A Picnic With A Friend & an Esquire

[Mistwalker]

Had a bit of a picnic lunch with a friend a few days ago, and she put the Esquire to work while I took some photos. It wasn't a lot of complicated cutting, just summer saisage and som cheddar cheese, the stuff an edc knife is awesome for. There were no pics of the finished product, sorry. Once she was through cutting we just sat there and ate and talked about the things going on in our lives, and I sort of forgot I had a phone for a while. I am thinking the Esquire may just be my favorite edc so far.

 

[Kal-El]

Hey Brian. Good to see more and more posts from you lately.
I have to agree. To date, the Esquire has been my favorite fixed EDC. I've admired yours ever since you started posting pics of it. It's a beauty.

Here's my little workhorse

 

[Scotcha]

Great pics, knife, lunch and company Brian [emoji106]

I need an Ironwood Esquire....

 

[Tim the Wizard]

I've been eyeing the blue g10 one over at DLT. Thanks for the pics and hope all is well in your world at any given time.

Kal-El, that knife looks respectably used!

 

[Mistwalker]

Hey Brian. Good to see more and more posts from you lately.
I have to agree. To date, the Esquire has been my favorite fixed EDC. I've admired yours ever since you started posting pics of it. It's a beauty.

Here's my little workhorse

Thanks Sergio, I remember when you picked up the tangerine one some time back. I loved the shape of that model early on, but it was seeing how it rode in your front pocket that finally drew me in. I have been trying to cultivate more of my gentlemanly side of late, and distance myself somewhat from my more barbaric side. Recent events in my personal life forced a confrontation between who I currently am, where I came from, and how I got here. It wasn't much fun at the time, but in a short time it allowed me to come to terms with some of the darker demons from my youth that fueled the anxiety inside me for so long, and see them for what they really were. So, in the end it was actually a very positive experience for me, and one which opened doors long shut and paved the way for a lot of positive changes that followed.

Great pics, knife, lunch and company Brian [emoji106]

I need an Ironwood Esquire....

Thanks Abe, I wholeheartedly agree on all three counts. The company is particularly noteworthy for me. You may remember me mentioning Leslie in a couple of recent posts from this winter. The relationship started out with me being a survival instructor for her and her son Alex, and I have enjoyed that very much. They are both super intelligent, and both soak up every lesson amazingly well. Over time it has become more of a two-way street and I have found myself learning quite a bit from both of them and seeing many things from a different perspective. As it turns out, Leslie contacting me about teaching them has been one of the greatest strokes of good fortune ever for me, and both have been very inspirational for me. Leslie is a very active person, she hits the gym and is a marathon runner, Alex is very active also and reminds me of me at his age in many ways with his diet and exercise habits. So every time I was around them I felt like a complete idiot when I smoked or even thought about smoking. It was hanging out with these two that lead to a lot of positive changes for me. One of which was that I felt inspired to get more proactive with my own health and physical well being, and in the last 8 weeks I have made many modifications to my diet and daily activities, I've dropped about 25 or 30 pounds, and have lost about 8 inches off my waist. Another is that I have been cigarette free for the last 6 weeks, after nearly 33 years of smoking, with no cravings or urges since the day I said no more, starting the evening after a meeting with Leslie on how I wanted to proceed with the next class and how I wanted to approach some things to make them less stressful and thus easier for Alex to take in. That has been a remarkably positive change in my life. I feel better now than I did at 25. As for the Esquire, I think you definitely need one. We have some similar tastes in size and styles of knives, and the Esquire is a great edc and awesome pocket knife that doesn't fold.

I've been eyeing the blue g10 one over at DLT. Thanks for the pics and hope all is well in your world at any given time.

Kal-El, that knife looks respectably used!

Thank you Jarrett, things in my life have been going surprisingly well the last couple of months. I had really been wanting one with a synthetic handle myself, and was at first thinking one like Sergio's but with emerald burlap...and I still wouldn't mind having one if I could get it in this same blade thickness and tang configuration. I really love the feel of the 5/32 and tapered tang. It has enough heft to know I'm holding something, but in this small of a package it isn't a burden of any sort, and with the full height grind it still has great slicing ability as far as I am concerned, but also has enough mass that I'm not afraid to use the knife hard if I need to. So I am really liking this model overall.

 

[Scotcha]

That's fantastic to hear Brian, I'm very happy for you, really I am. Have always enjoyed your posts but have enjoyed this one the most.
It's really good that you have such a positive influence in your life through Leslie & Alex which has motivated you to make positive lifestyle changes.

25-30 pound is fantastic, I was always very active with less than 10% body fat but in the last few years have put on a bit of weight and aiming to lose it now, motivation was lacking but your post has motivated me [emoji3]

Great job quitting smoking!!

I will aim to add an ironwood Esquire hopefully sooner than later.

 

[cbach8tw]

Thanks for sharing, the Esquire looks great and catches my eye every time I see them. I just got some summer sausage and cheese, so now I have an excuse to use one of my knives for a picnic or quick snack. No Fiddleback yet but the Esquire would be the one for me. I do have a cousin, Surles Bushadder. What are the specs on the Esquire again, sorry I should look them up, and does it come in 3/32?

 

[Mistwalker]

That's fantastic to hear Brian, I'm very happy for you, really I am. Have always enjoyed your posts but have enjoyed this one the most.
It's really good that you have such a positive influence in your life through Leslie & Alex which has motivated you to make positive lifestyle changes.

25-30 pound is fantastic, I was always very active with less than 10% body fat but in the last few years have put on a bit of weight and aiming to lose it now, motivation was lacking but your post has motivated me [emoji3]

Great job quitting smoking!!

I will aim to add an ironwood Esquire hopefully sooner than later.

Thanks Abe, I'm very happy for me too man. The last several years, trapped between the realization that Lisa and I really weren't exactly made for each other and too different in core areas to make it and knowing how badly I did not want to risk messing up Alayna's life, had been sort of a mind f*ck and a lot rougher on me psychologically and emotionally than I realized, and that was translating into a lot of negative impacts in my life on all levels. The first day we went back to those discussions the first week of Jan., with her bringing it up this time, I had a very similar reaction to her's a year ago when I had brought it up. It felt like my world had just hit a wall at the speed of light and exploded in a bazillion sparks right before my eyes as I worried how that was going to effect Alayna's life. But, then at the same moment there was this one voice in my head saying "oh thank god that's over" and my only concern was how it would effect Alayna. I knew, having had to face all the same thoughts once before the previous year, that for me personally it would be a very good thing, but as a father personally had never been a major concern for me before and it wasn't going to start now. I would have road out the next 6 years if it killed me, and looking back from here at how unhealthy and toxic for me our relationship had become, it may very well have if we had chosen that route. But the more we talked, the more I knew we were on the same page with Alayna, and so the more I knew we were making the right decision for all of us, and the overall effects for me personally have been fantastic. I am finally back on track with some very important personal projects. I am finally displaying some of my photographic art at a local venue where I have wanted to display for some time, and was invited to a few years back before the move to Michigan, but I had just lost the drive from my personal life for so long that I just let it go. Now that I know what was really going on in my life and it has been dealt with, well all but the paper work we are writing up for the mediation, I am in a much better and much healthier place in life.

Thanks for sharing, the Esquire looks great and catches my eye every time I see them. I just got some summer sausage and cheese, so now I have an excuse to use one of my knives for a picnic or quick snack. No Fiddleback yet but the Esquire would be the one for me. I do have a cousin, Surles Bushadder. What are the specs on the Esquire again, sorry I should look them up, and does it come in 3/32?

The Esquire caught my eye on day one. I did spend some time wishing it was the same length as the Bushboot, instead of 1 inch shorter. But I came to terms with thoughts behind that wish and got past it. I love the size for the reason s I carry it and where, and I still love the attitude and sex appeal this model has. The dimensions are 6.5 or so overall with 3 inches of that being blade. Very handy size really.

 

[pertinux]

What are the specs on the Esquire again, sorry I should look them up, and does it come in 3/32?

The Esquire is 6 3/8" or so-- under 6.5, at least-- and "comes in" whatever winds-of-whimsy steel thoughts are blowing through the FF gang at a given time.

Mine is 3/32" SFT, some are 1/8" SFT, Mistwalker's is 5/32" TT. I don't recall seeing a 1/8" TT, but I would guess, and possibly even assume, those are made as well. However, if not 3/32" SFT, I'd go full 5/32" TT myself. I'm still still taken (haunted, even) by the balance of that configuration on a much bigger knife; Mistwalker's thoughts here regarding that steel/width scaled into an Esquire are compelling.

Nothing classes up a sitch quite like an Esquire-- it's a small looks-great, does-great daily companion. I love the shaping at the end of the handle almost most of all.

-- Great post(s), Mistwalker! Thanks.

~ P.

 

[Kalsu]

Really like that Esquire of yours Mistwalker. I had always liked a little bit bigger knife for EDC. Think Bushboot, Lonestar, Hiking buddy, knives in that size group. Since I picked up my Esquire I have found it in my pocket a great deal. It has proven to be a very capable "little" blade.

I just received my osage ED Karda that I am excited to compare to my other knives. Especially the Esquire.

Glad to hear things are getting better for you Mistwalker. I really enjoy you posts and all the pictures you put up here.

 

[Mistwalker]

The Esquire is 6 3/8" or so-- under 6.5, at least-- and "comes in" whatever winds-of-whimsy steel thoughts are blowing through the FF gang at a given time.

Mine is 3/32" SFT, some are 1/8" SFT, Mistwalker's is 5/32" TT. I don't recall seeing a 1/8" TT, but I would guess, and possibly even assume, those are made as well. However, if not 3/32" SFT, I'd go full 5/32" TT myself. I'm still still taken (haunted, even) by the balance of that configuration on a much bigger knife; Mistwalker's thoughts here regarding that steel/width scaled into an Esquire are compelling.

Nothing classes up a sitch quite like an Esquire-- it's a small looks-great, does-great daily companion. I love the shaping at the end of the handle almost most of all.


-- Great post(s), Mistwalker! Thanks.

~ P.

Thanks P! Just because I no longer feel like I am constantly staring at the horrors coming out of Pandora's box...does not mean I've forgotten some important things I learned for me personally during those days. I suspect I will always error somewhat on the side of heft with my knives. I said it years ago and it still remains true today. I use my knives pretty much anywhere for pretty much anything. I'll probably never forget the look on a friend's face when he found me adjusting the mortise of the hinges on my front door using an old SOG S1 Bowie and a short section of 2x2 because the sticking door was annoying the hell out of me and I had left my tools in the gang box at the job site that weekend. It's a pretty simple philosophy for me, it comes down to the fact that I personally feel much more comfortable with a thicker blade in the kitchen than I feel with a thinner blade in the deep woods. The Esquire makes a very classy edc, and has great attitude as well

Really like that Esquire of yours Mistwalker. I had always liked a little bit bigger knife for EDC. Think Bushboot, Lonestar, Hiking buddy, knives in that size group. Since I picked up my Esquire I have found it in my pocket a great deal. It has proven to be a very capable "little" blade.

I just received my osage ED Karda that I am excited to compare to my other knives. Especially the Esquire.

Glad to hear things are getting better for you Mistwalker. I really enjoy you posts and all the pictures you put up here.

Thanks man, I am very glad for where things are in my life right now. I really like it too, it is a very handy little bugger. It is a bit small for a dedicated food prep knife obviously, but it definitely rises to the occasion in a pinch. It has proven itself on more than one occasion...from cutting the breast meat from a whole chicken on a picnic by the river, to cutting up meats and cheeses at Bluewater when I was working and forgotI hadn't eaten anything that day, to cutting calzone rather than using the supplied steak saw...which I really don't care for anyway. I was the same way on the size to begin with, and yes when I go out for late night photo ops, and wander through random dark places looking for targets, I still carry my Bushboot, but lately there have been many more occasions to embrace my urban gentleman side, and with my former life I have zero complaints about that. The EDK is nice, handy knife for detailed cutting, but I really want an original old school Karda as far as the karda family goes.

 

[Kalsu]

Oh man I totally hear you about the old school Karda. The iron wood Karda that they had on yesterday's Friday sale was spectacular. I think my self and about half the internet population tried to shark that one.

I really want one of those old school Karda's as well.

I can't believe how pointed and sharp that ED Karda is. Especially with the swedge but on the top. I am really starting to appreciate the pointier tipped knives.

 

[Mistwalker]

Oh man I totally hear you about the old school Karda. The iron wood Karda that they had on yesterday's Friday sale was spectacular. I think my self and about half the internet population tried to shark that one.

I really want one of those old school Karda's as well.

I can't believe how pointed and sharp that ED Karda is. Especially with the swedge but on the top. I am really starting to appreciate the pointier tipped knives.

Yes, that was definitely a stunner. I would have known better than even try even had I the money lol. I like DIW, but not as much as some other people here do. I want an old school one like that but in emerald burlap since it will be worn close to the body anyway and will encounter sweat. I once had to remove a broken honey locust thorn from my calf, and all I had was an old Buck 103 Skinning knife I had picked up at a yard sale. That created a lot more trauma than was necessary for the task and I have liked pointy ever since