Questions about Emerson knives

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HOKIE_FAN

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I have put away a few bucks and want to pick up a new knife and I have a few questions for those who own Emerson knives. I met Mr. Emerson at Blade Show last year and found him to be one of the nicest and most friendly knife makers there. I have always been intrigued with the Commander due to the blade shape and excellent stonewash finish.
My question is, are they worth the money compared to other brands in that price range? I hear complaints about fit and finish and weak detents. Are the weak detents common on pretty much all their knives or specific models? I would not be satisfied with my purchase if I could lightly shake my knife and the blade falls open.

Thanks. I really want to give Emerson a try.
 
You are going to get a ton of answers on here of many different opinions. Build quality etc will inevitably come up as will the chisel Grind.

Here’s my experience with Emerson Knives.

I spent 22 years in the Army before I retired. I deployed many times over this time period and carried knives every single day made by Spyderco, Benchmade, Emerson, Gerber, Buck, etc and absolutely beat the crap out of my knives.
My favorite EDC is a Spyderco PM2 and I have an affinity for the Military. I preach the gospel of the PM2 so my opinion of Emerson isn’t of some fanboy.

Strictly speaking about Emerson. They are absolutely one of THE most respected names/brands among members of the military for a reason. They work, they hold an edge in the field, and the Emerson company stands by its products.

Emerson gets a great treat out of the 154CM steel. Not my favorite steel but benchmade and Emerson both believe in it and get their money’s worth out of it. Someone will come along here shortly and say “for the money you can get a better knife with better steel for the same price”. Yes that’s true, but sharpening some of the super steels when I was in Iraq and Afghanistan was a pain. The 154cm works just fine and is much easier to sharpen.

The hardware is adjustable with field ready tools. Normal screwdriver Phillip and flathead screwdrivers. You don’t have to special order special bits. The Emerson WILL require a break in and some adjustments but once you get it dialed in it’s great.

The lock is strong enough. Yes sir, there are stronger locks out there. (PM2 for example) but the Emerson is just fine.

Ergonomics are very good and carries well. The wave feature is cool although I mostly use the thumb disks to open.

Would I recommend an Emerson? Absolutely.
Are there better knives out there? Yes there are.
Will I buy more Emerson’s? Yep
Would an Emerson be something I could use and trust again in a combat deployment? Yes
Is an Emerson the best for EDC for a civilian? Honestly, I think there are better knives out there in the hard use/tactical line that might be better suited. However that’s not a knock on Emerson. It’s a testimony to how good other knives are.

Yes I think all knife guys/gals should own an Emerson at some point.
 
A knife is worth, what people want to pay for it.

E seems to have a succesful business venture going, so the knives must be priced right.

As you may notice a picture is already emerging in this thread; members either like or they hate the knives.

Not much middle of the road with E.

If YOU have an itch, then buy the knife.

You cant go wrong with it, because even if you dont like the knife, it will be snapped up on the sales forum in short order, should you decide to part with it.
 
My two cents: they are absolutely not worth the money compared to anything else in the same price category or even the $100-ish category. I just bought a roadhouse to see for myself what Emerson knives was all about, and I was disappointed in nearly every single way imaginable. I wrote up a huge draft about it but never submitted it, as it might have sounded just like endless criticism (which it is, as there's almost nothing good about that knife IMO). Do yourself a favor and just steer clear of those knives, because there's a good chance you won't be happy with them and will take a nice bath when trying to resell it.

Edit: To better answer your specific questions, my Emerson completely lacked a detent at all and would shake open with the slightest provocation because the detent tab wasn't bent out at all, so I had to fix it myself. Even still, I can shake it out easily, but it at least won't fall open on a whim now. The fit and finish was just as bad as you've ever heard about Emerson knives, and taking it apart actually made me angry when I saw how none of the parts wanted to fit together.
 
Last edited:
Also one other thing I forgot to add in my post above.

When we came back from Afghanistan, our unit ordered knives with our unit insignia. We let our soldiers vote on what they wanted.

The choices were
Cold Steel Recon 1
ZT 0350
Spyderco PM2
Emerson CQC7

The unit voted for the Emerson. (I voted PM2)
 
Jocephus1 said:
Also one other thing I forgot to add in my post above.

When we came back from Afghanistan, our unit ordered knives with our unit insignia. We let our soldiers vote on what they wanted.

The choices were
Cold Steel Recon 1
ZT 0350
Spyderco PM2
Emerson CQC7

The unit voted for the Emerson. (I voted PM2)
Click to expand...

I hope there was a none of the above option?

I carried an AFO and that would be the only thing I'd want anything service related attached to which is why I always hated unit buys
 
Jocephus1 said:
You are going to get a ton of answers on here of many different opinions. Build quality etc will inevitably come up as will the chisel Grind.

Here’s my experience with Emerson Knives.

I spent 22 years in the Army before I retired. I deployed many times over this time period and carried knives every single day made by Spyderco, Benchmade, Emerson, Gerber, Buck, etc and absolutely beat the crap out of my knives.
My favorite EDC is a Spyderco PM2 and I have an affinity for the Military. I preach the gospel of the PM2 so my opinion of Emerson isn’t of some fanboy.

Strictly speaking about Emerson. They are absolutely one of THE most respected names/brands among members of the military for a reason. They work, they hold an edge in the field, and the Emerson company stands by its products.

Emerson gets a great treat out of the 154CM steel. Not my favorite steel but benchmade and Emerson both believe in it and get their money’s worth out of it. Someone will come along here shortly and say “for the money you can get a better knife with better steel for the same price”. Yes that’s true, but sharpening some of the super steels when I was in Iraq and Afghanistan was a pain. The 154cm works just fine and is much easier to sharpen.

The hardware is adjustable with field ready tools. Normal screwdriver Phillip and flathead screwdrivers. You don’t have to special order special bits. The Emerson WILL require a break in and some adjustments but once you get it dialed in it’s great.

The lock is strong enough. Yes sir, there are stronger locks out there. (PM2 for example) but the Emerson is just fine.

Ergonomics are very good and carries well. The wave feature is cool although I mostly use the thumb disks to open.

Would I recommend an Emerson? Absolutely.
Are there better knives out there? Yes there are.
Will I buy more Emerson’s? Yep
Would an Emerson be something I could use and trust again in a combat deployment? Yes
Is an Emerson the best for EDC for a civilian? Honestly, I think there are better knives out there in the hard use/tactical line that might be better suited. However that’s not a knock on Emerson. It’s a testimony to how good other knives are.

Yes I think all knife guys/gals should own an Emerson at some point.
Click to expand...

Much respect, great post.
 
GermanyChris said:
I hope there was a none of the above option?

I carried an AFO and that would be the only thing I'd want anything service related attached to which is why I always hated unit buys
Click to expand...

No there wasn’t a choice but I will say that I was appreciative of our command group trying to make an attempt. At that point in time unit funds and supplier issues limited our command groups overall decision.

We were issued either the benchmade AFO or Gerber 06 autos before that deployment. (I snagged both). That was whatever the civilian supply guys gave you standing in line at the pre deployment CIF. I don’t miss those days. Lol
 
Jocephus1 said:
No there wasn’t a choice but I will say that I was appreciative of our command group trying to make an attempt. At that point in time unit funds and supplier issues limited our command groups overall decision.

We were issued either the benchmade AFO or Gerber 06 autos before that deployment. (I snagged both). That was whatever the civilian supply guys gave you standing in line at the pre deployment CIF. I don’t miss those days. Lol
Click to expand...

I got mine from a 7th group guy in Kuwait in 2001 while we were all waiting to head to Afghanistan.

I know they became issue item but it was either after I got out or we weren't cool enough to get them
 
I had one Mini CQC7 from 2011 that had a non-existent detent but the Mini CQC7AW I picked up at the end of 2018 was perfect in every way with a snappy detent. If you can, try to buy from a dealer, online or otherwise, who will check the knife out in advance for you to make sure it suits your needs. As for the value proposition that's a personal call but I'm happy having spent what I did on my Emerson.
 
OP, If you want to give Emerson a try, go for it. I would caution you to first handle whatever knife you buy.

I have had two Emerson folders over the years with locking mechanisms that would fail with a light touch on the spine. When I sent them in, I was charged (per their policy at the time) for repairs. I don't remember how much it cost, but I remember being irritated enough that I never bought another Emerson after the second failure. This was a few years ago, however, it left enough doubt in me that I never took one overseas and never counted on an Emerson to do anything I wouldn't do with a slip joint.

Either way, buy what makes you happy! If Emersons still made me happy, I'd probably still be buying them, lol. Best of luck with whatever you choose!
 
I really wanted an Emerson Sheepdog about a year ago. I looked at a lot of them but the fit and finish wasn't great, but the detents were always pretty decent. I finally found a dealer exclusive one with S35VN steel and micarta handles. This one has amazing fit and finish, a snappy detent, and an upgraded blade steel, all for $30 more than the original. If you really want an Emerson, I would definitely look into one of these.
 
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