Kershaw Emerson CQC-5K Liner Lock Knife Green G-10 vs Ontario RAT Model 2

The pocket clip on this knife is made of steel which appears to be twice as thick as on other Kershaw folders. The clip is so stiff that I cannot clip it to my pocket without tearing the fabric! Kershaw needs to monitor their Chinese factories better so that material substitutions like this cannot be made. The clip on my CQC-6K appears to be the same pattern, but has the correct tension. Kershaw should provide a replacement clip to all owners of the CQC-5K!

Get an Ontario Rat in D2 steel, a bottle of mineral oil from the pharmacy, a lansky turnbox, and a set of Wiha torx bits with a driver.

The drawbacks are what you'd expect from a sub-$30 chinese knife. It's significantly heavier than other knives in this size category, the G10 feels under-textured and cheap, the blade isn't perfectly centered, and the coating is no match for DLC. The knife came a bit stiff, but oiling the pivot and opening it many times seems to have remedied that. The lockup is quite late, but there is no sticking when releasing the lock bar

It doesn't cut paper, i actually tried to cut myself and it was like a bakery knife. I only gave 2 stars due to me liking the form factor of the knife, but it's a paper weight until I learn to sharpen D2.

I love the thickness and toughness of Emerson's usual blades and this knife just isn't that kind of tough blade. Tough enough, given the price, but,.. Cheap steel and thin means I'd break it soon enough

But now for the bad things- first, the price that they are asking for is WAY TO HIGH- I could find this exact knife on other websites at a price way lower (40% lower than what I paid). The 2nd problem relates to the knife, a few weeks after I bought it I saw rust forming on the blade. Not a lot of rust, I took some steel wool to it and that removed the rust, but it rusted too easily for me to feel comfortable neglecting the knife. I live in a dry place and but it had been raining before I noticed the rust, so maybe the moisture in the air played a role

Like i said Emerson design is the true business. The blade itself was sharp but i like SHARP, SHARP. So with a little work on a strop with some diamond jewelers rouge from tandy leather it shaves.

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I bought this after a lot of deliberation because I am PICKY about my knives, and I am not the least bit disappointed. I have been carrying it for a couple weeks now and it's still just as sharp and good looking as it was out of the box, that's after using it on a variety of things that I expected to dull and scratch it. I do have to point out that the belt clip is the strongest flat spring I have ever seen and is so good at holding on to fabric that it can even aid you in retaining your knife should somebody try to snatch it from your pocket without knowing *exactly* how to get it out.

I've had other thumb stud opening knives that opened fully much more robustly. That said, I may have to tune it a bit and exercise it until it wears in. Overall, though, a nicely made knife.

Some people had posted that their main quarrel with this one was the thickness of the handle. I figured I'd give it a shot anyway. OOPS. I like Kershaw products but there is always something just a little off about their design

The handle on the Rat II features the same robust design of it’s bigger brother. You have plastic scales over full stainless liners with pillar (or “flow through”) construction. It is simple and effective. I also like the choice of handle colors and the black hardware