manufacturing founded 1996 ; 20 years ago 1996 headquarters torrance california key people ernest emerson founder & president products knives revenue us 10 million number of employees 20 25 website www.emersonknives.com emerson knives inc. is an american company that produces knives and related products . it was founded in 1996 by custom knifemaker ernest emerson in an effort to mass produce his folding knife designs for the u.s. military and collector markets . contents 1 history 2 products 2.1 list of knife models 3 collaborations 4 references 5 external links history edit in february 1996 custom knifemaker ernest emerson and his wife mary founded emerson knives inc. also referred to as eki in torrance california to manufacture knives on a larger scale than a custom knifemaker was capable . this new company would be a distinct entity from his specwar lineup of custom knives although several of emerson s custom designs have made their way into production . 1 four years after starting this venture emerson sold an entire year s worth of production in four hours at the shot shooting hunting and outdoor trade show in january 2000 . 2 products edit emerson commander emerson knives primarily manufactures tactical folding knives utilizing the walker linerlock . eki most commonly machines blades of crucible s 154cm steel by using the stock removal method . small runs of knives have been produced utilizing steels such as cpm s30v steel and titanium with a carbide edge . the handles are constructed with titanium liners g10 fiberglass scales and a g10 backspacer . since 2009 eki has been using a stainless steel liner on the non locking side in order to keep costs down . the most common models are the cqc 7 commander sark karambit raven and the specwar . the majority of emerson s folding knives are equipped with the wave a hook on the spine of the blade originally designed as a blade catcher which when snagged on the edge of the pocket or sheath causes the knife blade to open as it is drawn . 3 emerson called this innovation the wave and secured a patent for it in march 1999 . 4 the company makes a small variety of fixed blade knives . these models include the police utility knife puk emerson s version of fred perrin s la griffe and a dagger . 3 production knives made by the company differ from emerson s custom knives by the logo on the blade which reads emerson knives inc. sometimes the model number is found on the blade with a date and a serial number . additionally custom knives made by emerson have dual titanium liners and handles made from linen micarta with titanium bolsters . emerson knives inc. s primary focus is on the military and police markets . there is a large secondary market of collectors as there is with most knife companies . 3 in may 2013 a non custom factory made emerson cqc 7 knife carried by the navy seal who served as point man on the mission to kill or capture osama bin laden was auctioned off for charity netting over 25 000 . 5 list of knife models edit model description blade length blade profile handle material overall length year introduced specwar the first model debuted by the company a linerlock folding version of the specwar knife designed by emerson in collaboration with timberline knives . 3.5 tanto or spearpoint g10 scales titanium liners 7.5 1996 raven the second model made by emerson knives made with kraydon handles fiberglass and a recessed linerlock . 3.5 tanto or spearpoint kraydon scales titanium liners 7.5 1997 cqc 7 emerson s first custom design to enter the production lineup . 3.5 tanto or spearpoint g10 scales titanium liners 7.5 1997 commander designed as a sere knife based on the es1 m the first model to feature emerson s wave shaped opening device . 3.75 recurve g10 scales titanium liners 8.8 1998 sark a search and rescue knife with a blunt tip designed for the us navy . 3.5 wharncliffe with blunt tip g10 scales titanium liners 8.2 1998 psark a version of the sark with a pointed tip designed for law enforcement use . 3.5 wharncliffe g10 scales titanium liners 8.2 1998 blackbird a standard linerlock and g10 handle version of the raven . 3.5 tanto or spearpoint g10 scales titanium liners 7.5 1999 mach 1 max 1 originally called the mach 1 it was renamed the max 1 in 2004 . 3.5 spearpoint g10 scales titanium liners 8.2 1999 puk police utility knife a fixed blade designed for law enforcement . 3.5 spearpoint or tanto kraydon handles replaced by g10 slabs on 2007 and later models 8.2 1999 la griffe a fixed blade designed for law enforcement based on a fred perrin design . 1.75 claw shape bare metal 4.9 1999 la griffe wwr a fixed blade designed for white water rafting based on a fred perrin design . 1.75 claw shape blunt tip fully serrated blade bare metal 4.9 1999 nasa knife a version of the specwar with a guthook designed for nasa for use on shuttle missions and the iss . 3.5 tanto g10 scales titanium liners 7.5 2000 i & i tanto a folding tanto designed for martial arts company i & i sports . 4 tanto g10 scales titanium liners 8.2 2000 socfk a version of the specwar with the wave shaped opening device designed for extreme outfitters . 3.5 tanto or spearpoint g10 scales titanium liners 7.5 2001 mini commander a scaled down version of the commander folding knife . 3.4 recurve g10 scales titanium liners 8 2001 mini cqc 7 a scaled down version of the cqc 7 folding knife . 3 tanto or spearpoint g10 scales titanium liners 7 2001 super cqc 7 a scaled up version of the cqc 7 folding knife . 3.78 tanto g10 scales titanium liners 9.15 2002 combat karambit a folding version of the indonesian karambit knife 2.6 curved g10 scales titanium liners 6.8 2002 super commander a scaled up version of the commander folding knife originally a tad gear exclusive . 4 recurve g10 scales titanium liners 9.5 2003 cqc 8 a knife based on bob taylor s warrior knife and bill moran s st 23 designed in 1994 for navy seals . the first production version made in 2002 was part of a collaboration with surefire flashlights . 3.8 sabre profile g10 scales titanium liners 9.3 2003 cqc 10 a bull nosed folding knife . the first version was part of a collaboration with heckler & koch . 3.6 bull nose g10 scales titanium liners 8.5 2003 cqc 11 aka utcom aka blackhawk a kukri shaped blade . the first version was part of a collaboration with blackhawk tactical . 4.1 kukri recurve g10 scales titanium liners 9.275 2003 persian based on an earlier fixed blade custom knife the first version of this folder was an exclusive to emerson collectors . 4.1 upswept g10 scales titanium liners 9.6 2003 cqc 12 originally designated the comrade military folder emerson s first framelock design based on the ak 47 pattern bayonet . 3.9 clip point g10 scales titanium liners 8.85 2004 cqc 13 a folding bowie knife . 3.85 clip point g10 scales titanium liners 9 2004 cqc 14 a full sized handle with a shorter blade designed for jurisdictions with prohibitions on knife blades greater than 3 . 2.7 spearpoint tanto and recurve g10 scales titanium liners 7.6 2004 nsar a version of the sark with a linecutter designed for naval air rescue units . 3.5 wharncliffe g10 scales titanium liners 8.2 2006 cqc 15 a recurved tanto blade folding knife . 3.9 recurved tanto g10 scales titanium liners 8.9 2007 edc tanto a folding tanto designed for edc knives . 4 tanto g10 scales titanium liners 8.2 2007 cqc 16 a non recurved clip point commander designed as a hunting skinning knife . 4 clip point g10 scales titanium liners 8.2 2007 horseman a scaled down version of the cqc 8 . 3.4 sabre profile g10 scales titanium liners 8.35 2007 mini cqc 15 a recurved tanto blade folding knife . 3.5 recurved tanto g10 scales titanium liners 8 2008 a 100 a spearpoint folding knife based on an early custom design . 3.6 spearpoint g10 scales titanium liners 8.4 2008 super cqc 8 a scaled up version of the cqc 8 . 4.3 g10 scales titanium liners 10.2 2009 mini a 100 a downsized version of the a 100 . 3 spearpoint g10 scales titanium liners 7.2 2009 super raven a scaled up version of the raven . 3.9 g10 scales titanium liners 9.3 2009 gentleman jim a folding clip point named for boxing champion jim corbett . 3.75 clip point g10 scales titanium liners 8.55 2010 roadhouse a folding tanto based on the earlier custom warrior fixed blade . 3.8 tanto g10 scales titanium liners 8.9 2010 ubr commander a scaled up version of the super commander . 4.4 recurve g10 scales titanium liners 9.35 2010 collaborations edit emerson knives has collaborated with other companies on knife related projects . in 2002 emerson knives collaborated with gerber knives to create both companies first automatic opening knife the gerber emerson alliance . 6 in that same year emerson knives collaborated with surefire flashlights by making an exclusive cqc8 banana knife numbered and marked with the surefire logo and sold with an identically numbered emerson marked centurion c2 combatlight . in 2005 emerson knives collaborated with andy prisco the ceo of the american tomahawk company to produce the cqc t tomahawk . this tomahawk features a curved head machined from 4140 steel with a rear spike and a lightweight fiberglass handle . although not made by emerson the tomahawk was designed by him . 7 in september 2010 emerson knives announced a collaboration with pro tech knives to produce an automatic opening version of the cqc 7 . in november 2010 emerson s roadhouse knife won knives illustrated s american made knife of 2010 2011 award at the spirit of steel show in knoxville tn . according to emerson the knife will be used as a prop on the sons of anarchy television show . 8 references edit dick steven 1997 the working folding knife stoeger publishing company pp. 154 159 isbn 978 0 88317 210 0 hopkins cameron 2000 the worse it gets the better we like it american handgunner magazine 25 157 92 93 a b c shackleford steve 1997 . cutler of fortune . blade magazine . 27 10 . emerson ernest r. self opening folding knife . us patent . retrieved december 31 2006 . piccione mike . navy seal auctions knife from bin laden raid . the daily caller . retrieved 15 may 2013 . karwan chuck 2003 automatic success tactical knives 9 6 50 54 steele david e. 2005 wedged edges at war blade magazine 32 9 12 18 searson mike 2011 04 01 . the best knives of g2 . blade . fw media inc. 37 5 80 84 . external links edit official website patent for the wave v t e knives and daggers list of daggers list of blade materials types of knives aircrew survival egress knife athame balisong butterfly ballistic ballpoint pen knife bayonet boline bolo boning boot knife bowie bread knife cane knife cheese knife chef s knife cleaver clip point combat knife commander corvo cqc 6 deba b ch diving knife drop point electric knife fairbairn sykes fighting knife gerber mark ii ginsu grapefruit knife gravity knife gunong hunting knife jacob s ladder karambit k la kirpan kitchen knife kukri laguiole knife machete mandau mezzaluna misericorde mora knife multi tool nakiri b ch navaja neck knife nontron knife opinel knife palette knife pantographic knife parang penknife penny knife pocket knife putty knife puukko rampuri resolza sabatier sami knife santoku sark scalpel seax sgian dubh sharpfinger shiv sliding knife smatchet