ESEE Izula: What's so special?

[ebidis]

Freakin' great! now y'all got me wanting to buy an Izula!

[DougB2]

Jumping on the bandwagon, it's a great little knife when you want a small fixed blade that's capable and won't frighten the sheeple when you take it out to use it. Also, some workplaces, if they allow blades at all, like less than 3". I screwed mine to a large tek-lok and carry it on my belt. 1095 is a good steel that's been around almost forever. Not a super steel but it's staying power should tell you that it's worthy when done right.

[Ankerson]

I thought they were the same hardness as all of ESEE's offerings, 56-58 range.

Yes, soft.....

1095 can be taken to the 65 HRC range.

[Ankerson]

1095 is a good steel that's been around almost forever. Not a super steel but it's staying power should tell you that it's worthy when done right.

1095 is cheap and reasonably strong and cheap.

Oh, did I say it's cheap......

[KennyB]

If they hardened them to 65 HRC and ground them thinner, wouldn't they be a lot more brittle and a lot less likely to stand up to that no questions asked warranty ESEE is backing them with?

Meanwhile, if the minutia of extra friction caused by the coating bothers you, you can pretty easily strip them.

Out of curiosity, how many 6" OAL neck knives are their available hardened above 60 HRC, made of something a little more "premium" than 1095 (or even 1095 for that matter), and cost under $100? How many whose maker offers a no questions asked warranty? How many with proven, well touted cutting ability and edge retention despite being "cheap" steel?

[HeavyTakeMusic]

if they hardened them to 65 hrc and ground them thinner, wouldn't they be a lot more brittle and a lot less likely to stand up to that no questions asked warranty esee is backing them with?

Meanwhile, if the minutia of extra friction caused by the coating bothers you, you can pretty easily strip them.

Out of curiosity, how many 6" oal neck knives are their available hardened above 60 hrc, made of something a little more "premium" than 1095 (or even 1095 for that matter), and cost under $100? How many whose maker offers a no questions asked warranty? How many with proven, well touted cutting ability and edge retention despite being "cheap" steel?

amen brother

[seedsacker]

You're right Ankerson, the price is cheap, but the value is substantial. Great knife, great sheath. Maybe they'd be more popular if they had a clever name for the steel.

[Ankerson]

If they hardened them to 65 HRC and ground them thinner, wouldn't they be a lot more brittle and a lot less likely to stand up to that no questions asked warranty ESEE is backing them with?

Meanwhile, if the minutia of extra friction caused by the coating bothers you, you can pretty easily strip them.

Out of curiosity, how many 6" OAL neck knives are their available hardened above 60 HRC, made of something a little more "premium" than 1095 (or even 1095 for that matter), and cost under $100? How many whose maker offers a no questions asked warranty? How many with proven, well touted cutting ability and edge retention despite being "cheap" steel?

I am sure one wouldn't have much of a problem finding more than a few if they looked, or they could have one made by one of those Custom makers here on BF.

I have one here in 52100.

1095 isn't known for it's edge retention by the way.

It's known for being cheap and easy to sharpen.

At higher hardness the edge stability isn't bad, but that's a lot harder than 58 HRC....

How tough does a neck knife have to be anyway?

Not like one would be using it as a pry bar, being as short as they usually are so they don't have to be very thick and tough.

[22-rimfire]

If you want cheap, I like the Condor neck knives. All I need if I want a neck knife.

I also don't understand the big attracton of the ESEE Izula. Frankly, I don't understand the big appeal of ESEE knives in general or from a cost point of view and I own an ESEE-4. The Kabar Beckers are probably a better value. Maybe you all could explain it to me.

[Ankerson]

If you want cheap, I like the Condor neck knives. All I need if I want a neck knife.

I also don't understand the big attracton of the ESEE Izula. Frankly, I don't understand the big appeal of ESEE knives in general or from a cost point of view and I own an ESEE-4. The Kabar Beckers are probably a better value. Maybe you all could explain it to me.

I never got it myself, a slab of 1095 cut out into a small knife, then coated and sold it's really not something that is ground breaking or even interesting.

Although those types of knives do sell, Murray Carter, Busse, Swamp Rat, Kabar and others around do sell them along with Custom makers.

[Ankerson]

You're right Ankerson, the price is cheap, but the value is substantial. Great knife, great sheath. Maybe they'd be more popular if they had a clever name for the steel.

Value compared to what?

I would love to hear about this substantial value and what that means taking into consideration the typical price of around $50.

And that's for a knife in 1095 with a 2.75" blade and no scales and it's coated.

Please enlighten me on this substantial value, I am all ears.

[festerfromnzed]

I got my IZULA a week or so ago and have carried it daily and used it extensively at work...It handled every task i put it to and im very happy with it for what i paid ($43 NZ with the (extras?)....im a fan of 1095 steel (cheap though it may be) cos it is easy to resharpen IMO..I carry a DC4 combo stone and a cupla strokes on the garnet gets it good and sharp easy...I agree with ANKERSON that one in 52100 would be superior by far.......just my 0.2.............................FES

[ISKski]

its a great knife - a true work horse, just the right size and a really outstanding design, from blade profile to handle shape.. + there are a million mods you can do -









I find this knife to be of great value, relatively inexpensive, and does what its intended to do, which is separate materials by way of cutting, and i think it does this very well.
Plus i found it to be a great instructional knife, I have convexed the edge of mine and put my own handles on..

I see no downsides

[dericdesmond]

one in 52100 would be superior by far.......just my 0.2.............................FES

[festerfromnzed]

..I LIKE it!!!!!!!!

[KennyB]

That one looks a lot nicer than the one they have with the pry-bar on the pommel. What model is that?

I think it's a little silly to debase the quality of the Izula based on how cheap its steel is, the powder coat, etc. You're losing sight of the fact that it's a mass produced, $60 knife with a bombproof warranty. Past that you're just dismissing everyone who says it's comfortable, very capable at cutting, holds its edge well enough, etc. I don't really see why the fact that it's cheap steel has to do with it.

Meanwhile, did you just bring up Murray Carter's neck knives in a discussion about Izulas? That's kind of like comparing a pawnshop stratocaster, to a custom made Les Paul. Not a fair comparison at all... One's a utilitarian guitar, one's a masterpiece. One is about $60... The other $400. Let's not even go down that road...

But I do agree that as far as the other cheap pieces of 1095 out there, the Izula doesn't really offer that much more value. The Izula II is slighthly better since it comes with full micarta scales. However it does come with a great sheath ( better than the ones on the beckers, and nicer than a piece of kydex folded about ), and of course the warranty isn't unparallelled in terms of what they will cover--but on the other hand the only ones even matching the customer service level are Becker.

Anyway... What makes the Izula so special... I don't know. What makes the Buck 110 so special? They're both made with relatively unimpressive materials, both have about a million "clones" or whatever you'd call them, etc. They're just good knives.

[AfghanWarrior]

The Buck 143 Fixed Blade Skeleton Knife (420HC Steel) w/sheath is a $20 knife with a great warranty. I carry it and a $25 BK11 (1095CroVan steel) together in the same Buck sheath. These knives are so small I like the 420HC steel better.

[hayes31]

That one looks a lot nicer than the one they have with the pry-bar on the pommel. What model is that?

I think it's a little silly to debase the quality of the Izula based on how cheap its steel is, the powder coat, etc. You're losing sight of the fact that it's a mass produced, $60 knife with a bombproof warranty. Past that you're just dismissing everyone who says it's comfortable, very capable at cutting, holds its edge well enough, etc. I don't really see why the fact that it's cheap steel has to do with it.

Meanwhile, did you just bring up Murray Carter's neck knives in a discussion about Izulas? That's kind of like comparing a pawnshop stratocaster, to a custom made Les Paul. Not a fair comparison at all... One's a utilitarian guitar, one's a masterpiece. One is about $60... The other $400. Let's not even go down that road...

True... you can even get an Izzie for under 50 from some places...

[timberweasel]

I have the ESEE Izula 2 and what makes it special to me is the excellent design: solid materials, excellent geometry and size, very comfortable in hand, appealing aesthetics. It just works. If you like the look of the Izula, pick one up and you won't be disappointed!

[hayes31]

its a great knife - a true work horse, just the right size and a really outstanding design, from blade profile to handle shape.. + there are a million mods you can do -

I find this knife to be of great value, relatively inexpensive, and does what its intended to do, which is separate materials by way of cutting, and i think it does this very well.
Plus i found it to be a great instructional knife, I have convexed the edge of mine and put my own handles on..

I see no downsides

Awesome pics! Great to see an Izzie being used like it should.