WHY doesn't Emerson chamfer the La Griffe anymore?

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EDC-Dawg

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Sep 3, 2020
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I have an Emerson La Griffe (stonewash) purchased from BladeHQ that is a few years old. This knife is excellent and feels amazing to hold. Every edge on the handle is chamfered.

I bought a black version recently from Emerson direct and this knife is horrible. Every edge on the handle is 90 degrees, it is not chamfered. I e-mailed Emerson Knives and asked why this happened. This is the response. Is this even reasonable for a $170 knife after tax and shipping? I am extremely disappointed.




Response from Emerson knives (via e-mail):

Dear EDC Dawg,
Thank you for your email.
Nope that is not an unfinished La Griffe.
What you are seeing is a change in the programming. Over the years we have altered designs, added new things and sometimes taken things away.
We have changed the programming a bit on the La Griffe over the years and the newest batches do not have the chamfer around the holes like your stonewashed finish one does although we may have some stock that still does here at the factory. Sorry about the confusion.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.


Kind Regards,

Rachael E.

Emerson Knives Customer Support

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photo of the two Emerson La Griffe. The black version is awful to hold because all the edges and holes are 90 degrees.

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At the time of this posting, the Emerson shop website clearly shows both stonewash and black versions as chamfered.
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I don't think that's a reasonable expectation. The knife needs to have its sharp edges chamfered or radiused, particularly on the hole that you know, you put your finger in. I've had two Emerson La Griffes, and I wish to this day someone else made them with a steel upgrade at higher hardness and more attention to detail than Emerson gives its production knives these days.
 
Why not just get one straight from Fred Perrin if you have particular requirements. He's a small custom maker so if his current edition isn't chamfered either you could probably request that instead of trying to steer the Ever Emerson out of the Suez Canal.
 
Not wanting to wait for an email response, I called Emerson knives. They do not have any chamfered La Griffe's in stock. They are updating their website to show pictures of the non-chamfered knives. They told me it was too expensive to chamfer the holes.
 
EDC-Dawg said:
They told me it was too expensive to chamfer the holes.
Click to expand...

With Covid and the financial impact it’s had on small businesses, it doesn’t surprise me that this is happening. Emerson’s production numbers seem to have been greatly reduced as they are out of stock almost everywhere.

He has a gigantic following but Ernie still runs a relatively small operation with probably a pretty big overhead. It is definitely a sad thing to see, but to me it makes sense. Maybe when things get back to normal the small finish details will be brought back.
 
I just checked my La Griffe.. it's a vintage year 2000 one, and beautifully chamfered all over, and especially on the finger hole.
I'm glad I didn't sell it!

I had a Fred Perrin Mid Tech La Griffe and it basically looks like the black version... I really did not like the handling.
Clearly it's an expensive process... it's a pity they opted to take the cost cutting route instead of making it properly like they used to.
 
Ugh, so sorry. It would be worth it to me to just return it and eat the shipping costs, if they don't have some kind of ridiculous restocking fee, which they should not because they misrepresented the product. This is the reputation Emerson has earned. It has kept me from purchasing the A100 I have wanted so badly for years. I just can't bring myself to do it.
 
In my experience, I try to have lower expectations with Emersons. I love the designs, but wished they adopted Spydero or Kershaw levels of manufacturing quality and capability. It's a take it or leave it unfortunatelty.

Recent purchases:
Mini A-100 - one liner was clearly not surface ground (black rough finish in spots)
Persian - burnt tip / ground off slightly
A-100 - actually perfect

So 2/3 on QC fails is not a great record, or maybe I'm just unlucky.
 
It’s funny asking for Kershaw level of quality when many of their knives are well under 100.00 dollars American and Ernie’s stuff is comparable quality and no folding knives are below 150.00$.
 
Actually in my head I was thinking of the USA made Kershaw and ZT line.... generally their USA quality is excellent.
But that has never been the Emerson aspiration to make knives at that level of quality... and they sell everything they make today, so I can understand "why change?"
 
I have a older one I plan on giving my daughter when she is old enough for a purse knife. Glad I bought years ago. Sorry to hear about your experience.
 
This is unfortunate. For a company that has a reputation for good ergonomics, this a change I’d have never seen coming.
 
Incidentally, Fred Perrin Mid Tech La Griffes are not chamfered in any way.. that's the reason I sold mine and kept my 2000-vintage La Griffe.
 
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