Esee 5 or BK2?

SurvivorDan said:
I bought the BK2 first, and immediately got the aftermarket micarta scales (I know...plus $40 almost equals cost of base Esee 5). I have larger hands, and didn't care for the "slickness" of original scales, although the ergos were excellent.
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I found the same thing. Slick, but the ergos are excellent.
 
I'll probably just go to SMKW and pick one up. I'm only 20 minutes away. They have a nice Esee display there. I can get a feel for both of them there too.
 
Here is a pic of several fixed blades with the ESEE-4:

6oh91l.jpg


BK-15
South Fork
ESEE-4
F1
Mora
MX-8108
 
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I have an Esee 5 for most if not all my outdoor needs. Yes it is a tank of a knife but given the 1/4" width it's a pry bar as well. I have had too many super steel knives which I always intend to use but don't because they're just too nice and then become collector pieces which later become sold. My advice would be to have a clear and decisive mindset of how you intend to use it and commit to it for that purpose only. 1095 steel works extremely well and outperforms super steels in many instances plus Esee will replace your blade for any and I do mean any reason allowing you to kill it and for the price who wouldn't? It's my dedicated grunt knife.
 
Good choice :thumbup:
I hope the scales are to your liking. I found them to be a bit thin and aren't too great after extended periods.
Fortunately aftermarkets are easy to find and customs are easy to make. Enjoy!
 
So far I'm liking it a lot and think the scales will be fine. I have a dumb question though. Every knife I have is stainless and I know the Esee isn't. So if I were to drop it in water and completely submerge it lets say, would I have to take the scales off and dry the whole thing off or is the edge the only part that will be affected because of the coating on the blade?
 
JustinP said:
So far I'm liking it a lot and think the scales will be fine. I have a dumb question though. Every knife I have is stainless and I know the Esee isn't. So if I were to drop it in water and completely submerge it lets say, would I have to take the scales off and dry the whole thing off or is the edge the only part that will be affected because of the coating on the blade?
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It's fully coated under the scales. I've not seen any problems with mine, and it gets wet all the time.
 
JustinP said:
So far I'm liking it a lot and think the scales will be fine. I have a dumb question though. Every knife I have is stainless and I know the Esee isn't. So if I were to drop it in water and completely submerge it lets say, would I have to take the scales off and dry the whole thing off or is the edge the only part that will be affected because of the coating on the blade?
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Your knife won't really be affected anywhere but the exposed steel, which is the edge. The powder coating ESEE uses is quite nice and you don't have to worry about it letting anything in.

If you do want to take off the scales, it's easy enough to do so. I believe you'll need a hex key.
 
JustinP said:
So far I'm liking it a lot and think the scales will be fine. I have a dumb question though. Every knife I have is stainless and I know the Esee isn't. So if I were to drop it in water and completely submerge it lets say, would I have to take the scales off and dry the whole thing off or is the edge the only part that will be affected because of the coating on the blade?
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The coating covers everything but the bevel (of course), so you don't have to take off the scales to dry it.
You will want to dry the blade after use though, especially once the coating starts to wear off. It will take a while to do that, so don't worry, it's pretty tough. From experience and reading, rust is more of an environment and storage duration issue. Normal use will keep rust at bay, but sitting in a humid garage for a month would be bad. In dry environments rust is only a storage issue. Saltwater is very corrosive so be vigilant about drying it in saltwater conditions.

After processing kindling for maybe 30-40 fires
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One thing though, take a look at the scale liners real quick. They're some sort of wood/paper material and will expand with lots of water contact. (unless they changed it up since I bought mine)
They expanded on me when never really shrunk back to a flush fit. I changed it out for wood, as I planned to anyways, but I imagine a bit of sealant would solve that problem.
 
n7titan said:
Good choice :thumbup:
I hope the scales are to your liking. I found them to be a bit thin
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That's an easy fix, go to any home improvement store, plumbing aisle and grab some shower pan liner material. It should be sold by the foot, so get one foot, get it home and trace your scales onto it with a pen and cut them out.
Most liners are a gun metal grey color, which will stand out nicely from the vibrant colors you have now and make them shine a bit brighter.

Instant liners that are heavy duty vinyl/rubber so in addition to adding width, you keep water out from under your scales.

Not a bad choice in knives, I personally prefer Becker. Congrats on the new steel though!
 
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That's a good, simple, idea. I kept my factory scales in case I ever wanted to reuse them.
 
Justin, you knew the reviews on both of the knives you were initially interested in. You purchased a real good knife that should everything you need to be doing with a knife. I would imagine that you looked at both the ESEE 5 and BK-2 at the store. What did you think? What did you think of the Becker handles? But you settled on the ESEE 4. I agree with your choice, but I was wondering what you personally thought about the other knives. The knife I am hankering to handle is the Condor Moonshiner and they have them in stock.
 
While I was there I checked out all kinds of stuff. I handled most of the Beckers, the LMF II, the Schrade SCHF9, the Esee 3,4,5, and 6, and a Spartan Blade just for fun. I really liked the handles on the Beckers and the Esees the most. When I saw the price of the Esee 4 was 87 dollars and the Beckers were pretty much the same price I decided to go with the Esee because of the warranty and the fact that my hand wraps perfectly around the handle and just locks on. It's also just a nicer looking knife in my opinion. I read some comments that said the BK2 and Esee 5 were to clunky and thick and they were right. I didn't realize how thick they were until I actually held one for myself. So I decided to go with the Esee 4 because it's the perfect size for what I need. If I need to I can always carry a hatchet or folding saw along with it. Plus the color really gets me. I love it. I just wish it would stop raining and snowing so I can get out and play with it!
 
JustinP...

I wouldn't worry about rust. I have 2 Becker BK16 in my kitchen that are stripped of the coating. I use them to cut everything in the kitchen. I wash them in the sink like any other dish, rinse them and let them dry overnight. I put a little mineral oil on them and wipe it completely off and they are ready to go the next day. I have no rust...at least that I can see. I never take the handles off (I have micarta and TKC G10). Don't have rust oozing from the cracks either.

The knife you purchased was meant to be used and your going to scratch that coating. If you want to keep it nice, leave it at home in the safe. Or return it because it'll do ya no good. Otherwise you gotta scratch it up... adds personality to it!! I like the HI-VIZ you got. Nice sheath too! Blades coated black look cool when you get a patina going with it, yours will look good too I imagine.
 
I have an ESEE 5 for my camp knife. I carry a smaller folder for slicing and such. The ESEE has great micarta scales and is just a beast. I would never even think of doing things with another knife that I have no hesitation to do with the ESEE. Ive never held any of the Beckers, but I prefer micarta so the choice was easy. Its one of the few knives that I wont consider selling and trying something else.
Add to that the sheath and warranty and its a no brainer... at least for me
 
Congrats on the purchase! I'm starting to like those high-vis knives. $87 seems like a great price.

Anyone know when ESEE changed the sheath on the 4? Is the new one just for the Venom line or all of them? I didn't realize that kydex wasn't standard anymore.
 
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