Kershaw Emerson CQC-2K Not Cool!

[@RubleInnawoods]

Proof that grind angle matters

[@JuandelaCruz001]

Exactly! Except for the hole opener, unless carefully designed with regards to actual cutting, thumb disks and pegs can hamper it's performance (especially with such a short blade length).

[@dseednorwayn47]

got the 1k and 6k myself and they work great when drawn from the pocket.. think ill stay away from the 2k, but still be testing out them others as well. You planning on testing out the zero tolerance emerson collaboration btw?

[@gideonstactical]

dseedNo I will not be reviewing the emerson zero tolerance model.

[@MrJsv650]

Thank you for putting your time into these videos helps a ton when looking at a big bunch like these k/e.

[@CliffStamp]

While I appreciate the insight about the disk placement and how it effects the blade utility on such a short knife, some of the criticisms are a bit exaggerated. It would not take hours and hours for example to adjust the edge angle. The angle could be flattened right to the primary grind in just 10-15 minutes with a ~$15 coarse stone stone. A lot of the early demonstrations also show a very low sharpness such as when it fails to cut the cardboard and rope. While the thickness of the blade is an influence in how much force it takes to push the knife through cardboard for example, as the cardboard is actually tearing it shows the knife is fairly dull. I realize that it was noted to be "shaving" however knives can be over stropped and thus shave but cut very poorly.

[@stevenb9548]

Over stropped?! You sir, are an idiot.

[@CliffStamp]

Steven B Yes, for clarity, stropping tends to round the edge due to the material conforming and wrapping around the apex and thus rounding it. This is immediately visible if the knife is stropped at the same angle it is sharpened as it can be seen that the leather (for example) is deforming across the apex. There are ways to deal with this of course, see for example the work that Clay has done on the WE forum showing how to strop without having this happen.

[@tlc1337]

Part of the issue could be thickness behind the edge. The small saber grind cant be thin behind the edge. And people who aren't used to regrinding blades can take a long time to do it. It takes me much longer than 15 minutes to regrind anything, and I use a norton economy to do it because I don't do it often, and I have to be careful while doing it. There's also a noticeable recurve on the blade, and that can complicate sharpening.

[@mrcraig5872]

I bought mine and totally didn't like it. I was so excited for the collaboration but no..Everything you said about the knife you were dead on. I just put my away and chalked it up to just because it looks cool doesn't mean it will be. At least it didn't break my bank. Love the vids man. I'm totally digging the channel.

[@gideonstactical]

Ricky Craig Thanks so much!

[@SailfishSoundSystem]

Good review. I bought two of the CQC 5-Ks. One came dull and the thumb stud had a nice gap between it and the blade. The other one was fine. They both deploy with the wave feature fairly easily. They sharpen easily on my crock stick.

[@XjDrZ]

I was wondering if you were ever gonna do a review on the Husqavarna camp axe I know it's total off hand

[@gideonstactical]

RedBeard109 I got it for christmas. There will be a review coming in march or april.

[@Elrond_Hubbard1]

This reminds me of some of the Gerber knives from Wal Mart , thick , bad grinds , and a pain in the arse to get workable.

[@Countryprepper]

It sucks to do a review with negativity, but I would have done the same. The design is just all wrong on the blade and especially that thumb disk.That thick of a blade with a hollow grind needs to be much closer to the spine to be effective. Like you said, much better options out there for the price.

[@davidbanning9095]

Hey man I subscribed to your channel. I love your gear and knife reviews. Watched your tom brown tracker review. I was thinking of buying the knife at one point but saw that tom brown tracker 2 which looks like a smaller more versatile knife since you made mention to the weight of the tracker in your review. thats if I remember correctly. Do you have any thoughts on the rest of the smaller knives that are of that style? By the love channel you are doing awesome work.

[@doctordelts7811]

Damn Gideon, you looking good with the beard

[@ayeapprove]

I've got a CQC-2K and a CQC-6K. The 2k is just too small and the framelock is a pain in the ass to disengage. I love the 6k on the other hand. Smoth action and framelock, great blade!

[@jets1230]

I talked to Scott at kershaw about this post and his exact words is you're irrelevant and can't use a knife. All I need to know.

[@903lew]

I get the feeling that both Kershaw and Emerson overreached with releasing 10 (!) modell in one batch. This is typical of a rush job, a bit more testing would have solved all of these problems. Good review.

[@jameshill6872]

It appears to be more suited to be a lightweight self defense knife which is what it is. All other considerations are second in it's design. The iffy wave feature would be more of a concern for me. It seems more of a backup weapon to a gun or larger knife or even pepper spray.

[@eyeker_8422]

Was about to buy this!!!

[@Oldwheelgun]

Over an 1/8 inch thick you say? You said blade is 0.12 but an 1/8 as a decimal is 0.125?

[@joshuajacob6402]

I would have to agree with you, Aaron. I bought the CQC-2K prior to this video and I did not like the 2K either. I returned that knife and got a CQC-5K and I am Much happier with the performance of the blade and the wave feature actually works compared to the 2K. I had the same problem with the wave feature on the 2K as well. I was very disappointed with the 2K design. Thank you for being honest, Aaron and I respect your opinions in this video.

[@gideonstactical]

Thank you for your support and I am glad I am not the only one that had an issue!

[@AerodynamicBrick]

i actually tried to remove the thumb disk and add add a hole to open my cqc-7k and i liked the way it fills but it is the ugly girl on the block

[@shotokido678]

I'm not surprised. When they first released these, I doubted that either the 1K or the 2K would be viable, for precisely the reasons you specify. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised when you did the 1K review and found that it was so practical, but the 2K is even shorter in blade length, and has a shorter grind, so it figures that it sucks at cutting.

[@deadbeatbillionaires]

This is what happens when companies make knives for money and not basic functionality. Knife making has been around too long to f- up, there are only so many successful designs, 500 knife companies can make every single year.

[@lax5939]

OK now I am concerned!!!! I just bought this knife yesterday.I really like the Kershaw brand as I own a few.

[@JDStone20]

Let me start out by saying I like your channel, , your videos, and appreciate the time and effort you put in your work. But every now and again, we all have an off day. I believe that most of the problems you had with the knife where from your own personal preference of what makes a good knife, which is fine, but that doesn't make a knife bad, just that it doesn't suit you, which is also fine, but I believe you should make that clear in the future. Another thing is about the sharpness of the knife. You clearly demonstrate the decent cutting ability of the knife, and although it doesn't meet your standard of how a knife should cut, once again, that is a personal preference. Also, shaving is a very limited expression of a knives ability to slice, it is more a sign that is can push cut. If you over strop or over buff a knife, it will still shave, but will have trouble slicing. You also state that it would take hours to reprofile the knife to a satisfactory level of cutting. We all exaggerate from time to time, with a simple stone you can reprofile and edge to a better angle that will cut better. If you were referring to regrinding the whole primary bevel, that can be time consuming but is often unnecessary for normative cutting ability, all that is required is a properly formed cutting edge. Concerning the placement of the thumbdisk, the thumbdisk is actually very small and when slicing, shouldn't effect in such a manner as you describe. It is placed a quarter of the way up the blade, but it is definitely not as big as it sounds how you phase it. I am not trying to be overly critical or in fact critical at all, I just believe the problems you experienced with the knife are not only simple, but mostly based on what you prefer in a knife, which is fine, but again that doesn't make it a bad knife. You did good reviews of the other knives in this line, and seemed to like the knives, but that also doesn't make it a good knife, either. Just like everyone has different sized hands, so one knife handle might fit one persons hand perfect, and might be too big or too small for another, it doesn't make the handle bad or good. We all deserve a Mulligan! Keep up the good work! Thank you!

[@emtp1013]

I purchased this at a gun show along with the kershaw cryo. First off the knife wdid not center when closed and when open it had too much play even after tighting the head screw, not impressed at all with this, and the wave feature I feel is to small and does not catch on my pocket all the time. The spyderco endura with the wave feature is much better at deploying out of my pocket. The cryo is a much better knife at the $30 dollar price point. A waist of $30 bucks.

[@stevemartin4696]

Use a box cutter for cardboard, or cut the tape and open the top f

[@jamesw.6849]

Take the disc off problem solved

[@kenmarapese9085]

Good vid, bad thumb disk!

[@pyzik200]

Haven't really liked any of the Emerson/Kershaw collaboration.

[@DamionJR4923]

Thumb disks suck. Spyderco hole is a much better design.

[@jerryjackson7787]

I really love many of the knives that Kershaw has released over the years and I am looking forward to a couple of their recently announced models. Still, in the last couple of years Kershaw has released several knives that have "questionable" design elements. Sure, "different strokes for different folks" but when you're talking about knives and other tools your design choices should make using the tool easy and "intuitive." Any design choice that forces users stop and think about using the tool in a different (or counter-intuitive) way is at the very least "questionable."