Emerson Explains 154 Steel

This explains exactly why I own 1 Emerson and rarely carry it.
I don’t need to pry manhole covers and if I did I would have the correct tool.

154 cm is a more than adequate steel but you may as well use Victorinox steel the way it is treated.
I love Victorinox steel but I won’t pay Emerson prices for it.


And I agree 100% and I’m in the same one Emerson owning boat. The steel is so soft that actually has worse edge holding than a Kershaw made Emerson design using 8Cr14MoV...I actually thought for a time that my knife might have had a defective HT!
 
I like G-10 and 154CM steel. Unfortunately availability is scarce and prices are high. I have a good income but I can't
justify spending $200ish when just a few years ago I would spend well under $150 for the same knife. If there were new mini
CQC-10, mini Aftershock, or more mini A100's I would pay around $170 ish for them.
 
154cm is fine steel and most emersons are fine knives with superb design but make steel little harder and locks better(testing the lock) and these are fine knives besides the high prices for what they are.The ones i handled were made pretty good and handles and ergos are superb.
 
I regret not buying a persian when i had a chance.Quality was high on the one i handled and lock perfect.
 
Whoops, just bought an Emerson with s35vn. Look like I need to get rid of it and get one with 154cm.

Actually, I hope more knives are offered in an upgraded steel. There is no reason a knife company can't offer multiple choices. Then the user can choose which best fits for their needs.
 
Curious why folks think they can out-design the designer of the knife?

Emerson out designed himself with the ZT knives. Emerson ergos with modern steels. Beautiful knives, well worth the price.

EKI business model is to charge Snap-On prices for Stanley tools. Do they work? Yes. Are they too lazy to drill and tap 3 holes on the other side of the knife so the customer can choose between left or right hand carry? Yes.

FWIW I carry a CQC15 every day at work.
 
Whoops, just bought an Emerson with s35vn. Look like I need to get rid of it and get one with 154cm.

Actually, I hope more knives are offered in an upgraded steel. There is no reason a knife company can't offer multiple choices. Then the user can choose which best fits for their needs.

Tell that to the porch dwellers in the Traditional Knives forum, whose universe pretty much revolves around 1095. Hahahaha...

I actually appreciate the simplicity here, since I don't have to wrap my head around edge-retention vs ease-of-sharpening debates that continue endlessly with super-steels. :)
 
154cm folders and D2 fixed blades all day long.

BTW, someone from Emerson should teach the ZT guys how to heat treat because none of there blades will hold an edge.
 
BTW, someone from Emerson should teach the ZT guys how to heat treat because none of there blades will hold an edge.
I have a ZT0620 (M390) and I've only had to sharpen it a handful of times. It holds it's edge better than any Emerson 154CM that I own.
 
I have a ZT0620 (M390) and I've only had to sharpen it a handful of times. It holds it's edge better than any Emerson 154CM that I own.
Well you’re one of the lucky few. They’re so inconsistent that it’s not funny. I sent two different ones back because of this and both times they agreed the ht was off.
 
Well you’re one of the lucky few. They’re so inconsistent that it’s not funny. I sent two different ones back because of this and both times they agreed the ht was off.
That's some bad luck. All of the M390 blades I own from ZT have had really great heat treats.
 
My ZT M390 hold up just fine but not as good as D2 with custom heat treat.

 
Even though emersons are kinda pricey I'm buying it not for fit and finish I hate when people knock on emersons for fit and finish. So what he uses 154cm I think it's a perfect steel I'm not afraid to use them I know it wont break. I also dont care about fit and finish my mini 15 has been run over twice blade is still golden and works. I think that emersons are the perfect balance of great steel and strength
 
I've bought a lot of super steel knives and they do hold an edge a bit longer than cheaper steels.
With that said, they all seem to be pretty dang dull when I come home at night.
Super steels can be real pain to sharpen even with diamond stones.

Basically anything VG 10 or better quality steel, with a good heat treat from a quality manufacturer and I don't really care anymore.
154 CM seems fine to me.
 
Im sure victorinox knives hold same or better edge than these hyped up knives....and cut 10xbetter lol
 
For the price, Emerson should definitely upgrade the blade steel.
Yes, 154CM is a good blade steel, but it has been surpassed by better blade steels that are just as tough as 154CM.


"Ask any soldier about combat or deployment use. You find out what breaks and what lasts real fast, and I'm not talking about hand-to-hand combat. I'm talking about every day, beat the shite out of stuff, use."

I was a soldier for 6 years and I have discovered that civilian construction workers are way harder on their knives than soldiers.
Most soldiers don't use their knives for anything more difficult than slicing open an MRE.
99% of soldiers never need more than a Victorinox Super Tinker.
 
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I love Emerson knives and have for over 20 years. Been a strong supporter for most of that time. I’ve had over 100 custom and production eki knives. Though I am partial to the older “double titanium” liners. Emerson is a niche knife company. It will never be a strider or a hoback and although they sell many more knives than either of those companies, eki admittedly can’t hold a candle to their quality, durability and legacy. I agree with the statement “if you don’t like them, don’t buy them”. My disappointment is that I love the knife, the designer and the company but I cannot expect the same intrinsic quality as I do from other American brands because of the inflated marketing ploy.
 
Honestly isn't this the principle of "if it ain't broke don't fix it."

I mean everything Emerson Knives have been and done over the years has obviously worked so why change. I get the complaints about the high price but j have spent more money on other brands that have broken or had to be sent back for some issue when they were made with " better" materials.

Everything people complain about is what makes me like my Emerson. The rough texture G10. The gritty tight pivot (which has smoothed out after only 2 weeks). Even the easier to sharpen and maintain steel. Oh and I can tighten things up without a freaking torx driver. I love it all.
 
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