Esee for EDC?

I've been carrying the 4 in my waist band for about two weeks now and I'm loving it. I keep either a sak or leatherman to pull out when I don't want to draw attention to myself though.
 
been carrying a rat 3 (pretty much the same knife, same sheath) for 3 years now every day.

nice blade. It's the one that I don't leave at home, period. I carry a variety of folders, but that one is a constant. It's a good size, good thickness for its size, nice choil, and takes a nice edge.

If I could get away with a 4, I probably would, but anything over 3.5" isn't really legal here unless you are out in the woods/fishing/etc.
 
I carried a couple different 4s for several years. I had a taco style kydex sheath and used it with a large Tek-Lok on my belt. The only complaint I ever had about it was I wished the handle was slightly longer. I miss carrying one sometimes and have thought about replacing it.
 
I got an Ontario made RAT-3 in D2 when they first come out and carried it quite often. Later on I bought one of the 1095 ESEE-3. It's a great design, I really like that they didn't go overboard with blade thickness. My only complaint, having large hands, is that the handle is a bit on the small side.
 
I carried an Esee 4 as a backup to my folder for a while. It didn't see much use. I would think the 3 would be easier to carry and more useful as an EDC fixed blade.
 
I'm with the others. The 3 is probably good enough to edc. Any larger would probably be unnecessary.

Though with that said, the recent ESEE folders while not AS quite heavy duty, have been nice edc options too.

With my profession I'm not able to carry a fixed blade knife. But if I could and I wanted to? I'd probably go with a 3.
 
Just started carrying a becker/esee bk14 and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to carry it go me. I couldn't imagine trying it with a larger fixed blade but sounds like plenty do it.

If your able to do it I wouldn't hesitate as I'm loving a fixed blade EDC so far
 
I carry mine quite a bit.. at the office, fishing, in the woods, just around the house.. broke boxes down yesterday with it. It's the exact right size and width for a EDC FB IMHO..
 
Check the handle for comfort before you buy. Some folks (myself included) find the handle on ESSE 3's and 4's to be a little too short for comfort. Aftermarket scales are available that address that issue. But you might be better off choosing another brand if the knife isn't comfortable for you.
 
ron finkbeiner jr said:
Wondering if anyone has carried an Esee 3 or 4 for an edc blade and what is your opinion about it?
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I EDC'd an ESEE-3 for several months. It's a great cutter. I retired it because it rusts easily anywhere the coating is damaged. If you actually use the knife, the coating will come off in places and it will rust. I also didn't like the absorbent handles, they seemed to get really grimy soaking up sweat. Lastly, the injection molded sheath looked and felt cheap. The knife itself was great, but it wasn't ideal as an EDC blade (for me).

If it fits your budget, the Emerson PUK is very similar in size and purpose, but made from 154CM stainless steel and it comes with the best kydex sheath I've ever seen on a production knife. It also has a grippy, but not too grippy, G10 handle. It isn't as good as a slicer as the ESEE-3, but only by a small margin. The PUK is much better at being ready on a belt, not rusting and looking nice in its epic sheath. The PUK is also way easier to sharpen thanks to the modified V grind and slightly softer steel, it is easy to get crazy sharp on a flat stone, strop, or whatever is available. My EDC fixed blades spend 99% of their time on a belt, so while the ESEE-3 is a slightly better slicer, the PUK wins because it is better at everything else.

Closer in budget and length to the ESEE-3 is the Gryphon M10. It's marketed as a boot knife, but it makes a great utility knife. It's much lighter than the ESEE-3, better balanced, and is available in several high quality kydex sheaths. It's also made from stainless VG10, with DLC coating that lasts forever. It has a high shallow grind that cuts very well. It is much narrower and lighter than the '3 and goes unnoticed on a belt, strapped to a backpack strap, or in a pocket.
 
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