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Emerson is Releasing its First Automatic Knife

September 28, 2020

Earlier today Emerson Knives surprised everyone with the reveal of the BullShark. In addition to its trailblazing status as the first-ever automatic in the Emerson catalog, the BullShark brings EDC-friendly, California-legal proportions to the table, and may indeed kick off a whole series of automatic releases from Emerson.

Emerson knives come in a variety of sizes, but the company’s portfolio does tend to favor the mid-to-large category – so it might surprise people to discover that their first in-house automatic is spec’d for California legality. That means a tiny blade that measures 1.9 inches in length, with a stubby little drop point shape that Ernest Emerson, in the official reveal video for the BullShark, describes as a durable, do-all profile: ready to pierce, slice, and generally punch above its weight. For the automatic deployment, Emerson went with the classic, reliable button opening/locking mechanism. The first press deploys the blade, and holding it down afterward will disengage the lock for closing.

The handle is a two-part aluminum chassis. There is a (relatively) massive finger guard; the handle beneath consists of two big grooves that locate the user’s fingers on the BullShark’s compact frame. A sort of wing pattern has been cut into the show side scale for a little extra traction, and a mildly concave groove on the spine below the blade has been jimped to a similar end. For carry, the BullShark comes outfitted with the standard Emerson clip – a stamped clip with a wide, flat face that is resilient to bending.

This is the first time Emerson has released an automatic knife under their own label, but not the first time an Emerson design has been given the automatic treatment. A collaboration with Pro-Tech resulted in the automatic variant of the CQC-7. This is, however, the first time an Emerson knife has been designed from the ground up as an auto. It may not be the last: the BullShark could very well kick off a whole series. In his video, Emerson says that he hopes there will be more to come “down the road” depending on the response to the BullShark.

Knife in Featured Image: Emerson BullShark

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