Why are Emerson customs so expensive?

S

Scottcityman

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May 5, 2011
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I've never held or seen a custom Emerson in person. Why so expensive? What percentage of the cost is just plain quality, and what percentage name, coolness, and scarcity?
 
I've never held or seen a custom Emerson in person. Why so expensive? What percentage of the cost is just plain quality, and what percentage name, coolness, and scarcity?
 
Emerson customs are now $650 from Emerson IIRC but they see a 50% mark up (some even more than that) as soon as they hit dealers and the secondry market. IMO they are not worth the mark up and are worth nearer what Mr. Emerson himself charges. I have had a few Emerson customs and I have to say I was a little disappointed with all of them.
 
I believe its somewhat because you can only get one by being in a lottery at a show. They are definately made with more attention to detail and better components. If you win one in his lottery i believe they are around 500.00 to 600.00. There is quite a markup on them though. Maybe someone will come along that can explain it better than i.
 
They aren't expensive, but because you can only buy them in a lottery they are rare and so on the secondary market people ask upwards of $1000 for them. But for the $600 or so that Ernie charges for them they are no more expensive then other custom makers.
 
I don't think they've even raised the prices on customs for a long time. That means they could be making less profit on each knife sold today. I appreciate that but they could easily charge more for the knives at the lottery.
 
Sometimes the mechanisms in them aren't perfect but I have to say they cut GREAT. But not really worth the mark up. I did carry one however, and enjoyed it.
 
I get supply and demand, but part of demand is a perception of coolness, rarity, status, AND quality. I'm just trying to find out if an Emerson custom is at the very top of the quality scale. I'll pay a grand for that..
 
If you are looking for a super smooth opening slick folder I don't emerson if for you. I do however think his blades are very tough and keep a good edge. Ive used a cqc5 to cut down alot of branches, as small of a folder as it is. Both the cqc-5s that I owned did not have the fastest or smoothest opening compared to some other folders but they have a nice beefy blade which works pretty hard.
 
Any time collectors go nuts for a certain brand you know you're going to pay a high premium over the knife's intrinsic quality. All the hoopla and collector desire is worth money over what the knife itself as a tool is worth. So if you're wanting to maximize funds and care more about quality, look for knifemakers that really know their stuff and don't have such a huge fanbase, or for high-quality non-custom product that is big bang for the buck.
 
Bottom line is it's about the man himself. He is a successful and big-time promoter with charisma and the ability to fire up a crowd. He understands his client demographics and caters to them in a strategic way. For example, last year at BLADE he rented a large room that happened to be next to Jim Cooper's photo room, where I was working all weekend. I watched as the room and stage were set up, then the band arrived and set up. I spoke with the band members a little bit. They'd been brought in by Ernie et. al. to play a short set of 'kick out the jams' smokin' hot rock tunes as a warm up to the lottery. There were loud cheers as Ernie addressed them (fired them up actually) when the music ended. The crowd was huge, loud, excited and was largely 20-something males, lots of black T-shirts, jeans and shoulder packs full of tactical knives. 8 or 10 distracted wives and girlfriends waited outside the room. The rough and tumble esprit de corps atmosphere inside was not as inviting to women as it is to the target demographic group described above. It was probably not more than an hour before everyone streamed out of the room, obviously very pleased and pumped up - smiles all around. "Slam bam thank you man" to paraphrase a familiar saying. Honestly I was impressed. Anyone wanting to do well in the knife business should at least study the approach Mr. Emerson uses, not necessarily to duplicate it, but to be smart and learn from it. The only Emerson knife I own is a factory version, not one of his 'customs.' His use (in this case) of a chisel grind and his patented 'wave' opening mechanism add interest and functionality to a basic black tactical knife with an abundance of "clack factor." Clack factor is the sound you want your EDC tactical folder to make when you whip it out and open it. Some may laugh but it makes sense and is useful. It's like loud pipes on a motorcycle or the sound of the slide on my Springfield XDm when I chamber the first round. I think you catch my drift here. I'm not an EE fanboy but I know world-class marketing when I see it in action. He's world-class in that regard, IMO.
 
You nailed it, Buddy. He is a marketeer for sure. The one question that has been buzzing through my mind since this thread started is........wait for it...............How the hell is a hand worked FACTORY knife a custom????? I guess based on that, a re-handled Case Sodbuster is also a "custom", huh???

Paul
 
JParanee said:
Because they can be
Click to expand...

There you go. ;) Mr. Emerson probably could charge the grand and get it all day, but doesn't because he's not a greedy man.

BTW, I believe the cost at a show(assuming your lottery number gets picked) is $650.
 
sheathmaker said:
You nailed it, Buddy. He is a marketeer for sure. The one question that has been buzzing through my mind since this thread started is........wait for it...............How the hell is a hand worked FACTORY knife a custom????? I guess based on that, a re-handled Case Sodbuster is also a "custom", huh???

Paul
Click to expand...

Actually it is the other way around.........His factory knives are modeled after his fine line of hand made customs!!!
 
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