ESEE Izula folder (for real this time)

Went back today. Great group of people. The folder is about 9 months away but it is coming and it will be stainless steel.:thumbup:
I have a picture on my phone will post when I get home.
 
Oh that's too bad. Regardless of whose name is on it, a stainless steel folder with a 440C blade doesn't make my wish list.
 
LG&M said:
Went back today. Great group of people. The folder is about 9 months away but it is coming and it will be stainless steel.:thumbup:
I have a picture on my phone will post when I get home.
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Any way to narrow down which variety of stainless?
 
If it's the handle, does it matter? I assume that's what LG&M was referring to when he said it was stainless steel. Hopefully I'm mistaken.

EDIT: The ESEE website says the handle is Titanium, so it appears I was mistaken. Now we just have to find out which alloy ESEE plans to use for the blade. And for what it's worth, I don't have a problem with 440C if it's properly heat treated and the fact that it's not a "premium" steel is reflected in the price.
 
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bld522 said:
Oh that's too bad. Regardless of whose name is on it, a stainless steel folder with a 440C blade doesn't make my wish list.
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yup, I really do like the design but If its 440c im out for sure. Im sure we shall see in due time.
 
Tripton said:
Yep, it was. There was also a disclaimer saying that it would not actually be the final product, and it was just a rough concept to put a visual on the idea of an Izula folder.
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Obviously. We have eyes, we can see it doesn't match the finished product. Which is some of us are saying we liked the concept drawing better than the actual finished product.

Tripton said:
Again, not a prototype. It never existed.

Rendering. Computer drawing. Whatever.
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The fact of the matter is that this was a long awaited product, and the teaser they had on their official site looks very little like the final result, which is a disappointment to those of us who liked the concept drawing. If ESEE didn't want people assuming that's what the product would eventually look like, they shouldn't have put it on their official site.
 
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Point taken. But to me that's exactly what a concept drawing represents . . . something that may be what the final product looks like but has lots of room to move.

I'm not put off by the design of the prototype at all. In fact, I like it better so far than any of the new ZT offerings. I just hope ESEE puts a price on it that doesn't send it over the moon. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of looking at $200 MSRP Ti-handled production framelocks. And a "lowly" steel like 440C doesn't bother me at all, particularly if it's heat-treated by someone who knows how to temper steel the way Rowen does. So I say bring the darn thing already and let's see what we've got.
 
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440C + No SS lock bar insert on a titanium framelock = No go for me.

Hopefully the production model is different.
 
I've yet to come close to wearing out a Ti lockbar without a SS insert, so that's not an issue for me.

As I said before, it's all going to come down to the choices ESEE makes and the price they charge based on their choices. There's definitely a "right" price for a 440C ESEE Ti-handled framelock in my reality, however.
 
Quiet said:
Craytab, you know you're my boy, come on now. :p

I will concede that the ESEE warranty is objectively better. But for me, it's really all the same, is the point that I was (poorly) making. I don't abuse my knives, so any issue I had, would almost certainly be a defect in the product, that's all. Meaning, the warranty departments at any of the big guys would take care of me. At the end of the day, I DO like ESEE products, but at the same time, I love Swamprat, Busse, Becker, and so on also. Like, I could not hold an ESEE 5 in one hand, and say, a Becker BK-10 in the other, and objectively tell myself that one knife can do vastly more work than the other. They're both good, sturdy knives.

Also, do keep in mind that I own multiple ESEE products and enjoy them. I don't know use "warranty" as a reason to buy one over other offerings I might also be interested in.

ALSO also, knock on wood, you watch, all my knives will start breaking on me, and the warranty guys will tell me to take a hike. LOL
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Well, I'm totally ESEE biased, I think their attention to design and customer services goes way beyond what you can see on paper. There was one particular thread on their forum where a user had broken the tip off of one of his knives and asked how to fix it. Jeff Randall popped in and said, "Send it back and we'll send you a new one." Not even an odd occurrence either, and what's better is a good portion of the time the people politely refuse and just fix the issue themselves. On the other hand there are a lot of examples of jerks trying to take advantage of them too.

But I agree I don't really find a liking for the folder. I like the Izula as a fixed blade as well, so having one as a folder would just be pointless. As far as the steel thing goes though, they're pretty vocal about not being into "performance" steel and just wanting to keep it to cheap, tried and true stuff to keep the cost for the consumer low.
 
KennyB said:
As far as the steel thing goes though, they're pretty vocal about not being into "performance" steel and just wanting to keep it to cheap, tried and true stuff to keep the cost for the consumer low.
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Crazy thing is, 440C is NOT crap steel. Anyone who thinks so should have a chat with Ray Ennis.
 
bld522 said:
As I said before, it's all going to come down to the choices ESEE makes and the price they charge based on their choices. There's definitely a "right" price for a 440C ESEE Ti-handled framelock in my reality, however.
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This is how I see it as well. Unfortunately for me the blade length will be an issue as well (I know it's not an issue for you bld522). I like a longer blade so the price will need to be low enough for me to justify buying something that I will most likely not carry a bunch.

I know weight is an issue for you bld522. I think you should be concerned about the thickness of the blade. Esee can make some heavy clunky stuff.
 
Agreed. Too much weight could be a deal breaker for me. Problem is, it's really difficult to make any kind of educated guesses with nothing more than a picture to look at.
 
bld522 said:
Point taken. But to me that's exactly what a concept drawing represents . . . something that may be what the final product looks like but has lots of room to move.

I'm not put off by the design of the prototype at all. In fact, I like it better so far than any of the new ZT offerings. I just hope ESEE puts a price on it that doesn't send it over the moon. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of looking at $200 MSRP Ti-handled production framelocks. And a "lowly" steel like 440C doesn't bother me at all, particularly if it's heat-treated by someone who knows how to temper steel the way Rowen does. So I say bring the darn thing already and let's see what we've got.
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Rowan does not heat treat 440c. Stainless heat treating is done out of house.
 
calc said:
Obviously. We have eyes, we can see it doesn't match the finished product. Which is some of us are saying we liked the concept drawing better than the actual finished product.



The fact of the matter is that this was a long awaited product, and the teaser they had on their official site looks very little like the final result, which is a disappointment to those of us who liked the concept drawing. If ESEE didn't want people assuming that's what the product would eventually look like, they shouldn't have put it on their official site.
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Yeah. Same goes for car manufacturers. They should cancel all of the auto shows unless they are going to show ONLY finished and tested products.:rolleyes:
 
Tripton said:
Rowan does not heat treat 440c. Stainless heat treating is done out of house.
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I hadn't heard this. In fact I heard that the reason Jeff settled on 440C was that Shon (the headhancho at Rowen) was use to working with it.
 
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