Emerson Knives CQC7

Reviewed 12/01/2011 by WM

-Price Paid: $130.00
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

These comments will basically be the same for any Emerson brand knife, but the CQC-7 happens to the model I spend the most time with on a day to day basis. I'm a custom maker and work around knives on a day to day basis and have done my fair share of "pimp" or customization jobs on Emerson knives to know where they skimp on quality. I've had nearly every problem in the book with Emerson knives, from late liners out of the box to fatigued screws that caused the thumb disk to fly across the room during opening. I find the fit and finish to be subpar even to Chinese produced knives, to the degree where it's often hard to tell what's a genuine Emerson and what's a Chinese knock off. The materials for the price are vastly substandard, for 175$ you would expect better blade steel than 154CM and Emerson has cheapened the CQC-7 over the years, along with all their knives, to the point where only one liner is titanium anymore, and the other is just stainless steel. Beyond that I've hard problems with annealed blade tangs causing lockup problems, their G10 rips your pockets up, the wave causes the blade to deploy when you don't want it and it's not ambi friendly. I also find thumb plates difficult and slow to use. About the only good thing I can say about Emerson knives is they do hold their value, so when you eventually decide to get rid of the knife and get something better, you can do so without loosing a ton of money. Rule of thumb tho, never buy an Emerson new, they're just not worth it for the price and there are a ton of other better options. Given the money and the need for a hard use knife, I'd buy a Zero Tolerance, far superior quality and materials and still US made.

Reviewed 09/05/2011 by Joe

-Price Paid: $195.00
-Used for Self Defense
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

This is an exceptional knife, it has been my EDC knife and has had a place on my every day since I received it. The quality is top notch nothing on this knife can rust, mine has been through multiple swims through both salt and freshwater with no rust or corrosion.like all Emerson knives the price tag is unnecessarily high but the ergonomics are great this knife fits my hand perfectly. I cannot speak to the wave feature as mine came with out it, the b grind can be a pain at points but is easy to resharpen and holds a good edge. The pivot screw does come loose with use but can be tightened quickly and easily with almost anything because it is a simple flat head screw not some fancy torx screw. Overall my favorite knife

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Reviewed 03/03/2010 by Norton

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

The CQC7 is an icon that has a place in any collection of tactical knives. In use some aspects of the knife can be odd and some can be annoying. The materials used are good quality. The way Emerson finishes G10 is in my opinion outstanding. The perfect grip without being too aggresive. 154CM is a proven blade steel that performs well. The blocky handle looks like it would be uncomfortable but is actually fairly ergonomic. The wave feature is a cool idea that attracts many people to the CQC7. In practice though I found it less than ideal. It does not always work and relies on how you draw the knife as well as the type of pants you are wearing. Eventually I ground the wave off of my 7. The chisel grind tanto blade is quirky as well. When cutting certain material it pulls to the side, making a clean cut difficult. The blade is stout and could probably take more prying than a thinner chunk of steel. Lockup is solid but there is a little too much side to side flex for my taste. The pivot screw also has a habit of becoming loose fairly quickly. I solved this with a small drop of loctite. The CQC7 was a groundbreaking design back in its day. Any collection of tactical folders should have one. In EDC use though some will love it and some will hate it. On the value side of things Emersons are a little overpriced in my opinion. Many knives deliver more bang for the buck in that price range.