[BRabbit]

I have a mid-90s CQC-7 collaboration between Mr. Emerson and Benchmade (good knife, no problems, I'm very impressed with it - details as I recall from the 1990s regarding the knife were 154CM steel IIRC, tanto, non-combo blade, chisel ground on one side, 50,000lbs tensile tested blade, zytel handles, hex-screws with allen wrench needed on blade and clip to adjust, titanium liner lock, etc) and am thinking of purchasing a newer Emerson version the the knife (EMERSON CQC-7 TANTO 3.3" B-T COMBO).

My questions are as follows:
(1) What changes have been made to the new knife from the one I now own?
(2) What was the reason for these changes (i.e.: What improvements were gained by the changes)?

Thank you.

[Ernest Emerson]

Dear BRabbit,

Although the Benchmade/CQC-7 was a fine and reliable knife, we did make several changes to the knife. Basically, the overall shape is the same. I will list our changes as follows;

1. Bigger Pivot Bolt diameter, We used .250 diameter.

2. Thicker G-10 handles with enhanced grip surface, (Benchmade also used G-10 not zytel).

3. G-10 backspacer on Emerson -- Plastic on Benchmark.

4. Longer stop pin on Emerson, extending past the liners and into the handle G-10.

5. "Normal" hardware -- slotted and philips head for ease of disassembly and cleaning.

6. Backspacer screws are screwed into metal (the opposite liner) not G-10 as on the Benchmade.

7. Benchmade's Warranty was voided if the knife was taken apart. All Emersons carry lifetime warranties.

8. It was designed by Emerson, it is built by Emerson and therefore is now subject to the standards defined by Emerson.

Thats it in a nutshell.

My Best Regards,

Ernest R. Emerson

[BRabbit]

Thank you very much for the information Sir, I'll be picking one up soon to add to my older CQC-7 and to pass down to my sons one day.

[BRabbit]

I managed to pick up the only one in stock at knifecenter.com today - thanks for the info. As soon as I made my purchase they went back to back-order status.

EM7BSFSW Emerson CQC7 Wave Tanto Blade Satin/Stone Washed Finished Combo 3.4"" Blade

I think the next one may be the "Super CQC-7 model" with the larger blade.