BK7 vs ESEE 6? Choil or no choil? (REGARDLESS of sheath and handle material)

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ukknifer

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Jan 30, 2010
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Hi guys and thanks for replies to the previous thread.

I have narrowed my choice to BK7 or ESEE 6
(REGARDLESS of sheath and handle material) Which one do you prefer?

-The BK7 has no choil ( I dont like choils on knives up to 5 inches) but is the choil- less design of the bk7 a plus or a minus?
The ESEE 6 has a choil, is that a plus or a minus?

-The bk7 is saber (some people say its better for splitting and chopping) is that true?
The ESEE 6 is full flat, is that better or worse?

Thanks guys
 
I have 2 knives with a choil. An ESEE RC-3 and a Ratmandu. I cannot for the life of me understand the purpose of a choil. I've read that it allows you to choke up on the blade for finer work. I can do that without a choil and a choil prevents me from using the blade close to the handle.

Coincidentally, I have been contemplating starting a "What's the purpose of a choil?" thread in the Busse forum because if there is a good reason, they should know due to the ubiquitousness of choils on Busse and Bussekin knives. I sincerely want to know.

Anyway back to your question. I used to own a BK-7 and despite my affection for Becker knives in general, I just didn't like the 7. The 9, yes, but not the 7, so I sold it.

I like ESEE, but for the most part their handles are too short for me. I haven't tried a 6 so that may not be an issue. Given the size of knife you're looking at, I would suggest a third option- Becker BK-12 - Becker/Ritter design and Rowen manufactured.

As far as grinds go, I would prefer the full flat because I do more carving, etc. than I do chopping and for years, all my chopping and batoning was satisfactorily done with a Tramontina Bolo machete and you don't get more flat-grind than that.

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
I have 2 knives with a choil. An ESEE RC-3 and a Ratmandu. I cannot for the life of me understand the purpose of a choil. I've read that it allows you to choke up on the blade for finer work. I can do that without a choil and a choil prevents me from using the blade close to the handle.

Doc
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On those knives they make no sense whatsoever. I had an esee3 and the choil was always something I had to work around. On large knives they do help though in that they give you a neutral balance. Most large knives are blade heavy and if it's 1/4" thick it's heavy in general. Choking up is how I make fuzz sticks with my big knives because it causes less fatigue in my wrist. On small knives I avoid them like the plague and consider it a design flaw in the knife.
 
Shotgun said:
On those knives they make no sense whatsoever. I had an esee3 and the choil was always something I had to work around. On large knives they do help though in that they give you a neutral balance. Most large knives are blade heavy and if it's 1/4" thick it's heavy in general. Choking up is how I make fuzz sticks with my big knives because it causes less fatigue in my wrist. On small knives I avoid them like the plague and consider it a design flaw in the knife.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Shotgun. That makes some sense and it's the first time I've ever seen that mentioned.

Doc
 
So Shotgun , Do you consider the choil on the ESEE 6 a good idea? Is the size of the blade on the ESEE 6 suitable for a choil? You dont say what blade size you consider lareg and small. Thanks
 
ukknifer said:
So Shotgun , Do you consider the choil on the ESEE 6 a good idea? Is the size of the blade on the ESEE 6 suitable for a choil? You dont say what blade size you consider lareg and small. Thanks
Click to expand...

I honestly don't know. Most of my experience has been with larger and smaller knives. The only one in that size I've owned was the Ratmandu and I would like to have seen it without one. Sorry I can't be more help.
 
I can't stand choils myself, especially on small knives and folders. To me a choil is dead useless space where the cutting edge should be. I like ESEE knives almost as much as Beckers but the only ESEE blades i would buy are the choil-less designs. I have an Izula and an ESEE-5, the only other ESEE knife i'm currently lusting after is the Junglas.
Although I have a bunch of knives in the 5.5-8 inch blade length range i think of them as Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none knives.
If you are going to go past a 5 inch ish blade length you might as well go up to 9 inches.
However if i was going to choose a medium range blade length i think Doc gave a great suggestion regarding the BK12 Becker/Ritter knife.
 
I agree about the BK-12, it's one of my favorite knives. It blows the bk7 away in my opinion and it's handle is more comfortable than the ESEE 6. Choils are just personal preference I think. They may be usefull for some people, and others can't stand them.
 
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