ESEE Cutlery Question - Wood Processing?

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marshallrogers

Joined
Aug 8, 2011
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Hello All,

Well I think I'm set on good folding knives (at least for the time being), and would like to transition into buying good fixed blade knives. I will be moving back to Colorado soon, and will be spending more of my time in the deep mountains hiking, camping, fly fishing, backpacking, etc.

Im looking at the ESEE Cutlery series of knives as good options for primary wilderness knives. However, I'm debating on which model number to get and which will give me the capabilities I need.


i.e. My Question: Which ESEE model would be best for overall wilderness, while still allowing me to process wood with it efficiently? The smaller the better, just afraid I'll go too small, possibly say with the 3.

Any insight would help,

-Marshall Rogers
 
For a good balance of overall woods tasks and wood processing (read: batoning), the ESEE 4 should be sufficient. It's thicker than the ESEE 3 so it will sustain more "abuse". But, it isn't as thick as the ESEE 5 so it will still slice well and perform other fine camp tasks well. Pair it with and Izula or similar neck knife and an axe and you'll be set.
 
I say get the 5. It is 1/4" thick & that helps immensely with splitting wood. You can pound on it all day long as hard as you want with no worries.
 
I've batoned the Izula. You have to get a little more clever with it and bite off smaller pieces, but it works great.
 
I have the 5 and I can confidently hand it over to my 10 year old to process wood for the camp fire knowing he will not be able to damage it.

Sure it is heavy as heck, but if you like small knives and are all set on nice folding knives, there is no sense in trying to replace what you know and love with a medium sized fixed that will be bigger than what you like for small tasks, and almost big enough for larger tasks. This is why I suggest a big knife to carry WITH your folder of choice.

As a goal, perhaps try to accomplish everything with your folder (I think many of us like the challenge of bringing the bare minimum), and if you find yourself unable to process enough wood without percussive motions, pull out the big guns.
 
The 6 is nice for its size and weight. Along with one of your folders you should be set.
 
I hear the 6 is the one to get if you're in the woods. Its a bit thinner than the 6 (3/16 i think), and a bit longer, so better at chopping and batoning the thicker pieces of wood. If I were to buy an ESEE, thats the one I would get.

Also, I'm not sure if you've looked into the Becker line of knifes by KaBar, but they're really similar in most respects (generally larger hard use knifes with full length full width tangs). They're generally a bit cheaper (usually around $60-75), but also don't come stock with mycarta. Just throwing them out there in case you've not thought about them.

Good luck :).
 
4, hands down. Plenty tough enough. Light enough to carry. plus it has enough length to baton. If the 4 cant go thru it find another piece of wood.
 
Orion's Belt said:
For a good balance of overall woods tasks and wood processing (read: batoning), the ESEE 4 should be sufficient. It's thicker than the ESEE 3 so it will sustain more "abuse". But, it isn't as thick as the ESEE 5 so it will still slice well and perform other fine camp tasks well. Pair it with and Izula or similar neck knife and an axe and you'll be set.
Click to expand...

I'm still not sure I understand all the commotion about 'batoning'. Yes, it's a valid method of splitting/cutting pieces of wood but it's really more of a survival/field expedient skill than anything else. I learned it in Ranger school maannnny years ago. Up till then I'd never used the technique although I'd spent tons of time backpacking, hunting, camping etc. The technique was taught as a last ditch kind of thing.

If your going camping for a week, take a bow saw or a camp axe. If going backpacking, take a nice, light folding saw or a small belt axe. When I would go backpacking, about 60/70% of our fires were made with dead wood we gathered or broke off of trees, never touched an axe or saw. I can't remember the time I had to do any serious wood processing in a backpacking/camping situation. If I'm doing what I consider wood processing I'll be using a chainsaw and a hydraulic splitter.

If your talking about a day hike and wanting to have something just in case you end up being out overnight and think the ESEE 3 is too small then I'd go with the 4. That being said, I'd probably take a light belt axe anyway, but that's just me.

Just my 2 cents worth ... and remember 'You get what you pay for'.

Jester
 
The 6 is my favorite but you want a small one that will still batton. The 3 will batton through wood I would go with the 4 though for the extra thickness. I personally usually carry the 6 and the 3 camping and backpacking, adding in the junglas or machette for wood cutting.

take it easy
cricket
 
Jester60 said:
I'm still not sure I understand all the commotion about 'batoning'. Yes, it's a valid method of splitting/cutting pieces of wood but it's really more of a survival/field expedient skill than anything else. I learned it in Ranger school maannnny years ago. Up till then I'd never used the technique although I'd spent tons of time backpacking, hunting, camping etc. The technique was taught as a last ditch kind of thing.

If your going camping for a week, take a bow saw or a camp axe. If going backpacking, take a nice, light folding saw or a small belt axe. When I would go backpacking, about 60/70% of our fires were made with dead wood we gathered or broke off of trees, never touched an axe or saw. I can't remember the time I had to do any serious wood processing in a backpacking/camping situation. If I'm doing what I consider wood processing I'll be using a chainsaw and a hydraulic splitter.

If your talking about a day hike and wanting to have something just in case you end up being out overnight and think the ESEE 3 is too small then I'd go with the 4. That being said, I'd probably take a light belt axe anyway, but that's just me.

Just my 2 cents worth ... and remember 'You get what you pay for'.

Jester
Click to expand...

I agree that if I were going to split wood for lets say, a cabin that uses a woodburning stove or something like that, I would take a hydraulic splitter 100% of the time. And if I couldn't have that, I would take a full size ax for sure.

When I camp, I take a folding saw that does all of the cutting, and then if I need some nice dry kindling, I will baton through one of the cut pieces with a sturdy knife. Personally I am more accurate splitting wood like that with a knife and a baton than I am with a hatchet, and it feels easier to carry around as well. The other reason I prefer batoning (over say, a hatchet) is that I feel more controlled, and there is one less edge that is potentially flying away deflected. This is all just personal preference though.

And again, if I were to choose an esee, I would go with either a 4, or a 6, but more likely the 6. Neither would be great choppers, so I would take along a folding saw of some sort.

Good luck :).
 
The 6 is my favorite ESEE. If I could only have one production knife for the rest of my life it'd probably be the one I'd pick.
 
I recently bought a Junglas, an ESEE 4 and and Izula.
All three of those blades have covered exactly what I needed to do.
If you're getting ONE knife. DEFINITELY go with the 4. It is thick enough for you to use as a baton, light enough to carry with you almost anywhere, AND it's tough as nails.
I love ESEE simply for the quality control, the craftsmanship, and those epoxy coatings on the blades.
Remember, if you're going to be splitting a whole mess of wood, BRING AN AXE (or hatchet, or hell, even hawk)
But for that one knife that you want as an all around user/beater/tool....
The ESEE 4 is a hard one to beat!

Good luck in your purchase, and happy trails!
 
Very common question, I own them all and use them all, you would not be upset with the overall performance of the EESE 4, it can do everything you mentioned and yet light/delicate enough for smaller chores. The carry and weight of it also makes it exceptional in my opinion.
 
Thank you all for the great information. Very much appreciated. I'll post what I decided to go with.
Also, will definitely pick up a good folding saw.
Thanks again

-Marshall Rogers
 
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