Right off the bat, I’ll admit that I’m a huge fan of Ernest Emerson knife designs – all of them. Over the years, I’ve done a number of articles on their factory made knives, as well as some of their knives they had made overseas. I’ve also engaged Emerson in a number of conversations by phone. We both have a similar background, especially in the martial arts, and our love for good cutlery.
One article that I wrote about some folding knives that Emerson had made in China, didn’t exactly please Ernest. I pointed out that of the six samples he sent me for testing and articles had a severe flaw – needless to say, that didn’t sit well with Emerson, but I report my findings, good or bad. There was nothing wrong with the knives or designs at all, the problem was, the handle scales were made out of Zytel (a polymer) and the pocket clips were screwed into the Zytel handle scales – using machine screws – and the screws all pulled out in short order and the pocket clip fell off. Shortly after than Emerson Knives stopped having those knives made. I’m sure Emerson’s original design did not call for machine screws to be used – common sense tells you that, a machine screw is going to pull out of a piece of plastic.
Today, we’re looking at the new Kershaw Knives CQC-4KXL-D2. It is brand-new for this year, and it was designed by Ernest Emerson, and he is one of the best tactical knife designers around – very talented. The “problem” with Emerson Knives, is getting one – they are always in demand – he stopped making custom knives some years ago, and opened a factory to produce his designs. More often than not, whenever I would check his web site, he would be sold out of his many factory knives. So, over the past several years, Emerson collaborated with Kershaw Knives right here in Oregon, to produce some of his designs – keep in mind, most of these knives are a little bit different than those on his web site, but they are still 100% top-notch knives in every respect, and the good news is, they are very inexpensive for the most part. Meaning they are affordable!Continue reading“Kershaw CQC-4KXL-D2, by Pat Cascio”