Cold Steel vs. Emerson

Starting a thread in a manufacturer home forum comparing to another brand is doing a disservice to both.
 
Lots of similarities between the men behind the companies. Lynn C. Thompson vs Ernest Emerson!

Mike
 
I can't back Lynn Thompson, period. It takes a certain caliber person that actually "likes" his style and behavior.

So what, new steels.. What about the HT?

And if you wait.. you can get a decent price on an Emerson.

Out of these two companies (knives and the people behind the company), I choose Emerson Knives---but I'm not a fan of Emerson knives by any means..


If I had to pick ONE mass produced knife company, it would be and always has been Benchmade. With a few close 2nds.
 
Cold steel makes nice machetes and high end katanas, however, I think most of their pocket knifes are either unsightly, lacking ergonomics, or the design is just freaking goofy.

Emerson doesnt have a single knife that isnt completely thought out. Theyre more of a minimalist style, and I think thats why they excel. Perfect ergonomics, gorgeous lines, and very hardy durable blades. And theyre made right here in the usa.

Cold steels marketing is also way too mall ninjaesque for me.
 
Someone above said something like:

NEW STEELS AND MADE IN AMERICA


I see new steels. True. HT unknown.

And MADE in Taiwan. I know Spyderco has made in Taiwan, but they have a "quality" facility: Taichung Taiwan.

I DO care where a knife is made and the end fit and finish DOES matter...

Just more for the "discussion".
 
JeremiahWeaver09 said:
when it comes to pure value, its really hard for cold steel to be beaten by most other companies. cold steel will give you a strong reliable knife for a pretty low price.

i love emersons, but you can get a knife like a voyager, vaquero, or rajah 3 for a fraction of the price and it would be just as reliable, probably more since the triad lock should be stronger than a regular liner lock.
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I dont understand the extreme fixation most of you are having on "the stronger lock". We are talking about incredible forces, which cant even be generated by human hands, that will take to even break a liner lock. Have you EVER had a knife lock break? I mean come on.

Is it just the "cool" factor? Or are you using your knives as fork lifts?
 
CS... hands down.
 
stonproject said:
I dont understand the extreme fixation most of you are having on "the stronger lock". We are talking about incredible forces, which cant even be generated by human hands, that will take to even break a liner lock. Have you EVER had a knife lock break? I mean come on.

Is it just the "cool" factor? Or are you using your knives as fork lifts?
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I've had liner locks rock and fail. I was about to send one in but gave it time to break in. Forceful flicking seemed to have settled the lock. The thought of lock failure in a time of need is still in the back of my head though.
 
Many Emerson folders I have owned developed lock rock.
 
Sosa said:
I've had liner locks rock and fail. I was about to send one in but gave it time to break in. Forceful flicking seemed to have settled the lock. The thought of lock failure in a time of need is still in the back of my head though.
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Out of curiousity, how did the knife fail? was it from a reliable manufacturer?
 
stonproject said:
I dont understand the extreme fixation most of you are having on "the stronger lock". We are talking about incredible forces, which cant even be generated by human hands, that will take to even break a liner lock. Have you EVER had a knife lock break? I mean come on.

Is it just the "cool" factor? Or are you using your knives as fork lifts?
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well, what i meant to say is that i feel that a triad lock is more reliable than a liner lock. ive had liner locks that have failed, even a brand new ZT framelock that would slip and easily fail with light pressure on the back of the blade etc.....ive never had a backlock fail, and the triad lock is a much improved version of the backlock, and thats why i feel it would be more reliable overall.
 
Liner and frame locks Achilles heel has always been any sort of lateral movement, back locks don't suffer from that weakness. To be be fair though all locking systems will have an inherent weakness of one kind or another. In the end I think it comes down to personal preference.
 
I like models from both companies. Both have interesting designs and designs I could do without. It doesn't make sense to me to compare companies, at least for what I'm looking for. I can own knives from both simultaneously without the universe imploding, so I don't see any reason to restrict myself from entertaining current or future offerings from either.

Comparing specific models because of time/ money constraints is a different story, of course.
 
ron finkbeiner jr said:
Liner and frame locks Achilles heel has always been any sort of lateral movement, back locks don't suffer from that weakness. To be be fair though all locking systems will have an inherent weakness of one kind or another. In the end I think it comes down to personal preference.
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I actually prefer liner and frame locks myself. I've never had a Spyderco or kershaw/ZT fail. I think some cases of weakness has to do with a titanium lock bar without insert.
 
Sosa said:
I actually prefer liner and frame locks myself. I've never had a Spyderco or kershaw/ZT fail. I think some cases of weakness has to do with a titanium lock bar without insert.
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To be honest I haven't tried one of those yet.
 
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