Editing Ernest Emerson (section)

==Popularizing the tactical knife==
[[File:timberline-specwar.jpg|thumb|alt=A black tanto bladed fighting knife. |Emerson-Neeley Timberline SPECWAR]]
While not the first knifemaker to build what is known as a tactical folding knife, Emerson was one of several makers who popularized the concept of the handmade tactical folder in the 1980s.<ref>{{harvnb|Burch|2011|p=52}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Shackleford|2003|pp=92–99}}</ref>  Emerson's knives began appearing in the ''[[Rogue Warrior (book)|Rogue Warrior]]'' series of novels written by the founder of the US Navy's [[SEAL Team Six]], [[Richard Marcinko]], at this time which helped fuel interest among collectors.<ref name="Marcinko3"/>

This surge in interest for Emerson's knives soon became overwhelming.<ref name="haskew">{{harvnb|Haskew|2004|pp=24–31}}</ref> Although he had been making knives full-time since 1994, Emerson was still manufacturing these knives in his home garage workshop three years later.<ref name="lang"/><ref name=tieves43/> As Emerson watched his customers' wait time expand from two years to seven, he realized that the demand for his handmade blades was far outpacing his ability to produce them.<ref name="lang"/> The first method to bridge this gap between supply and demand would be through factory collaborations with established cutlery companies.<ref name=tieves43/>

Emerson's first collaboration with a knife manufacturer was with Timberline Knives in 1993 for his SPECWAR model.<ref name="dick"/>  According to Stephen Dick, the editor of ''Tactical Knives'', this collaboration was a result of "the Navy deciding that only commercial designs would be considered due to failure of a previous custom knifemaker to deliver enough models to satisfy the need".<ref name="dick"/>  This model featured a one-side chisel-ground tantō blade almost {{convert|1/4|in|mm}} thick. Its handle was made from fiberglass-reinforced nylon molded around a near-full tang. Vaughn Neeley of Timberline designed the sheath.<ref>{{harvnb|Overton|1995|p=85}}</ref>  The knife was originally a custom piece designed for Naval Special Warfare Group One, and this factory version was soon entered in the trials for the [[Navy SEALs]] knife in 1995.<ref name="dick">{{harvnb|Dick|1995|p=68}}</ref> Although it was not chosen by the Navy, Stephen Dick reported that a number of members of SEAL Team One privately purchased the knife and were disappointed it was not made the official blade.<ref name="dick"/> The Emerson-Neeley SPECWAR knife won ''[[Blade (magazine)|Blade Magazine]]''{{'}}s 1995 American Made Knife of the Year Award<ref name="Norman"/> at the magazine's [[Blade Show]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], and that same year and was displayed as an exhibit at the Metropolitan [[Museum of Modern Art]] in New York City from May 24 to August 15, 1995.<ref>{{harvnb|Walker|1995|p=51}}</ref>

[[File:BM970.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Two similar tanto bladed fighting knives one a custom the other a factory piece. |Emerson's custom CQC-6 alongside Benchmade's 970 (CQC-7)]]
In 1994 the president of [[Benchmade|Benchmade Knives]], Les DeAsis, approached Emerson to manufacture the CQC-6 on a larger scale as a factory production model.<ref name="Norman"/> Preferring to keep the CQC-6 as a custom-only knife, Emerson instead licensed a similar design of his, the [[CQC-7]].<ref name="wsj">
{{harvnb|Fritz|2006}}</ref><ref name="cqc7"/>

The Benchmade factory version was sold under the model name BM970 or BM975 depending on blade length. Other designations followed which denoted blade finish,<ref name="stanford">{{harvnb|Stanford|1999|p=89}}</ref> manual or automatic opening, or partially serrated blade.<ref name="Norman"/> The knife retained the profile of Emerson's custom piece in addition to the ATS-34 steel and the titanium liners.<ref name="clarke"/> However, on Benchmade's offering the titanium bolsters and [[micarta]] scales were replaced with G10 fiberglass scales, the slotted screws were replaced by [[Torx]] head screws, and the pocket clip was repositioned so that the knife could be carried in the pocket in a tip-down position.<ref name="pickles"/><ref name="clarke">{{harvnb|Clarke|1995|p=58}}</ref>

Despite these changes the knife was true to Emerson's original design, and even though it did not have the craftsmanship of a handmade piece of cutlery it satisfied customers with their own version of Emerson's work at a lower price point and without the five-year wait.<ref name="ewing1"/><ref name="cqc7">{{harvnb|Shackleford|2005|pp=42–48}}</ref>