Esee asek?

threatx3

threatx3

Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
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I was reading up a bit on the ASEK knives that the military uses and wondered if any of the ESEE's were in the running for the current issue ASEK. Since the 6 is described as a SERE type knife I thought it would make a good ASEK.

The only ones I could fine that competed were the Gerber LMF and the Ontario ASEK.

See reference..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircrew_Survival_Egress_Knife

I apologize if this topic has already come up, I'm new to the forums.
 
Requirements for the replacement knife, set by the United States Army Aviation Branch, included tests in:

* sawing through aircraft skin and acrylic glass windows
* cutting
* hammering

Required features included:

* a point used to stab
* a hand guard
* durability
* light weight
* holes for tying the knife to a stick to act as a spear
Click to expand...

no saw on the 5. and with the exposed tang i don't know how it would do at "hammering"

no argument that's it's durable, but i've never heard anyone call it "light weight" and it has no holes for lashing, other than the lanyard hole at the butt.

as good as it may be, it doesn't seem to meet many of their requirements.

i'd love to see ESEE develop an ASEK candidate.
 
fixer said:
no saw on the 5. and with the exposed tang i don't know how it would do at "hammering"

no argument that's it's durable, but i've never heard anyone call it "light weight" and it has no holes for lashing, other than the lanyard hole at the butt.

as good as it may be, it doesn't seem to meet many of their requirements.

i'd love to see ESEE develop an ASEK candidate.
Click to expand...

The Gerber LMF ASEK has no saw either... but a partially serrated blade - which the ESEE-5 can be ordered with. The "handguard" on the Gerber may be subject to some debate, too... Neither it nor the 5 are what I would consider "light weight" but this may be subjective as well.

As far as lashing my knife to a stick for use as a spear... well, that's just 1 notch below throwing my knife in a survival situation. You can lash about anything to a long stick to extend the reach (like cutting fruit out of a tree) but to lash it as a spear and risk losing it in the body of a swiftly departing animal? No thanks. Better off with just a sharpened (fire hardened=better) point, IMHO.
 
tarditi said:
The Gerber LMF ASEK has no saw either... but a partially serrated blade - which the ESEE-5 can be ordered with. The "handguard" on the Gerber may be subject to some debate, too... Neither it nor the 5 are what I would consider "light weight" but this may be subjective as well.

As far as lashing my knife to a stick for use as a spear... well, that's just 1 notch below throwing my knife in a survival situation. You can lash about anything to a long stick to extend the reach (like cutting fruit out of a tree) but to lash it as a spear and risk losing it in the body of a swiftly departing animal? No thanks. Better off with just a sharpened (fire hardened=better) point, IMHO.
Click to expand...

A lot of people seem to miss the point of lashing a knife to a pole and use as a spear. This is done to dispatch a large animal that you have otherwise snared and must be dispatched. Our brother Coote, in New Zealand has used this technique to dispatch a wild pig that he snared. I asked him if he would have like to use a sharpened stick instead. His answer was no.

A lot of people have offered up the idea of a sharpened stick in lieu of a knife, but none, to date, have ever tried it.

I'll see if I can find the thread.

Doc

ETA: Found it.
 
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the Ontario ASEK is a crazy knife ,I had one back a few years ago and that blade was way to busy for me... small plain edge section,large serration and a goofy saw back..that barely cut in one direction. I did like the sheath and the paracord cutter screwdriver thing was pretty tough...
 
DOC-CANADA said:
A lot of people seem to miss the point of lashing a knife to a pole and use as a spear. This is done to dispatch a large animal that you have otherwise snared and must be dispatched. Our brother Coote, in New Zealand has used this technique to dispatch a wild pig that he snared. I asked him if he would have like to use a sharpened stick instead. His answer was no.

A lot of people have offered up the idea of a sharpened stick in lieu of a knife, but none, to date, have ever tried it.

I'll see if I can find the thread.

Doc

ETA: Found it.
Click to expand...



North Texas, and Texas in general, has been over-run with hogs. I am an avid hog hunter and we have tried to hunt them just about every way possible. Dogs work the best in our area, but a sharpened stick, no matter how thick or sharp is a horrible idea. We tried this on a few diffrent types of trees and tips. Not a good idea... at all.
 
texastonydobbs said:
the Ontario ASEK is a crazy knife ,I had one back a few years ago and that blade was way to busy for me... small plain edge section,large serration and a goofy saw back..that barely cut in one direction. I did like the sheath and the paracord cutter screwdriver thing was pretty tough...
Click to expand...

I bought one a couple years ago as well and sent it back the next day :)

I disliked all the things you mentioned above. Plus I thought the blade was way too thin for the design. The black finish was cheap and I couldn't believe how heavy the handle was. It through the balance way off.
 
I do own an Ontario 499 Air Force Survival that was given to me by my old CO. It actually olds up pretty well and I think it fits the ASEK criteria better than the actual Ontario ASEK.

499_survival.jpg
 
Here is a picture of the current issue ASEK...
index2.54.jpg


I have one of these knives and agree that the blade is a bit crazy. It feels like the blade is way to small and light for the heavier handle. I think that one of the criteria was to have an insulated handle for the possibility of cutting through hot wires.

The cord cutter and sheath are pretty cool though.
 
You could take the handles off the 5 and use several layers of shrink tube! That should insulate it!
 
Sad part is what is spec'd out by the brass and what the soldiers in the field want are usually two different things. No disrespect meant to any knife company but the current "issue" survival knives are a joke.
 
R.A.T. said:
Sad part is what is spec'd out by the brass and what the soldiers in the field want are usually two different things. No disrespect meant to any knife company but the current "issue" survival knives are a joke.
Click to expand...

Remember Jeff, lowest bidder gets the job. Sucks though, but, hey, most places have a PX or some thoughtful family members/donors that get them some good steel. I remeber here at the PX, a Kabar 1217 was like $30 10yrs ago. $45 now. Now thats good salsa.

Moose
 
It's not just that, Moose. I have seen the specs before any bidding took place and it's amazing what the seat shiners will spec out on a knife. Total idiocy many times.
 
R.A.T. said:
It's not just that, Moose. I have seen the specs before any bidding took place and it's amazing what the seat shiners will spec out on a knife. Total idiocy many times.
Click to expand...

Tis true. I hear from some friends that some Company Commanders are being alotted funds for "specialized equipment" and some of that money is being put towards some good steel. Hell, 6yrs ago, they (Congress) wanted to eliminate the bayonet as an issued piece of equipments on the grounds that it presented "too aggressive" of an image. Yeah, its the bayonet on the weapon that scares the shit out of me, let me tell ya.

Moose
 
What, you're against a kinder, gentler soldier? How dare you. You would probably refuse to watch the movie Brokeback Mountain too. You beast, you!
 
oh man, this is a conversation that will easily get me banned and possibly court martialed. Time for some E&E before I get the brass upset.
 
R.A.T. said:
Sad part is what is spec'd out by the brass and what the soldiers in the field want are usually two different things. No disrespect meant to any knife company but the current "issue" survival knives are a joke.
Click to expand...

Remember - a camel is a horse designed by committee.
 
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