
What’s more tactical than a knife named after the world’s most prolific assault rifle? Bokerreceived the approval of Mikhail Kalashnikov, the father of the infamous Russian AK47 rifle, to build knives under the Kalashnikov name before his passing in 2013. The Military is rock solid but featherlight, a great slicing and piercing knife, and made from top notch materials. There’s also a “fluted titanium” military with intricately machined, contoured titanium scales (and a frame lock) for $225, but larger size and weight (5.6 ounces) doesn’t match the high-speed-low-drag ethos of tactical knives.
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Standard steel is CPM S30V for around $175, but you can also upgrade to CPM S110V and “blurple” G10 scales for $191.
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The Military’s blade shape is a long, thin fully flat ground clip point with a perfectly straight spine and a continuous curve to the edge that stretches out a full 4” compared to the PM2’s 3.4” blade. One odd thing about the Military: right hand tip down carry only, with a clip that spans the pivot screw. All of the hardware (including the lanyard hole) sits flush with the handles for a smooth grip as well.

The liners are nested inside the G10 scales and skeletonized, provide strength without weighing you down. It weighs so little by sweating the details. Stretching nearly 10 inches(!) from tip to butt when open yet only weight 4 ½ ounces, the Military packs a ton of blade into a pocketable package. But its big brother the Military is probably better suited to a tactical role, thanks largely due to its size. They’re not wrong of course the PM2 is my answer to that weird hypothetical “if you had to keep only one knife forever” question some people like to ask. Most knife nuts give the nod to the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 (colloquially referred to as the PM2) as the best EDC knife out there, capable of tackling big jobs and small with equal ease and polish. Carry is right hand tip-up only (tip up is the only way the Wave functions.) It’s not pretty, but it’s a design that’s been refined over decades to be useful and dependable in the field. The CQC-7 also uses full titanium liners underneath rough textured black G10, and the whole thing is held together with Philips screws for the body and a large straight head screw for the pivot – again, for ease of service.

It’s said this is done to make the knife easier to sharpen in the field – although with S35 steel that seems like an unlikely event versus just sticking to the brand’s core features. The 3.3” blade has a pronounced tanto tip with a long swedge and – most characteristically Emerson – is chisel ground, meaning the primary and edge bevels are only on one side. Blade steel is upgraded to CPM S35VN from the regular 154CM, on this knife with a handsome stonewash finish that hides scratches. The 7 does the unique trick of taking premium materials and appearing normal. To aid in deployment, this version of the CQC-7 utilizes stainless steel GTC ball bearings for a frictionless action as opposed to the normal 7’s washers.

There’s also a thumb disc – an unusual departure from the normal stud or hole most knives use – and new to this knife is the addition of a flipper tab. There’s a hook that protrudes from the spine of the blade towards the tip, that as you draw the knife from your pocket grabs on the corner of the seam and pulls the blade open by itself. Primary is the wave, Emerson’s industry calling card and arguably the fastest method of deploying a folding knife from the closed and concealed to the open, locked, and in-hand position. And there’s a large number of variations of the CQC-7, but perhaps the most “tactical” is the recent 7BW Flipper variant, which features three – three! – different deployment methods.

Emerson makes a wide array of knives but the 7 is arguably the most closely aligned with the brand. The CQC-7 (Close Quarters Combat) is the prototypical Emerson folder, with all of the things people love – and hate – about Ernest’s knives.
