It's all about knives

2007-08-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

2007-03-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

Hahaha...that's Me, and my 2 custom Emerson knives!..the newest being the CQC8, the bigger knife in the first picture.

Cheers,
knifeknut

2007-02-26T07:17:00.000-08:00

WoohoO!...

I have this knife coming in 3 weeks time!..Emerson CQC 7, Diamond Logo'ed, Zero Grind Tanto blade...this rocks!

Cheers!
knifeknut!

2007-02-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

Above are pictures of my dream knife..
Ernie Emerson Custom Full-Dress CQC 6!!..No-Date SPECWAR logo'ed, Damascus Blade, Satin Hardware, Polished Titanium Bolsters, and Brilliant Mother-Of-Pearl Handle slabs!!...What else could one ask for??

Oh well, Can't afford that piece now though.. Will be saving for one soon though..haha...currently, i have 2 pieces coming in, not exactly sure which one i will end up with though. First piece is a Custom Diamond-Logo'ed CQC 7, Bolstered, and with thick liners, and Micarta Handle slabs, thanks to Spyken!..The second piece is a piece i'm bidding for on E-Bay, and as of now, i'm the current high bidder at US$1026. That is a Custom SPECWAR logo'ed CQC 6....and is a true LEFTY!!...

*Southpaws Unite!!*

Well, I'm not too sure which one i will eventually end up with, but just gotta say that knife wise, things are looking good!...

p.s: I've also got Satin hardware being shipped in from Ernie, to replace the faded BT hardware on my CQC 9..I simply love the CQC 9!...it rawks as an EDC...haha...the kids prefer my Super-Commander though..because of the Wave feature..

Cheers!
damselfly

2006-12-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

30K worth of Ken Onion Knives stolen!

Somewhere between Hawaii and a show in California, Ken Onion's knifebag was stolen. 12 knives costing an average of $2500 average each at Ken's prices i.e: 30k worth of knives. The aftermarket would be more like 75-100k. There is a link up on the USN, as well as the Badlands Forums about it. Here's a picture, should anyone see anything resembling this, give a Holler!..Keep an eye out. Ken is one of the community!

Cheers,
Nick

2006-12-07T06:47:00.000-08:00

Some pictures of my latest acquisition in blades..I present to you the CQC9, also known as the Eagle.

Some information about this knife.

The maker is Ernest R. Emerson, Emerson. Ernie, as he is often affectionately called, is well known among elite military and police agencies throughout the world as their knifemaker of choice for the finest in tactical and hard use, edged weaponry. Based on the 27th Edition of "Annual Knives 2007", these are the characteristics of Ernie's knives. The tactical combat folding knife blades are generally are constructed out of ATS34, or 154cm, and have a Machine-Satin appearance. Handles are generally constructed of either of the following two options:

a): Black G-10 Handle Scales over Titanium Liner Lock and Liner;
b:) Titanium Bolsters + Green Linen Micarta over Titanium Liner Lock and Liner.

A brief history of the design for the CQC9 (Close Quarter Combat Model 9) folder. It was originally designed for the DEA who requested a crop harvesting blade which could be used as a weapon should the need arise. Of all the CQC folders, the CQC9 is the rarest of the series. The rarest CQC9 variant comes in the form of Black Hand-Sculpted Micarta Scales, Black-coated Blade, and with Serrations.

Well, I haven't had the time to do an in-depth review, but ever since getting it from "Spyken", I have been EDC-ing it everyday. Physically, the knife is rather small, compared to my EKI Super-Commander, but upon toting it for the past 1 month plus, i would say it makes an excellent EDC blade carried for SD. It compares favourably with one of my previous favourites, the MOD Ladyhawk.

In terms of the fit and finish, I am pretty much satisfied. The Blade is perfectly centred, and feels absolutely solid, with no lateral or vertical blade play. One nice touch i really appreciate is that the inner part of the Spyderhole is actually coated black, as are the 16 grooves on the thumb ramp. Liners are both beadblasted, and give the handles a nice warm look to them. My only gripe lies with the handle Pivot screws, and the handle screws. The paint always fades.. something which is common to Emerson knives, both Custom and Production alike. But other than that, i absolutely love this knife. Guess that kinda concludes my mini-review. Hope it was a good read!

Cheers,
Nick

2006-12-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

"My thoughts on People vs Sheeple"

Firstly, what are "Sheeple"?..Wikipedia defines it as such:

Sheeple is a term of disparagement, a portmanteau created by combining the words "sheep" and "people"; a reference to herd mentality. It is often used to denote persons who acquiesce (bow down) to authority, and thus undermine their own human individuality. The implication of sheeple is that people believe whatever they are told, without processing it to be sure that it is an accurate representation of the real world around them.

Well, in my context, "sheeple" include people who simply cannot grasp the concept that "the knife is the tool, and the mind is the weapon"..decidedly, as the years go by, i have become more reluctant to showing people my knives, or to a certain extent, even deny the fact that i do tote blades. In the post-911 era, having been branded(though often jokingly) as a "terrorist" isn't exactly a nickname i'd embrace..it just falls beyond our comprehension, as knife-collectors, as to how people can simply fail to see the fact that knives were, and are to this date mankind's oldest tool..it is instead the mind that has made them out as weapons, and society that has socialized generations into believing that this fallible statement is indeed a truth.

Recently, in the United Kingdom, there has been an active push to "disarm" society by encouraging citizens to dispose of knives, which are branded as tools of mass destruction..what hogwash!..in fact, the laws of Britain have led me to question the credibility of its rulers. At present, the laws of Britain states the following:

"Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 currently prohibits the possession of an article with blade [sic] or point in public without good reason or lawful authority, with the exception of a folding pocket-knife with a blade not exceeding three inches. It would be for an individual to demonstrate that he had good reason to possess a knife, for example for work, fishing or other sporting purposes, in a public place"

3 For a knife to be a folding pocket-knife within the meaning of this section, it must be readily and immediately foldable at all times, simply by the folding process. A lock-knife, which required a further process, namely activating a trigger mechanism to fold the blade back into the handle, was held not to be a folding pocket-knife (Harris v DPP [1993] 1 All ER 562); followed in R v Deegan [1998] Crim LR 562,[1998] 2 Cr App Rep 121.

Well, it seems to me that the Locking mechanism of a folding knife renders it the capacity to inflict greater percieved harm. This clearly goes to show how little the law setters know about knives. Any knife user or collector would be able to quickly tell you that the sole purpose of the lock is to function as a safety mechanism, to prevent the accidental closure of the blade onto the fingers wrapped around the handle. How rational these parliamentarians are (sarcasm intended)..

My next point lies on how irrational and unpredictable Non-Knife collectors can sometimes be.

recdently, i read a post on the forums relating to how a man had had his USD1,300 knife abused by people who clearly had no idea of what the sole purpose of the knife was. Wikipedia defines knives as such:

"A knife is a sharp-edged hand tool used for cutting."

Why then is it that seemingly rational people would use a knife as a prybar to pop open beer can bottle tabs; and worse, to bounce it off a brick wall just to see how it performs?..in view of these acts of total irrationality, it leads me to ponder "did ape precede man?..or did man precede ape?" with this i end my first post...hope it was an interesting read..

All God's Critters have Knives

(quoted from Spyderco INC)

Nick.

2006-11-23T21:29:00.000-08:00

What this blog is all about:

A short introduction to myself, I'm a collector of knives, both production and custom. I've been collecting and carrying knives for almost 10 years. I shall use this blog to post my reflections on carrying a particular knife, and/or the use of it. On top of that, I shall also focus on the aesthetic aspects of the blade, and shall view it from a collector's/investor's perspective.

Coming soon:
Review of the Emerson Specwar CQC9 (Custom)

Cheers,
tensixteen