|
Thursday, August 30, 2007
  Most of us who frequent the knife forums are knife collectors or users. I'm sure that for each and everyone of us, there must be that one particular knife which you like the most. It may not be the most expensive piece, nor the most highly embellished among your collection, but for some reason or other, that knife is special to you. How often have we as collectors-users paused before we left the house, as the voices in our heads debated as to which knife we should carry out for the day to serve us, to protect us, and basically to fill our desire to carry one or two of our favourite toys to accompany us for the day, and many a times returned to carrying the faithful old knife out for yet another day?. For me, that knife is my custom cqc8. Perhaps what i'm about to say here isn't new, but i just wanted to share about this particular knife in my humble collection. I got the 8 sometime this year from a fellow forumite Spyken, and when i first laid my hands on it, it was truely love at first touch. Somehow the heft of the knife made me acutely aware that this was a substantial evolution of mankind's oldest tool. The heft also made me appreciate the girth of the liners, and led me to understand that this knife was meant to carry its user through a lifetime. True to the company motto, the knife really reflected the philosophy of being crafted as one of "The Number 1 Hard Use Knives In The World". Then i thumbed the blade open, and was equally blown away by how solid the engagement of the lock was. The blade itself was a beauty too. Chisel ground on one side, it gave the blade a very sleek, elegant appearance to it. I know the cqc 8 was designed as an ergonomically correct combat knife, but to be honest, the beautiful curves of the sleek upwept saber-shaped blade reminded me more of a sleek hunter, or a skinner. In a sense it did not possess a brutish look to it which is what i'd have expected of a "Combat" knife, but rather it had elegance and poise to it. The fact that the blade was scapel sharp to first touch came as no surprise to me as I had had the joy of owning a zero-ground; chisel edged cqc9 already, and i had come to expect that kind of hair-splitting edge from a custom-made tool from Ernie. What surprised me was how perfectly balanced the knife felt, and how comfortable it was to hold given that i have rather small hands (even by Asian standards). A friend of mine had once tried this experiment on me whereby he asked me to close my eyes, with my left hand outstretched (FYI i'm a left-hander). He then placed an opened knife in my hand, with the guard just ahead of my index finger, as how i would hold the knife in saber-grip, but without closing my fingers on the handle. The knife balanced perfectly, and i hardly felt the additional weight of the knife, and my fingers curled around the handle perfectly. That was then, with a Bob Loveless hunter, and it has been the way i judge knives nowadays. Needless to say, i performed the same test with the cqc 8, and the joy of re-living the experience of holding a perfectly balanced knife, and then curling my fingers comfortably around the rounded handles was indescribable. Then i knew i had to have this knife, and that was that. A few months down the road, to where i am now, seated at starbucks by the river; facing the sea, and still the cqc 8 is with me as i speak. It has been through much with me, having travelled with me abroad twice, and having had been in my pockets as my daily carry piece ever since the day i bought it (not withstanding the time it left me for a refurb). The edge is once again keen and sharp, having just come back from a refurb by its maker, Ernie Emerson. I love it as much as the first day i held it. I have a soft spot for bolstered knives as i feel that bolsters give the knife a more classic look to it, as well as provide it with an slight additional heft that makes its presence felt in the hand. This knife is mine, and it's here to stay. Someday, many years down the road, i will pass this knife to my kid, and i will teach him how to appreciate the beauty of the blade with this cqc 8. I sure hope that by then, i would have had gotten more pieces from Ernie, so that my child has a greater variety to choose from when he decides to make one of Ernie's customs his own EDC. Thank you Mr Ernest Emerson for making such fine blades that we can tout, and call our own and to be our silent partner as we go through each day in life. That's all. Cheers and Regards, Nick
++ quoth dragonfly at 2:00 AM |