Bimmer1 said:
If it was a factory issue with the manufacture of the knife I would have sent it back to Emerson. I have purchased several of the 2009 stone washed karambits in both combat and super karambit format this year with absolutely no problems found. I have also purchased the new stonewashed mini CQC-15 and mini-Commander with no problems found.

The lock-up on the new stonewashed models seems to be engaging earlier than some of the previous models and the tang has a nice sweep to it ( appears to be more so than the past) so that longer liner lock wear life should be appreciated.
Click to expand...

That sounds great, as I have about 3 older CQC7's that had very a steeply-ground blade tang/mating surface, and the liners can easily 'jump' on the tang when the blade spine is pressed enough. A more gradual grind on the locking surface would surely inspire more confidence.

Stabman, that does suck when a NIB knife requires work from you to get it right. IMO, there is no good reason for such a knife to make it through QC. I don't run a company, but I hear that Emerson is a small co. with a small work force. That being the case, such a glaring defect should have been spotted and dealt with well before leaving the factory. I *really* don't want to make assumptions, but it seems like laziness/carelessness on someone's part at the factory. I like Emersons a *lot*, but if you call yourself the #1 hard use knives in the world, and America's Knife Company, then you must be held to a very high standard, indeed, which begins with thorough QC.
Jim
 
The "#1 hard use knife in the world" is just a marketing phrase. Weather its true or not makes
little difference as to the fact EKIs are not hugely different to any other generally well made knife.
They are subject to "hits and misses" the same as any one can be, its still disappointing when
it's you the gets the "miss" though.

Also, it dosn't say the "#1 best finished knife in the world" either :p
 
As someone who lives on the outer edges of the world myself I totally understand your issues with returning a knife. It is brutally expensive and there are always risks involved with shipping. However, it is something of a lottery, and there is always a small chance of getting a lemon. No company in the world has 100% perfect QC.

What I do to reduce the chances of such an event occurring when making new purchases from dealers, is I usually ask them to check the knife, to make sure its a good example - before sending it out. Good dealers have no problem doing this.

stabman said:
I try to avoid cross-border shipping of folding knives as much as possible.
Besides, on a knife which costs over $200, this should not have been an issue I had to deal with myself OR through warranty.
No more buying of Emersons sight unseen anymore, that's all(which means I probably won't be buying many more at all).
Plus, shipping the knife, IF it made it through customs, would put me out the shipping fee, and I say screw that.
Click to expand...
 
In the old days, you looked through every knife in the display case and picked the one you wanted as even though they were the same model, there were slight differences. Of course, we paid a premium price for that service. Now with the internet, you get much better prices, but you buy sight unseen. The possibility of getting a lemon is a risk of doing business in the modern world.
 
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