ESEE-6 test issues

FwdHO

FwdHO

Joined
Mar 28, 2010
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197
Coming to my ESEE brethren for advice and recommendations on how to address the issues my son and I discovered in a chop/limb/baton test yesterday as reported in the test forum: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=743392

I like the ESEE-6 so much I had a custom sheath made for it by Martin Swinkels, so I have no axe to grind (pun intended) vs the 6. I am mystified how a razor sharp, well balanced, well built, great knife can just evaporate in my hands when I go to chop with it. It's not known to be a ginsu slicer, so I expected it to chop and it didn't. It actually felt like it had no "weight" behind it and I can't figure it out. I held it the same as the other blades in the test so I don't think that is the issue. My son had the same impression & we both came to the same conclusion as soon as we started to chop.

Please provide some feedback - I want to know what you know and honestly need ESEE counseling.

BTW the Junglas got some real work during the test and was very impressive overall. I also absolutely love my RC-3. So don't shoot!
 
it's not a chopper. i've taken 11/2 - 2 inch limbs with mine, helps to bring your hand back near the end of the handle.
 
This is no surprise to me. The ESEE6 is not, and will never be a chopper. It is a great camp knife, it just isn't meant to be a chopper. It would take much more effort. The ESEE5 is heavier than te ESEE6. I believe the 6 is 12 oz? Somewhere around there. That isn't sufficient enough to be a chopper at all. (SOME exceptions may apply)
 
Use a baton and just knock it through limbs. I did that yesterday to chop up a dead sapling for kindling at a party. Used my LMF ferro rod and a PJCB to start it, too. :D
 
I've "chopped" with my 6. Chopped might mean different things to different people...when I say "chop" I mean through 3" limbs. I woulden't expect it to blow through anything like a lightsaber...I don't think it's primary role was for that. For the light weight of the 6 I really like it and think it's capable of a hell of a lot of things.
 
The lack luster chopping performance is due to the balance of the knife. The reason I love the ESEE-6 so much is because of that balance and the very fact that it feels like a lighter knife in the hand. This affords very fine control of the blade and I can perform more delicate tasks with this blade than a weight forward chopper.

In contrast, my Scrapyard SOD is just 1.5" longer and about 3-4 oz heavier. It has has chopping balance with the balance point shifted into the blade (just at the end of the square ricasso). Also the SOD's respirene handle and smaller tang is lighter compared to the main part of the blade. This allows you to generate much greater momentum while chopping. The balance is so well suited to chopping, that the SOD easily out chops my RD-9 which is another couple of inches longer and few ounces heavier. Your mind tells you that the extra weight and length should favor it, but it simply doesn't. The draw back for the SOD and its near perfect chop tuning is that the knife pretty much sucks at everything except for chopping.

In the end, chopping is one of those things that you do during testing, but I don't really chop with a knife all that much when I'm in the outdoors. The lack of chopping ability of the ESEE-6 is something I have recognized for awhile. If I need to get through a 3" limb, I can still do it by chopping but I'm much more likely to use a folding saw.
 
I see it all the time and was guilty of it myself. A large knife with a 6" blade must be a good chopper. Wrong. The 6 is a good sized knife, but the weight isn't there for chopping. Great performer when batoning in my experience.
 
But you can chop with it, if nothing else is around. I think it works pretty good considering it's not a Jungalas or SOD
 
I agree,..... with everyone!
I too saw the size of the thing then wondered how on earth it results in so little damage on impact as a chopper. It is indeed due to the excellent balance. It's a feature! That is, as previously posted, it allows for really good manouverability in the hand and feels like a smaller knife. The gimping and the choil allow you to get the blade almost into the palm of your hand- really really ergonomic for something of that overall length. Were it less well balanced for everyday tasks, it might thump down through thick stuff like it promises the eye, but at a loss to so many other task types.
I have not yet beaten it through stuff (that I might have hoped it would chop) but the build of the thing clearly will allow for some serious 'persuasion' with any batton you can manage to lift. I expect I'll be taking a saw with me to cut whole lumps of wood off to take home with the 6 buried somewhere inside....
 
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FwdHO said:
Coming to my ESEE brethren for advice and recommendations on how to address the issues my son and I discovered in a chop/limb/baton test yesterday as reported in the test forum: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=743392
Click to expand...

What issues? Just use the Junglas for chopping!

I have a BK-7 & a BK-9 - the BK-9 is a great chopper but the BK-7 just isn't. In a pinch the BK-7 can chop and it can certainly baton pretty good - but it is WAY behind the BK-9 in chopping performance. It just doesn't have the length or weight of the bigger knife. I expect the ESEE 6 would have the same problem, no where near the length or weight needed to make a good chopper.

ESEE make great knives and they cover a good range - Junglas and Lite Machete would both have the length required for chopping while the ESEE 6, 5 & 4 would not, but would be good for batoning.

Seriously - could it be any surprise that the 6" blade doesn't chop well like a 9" or 10" blade does? A 10" blade will have a LOT more weight forward of the handle, which will make it worse for doing fine work but MUCH better for chopping.
 
I read your test earlier today - sounds like you and the son had a good day together.
to chop with my 6, before I got the Junglas, I choked back on the handle, so I only had a 3 finger grip on the knife (use a lanyard!). At that point, it'll do OK, but not great, which is to be expected in a camp knife - not a chopper. It'd still take down 2-3" saplings for tent poles, but this is not a primary use for the knife.
 
I consider the 6 my bushcraft knife that can chop not the other way around. The balance is for control not chopping but unlike a smaller knife that does not offer much more control and you have to baton everything, I can keep this knife in my working hand and chop up wood 3 inches and smaller no problem and get it done. If you need more knife get the Junglas or Lite machete also. I like having a medium size knife, a big knife and a machete.
 
Not to stomp on anyone's toes, but I'm always surprised when people buy this size of knife and try to make it a chopper. Even the 12" kukris that HI sells (which are much heavier than the ESEE6, and more forward balanced) suck at chopping, IMO.

But then, I keep reading people who think that going through a 4" limb in 5 minutes is fast.

IMO the ESEE6 is the perfect, "I can only take one" size. It doesn't do the real small tasks well, nor does it do the real large tasks well, but it will do them all (eventually).

Like others have said, if you want to chop with it (or the Junglas or Lite Machete), put a lanyard on it, cinch it up so that it's snug when you grip the rear of the handle with your thumb, index, and middle fingers, and use a whipping motion. You'll get more mileage out of any chopper that way.
 
I don't really have any experience with any blade larger or heavier than the RC-6. But I've chopped up a 3" inch diameter dead tree. I'm not sure what kind of tree it was, but it was very hard and tough. It took quite awhile, but the RC-6 came through without as much as a mark on the coating (there were scuffs, but that came off with a wet rag and then some 3 in 1).
I don't really need to cut anything bigger than that. And as far as batoning goes, the RC6 continues to impress me. I've batoned wood that would normally go into my wood stove (4"-5") during the winter with virtually no damage to the blade!
 
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