Anyone a fan of Emerson Knives

[akapennypincher]

I own 1, CQC-7 Left Handed, is rugged tank. Nothing fancy, functional, but my Spyderco is in my pocket.

[RustyIron]

Back in the 90's I was all gaga over Emerson knives after reading how Dick Marcinko would regularly go around letting the juices out of terrorists with his CQC6. I ended up with a left-handed Benchmade Emerson CQC7 because that's what I could spend. It's a very nice knife. I'd probably still carry it, except it doesn't have a hole in the blade.

Eventually I decided to pony up for a real Emerson. I had to get on a waiting list to get a left-handed version. I was on the list for well over a year, maybe two. When I finally got the knife, it looked cool. The aesthetics were lovely and the wave feature is really neat.

The liner lock, however, was abysmal. Sometimes it would stick so badly that it took two hands to release. If you opened the knife vigorously with the wave feature, the lock would stick so badly that I'd have to get a tool to stick in there to unlock the knife. So unless you walk around with auxiliary tools, there's a chance you'll be carrying your Emerson in the open condition. The pivot was no better. The blade was tight. It was absurdly difficult to casually close. Loosening the pivot enough to close with sensible force resulted in a blade that was floppy. There was no middle ground.

Needless to say, I was very disappointed. I sent the knife back to the factory. The worked on it and sent it back. It was no better after they finished working on it. I was angry. The knife was unusable. I just put it in my knife drawer and tried to forget about it. Every time I opened the drawer, I'd see that tight, sticky Emerson and get angry all over again. Eventually I decided that I'd live a much happier life if I no longer had to look at that monstrosity. I put it up for sale, with full description, for half of what I paid. An Emerson fan saw it and jumped on it. When I explained my thoughts on the knife, he didn't care, so he got a knife for half price. He was happy. I was happy to get rid of it.

I'm no longer bitter, but I'll no longer own anything with the Emerson name on it... not even a Spydie with a Wave. I'm sure Ernie is a great guy, and I'm sure he's done a lot to further knifology. But his knives are not as nicely made as Spydercos.

Here's a pic of my Benchmade/Emerson CQC7. You gotta admit, it's a great looking knife. And the Benchmade interpretation runs great.

[akapennypincher]

My experence with the 3, or 4 I sold was good. Keep ‘em clean, keep ‘em lubed, they work.

Mr. Emerson has cult following, and does well for self.

[Coastal]

I have the righty CQC7. It looks like the one in the pic, only more beat up. I used it for everything. Still flicks open nicely and locks up tight. I wore the right rear pocket out of several pairs of jeans with that knife.

[Naperville]

I have 2 Emerson knives. They are good knives. I like the grips they never disappoint.

- Emerson Karambit 3.2 inch fixed blade
- Emerson Tactical Kwaiken

There might be 2 others that I'd like to purchase in the future if I have the funds when they are available.

[Naperville]

@RustyIron

YEP! Emerson liner locks often stick. I've owned a few, but a lock that sticks open is not a problem for me for self defense. A knife that refuses to open or a lock that closes when I want it open I'd throw out. Ain't nobody got time for that!

[kennethsime]

I like them, but back in the day I always thought they were overpriced. When I was getting into knives, a basic Emerson was more than twice the price of a basic Griptillian or Endura.

I thought the Kershaw collaboration was a really good move.

[James Y]

I own about 7 Emersons, purchased between 1998 and 2003. Yes, i had been convinced by the hype. I never had any lock stick problems, but had the opposite, lock slip, on a couple, especially on a CQC7A. The problem was the blade tang mating surface was ground at too steep of an angle. With medium pressure to the blade spine, the liner lock would pop off the blade tang, but wouldn't slip all the way off. But enough to not have any confidence in the knife

Emerson knives feel great in the hand, but I don't like them at all as cutting tools. The primary grinds and the edge bevels are too obtuse for my liking. For me, they tear rather than cut. And the actual chisel grinds, like the CQC7B tanto blade, didn't seem to have the once described 'almost like magic' cutting properties of a chisel grind. I tried cutting with it at varying angles, too, so it wasn't like there's some trick to using it that I hadn't figured out.

I can safely say that my interest in Emersons ended after 2003.

Jim

[SpyderNut]

The CQC7 (Benchmade version) was one of the first knives to hit my radar when I was in middle school. I was immediately smitten and knew I’d have to get one some day. Many years later, I got the “real thing” when my wife gifted me an Emerson CQC7W. I like most everything about it, except the pocket clip is crazy tight. I feel like it’s going to rip my jeans when I try to pull it out of my pocket. Other than that, it’s stout and very capable. I’d like to try out an A-100 at some point.
(Edited to add: I’ve fortunately never had any of the lock-stick issues on my Emersons, but maybe I just got lucky).

My wife got me this sweet little Emerson June Bug for Christmas ‘22. I really like the size and the deep-carry clip. It’s also nice to see an Emerson in something other than black G-10:

[prndltech]

Ernest Emerson makes a sweet blade for sure!

[Giygas]

Wouldn't exactly call myself a fan, but I do have this one:



Easily the lowest quality knife anything that I've ever spent over $100 on, but I don't hate it. I really like the lock.

[Larry_Mott]

In the interest of keeping the spirit of leaving shiny footsteps i'd just say that the Emersons i have handled were nothing i'd want. Very crude, both looking and working. I had a Benchmade Emerson that was much better built, but had the edge geometry of a doorstop.

[aicolainen]

I’d buy a mini A-100 if they were somewhat obtainable.
Just like the design, no prior experience with Emerson knives or his collabs.

[Halfneck]

My 1st step into higher priced production knives was a Benchmade 970/CQC7 and AFCK I bought around 19. On the Benchmade 970 I liked the stout blade (at that time) and how it felt in-hand. Used it while in the Army & had no real complaints - not a fan of chisel grinds. Bought a EKI CQC-7 around '99 as it improved a bit over the Benchmade version. Couple years later I bought a EKI CQC7V to see if I liked that grind better than the regular chisel grind. I still have all 3. The BM 970 sits unused since it was one of my knives while in the Army. Sadly it looks almost new, except for the edge. I sent it back to Benchmade to be sharpened and to fix a stripped screw and they had to replace the scales to fix the stripped hole. The EKI CQC7 was modded with Green micarta scales & thicker liners. Looks better, but I'm not fond of it. The EKI CQC7V just sits. I also have a EKI Perrin LaGriffe that I really like, along with a EKi EDC Tanto.

I've owned a few other Emersons - Persian, Traveler, PUK, CQC12 (Production & Custom), but sold them over the years. They're good knives, but a bit expensive for what you can get for the same money today.

[twinboysdad]

If they were about $80 a knife I would have kept the few I have had. Fit and Finish was a big discussion on USN that I think Ernie himself began. I can live with the explanation but not paying a premium for something meant to be as rudimentary as a shovel. If I am paying $200 I want non cheese grater G10, and liners that are machines flush with the scales.

[RustyIron]

not paying a premium for something meant to be as rudimentary as a shovel.

Whaaaaaat? He actually said that?

Justification of shoddy workmanship with reduced costs and low customer expectations isn't a business model I can embrace. No, I take that back. It's not a business model I believe. However, I didn't personally hear anyone say that, so I can't be too judgmental. All I know is what knives I DO like...

[twinboysdad]

not paying a premium for something meant to be as rudimentary as a shovel.

Whaaaaaat? He actually said that?

Justification of shoddy workmanship with reduced costs and low customer expectations isn't a business model I can embrace. No, I take that back. It's not a business model I believe. However, I didn't personally hear anyone say that, so I can't be too judgmental. All I know is what knives I DO like...

The shovel part he did not say verbatim, what he did say was something close to “all these tier 1 operators who use EKI don’t care about fit and finish, they just want a rad piece of kit that never fails- yada yada”

[aicolainen]

I can absolutely live with tool finish on a tool, as long as it’s reflected in the price, and that the details important for its core purpose and functionality get the appropriate level of fit, e.g. lock interface.
I would think that fitting can’t really be scuffed in any step, or it quickly starts to add up, but I agree that finish is generally unimportant and probably a wasted effort on a service knife that will/should typically look well used after a few weeks anyway. But again, some of that cost saving should trickle down to the consumer.

[VashHash]

I own 3 and I'm not a fan. If you use the wave it destroys the lock. Pretty sure I found rust on the "titanium" liners too. I broke the very tip off my Persian just cutting a water bottle. I wouldn't recommend them.

[zenith2]

Like the designs, but not the execution. Reground mine, flushed the scales etc.

Interesting thing though, my son whom is left handed enjoys it more than I do…to the point where he designed his own tanto for me to make :)