Has the Horseman undergone substantial changes or is this a copy? Emerson Rep FYI?

M

Mark Schmitt

Joined
Oct 5, 1998
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Recently purchased a NIB "Emerson Horseman" from an individual seller. Knife arrived, no issues with the deal, BUT... I have owned several of these knives in the past (and still do) and I have noticed several features on this new knife that are unusual and seem more typical of the counterfeit knives out there:

1) Liners are machined differently than my older Horseman (sn in the 200's) and are made of the same material on either side by appearance (no Ti-looking locking liner) and the liner (lock side) has a capsule-shaped cut out on the locking side (the knife I just received has a 2551 serial number).
2) Blade is a hollow saber grind, not flat as on my other Emersons. It is also symmetrically sharpened on both sides.
3) Hardware is different than my other Emersons - slightly smaller in size but correct fasteners, backspacer is ground flush with the scales, thumb disk is not cross-hatched but cut with vertical grooves.
4) Stenciling is different with "WAVEFEATURE" all one word.

Overall, the fit and finish on this knife is high and, outside of being thicker, the knife measures out the same as my older Horseman. I have never heard of a counterfeit Horseman so I am left wondering what I have here - a new version of the classic Horseman or a very close copy?

Any input, particularly from owners of this knife with a serial number close to 2551 would be appreciated. I hate to think the cloners have violated another Emerson model, but I am leaning that way.

Images of the knife and verified authentic Emerson Horseman can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/153224145@N05/shares/MY77N1


Thanks,
Mark
 
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First of all... it's a Horseman (mini-CQC-8), not a Journeyman (CQC-10). Second... I've never seen "Wave Feature" spelled as one word on any Emerson and all the legit thumb disks I've ever had or seen are cross-hatched. And third... I'm pretty sure that a V-ground, double beveled blade (symmetrically sharpened) ain't comin' outta Emerson's shop in the foreseeable future.

My guess is: #1-it's a fake Horseman, or #2-it's a modified Horseman. Either way, I wouldn't consider it NIB and it'll never be a Journeyman, if that's what you wanted.
 
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Thanks Dale - Yes it is a Horseman (my Journeyman arrived today so I have that "on the brain" so to speak. Thanks for catching that. I will try to correct in my original post.

Mark
 
If the liner on the lock side is not titanium (ie: it is magnetic) then that is a sure sign that it is not an Emerson knife.
 
It looks like a knock off or a modified original. The writing on the blade doesn't look right to me for some reason. I've owned about a half dozen Horseman knives.
The oldest one going back to 2007.
 
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Sorry man--looks like a fake to me. It seems to have a slight re-curve too.
 
Lapedog said:
If the liner on the lock side is not titanium (ie: it is magnetic) then that is a sure sign that it is not an Emerson knife.
Click to expand...

the stainless side liner isn't magnetic either though. just checked it on one of my newer emersons. the blade is though as well as the pocket clip.

note didn't use super magnet just a refrigerator style that came out of a phone book thin magnet deal. it didn't stick to either liner.

where are the pics at for this one, wanted to see the details for education sake. sorry op this happened to you.
 
FAKE!!! It's littered with red flags. I have worked on many Horseman knives and this one is a 100%% fake!
 
Thanks all. I was reluctant to outright call this a fake since I had never come across a Horseman fake (but I have seen CQC7s, Commanders, etc. faked) and did not want to start a rumor that there were more fakes than there already are out there. That said, there are so many un-Emerson things about this knife that I am comfortable calling this a clear counterfeit now. I have contacted the seller and will give them a chance to make it right.

I did some more digging and a very similar knife is available at a Chinese site famous for counterfeit goods but it is listed as "camping emerson knife" so it didn't come up right away.

From 5 feet away, without the light angled across the hollow grind, the presentation side looks identical to the real deal. Even side by side with my two other black Horsemen. These counterfeiters are scum, but they are getting pretty good at their game. Very sad state of affairs.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I will contact EKI to let them know, if they don't already, that the Horseman is also being ripped now.

Mark
 
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My horseman from end 2016
 
One last, ugly, note on this: After looking around online there are many of these fakes out there. The person who sold me the counterfeit in question sent a photo of a real Horseman, but sent a fake knife. A brief search online, to include a very popular internet auction site, turned up several listings using images of the counterfeit knives themselves.

For those looking for one of these knives, the easiest "tells" you can easily see in photos seem to be: "WAVEFEATURE" (no space), lack of a checkered thumbdisk, and having a symmetrically sharpened edge.

Good luck out there.

Regards,
Mark
 
The screws on the fake are rounded, not flat. Another thing to be aware of.

Counterfeiters are criminals and I think it's funny that almost all of the fakes are coming from China. The Chinese government needs to join the rest of the world and crack down on these people. How hard is it to find a whole factory operation making fakes and shut it down? It's not like some guy is making these in individually in his garage.
 
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