Reviewed 11/22/2013 by Dante
Overall
Quality
Ergonomics
Value
-Price Paid: $135.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year
Comments:
The Emerson PSARK is a model that many do not have familiarity with. Most people that have them typically have the SARK version, not the PSARK version in which the point is rounded off as an emergency rescue knife to cut clothing off of injured areas who sustained injury or cutting yourself free from restraints. The P in the title stands for "pointed" in which it is sharpened to the tip and very pointy. It is a mix between a hawk and wharncliffe blade shape and due to it, makes an excellent self defense blade. It has enough geometry to slice and is not so curved that it is only limited to slashing. It should pierce in thrusting without much effort. The steel is the same in all Emersons, 154CM. I have been able to put a very sharp edge that surpasses the factory edge with a Spyderco pocket stone and have maintained it since I have owned and used the knife. The wave works well and the finish is attractive with its bead blast. I have never had it develop rust, only discoloration from standard use. The wear on the knife has been minimal as I preserve the edge for defense yet will use it for utility which, it does well at. The clip is fantastic and of all my knives, Emerson puts a great looking and strong yet enough tension on its clips to make the knife easily accessible. The only thing I have had to do with this knife once was Blue Loctite the pivot screw to keep the tension in pivot screw from loosening. Since then, knife has worked flawless. I have had different models of Emersons and while I usually fondle the rest as safe queens, I decided to actually use one and chose this model to see how it holds up. It is a strong knife, but every knife has its limits. If you try to baton with it or wedge it in a door frame for tactical entry, don't expect it to have the same lock up it did when it was new. My friend ended up destroying a CQC13 I gifted him long ago. Of course he is abusive of his gear in that he neglects his tools and frequently breaks them. I believe you can use the knife hard and it will serve you well, but don't have the expectations that you can dig through tree roots and rocks to set a foundation for a log cabin in which you intend to use the knife to cut down the trees with. Overall, I recommend this model if you want a reliable tool for social work.
