How are Emerson Knives

simple6

simple6

Joined
Oct 6, 2002
Messages
458
I bought a few about 6yrs ago and they were awful. Sloppy blade play, so-so lockup, dirty G10 with metal shavings, straight slot screw pivots, rough action. No attention to detail or QC. For what they charge I could get a Benchmade that blows them away for half. Have they upped the quality or is he putting out the same junk?
 
simple6 said:
...straight slot screw pivots...
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Slotted heads are the best. They're MUCH less likely to strip, and will not round off like their center-drive counterparts. They're also the easiest to scrape compacted debris out of.
 
Buck_110 said:
Slotted heads are the best. They're MUCH less likely to strip, and will not round off like their center-drive counterparts. They're also the easiest to scrape compacted debris out of.
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Ya sure of that?
 
What part of his statement do you not agree with?

Aesthetically, I do not like slotted heads, but all else equal they will resist rounding more than a design that has a smaller effective diameter key-way (such as a center drive like a hex, torx, square, or Phillips).
 
unit said:
What part of his statement do you not agree with?

Aesthetically, I do not like slotted heads, but all else equal they will resist rounding more than a design that has a smaller effective diameter key-way (such as a center drive like a hex, torx, square, or Phillips).
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Agreed. Much easier to clean a straight line than any torx, hex, or crosshead pattern. I cannot see how someone would be unsure about that much.
 
I have a few Emerson knives, the last one I bought was a 2011 Horseman, IMO the fit and finish is excellent. It's hard to see in the picture, but the blade is stonewashed and satin.

I first noticed an big improvement in quality around 2008-9, but the Horseman is the best I've seen so far.

horse3.jpg
 
simple6 said:
Back on topic, anybody else have a late Emerson that can comment?
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I only recently got into Emersons, so I have quite a few with 2011 dates on them: CQC-8 (x2), CQC-10 (x2), CQC-7. In addition to that, I have a CQC-16 with a 2008 manufacturing date. On all, the build quality is excellent.

To be sure, Emerson still isn't the place to go if you're a person who cares about polished liners or something like that. That's why I put my comment in terms of build quality instead of F&F: for a lot of people the fact that Emerson leaves the liners unpolished would be grounds for cries of "poor finish!" But if you want a knife with rock-solid build, very reliable lockup, excellent grinds, and so forth, they're a great choice.
 
simple6 said:
I bought a few about 6yrs ago and they were awful. Sloppy blade play, so-so lockup, dirty G10 with metal shavings, straight slot screw pivots, rough action. No attention to detail or QC. For what they charge I could get a Benchmade that blows them away for half. Have they upped the quality or is he putting out the same junk?
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Thats pretty much been my experience as well. Some love them though, they're not for me. The last one I owned was tremendously dull out of the box for a nearly 200 dollar knife.
 
230grains said:
Thats pretty much been my experience as well. Some love them though, they're not for me. The last one I owned was tremendously dull out of the box for a nearly 200 dollar knife.
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I can't speak to what Emersons were like in earlier years, but all of the ones I've bought have been very sharp out of the box (by production knife standards). I'd put their average out-of-the-box sharpness roughly on par with the average out-of-the-box sharpness of the Spydercos I've bought.
 
unit said:
What part of his statement do you not agree with?

Aesthetically, I do not like slotted heads, but all else equal they will resist rounding more than a design that has a smaller effective diameter key-way (such as a center drive like a hex, torx, square, or Phillips).
Click to expand...

Like most things reliable, slotted heads are ugly as sin.
 
I recently purchased a Gentleman Jim, and as far as build quality, I have to say I don't think I'll be breaking this thing any time soon. The fit is pretty darn good on it; very solid no wiggle or weird movement in the handle or blade. The finish is not nearly as bad as I have heard some people say. It came very sharp out of box, with very even grind lines and blade profile, the G10 scales were almost perfectly matched to the liners, and while the liners show machining marks they, don't bother me at all. The only gripe I really have about the knife is the difficult and rough action out of box, but I just simply disassembled (easily I might add) and cleaned and lubed it; nice and smooth now.

I do think the price tag is a little heavy for what it is, but I certainly don't feel ripped off. I'd have to say the newer Emersons (no experience with pre-2011 models) are worth your time and money.
 
I recently bought the Traveler and the lock-up was nonexistent. I could close it with my hand without too much trouble after it was locked up. I thought about returning it but may just toss it in the trash. I won't buy another. Also, I bought it right after I read his post and was really looking forward to what I thought was a great user.

On another note, mine was sharp which was too bad. I rather a knife with a lockup that will give way in a light breeze to be dull as all hell. Poor fit and finish is one thing. This knife was defective to the point of being dangerous!
 
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Actually I like the hardware EKI uses. The screws and barrel for the pivot are all tops in my book for quality. The blades are very consistent and the blade steel is a very good steel you never hear much bad about at all. Tried and true as they say. For the money the finishing out could be better by far when compared to other brands but with that said, they do break in for the action. Most of the used Emersons I have bought have been the ones I actually liked the best. At least for action. Some find the Wave an attractive option. Others like the ergos. Some both. Its really perception. From the value to value or apples to apples stand point I can find what I perceive to be a better buy elsewhere in most cases. Others may disagree and thats cool. The Emersons are the most over-rated knives in my opinion but also they are the most often pimped out and a good base to start from. The platform is there. When worked some they can become a dream knife quite easily and many indeed have done that for a lot of fans.

STR
 
I had 3 recent models. All with satin/stonewashed plain edges. The Mini CQC-8 (Horseman), the A100 and Mini A100. All 3 had perfect blade grinds that were symetrical. There were "burn" marks in the jimping on the Horseman and A100. My mini A100 did not have burn marks in the jimping but the thumb disk was cantered to one side. It was off by 6 degrees. Fortunately it was tilted away from the opening side which my thumb could accuate the blade better. Also the liner lock on the mini failed about 50% of the time. Got rid of the Horseman to get an A100 and traded the A100 to get the Mini. Traded the Mini for an Alias II.
I like Emersons but I don't find them to be a value knife. The fit and function is good on most models but you can't always expect the finish to be of high quality.
 
Owned a 2007 satin mini-commander SE. The satin blade was really a cheap coat of silver paint, lockup was so-so, didn't like the right angle grind. The scales were a little over sized from the liners. I agree with STR, Emerson's are overrated. I have to say, I did like the wave feature. I replaced mine with the ZT0350 PE satin and I've been very happy!

On a side note, I believe the liners were both stainless steel. I would consider paying the higher premium on EKI stuff when they utilized titanium liners, but SS liners compared to other knife brands (ZT, Spyderco, ect) make the EKI overpriced.
 
Given the materials and feel, they seem overpriced to me. I think it's a great idea to put out knives that just work well, have only the basics and no gimmicks, and put function over form. But I think the point of a no-frills knife is defeated when you charge fancy knife prices for it. They're just too expensive and too basic for me compared to offerings from Benchmade, Spyderco, and especially ZT. I will say, though, that I respect the man behind Emerson knives, unlike a certain other "elite" tactical brand.
 
I am really attracted to some of EKI's designs(CQC-8, CQC-15, etc.) but what I'm concerned about is the longevity of the lock. I can't ship knives in from where I am so that has to be one of the biggest factors for me.
 
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