Commander (knife)

Commander
"Emerson Commander"
Type	Folding Knife
Place of origin	Torrance, California, USA
Service history
In service	US Navy
Used by	Navy SEALs
Wars	War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Production history
Designer	Ernest Emerson
Designed	1997
Manufacturer	Emerson Knives, Inc.
Produced	1998 through present
Number built	3,000+
Variants	ES1-M, ES1-C, Super Commander, Mini Commander, Micro Commander, Waveless Commander, Thumbless Commander, SSDS, CQC16
Specifications
Length	8.8"
Blade length	3.75"

Blade type	Recurve
Hilt type	G-10 laminate and 64AVL Titanium
Scabbard/sheath	Pocket Clip

The Commander (knife) is a large recurve folding knife made by Emerson Knives, Inc. that was based on a custom design, the ES1-M, by Ernest Emerson that he originally built for a West Coast Navy SEAL Team.^[1] It was winner of the Blade Magazine Overall Knife of the Year Award for 1999.^[2]

History

The Commander has its origins with Emerson's CQC-8 or "Banana" folding fighting knife based on the Bob Taylor Warrior Knife and the Bill Moran ST-23: a knife designed with the blade in line for reverse grip or sabre grip fighting.^[3] This knife became popular among the British SAS and the US Navy SEALs,^[4]^[5] however the SEALs wanted something more aggressive so Emerson developed the SSRT(Silent Sentry Removal tool) model: a larger, hooked blade with a serrated, doubled-edged spine.^[3] This blade's profile resembled the horn of a Rhinoceros and its more popular name is the Rhino.^[6] The blade folded below the level of the handle scales so the user could not be cut by this extra edge, a small hole drilled through both handle scales and liners allowed the blade to be held in place so it would not open on a parachute jump and cause harm to the operator.^[3] Although the knife functioned perfectly in the field, its final design was too specific for the Navy.^[3]^[6]

During this same period, Emerson was working on a SERE (Survival, Escape, Resistance, and Evasion) folding knife for troops at Fort Bragg. When officers from Naval Special Warfare saw this knife they felt that with a few small changes such as the addition of a blade-catcher, it would suit their needs: the final result was dubbed the ES1-M.^[3]^[6] A civilian version was made and called the ES1-C; this model did not include the blade-catcher.^[3]

In field-testing it was realized that the blade-catcher would open the knife when drawn from the pocket.^[6]^[7] Emerson modified this design and secured a patent for it in March 1999.^[8] This mechanism is known as the Wave and the knife was added to the production line of Emerson's new factory and was called "The Commander".^[1] The Commander was the winner of the Blade Magazine Overall Knife of the Year Award for 1999.^[9]

The Emerson Commander was the third model manufactured by Emerson Knives, Inc. The earliest run in 1998 is one of the most sought-after production models by collectors, as the majority of the work from waterjet cutting the liners to grinding the blades was performed by hand, by Emerson himself. In 2000, Emerson Knives offered a larger version based on the original size of the ES1-M and called it the "Super Commander" as well as a 10% downsized version dubbed the "Mini Commander". The first runs of Super Commanders were made as limited editions for Triple Aught Design (TAD) Gear of San Francisco and featured the company's logo on the reverse side of the blade. In 2005 the Super Commander became a regular model in the company's lineup.

In 2006 Emerson released a Commander with a larger clip-point blade and no recurve. This model was specifically made for the hunting market as a skinning knife. Its designation is the CQC-16. In 2009, at the annual Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia, Emerson announced a collaboration with Kershaw Knives to manufacture an automatic version of the Commander. At the 2010 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, NV, Emerson unveiled the UBR Commander, a 10% scaled-up version of the Super Commander.

Specifications

The Commander features a recurve shaped blade that is 3.75" long and hardened to a Rockwell hardness of 57-59 RC.^[1] The handle is 5.0" long making the knife 8.75" inches in length when opened.^[1] The blade steel is Crucible's 154 CM and is .125" thick, although CPM S30V steel, ATS-34, Damascus steel, and Titanium with a carbide edge have been used.^[1] The butt-end of the knife features a hole for tying a lanyard. Some models are made with partially serrated blades to aid in the cutting of seatbelts or webbing.^[1]

The handle material of the Commander is composed of two titanium liners utilizing a Walker linerlock and a double detent as the locking mechanism.^[1] The reasons for using titanium as a linerlock material were due to its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance.^[10] The handle's scales are made from black G-10 Fiberglass, although models were made for a few years utilizing green G-10 and limited runs have been made with a desert tan color. A pocket clip held in place by three screws allows the knife to be clipped to a pocket, web-gear, or MOLLE.

Each model is equipped with Emerson's Wave opening mechanism, aside from one-off versions that lacked it.^[1] The Wave is a small hook on the spine of the blade designed to catch the edge of a user's pocket. The blade opens as the knife is drawn.^[8]

The Mini Commander is built to the same specifications except the blade is 3.4" in length and 8.0" overall. Likewise, the Super Commander has a 4.0" blade and is 9.5" in overall length.

In the media

The Commander was featured in the short-lived UPN television series Soldier of Fortune, Inc.^[7] and was used by the character of Zak in the 1998 movie The Placebo Effect. The knife is written about in the military and spy novels of Dennis Chalker and Marcus Wynne.

SSDS (Rhino)

External links

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dick, Steven (1997). The Working Folding Knife. Stoeger Publishing Company. pp. 154–159. ISBN 978-0-88317-210-0
↑ Young, Robert W. (2000). "Knives of Emerson". Black Belt. Active Interest Media, Inc. 38 (10): 67. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Dick, Steven (1997).Emerson ES1-M Special OPS Survival Blade, Tactical Knives Magazine. Winter 1997
↑ "Le CQC-8 d'Emerson Knives", CIBLES Magazine, Issue #439,October 2006
↑ Guzy, Mark R. (2003)Testimony Before Nevada Assembly Judiciary Committee Minutes of the Meeting of the Nevada Assembly Committee on Judiciary Seventy-Second Session (2003-03-27). Retrieved 2009-05-12
1 2 3 4 Dockery, Kevin (2004). Weapons of the Navy SEALs. New York: Berkley. ISBN 0-425-19834-0.
1 2 Shackleford, Steve (1997). "Cutler of Fortune", Blade Magazine, October 1997
1 2 Emerson, Ernest R. "Self Opening Folding Knife". US Patent. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
↑ Shackleford, Steve (October 1999). "The Blade Magazine 1999 Knives of the Year". Blade Magazine: 27.
↑ "Titanium Alloys – Corrosion and Erosion Resistance". The AtoZ of Materials:Materials Information Service – The Selection and Use of Titanium, A Design Guide. Retrieved May 12, 2009.

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 bōchō 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 Kīla Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Mezzaluna Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Nakiri bōchō 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 SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Tomato knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Warrior knife X-Acto Yanagi ba Yatagan

Types of daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh naka Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Hachiwara Hunting dagger Janbiya Kaiken Kalis Kard Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Mark I trench knife Ocean Edge Knife Parrying dagger Poignard Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō Marine Raider stiletto V-42 stiletto Yarará Parachute Knife Yoroidōshi

Knife manufacturers	Aitor Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Bear MCG Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Caber Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Cutlery DOVO Solingen Dexter-Russell Dirte Knives Eikhorn Ek Commando Knife Co. Emerson Knives Erizo F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Füritechnics Gerber Legendary Blades Global Golok Hanwei Imperial Schrade J. A. Henckels Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives MercWorx Microtech Knives Morseth Murphy Knives Ontario Knife Company Opinel Pro-Tech Knives Randall Made Knives Ranz Rigid Knives Rösle SOG Specialty Knives Sabatier Aîné & Perrier Spyderco Strider Knives Survival Aids TEKNA Thiers Issard Tramontina Victorinox Vox Knives W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Walther arms Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Windlass Steelcrafts Wüsthof Yarara Ltd

Knifemakers	A.G. Russell American Bladesmith Society Rex Applegate James Black Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Phill Hartsfield Bill Harsey Jr. Gil Hibben Knifemakers' Guild Zanjan Knifemakers Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless Bob Lum William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler

Book:Knives and daggers Category:Knives / Daggers

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