Emerson Sheepdog Flipper lacking detent

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bobnery

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PREFACE: Emerson makes a good folder, and I have never had an issue with quality until now

Alright this post will be frowned upon by some I'm sure, but it is a heads up to others who may be thinking about getting this new flipper. It is going back as we speak to the factory, and I will be eating about 46 bucks in shipping and restocking fees. I agreed to their terms at point of sale, so I get what I got. I can understand restocking fees on knives to prevent guys returning things left and right, but when you send out a knife of this quality, I think you should rethink your terms. I contacted the company to make sure I'd be paying the restock fee, and their reply assured me I would, so in case you are thinking about this as a new purchase, you may want to know my experience.

The detent is almost non existent. It actually falls open easier than the video depicts. It was just awkward to show while holding a camera. The lock is also insanely sticky, and of course the more force it opens with the stickier. Now I realize here some will say why not send it in for service. To that I'd say a new knife shouldn't need service, and two it dawned on me that even if they improve the detent on this that it would just create a worse lock up. I'm thinking the standard Emerson design does not lend itself to a flipper with a strong detent.

I'm not a stickler when it comes to perfect fit and finish and aesthetics but this is a functional and above that a safety problem. It has me considering if I will continue with other Emerson knives that I presently own, or future purchases.

Hell you don't even need the flipper, disc or wave on this one.

Here is link showing the weak detent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgIUfIRFXMc
 
That's a garbage knife...

I'm not saying that Emersons are all bad, I've never had or wanted one. But based on that video, that is some serious lack of QC for that example of an Emerson. Anyone that tells you otherwise is wrong...
 
Buy from a reputable dealer, then you have proper recourse and can return or exchange the knife if there are issues.
 
When I first saw these knives announced, I thought they were an amusing diversion from the typical Emersons, but this is exactly how I expected them to turn out. If any of them have decent detents, I would be surprised. Owned a ton of Emersons myself and every single one could be shaken open. An Emerson flipper seems as poor of an idea as an Axis lock flipper. It just doesn't work unless they really change something.

The restocking fee is a real bummer though, makes ordering direct a lot less appealing.
 
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bobnery said:
This came straight from Emerson Factory
Click to expand...

Understood. But a good dealer would take a return of an obviously defective knife without charging fees usually. Sorry to hear that supporting Emerson directly is going to cost you more.
 
Emerson's known to not have the best QC in their production knives.

I don't know if the Sheepdog in particular uses the same double detent system, but check to see if the second detent (opposite from the lock side of the blade) is working properly. I have had issues with this second detent ball not engaging the blade correctly, and it makes the knife seem like there is no detent or an extremely weak detent.

As far as lock stickiness goes - it's very annoying and I was there too, on a custom Emerson no less. See if breaking in the lock will help. My CQC-9 started out with no stick and early lockup, then after a couple months of use the liner moved over about 1/2 a millimeter, and was so sticky it required two hands to unlock. After some few hundred openings, the liner moved another 1/2 millimeter and now there's no stick again. First clean the lockface & tang with Ronsonol / Lighter fluid to degrease it - oil or grime can exacerbate stickiness.
 
JR88FAN said:
That's just a lemon.
There is absolutely no reason that one of two things should not happen, and both at no charge to you:

(1) Fixed.
(2) Replaced.

Hit the link below, and talk directly to someone representing Emerson on this forum.
I am sure that one of the two things I mentioned above will happen....

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/690-Emerson-Knives
Click to expand...

Emailed Emerson directly as soon as I opened it yesterday, and got there response this morning apologizing that I was not happy and that the restock fee would be applied. It is their policy I get it. I just didn't think I'd get a knife of this quality sent to me.
 
Damn, that's terrible O.O

I've never been impressed fit and finish wise with the Emersons I've owned, but I've never had anything that affected the function of the knife, and they've all be pretty much centered, so I haven't cared.

When I get a chance, I'll be sending in a Spyderco Tuff that I can open with a wrist flick. The blade came out and ruined a pocket :( But even it wasn't *that* bad. That's just insane.
 
That sucks...

Someone is gonna tell you that is a feature that you just can't appreciate because you "don't understand the design", but if you don't like it, all you have to do is disassemble the brand new knife, clean out the factory gunk, reassemble the knife, and properly tighten the pivot so that its ready for "hard use" ;)

I kid
 
I bought a used Emerson that the seller said had a weak detent. I simply bent the detent tab a little and tightened the pivot. Everything worked fine after that.

That being said, it shouldn't have come from the factory like that.
 
That sucks Man, I too am having emerson troubles, All you can do is learn your lesson and move on.
 
Dang that's terrible! I Kinda wanted a Emerson once saw a commander in a knife shop, it had more play than a 2 dollar flea market special
 
Could they not fix the knife, or was it even an option at all? It seems that some details are missing, due to disappointment possibly. Of all the Emerson knives I own, There is only one I ever had to send back and it was already 8 yaers old. There is one that is giving me trouble and I may send back for repair.
 
What a piece of junk. I can't believe they are charging you a restocking fee.. they aren't "restocking" it. It is broken and has to have parts replaced not put back in factory packaging and put on a shelf. It sucks the factory let a knife like that go, but the real insult to injury is the bogus restocking fee. They should show a little decent customer service and repair/replace that knife for free minus any fees. I'm glad that I'm past my very short emerson phase.
 
Could it be operating as designed, and isn't defective?
 
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