Your opinion on Emerson knives?

[shinyedges]

LOL so true.

+1 to this. It's almost as if the Emerson fan club thinks poor fit and finish are the hallmarks of a superior tacticool tool somehow, as if the all-titanium handled, bearing pivot flipping ZT you could get for the same price range is somehow weaker for not looking like it was assembled by the developmentally disabled in a dark room using twenty years ago's materials.

 

[Danke42]

I'm not sure where the Emerson has rough edges comes from. All of mine have been without flaw and easily the same quality as knives costing the same or more; in some cases they're better.

You can't get them with purple scales and rainbow hardware; is that where the confusion is coming from?

 

[shinyedges]

But fancy several hundred dollar clips with lions or special pivots that cost ridiculous sums of money are the hallmark of strictly hard use operators? The whole Emerson number one hard use knife in the world is a joke in my eyes. Emerson sells man jewelery for their knives and other brands anodize some of their titanium hardware.

They are also moving into bearings and flippers, how is that more hard use than a zt bearing flipper? Fact is, you get more for your money with several other brands. Variety of materials, excellent fit and finish, warranty that doesn't charge you anything for almost any reason and only 25 bucks to replace a blade... how much is it to replace a Emerson blade?


I have read the whole Emerson have souls for years, I owned an iron dragon and tried to love it, I even actually saw a benefit of a chisel edge. But for me it had no soul, and was way more expensive than its counter part made by zt.

To each their own.

On another note, I just snagged another winkler TAD belt knife in 3v. My current TAD winkler is with Daniel getting it's rubber grips replaced with black micarta. Freaking love that knfe.

I'm not sure where the Emerson has rough edges comes from. All of mine have been without flaw and easily the same quality as knives costing the same or more; in some cases they're better.

You can't get them with purple scales and rainbow hardware; is that where the confusion is coming from?

 

[bodog]

I'd say no. Not because I've owned any, but because I've held a couple after they've been put to use for some amount of years and I saw that they were kind of crap. Not that the designs were crap, but the way they were put together and what they were put together with. I absolutely wouldn't put my own money on the gamble that you might get a good one. I'd say the same about Striders. I actually thought Striders were really well designed for hard use but they needed someone else to come in and make the designs with good engineering and materials.

 

[Larry Turko]

I loathe Emerson's ideological opinions but I like his designs enough to own six of his folders. Nevertheless my CQC 11 has a blade that is so off-center it scuffs the liner every time I open or close the knife. Shocking for a product from a company that boasts it's knives are made in the US. I'd venture to say that Ernie could learn something about acceptable fit and finish from some of those foreigners he loves to hate. Our maybe his " American Exceptionalism" mantra really means exceptionally sloppy.

 

[Dean Crail]

Well the ergos are great, the 154CM is heat treated much too soft for my liking and it looses its edge pretty quickly. Of the 4 production Emersons I have owned the secondary bevels from the factory were MUCH too wide IMHO at around 27DPS (all my Emersons are chisel ground). The lock bars are too skinny to really hold up to hard use and my Emersons are the only higher end knife I have ever experienced total lock failure on.

As to the chisel being on the "wrong side" I have never actually understood why that has never been fixed personally as I find when cutting through media such as cardboard the knife wants to go to one side. I will say what others have said as well the ZT Emersons are almost the same price as a "real" Emerson and they are better than a "real" Emerson in literally every single way so get one of them 0620CF's can still be found quite readily for pretty good prices.

And to end it the resale market on Emersons is total and complete garbage IMHO

 

[Danke42]

But fancy several hundred dollar clips with lions or special pivots that cost ridiculous sums of money are the hallmark of strictly hard use operators? The whole Emerson number one hard use knife in the world is a joke in my eyes. Emerson sells man jewelery for their knives and other brands anodize some of their titanium hardware.

They are also moving into bearings and flippers, how is that more hard use than a zt bearing flipper? Fact is, you get more for your money with several other brands. Variety of materials, excellent fit and finish, warranty that doesn't charge you anything for almost any reason and only 25 bucks to replace a blade... how much is it to replace a Emerson blade?


I have read the whole Emerson have souls for years, I owned an iron dragon and tried to love it, I even actually saw a benefit of a chisel edge. But for me it had no soul, and was way more expensive than its counter part made by zt.

To each their own.

On another note, I just snagged another winkler TAD belt knife in 3v. My current TAD winkler is with Daniel getting it's rubber grips replaced with black micarta. Freaking love that knfe.

Never ventured into the vajazzled clips portion of the website; I might pay $16 for a pirate clip but the rest of that stuff doesn't do it for me personally. Nice to see they sell the hardware for the knife cheap; I bet a lot of folks wish some other brands did the same.

Let's just blame all the fakey fake operator stuff on the green website.

 

[jbmonkey]

+1 to this. It's almost as if the Emerson fan club thinks poor fit and finish are the hallmarks of a superior tacticool tool somehow, as if the all-titanium handled, bearing pivot flipping ZT you could get for the same price range is somehow weaker for not looking like it was assembled by the developmentally disabled in a dark room using twenty years ago's materials.

im an emerson user and fan and i disagree with your generalization on all of us and take on us. to me i just dont care all that much about super high end fit and finish. nothing more nothing less. sure its icing on the cake but its the cake i care about. i get others dont want just cake they want really great icing too. nothing wrong with that or just wanting the cake. so be it.

 

[bodog]

If someone had a choice between two equally tasty cakes and one came with no icing and looked like a dump truck ran over it and then dumped whatever was in back right on top of it and the other cake looked like it was finished by a professional baker, who wouldn't choose the professional looking cake if the prices were the same? I probably wouldn't pick the cake that looked like it'd been run over and dumped on.

 

[jbmonkey]

If someone had a choice between two equally tasty cakes and one came with no icing and looked like a dump truck ran over it and then dumped whatever was in back right on top of it and the other cake looked like it was finished by a professional baker, who wouldn't choose the professional looking cake if the prices were the same? I probably wouldn't pick the cake that looked like it'd been run over and dumped on.

thats an extreme example said to spark debate. ive said my take and i read and understand yours. i appreciate you hate the brand and products, i dont. not much else to say.

 

[evilgreg]

The lock bars are too skinny to really hold up to hard use and my Emersons are the only higher end knife I have ever experienced total lock failure on.

One of the few knives I've purchased that suffered lock failure was my CQC-7B; years later I'd decided to buy the properly (not wrong-sided chisel) ground version of the same knife again after having people swear to me that I got a one-in-a-million Emerson lemon. So I stopped into gpknives (down about where the state of Illinois ends and the state of misery begins, nice shop, great folks there) and asked to handle one. No joke, on the first one they brought out something didn't sound right when the knife locked, so I pushed a little on the blade spine and I could hear a noise and see the lock bar move. They're super nice at the store, and I had seriously decided I was going to buy that model in particular, so I asked if I could see another 7V. They pulled a second one, and that one had a much deeper lock engagement, but also stuck hard in the locked position. I must be a magnet for Emerson lemons or something. I changed plans and bought something else entirely, though for the life of me I can't remember what at this point.

 

[sabre cat]

I have to admit I have a love/hate relationship with Emerson. The ergonomics of the CQC7 grip is one of my all time favorite designs but, my love stops there.
The thumb disc does nothing for me except get in the way(used to think it was the coolest thing in my younger days). I am not in the service anymore so I don't need anything high speed/low drag like the wave feature. And, we won't even get started on the topic of blade grinds.

Give me a knife with good, solid, neutral handle ergos(the CQC7 offers that) with a blade that will do what I want when I want. Without me having to fight it half the time.
If I have to keep the thumb disc, fine. A CQC7 with Benchmade's old style oval Griptillian sheepsfoot blade would be good. An Insingo style blade would be even better

 

[spykez]

One of the few knives I've purchased that suffered lock failure was my CQC-7B; years later I'd decided to buy the properly (not wrong-sided chisel) ground version of the same knife again after having people swear to me that I got a one-in-a-million Emerson lemon. So I stopped into gpknives (down about where the state of Illinois ends and the state of misery begins, nice shop, great folks there) and asked to handle one. No joke, on the first one they brought out something didn't sound right when the knife locked, so I pushed a little on the blade spine and I could hear a noise and see the lock bar move. They're super nice at the store, and I had seriously decided I was going to buy that model in particular, so I asked if I could see another 7V. They pulled a second one, and that one had a much deeper lock engagement, but also stuck hard in the locked position. I must be a magnet for Emerson lemons or something. I changed plans and bought something else entirely, though for the life of me I can't remember what at this point.

Are they all liner locks?

I'm still new to these folders, I got me the cheap "gateway" ones, the Kershaw 6K and 4KXL. Frame locks, these. Very nice, love 'em. The thing I love most about these knives is they feel almost as natural as holding my ka-bar. I love the balance and ergos. Only gripe I have is the action isn't as smooth as my PM2. The steel is ok, but I'm not beating on it like my PM2 EDC.

The more upmarket Emersons or ZT's are very hard to find to fondle first before buying here in Australia. But I'd save and get anyone of them if they're anything like the 4KXL or 6K, just better.

edit: For clarity If I like these two Kershaw Emersons and the frame lock, what should I be looking at?

 

[shinyedges]

Then look at the zt0620cf or the zt0630cf or their g10 variants.

Kai is the parent company of Kershaw and zt.

Are they all liner locks?

I'm still new to these folders, I got me the cheap "gateway" ones, the Kershaw 6K and 4KXL. Frame locks, these. Very nice, love 'em. The thing I love most about these knives is they feel almost as natural as holding my ka-bar. I love the balance and ergos. Only gripe I have is the action isn't as smooth as my PM2. The steel is ok, but I'm not beating on it like my PM2 EDC.

The more upmarket Emersons or ZT's are very hard to find to fondle first before buying here in Australia. But I'd save and get anyone of them if they're anything like the 4KXL or 6K, just better.

edit: For clarity If I like these two Kershaw Emersons and the frame lock, what should I be looking at?

 

[bodog]

thats an extreme example said to spark debate. ive said my take and i read and understand yours. i appreciate you hate the brand and products, i dont. not much else to say.

Never said I hated them. Just think they haven't kept up with the times in terms of quality to price. I get some people are nostalgic and don't hold that against anyone. Emerson was once what ZT is now. 25 years from now people will like whatever ZT produces regardless of what else is on the market at that time. We all like what we like. People are sharing what they like and others sharing what they don't like and it's all good. The original poster asked for all opinions, not just ones favorable to the brand.

 

[spykez]

Then look at the zt0620cf or the zt0630cf or their g10 variants.

Kai is the parent company of Kershaw and zt.

Thanks, I will. Put on my list.

Trouble is actually laying my physical paws on one here in Oz, before buying one.

I reflected on my last post and I realised what I actually want is a folding Ka-bar. Lol. I don't NEED one, I just want one, lol. There's nothing like it, I suppose, ah well,The 4KXL comes well close at 4 inches. I... don't quite like the cold steel Espada... too big might as well carry the Ka-bar. Lol. Don't you just love it when people try and sell you something you don't actually need? Or when you want something you REALLY REALLY REALLY know you don't actually need?

I should be happy with what I have

 

[oxman198]

IMO Emerson knife are great for

-Design : I found Emerson make a great looking knife. Even though they might look quite similar but the overall shape of the knife, handle, blade are all well thought especially for their standard model.

-Ergonomic : nothing to say much Emerson knife is the best among what I have ever handled.

-Locking mechanic: I have done testing many folder to the point abusive and you wouldn't believe how many high-end knife get lock failed easily under hard-use (especially the one with steel insert lock bar) due to the false design of the lock bar face angle. Some high-end folder fail just by some light spine wrack.

I have baton a Roadhouse thru a thick steel pipe with a hammer just to see if it will hold up and Emerson took beating to the point very impressive. The edge are completely destroyed but the lock bar still function well.

The soft 154CM while it may not sound very excite compare to newer steel but it really hold decent edge and tough enough for what it design for.

The downside of Emerson are poor fit and finish as anyone said. Their liner lock also get worn off pretty quick in regular use. I'm also not a big fan of asymmetric edge.

Damn my one reserve about Emersons would be the liner lock but this is certainly a testament to its strength. Batoned through a steel pipe with a hammer? Good God I wouldnt even expect my Rajah 2 to live through that..

 

[AusLoX]

I've owned all types of knives and Emerson is in a league of its own. Very useful knife and I love em all. Well built and amazing grinds. The main purpose of a knife is to cut and cut well it does.

 

[Wolverine666]

Is there some known reason why Emerson sticks to using strictly 154CM ? For a hard use knife , that steel is pretty soft. Maybe the ease of sharpening it in the field is a big seller (?)

 

[ISP 5353]

I only have one Emerson. It is the CQC7 AW. The fit and finish on mine was pretty good from the factory. It has smoothed out perfectly. I like the blade shape and the V grind. It has been in my pocket for a couple of years now. It has done everything I have ever needed a folder to do. The blade holds a pretty good edge and sharpens easily. I would definitely recommend trying one.