ESEE CM6 ... choil mod

T

TakaBKK

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Jun 29, 2019
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I recently stumbled upon the ESEE CM6 and it is a very appealing blade. (A less 'high' than the 6. A little lighter too. Like a full-tang SRK.)

And I do like a choil on larger blades.

But I don't have any power tools beyond a drill.

So I wonder if anyone has attempted to add a finger choil using metal files? Or is such a project doomed to fail?

The 6 seems to get all the attention whereas the CM6 seems like a forgotten hero.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Assuming you have a large enough round file it should be pretty easy.

I've cut small ones for sharpening pretty quickly using a small round file.
 
Granted on that will take some time for the Esee, as you have a lot of metal to run through...but it still should work.
 
Hardened steel, like a knife blade, can be difficult to impossible to file with a standard file, depending on the level of hardness. I've been able to file some hardened blades with a standard file, but not some others.

Diamond files work better on hardened steel.

I've used a dremel with a grinding bit to create choils.

EDIT: I should have specified that I made sharpening choils, not finger choils.

.
 
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TakaBKK said:
I recently stumbled upon the ESEE CM6 and it is a very appealing blade. (A less 'high' than the 6. A little lighter too. Like a full-tang SRK.)

The 6 seems to get all the attention whereas the CM6 seems like a forgotten hero.
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The CM6 is the only ESEE design is appealing to me, and i too believe that is not really popular, at least not as much as i believe it should! I really like the fighter spirit in the design.

Regarding the choil, maybe there's a bladesmith, jeweller or othercraftsman close by to you with a grinder or a Dremel, as K killgar suggested?
 
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Chris*33 said:
The CM6 is the only ESEE design is appealing to me, and i too believe that is not really popular, at least not as much as i believe it should! I really like the fighter spirit in the design.

Regarding the choil, maybe there's a bladesmith, jeweller or othercraftsman close by to you with a grinder or a Dremel, as K killgar suggested?
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Thanks for sharing your opinion. Glad to know I'm not the only one who likes it. (Worried that I might have missed any reasons why the CM6 might in fact not be good.)
I live overseas, so finding the right tools or craftsmen is a bit of a challenge.
 
killgar said:
Hardened steel, like a knife blade, can be difficult to impossible to file with a standard file, depending on the level of hardness. I've been able to file some hardened blades with a standard file, but not some others.

Diamond files work better on hardened steel.

I've used a dremel with a grinding bit to create choils.
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Thanks for the idea. I have yet to find a "for-metal" dremel bit. I'll keep looking.
 
MolokaiRider said:
Granted on that will take some time for the Esee, as you have a lot of metal to run through...but it still should work.
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Thanks for sharing. I was hoping that it could be achievable.
Your comment gave me an idea: Maybe I should buy a cheap tool (like a wrench) and see how much effort it is to hand-file a groove deep enough to resemble a finger choil. (If it doesn't work, at least I didn't ruin the blade.)
 
It's Esee 1095 at 55 to 58 HRC. I'd be willing to bet it would be an easy enough mod to do. I don't even dare use worse than a medium grit belt on my Work Sharp or it will start to just devour the edge. My original Esee 3 was immediately recurved with the course belt. My guess would be a Dremel type tool with a few flap wheel bits would get the job done if you go slow and work it a little at a time.
 
I would suggest not doing this. There are so many knives with choils made by excellent makers that I would keep searching if I were you. Many with better steel and also a great warranty (Busse).

I was unfamiliar with that knife and am now interested in purchasing it. I absolutely hate choils and can't imagine why anyone would prefer to hold a blade instead of a handle. Also, they make the knives look like crap. The CM6 looks great as is.
 
Ive done finger choil on knives. Its not hard. A Power tool is the best option. A round file may work but take forever. I used a thick round stone on my dremel
 
Maximumbob54 said:
It's Esee 1095 at 55 to 58 HRC. I'd be willing to bet it would be an easy enough mod to do. I don't even dare use worse than a medium grit belt on my Work Sharp or it will start to just devour the edge. My original Esee 3 was immediately recurved with the course belt. My guess would be a Dremel type tool with a few flap wheel bits would get the job done if you go slow and work it a little at a time.
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I've never used a WS, but from the videos I've seen it seems to be good at convexing big blades/machetes/etc.
 
Tritium said:
I would suggest not doing this. There are so many knives with choils made by excellent makers that I would keep searching if I were you. Many with better steel and also a great warranty (Busse).

I was unfamiliar with that knife and am now interested in purchasing it. I absolutely hate choils and can't imagine why anyone would prefer to hold a blade instead of a handle. Also, they make the knives look like crap. The CM6 looks great as is.
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It is a very aesthetic blade shape. I live overseas, so availability is extremely limited. And I also need to rethink if adding a choil might actually impact the sheath retention.
 
Just my take from having used a CM6 quite a bit.

The Esee CM6 is a great design, but in my opinion adding a large finger choil would be a bad idea. The shape and handle design is comfortable as is and you would have to modify the handle area that acts as a finger guard to make a choil work to use a more forward grip. In my opinion from using a CM6 it would really detract from the comfort and usability as it's designed. You would change the balance and entire feel of the knife.

If a finger choil is a design feature you want I personally think you'd be much better off finding a different knife that incorporates that already. A finger choil can be a nice feature, but not necessarily a fit on a knife not designed for one.
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
Just my take from having used a CM6 quite a bit.

The Esee CM6 is a great design, but in my opinion adding a large finger choil would be a bad idea. The shape and handle design is comfortable as is and you would have to modify the handle area that acts as a finger guard to make a choil work to use a more forward grip. In my opinion from using a CM6 it would really detract from the comfort and usability as it's designed. You would change the balance and entire feel of the knife.

If a finger choil is a design feature you want I personally think you'd be much better off finding a different knife that incorporates that already. A finger choil can be a nice feature, but not necessarily a fit on a knife not designed for one.
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Good advice. Thank you for sharing your experience. I am starting to think it was a bad idea.

May I ask a slightly off-topic question? Have you had a chance to compare the cm6 to the regular 6? (As an outdoor/camp knife, nothing hardcore SHTF survival.)
 
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TakaBKK said:
Good advice. Thank you for sharing your experience. I am starting to think it was a bad idea.

May I ask a slightly off-topic question? Have you had a chance to compare the cm6 to the regular 6? (As an outdoor/camp knife, nothing hardcore SHTF survival.)
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I have used both the Esee 6 and Esee 6HM and the CM6. For my uses the CM6 is slightly more versatile and more comfortable to use in different grips. The HM6 is comfortable with the bulkier handle than the standard Esee 6 but, it limits some of the options of how you can switch grips. The Standard and HM6 might have a slight edge if you're going to push them extrenely hard and the CM6 is alittle better cutter.

If all three were laying in front of me to choose from I would take the Esee CM6.
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
I have used both the Esee 6 and Esee 6HM and the CM6. For my uses the CM6 is slightly more versatile and more comfortable to use in different grips. The HM6 is comfortable with the bulkier handle than the standard Esee 6 but, it limits some of the options of how you can switch grips. The Standard and HM6 might have a slight edge if you're going to push them extrenely hard and the CM6 is alittle better cutter.

If all three were laying in front of me to choose from I would take the Esee CM6.
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Thank you.
 
TakaBKK said:
I've never used a WS, but from the videos I've seen it seems to be good at convexing big blades/machetes/etc.
Click to expand...

Giving a convex edge is exactly why I use a belt system on them. I prefer a convex edge on most any outdoors use knife. But I also admit my outdoors use is 99% of the time just messing about having a good time.
 
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