Knife Review: Pro-Tech Blue/Black Emerson CQC-7 Automatic Knife

The Pro-Tech Blue/Black Emerson CQC-7 Automatic Knife

Pro-Tech’s aesthetic is when the art of modern manufacturing excellence meets old world craftsmanship. This is a family owned knife company that has been building high quality American Made knives since 1998. Each of their knives is a blend of the finest materials available as well as a commitment to craftsmanship. Their knives are built with the most current high-tech manufacturing processes that included CNC Machining, Wire EDM, and Laser Cutting. The high-tech components are assembled and hand fit by dedicated and caring craftsmen and women right in their factory. This means that each of their knives is made in the USA.

They say, “Made in America! Pro-Tech builds some of the finest knives in the world right here in the good old United States. The majority of components for each knife are manufactured inside the Pro-Tech facility. We start with bars of aluminum, billets of hand forged Damascus, sheets of steel and titanium. These premium raw materials are carefully machined, ground, debuted, finished, assembled, sharpened, inspected, and packaged right here under one roof.” This means that they have a quality that you can trust while also feeling patriotic because you are giving fellow Americans a job.

Pro-Tech says, “We manufacture small batches of our knives so that we can take the time to individually hand fit and finish each knife to a level rarely seen in a factory knife.

Our production knife models offer the best design, function, and value of any knife on the market today. Our custom art knives are unique pieces of art. Each of our custom, limited-edition knives is a showpiece of heirloom quality. No matter which of our knives you choose, we are confident that you will be very satisfied with your purchase.

Our selection of knives is ever changing. New designs from collaboration partners, new variations of classic designs, inlay materials, Damascus blade choices, etc. Be sure to check with your favorite Pro-Tech dealer to see what the latest offerings look like.”

BladeOps is one of their dealers and today we will be talking about one of their newest knives—the Emerson CQC-7 tanto automatic knife with an acid wash blade. This is a new arrival at BladeOps.

The Blade:

The blade on the GQC-7 is made out of 154CM stainless steel. This is a high-end steel that is made by Crucible Industries. This is no surprise because Crucible Industries is known for making high-end steels specifically for high-end pocketknives. This means that you are going to get all of the good characteristics that you want from your blade steel.

154CM steel is a hard steel that is commonly known as an upgraded version of 440C, because Crucible chose to add in Molybdenum. It is this addition that gives the blade the superior edge holding, especially compared to 440C. The Molybdenum also allows the steel to have the same high levels of corrosion resistance even though there is less Chromium in the steel.

This steel is tough enough that it will allow you to get the job done. Especially with a tanto blade shape. It is not going to be tricky to sharpen if you have the right equipment and will hold an edge for a decent period of time.

The blade has been finished with an acid wash. This is a style of a stonewash. The process is a s little bit different though. Before the steel is tumbled, it undergoes an acid treatment. This acid treatment darkens the blade, instead of a light gray stonewash, you get a charcoal colored blade to begin with. The acid treatment also works to increase the corrosion resistance of the blade, because it oxidizes the steel slightly. This oxidization creates a very fine layer that acts slightly like a coating.

After the acid treatment, the steel is tumbled like a stonewash regularly would be. The tumbling creates the rugged, roughed-up, textured look that you know to be the stonewash—just a darker version of it. The textured look is the main reason that an acid washed blade is so low maintenance—it works to hide the scratches and smudges that accumulate over time. Plus, the acid treatment is going to give the blade a unique and tough look that you wouldn’t be able to find on many other blades.

The blade has been carved into a tanto blade shape. The interesting thing about a tanto that separates it from other blade shapes is that it is not designed to be an all-purpose or versatile blade. In fact, it is designed to simply do one thing: it has been designed to pierce through hard materials.

The tanto blade shape was inspired by the Japanese long and short swords that were designed to pierce through armor. In the mid 1980s, Cold Steel took this inspiration, created a modern shape and popularized it. Since then, it has become recognized and even loved by many.

The blade shape is made up of a spine that extends straight off the handle. It extends to the point in a very slight curve. The belly is nonexistent, instead, it comes straight out of the handle as well. Near the tip, it angles upward to meet the spine.

This shape means a couple of things for you. For starters, it is not going to be a good all-purpose blade shape because there is no belly. Second, the tip is going to be crazy strong. This is because it meets it at an angle instead of a point. There is also a lot of excess metal near the tip which will allow the blade to repeatedly withstand stabbing that would cause many other blade shapes to snap.

While this is not going to get everything done that you might need it to, when it comes to piercing, there is no better place to turn.

The Handle:

The handle is made out of both G-10 and aluminum.

The front handle scale is made out of blue and black G-10. G-10 is a material that has been made out of fiberglass. The manufacturer takes layers of fiberglass cloth, soaks them in resin, compresses them, and finally, bakes them 

under pressure. This process creates a material that is known to be hard, yet tough, strong, and still lightweight. One of the good things about G-10 is that it is easy to add in texture. This is needed on the front handle scale, because the back-handle scale is made out of aluminum, which is known to be slick. One of the only drawbacks to G-10 is that because all of the fiberglass strands are arranged in a single direction, it does suffer from being brittle.

The G-10 is black and blue. The upper third is all black, with the lower portion being a combination of black and blue. The texture is highlighted in blue. The overall G-10 is roughly texturized, which will give you enough grip while you go about your day to day tasks.

The back-handle scale is made out of anodized aluminum. Aluminum is a common material that is used because it is tough and durable. It is also lightweight, which will help to keep the overall weight of this knife down. It is also known to be incredibly corrosion resistant, which will help to keep the maintenance down.

The last major advantage of the anodized aluminum is that the anodization process works to enhance all of the good properties of aluminum. It will prolong the life of the handle because it increases the corrosion and wear resistance. It also makes the handle a little bit harder.

The anodization process on this CQC-7 has turned the aluminum black. This is a sleek color, which is a classic. This handle scale is not going to provide you with as much grip, but the G-10 on the front handle scale should make up for all of it.

The handle shape is basic, but comfortable. The spine has a row of jimping, which will give you even better control. The butt is slightly rounded, while also being flared. The belly does have a bulge, which will help the knife fit better inside of your hand.

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip is statically designed for tip up carry and only on the traditional side of the handle. This does mean that this knife is not going to be ambidextrous friendly. You will not be able to carry it in the way that is most comfortable to you, unless that is tip up on the traditional side. One of the other drawbacks to this is that tip up carry is the most dangerous way to carry your knife, especially an automatic. This is because if it accidentally gets deployed, when you reach into your pocket, the blade will be sticking right toward your hand. This shouldn’t be a problem because there is a high-quality lock-up on this Pro-Tech, but it is something that might happen.

The pocket clip is bright silver, which matches the rest of the hardware on the knife.

The Mechanism:

This is an automatic knife, which does mean that it falls under a strict set of laws in the USA. These laws make it so that automatic knives are not legal in many states or cities. It is your responsibility as the user to know your local knife laws before purchasing and carrying this knife. BladeOps is not the responsible party.

Besides the legality of an automatic knife, it will open quickly, smoothly, and without hassle. The button to deploy the blade is oversized so that there doesn’t have to be any fumbling while trying to deploy the blade. This means that you can deploy the blade with only one hand easily. The silver button is rimmed in blue, which matches the lower portion of the front handle scale. It is a bright blue, so if it is darker, you should be able to find the button y color, if necessary.

Automatic knives are slightly harder to maintain though. This is because all of the mechanism is enclosed in the inside of the handle. This means that if one of the pieces begins to break down, it can become much tougher to open, not as smooth. To maintain this, you will need to make sure that the insides are always clean and dry.

The Specs:

The blade on this version of the Emerson CQC-7 measures in at 3.25 inches long with a handle that measures in at 4.67 inches long. This means that the overall length of the knife when the blade has been deployed is going to come in at 7.92 inches long. This is a standard size for an EDC knife. It is not too long that you won’t be able to easily have it with you, but not too short that you won’t have enough to work with.

This knife weighs in at 4.1 ounces, which is almost an ideal weight. This weight is going to ensure that you do have enough heft. You aren’t going to feel insecure as you use this knife, but it also isn’t going to weigh you down. Really, with 4.1 ounces, you can’t go wrong.

This Pro-Tech was proudly made in the United States of America. You can feel proud to own, carry, and use it.

Conclusion:

This automatic knife features a blue and black front G-10 handle scale with black anodized rear handle scale, a tanto style blade in an acid wash finish and the pocket clip is designed for tip up carry only.

These infamous side-open auto knives sport exacting Emerson specs with the power and prestige that come standard on all Pro-Tech knives. Special features on this knife include a chisel ground blade and a thicker aluminum bottom and advertises both the Emerson Knives and Pro-Tech Knives logos.

While this is a new arrival at BladeOps, it is going to go quickly—you really can’t go wrong with this knife: in either look or utility. Order yours today by clicking here.