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View Full Version : Hep me pick a new EDC: Emerson Tiger, Emerson CQC13, or go Auto??



Crash41984
04-01-2019, 01:07 PM
I'm in the market for a new edc folder. I have been carrying around a ZT0350TS for the last 5-6 years. Not a thing wrong with it, besides my sucking at sharpening recurves. I really just want a new knife in that general size. I had an Emerson Karambit years ago that I ended up dumping on eBay because it was the opposite of practical, but the construction was well thought out. I've been looking at the two Emerson's in the title and although vastly different designs, both excite me. Also, automatics have been legal in my state for several months now. I'm wondering if I should jump on that bandwagon while the getting is good. The Protech Strider collab has me very intrigued, as does the price!

Any experience with the above that the hive can comment on? Any opinions or recommendations are appreciated. Looking for stainless blades that aren't a bear to sharpen, 3-4", quality construction, and around $250 at the high end.

vcdgrips
04-01-2019, 02:46 PM
I am not a knife guy per se. In folding, I EDC a Spydeco CAT.

I am of two schools of thought:

1. You work hard for the money, buy what you like. Either Emerson would be fine. I do not like autos enough to justify the cost increase and I have accidental auto opening concerns.
2. IMHO, presuming you have never had a knife class, a 100.00 knife and using the 150 from your budget for a class seems to me to be a better way to go.

Default.mp3
04-01-2019, 03:01 PM
Any specific reason you were partial to the Emersons?

An Emerson CQC-10 was my first nice knife. I'll never get rid of it, but I found my subsequent ZTs and Benchmades to be much better values, as they were much nicer quality at similar price points. IMO, EKI makes nice enough knives, they're just priced way higher than they're actually worth.

FWIW, I EDC Sebenzas these days; my folders are all used purely as cutting tools, my SFBs as defensive weapons.

Clusterfrack
04-01-2019, 03:08 PM
Now that ZT’s Wave knives are discontinued, Emerson may be your best choice. I like their new Seax.

The Spyderco PKal is a great knife, but not for hard use.

Crash41984
04-01-2019, 07:16 PM
I never considered taking a knife class. Despite my wanting another Emerson, I’ve actually never considered employing a knife as a weapon. I guess I figure if I can tote a knife, I can tote a .45 too :). I probably should have specified that, just using these guys as cutting tools, and possibly light prying tools. Also, my first high end folder was an Emerson. No fanboy nonsense, just want one again. I agree that there are better finished knives for less.

Wyoming Shooter
04-03-2019, 04:36 PM
I was at Blade HQ in Utah last week. While there, I saw this in the show case: https://www.bladehq.com/item--Protech-Tactical-Response-5-Blade--80677. It went home with me. I've only had it for a week but, I am impressed. I find it very comfortable to carry AIWB and extremely sharp. Good steel too. Best, ELN.

Navin Johnson
04-21-2019, 12:57 PM
Auto knives are super fun and if legal I would have one for fun.....

OTOH autos are complex, expensive and the button is harder to find than a large hole or thumb stud. They often have a safety to avoid opening at the wrong time....

Quality cutlery is not pry-lery....get a small key-chainable pry tool.

A Spyderco Paramilitary 2 in S30V is reasonably easy to sharpen and a very good to excellent EDC. Especially for about $100-$120. You could get two for the price of an Emerson.

If you would prefer more stay closed bias A Stretch 2 with a lock back is almost the same shape and size as a PM2. Both have very good blade shapes and handles for long and hard use.

Whiskey_Bravo
04-25-2019, 11:14 AM
If autos are an option and you don't mind paying for a quality one, the the new Protech SBR designed by Les George is an awesome looking EDC style blade.

Super77
04-28-2019, 07:10 AM
Food for thought: Emersons are pretty janky to be honest. They tend to be poorly finished and toleranced, use borderline obsolete steel, and have a weird combo of thick blade and obtuse grind. The paint they use on the blade and screws scratches and flakes off immediately.

How about a Spyderco Paramilitary 2? Even the basic model has better steel than Emerson’s 154CM. Better yet there’s a sprint run out there with FDE handle and S35VN steel that’s really nice. A PM2 is a vastly better design with better blade geometry, ergos, build quality, and value than any Emerson I’ve owned and it’s still made in the USA. I’ve always found the wave feature to be gimmicky and marginally useful but you can make any Spyderco “wave” with a zip tie through the hole.

Sigfan26
04-28-2019, 10:52 AM
I'm in the market for a new edc folder. I have been carrying around a ZT0350TS for the last 5-6 years. Not a thing wrong with it, besides my sucking at sharpening recurves. I really just want a new knife in that general size. I had an Emerson Karambit years ago that I ended up dumping on eBay because it was the opposite of practical, but the construction was well thought out. I've been looking at the two Emerson's in the title and although vastly different designs, both excite me. Also, automatics have been legal in my state for several months now. I'm wondering if I should jump on that bandwagon while the getting is good. The Protech Strider collab has me very intrigued, as does the price!

Any experience with the above that the hive can comment on? Any opinions or recommendations are appreciated. Looking for stainless blades that aren't a bear to sharpen, 3-4", quality construction, and around $250 at the high end.

Have you looked at one of these?:
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C237G/1192


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

5pins
05-12-2019, 07:49 AM
I have become a bit of a Spyderco snob over the last year. I have carried a Paramilitary 2 for about the past four years now. I kept trying different folders but came back to my PM2. I'm at the point now that I don't even try anymore. There are so many variations of the PM2 out that if I get bored or want to try something new it's there is always something interesting and new to look at. At a starting price of $125 or so, you are not going to cry a river if it's lost and can easily be replaced.

The S30V steel is more than capable for everyday carry and if you want "better" there are tons of options. The only mod I did to mine is a deep carry clip.

Tactical Black Belt
05-24-2019, 12:06 PM
Whatever you get I strongly recommend a blade with an inch or so of serrations. I have had several emergencies in life that had to be solved with a knife and none involved self defense. I have had to cut my sleeve off because it was caught in a printing press that was running. A dog leash because the dog was wrapped around a post and choking in a panic and once I had to cut a water hose loose to extinguish a fire because no one could unscrew it. All three times I used the serrated section to saw through something. If you do have to fight with a small pocket folder you should be using the point anyway and the serrations will not inconvenience you in the slightest.

BillSWPA
05-24-2019, 04:01 PM
Whatever you get I strongly recommend a blade with an inch or so of serrations. I have had several emergencies in life that had to be solved with a knife and none involved self defense. I have had to cut my sleeve off because it was caught in a printing press that was running. A dog leash because the dog was wrapped around a post and choking in a panic and once I had to cut a water hose loose to extinguish a fire because no one could unscrew it. All three times I used the serrated section to saw through something. If you do have to fight with a small pocket folder you should be using the point anyway and the serrations will not inconvenience you in the slightest.

The last time I had to use a knife in an emergency, it was to cut a ribbon from a teddy bear's bow tie that my son had managed to wrap/twist/tie (don't really know how he did it) around his finger so that neither he nor I could get it off, and which was cutting off his circulation. A narrow, thin blade was necessary.

For defense, if it has an edge, a point, and a reasonable lock, it will likely work. When I pick a blade configuration, I am much more concerned about these non-defensive emergencies.

rob_s
05-25-2019, 05:14 AM
Best edc on the planet and way under your budget cap (https://www.leatherman.com/black-silver-skeletool-569.html?dwvar_569_color=139&cgid=multi-tools#start=1)

BillSWPA
05-25-2019, 09:04 AM
Best edc on the planet and way under your budget cap (https://www.leatherman.com/black-silver-skeletool-569.html?dwvar_569_color=139&cgid=multi-tools#start=1)

I really like my Skeletools (I own 2) and the black and silver is my favorite. However, they really don’t replace a good wave-opening folder with a rocker bar lock or other good, strong lock. My one criticism of the one hand opening Leatherman blades is the thin liner lock.

The blade configuration is ideal for non-defensive emergencies, with a thin point and 1/2 serrated edge. Other than the liner lock, the thumb opening blade is nice. It could serve a defensive purpose in a pinch, while being legally ideal for jurisdictions that ban anything “designed for fighting.”




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lwt16
07-03-2019, 11:14 AM
Spyderco Paramilitary 2.

I've owned Emerson, Benchmade, Spyderco, CRKT, etc....autos and regular folders.....

I never am without my PM2. It's a great slicer and I carry it on duty as well as off duty. The only negative is the point is a little delicate but I'll take that for the slicing capability.

I also carry a LM wave off duty and a well used Surge on duty. They get the brunt of the cutting tasks that require a strong blade.....abusive use.

For everyday cutting, I have a slip joint from back in the day....typically a Schrade Walden or older Case....with 1095 carbon steel with patina....and I can get those very keen with very little effort.

Regards.

39688

Duces Tecum
07-03-2019, 12:16 PM
Spyderco Paramilitary 2. I've owned Emerson, Benchmade, Spyderco, CRKT, etc....autos and regular folders.....I never am without my PM2. It's a great slicer and I carry it on duty as well as off duty. The only negative is the point is a little delicate but I'll take that for the slicing capability.

I also carry a LM wave off duty and a well used Surge on duty. They get the brunt of the cutting tasks that require a strong blade.....abusive use.

For everyday cutting, I have a slip joint from back in the day....typically a Schrade Walden or older Case....with 1095 carbon steel with patina....and I can get those very keen with very little effort.


39688


This ^ ^ ^

I carry two knives, sometimes three. One of them is always a Swiss Army Victorinox "Tinker" for small tasks. The other(s) are Emerson CQC-7's that I've had for years.

You carry the tools that'll get you through the day.

lwt16
07-03-2019, 12:35 PM
That Surge has never let me down. I've cut plastic car parts off cars at crashes, busted windows, tightened all sorts of screws on patrol cars (with the LM tool bit kit), cut those door chains on doors with the wire/bolt cutters, removed or placed a hundred car tags on folk's cars who just tossed the updated tag in the trunk and drove around with the expired one on instead........

When I retire, that Surge is retiring too. It's been fantastic. The serrated edge gets touched up from time to time on a Sharpmaker but the plain edge gets sharpened in the field on the edge of my patrol SUV windows. Trick I learned from grandpa.

Coworker of mine had a prisoner kick and tear up his seat belt latch in the back of his SUV. We are mandated by policy to only transport one prisoner at a time and he was stressing about having to turn in the ride for weeks on end. I grabbed the bit kit, figured out a bit that would fit the wonky drive screws that held the latch to the cage, and we swapped them out in five minutes.

Don't remember what I paid for it back in the day but it was money well spent.

The slip joint sees a lot of routine, mundane cutting. I also have a LM Raptor....which made quick work of auto glass the other day when we found a decedent in a black car that had been there for a week. That thing is turning out to be handy to have clipped to the cargo pockets as well (on duty). I typically don't carry it off duty.

Regards.

Hizzie
07-05-2019, 01:53 PM
If the WAVE feature is something you really desire then these guys makes something for the benchmades and spydercos to do just that.

http://wisemencompany.com/fang/

Crashpad
07-05-2019, 02:32 PM
If the WAVE feature is something you really desire then these guys makes something for the benchmades and spydercos to do just that.

http://wisemencompany.com/fang/

These guys also offer a Wave add on, the Pickpocket, among other things. Their Instagram has better photos of it on knives than their site does.

https://5x5combatsolutions.com/products

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu7Y54HhMw6/?igshid=1t40jhs2q8pyv

Clusterfrack
07-05-2019, 05:05 PM
These guys also offer a Wave add on, the Pickpocket, among other things. Their Instagram has better photos of it on knives than their site does.

https://5x5combatsolutions.com/products

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu7Y54HhMw6/?igshid=1t40jhs2q8pyv

Awesome. Ordered for Yojimbo2.

Chuck Whitlock
07-05-2019, 06:58 PM
If the WAVE feature is something you really desire then these guys makes something for the benchmades and spydercos to do just that.

http://wisemencompany.com/fang/


These guys also offer a Wave add on, the Pickpocket, among other things. Their Instagram has better photos of it on knives than their site does.

https://5x5combatsolutions.com/products

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu7Y54HhMw6/?igshid=1t40jhs2q8pyv


Thanks for these. I have a couple of early Wal-Mart special Natives that I'd love to get a wave function on.

39780

RevolverRob
07-06-2019, 09:09 AM
I dunno why people think 154CM is an "obsolete" steel. Like most middle ground steels, it has some of the best ability to resharpen, hold an edge, and is usually hardened in the 55-57RC range, which is about perfect for a tool that might be employed as a prying tool.

I'll preface: I like Emersons. I know Ernie and I like him and his family, they have always been good to me and mine. So, I'm inclined to support them whenever possible. If I were going to pick something up for EDC from Emerson today, I'd probably go with a CQC7. The tanto blade may not initially make a lot of sense, but you can sharpen the tip and body of the blade differently. Which can allow you to have, different grinds for different tasks on the same blade.

That said. I can find nothing, nothing, wrong with the Spyderco Delica as an everyday carry knife. I've tried for years and years to find a different blade that works as well and I cannot. I have four Delicas and counting, because they simply work. The factory option of a Waved Delica makes it an even easier choice. Some may knock VG10 as an obsolete steel. But I find it's pretty much like 154.

As it is, I carry a Spyderco of some type about 90% of the time. The three different models in my rotations are the Delica, Native, and P'Kal. I carry the P'Kal a lot, but I have low-grade knife tasks at the moment. When I worked in construction or I'm working in the garage I tend to go Native with its thicker tip and stock. For EDC, the Delica is about the perfect balance.

Tl;dr

Spyderco Delica - waved if you want the wave. If you want to get fancy, buy one of the various exclusives made with higher end steel.