Emerson Hard Wear Traveler

Review by Phil
Elmore

Emerson‘s
“Hard Wear” line is an attempt to make Emerson knives more affordable
to the average buyer.
The typical Emerson tactical folder can cost around 100 USD or more,
which can be a bit steep. The Traveler model, by contrast,
carries a very reasonable price tag that should make it accessible to
almost anyone. Price is not this model’s foremost selling point,
however. It is, simply put, just a great little tactical
folder.

The Traveler
is a rocker-bar locking folder with a vaguely oval thumb hole in the
blade, which provides purchase for one-hand opening. The blade
has great belly for cutting and tapers to a needle-sharp point.
The cutting edge is ground on both sides, except for the serrated
section of the blade, which is chisel-ground. The knife is
configured for tip-up carry only, but the clip can be removed or
reversed for right- or left-hand carry.

Blade Length: 3 inches
Blade Steel: AUS 8
Closed Length: 4.1 inches
Handle Material: Textured Zytel (plastic)

The stainless steel pocket clip had
good tension out of the box and is neither too small nor too large
(much like the knife itself). It has a good upswept tip that
makes for easy replacement of the knife in your pocket or waistband.
The holes cut into the clip may reduce weight to some nominal
degree, but mostly they’re for appearance.

The Zytel handle is textured with something called Emerson’s “Aqua-Tread grip
pattern.” It provides very
good traction. The contours of the handle also afford a very positive
grip; a deep index finger indentation forms an integral guard, of
sorts, and there are grooves (really humps) in the handle behind the
blade and where your little finger rests in a forward grip. The
back of the blade itself has these same curved grooves. A thumb
ramp like this is a feature I always appreciate in a knife (which is my
personal preference and may not be yours). The handle also has a
lanyard hole.

The blade opens smoothly and locks
positively with no blade play. It was very, very sharp out of the
box, cutting well and penetrating deeply through and in test media like
stacked cardboard and plastic.

I love this knife. It’s extremely ergonomic, has excellent features that are desirable in
a self-defense and utility blade, and is neither too big nor too small
for the job it is intended to do. >>

<<
PhilElmore.com :: Go Home

The Martialist: For Those Who Fight Unfairly

Emerson Hard Wear Traveler

Leave a Reply Cancel reply