Esee Izula handle wrap.

baliflipper02 · Nov 2, 2015

Im looking to buy a Esee Izula 2 to carry around my neck/in pocket. So I'm looking for a slim, paracord wrap. Please share some ideas! Thanks!

KaguyaKenji · Nov 2, 2015

check out this vid: here.

I've wrapped my regular Izula with this wrap, and it held great during the limited use I've put my Izula through. Took me 42 inches of paracord to wrap my handle and left a length of cord out the end. It's quite slim and conceals well under a t-shirt. Here's how it turned out for me: pic link.
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I got no clue how to attach a pic on bladeforums, it always turns out blank, so I hyperlinked the pic.

baliflipper02 · Nov 2, 2015

KaguyaKenji said:
check out this vid: here.

I've wrapped my regular Izula with this wrap, and it held great during the limited use I've put my Izula through. Took me 42 inches of paracord to wrap my handle and left a length of cord out the end. It's quite slim and conceals well under a t-shirt. Here's how it turned out for me: pic link.
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I got no clue how to attach a pic on bladeforums, it always turns out blank, so I hyperlinked the pic.

Nice! I will consider this one when I get my Izula!!

craytab · Nov 2, 2015

This is my Izula. I used the directions that came with the knife I believe. I also spliced the two colors together. To make it thinner you could try hollowing it out.

Cackmandu · Nov 2, 2015

Great question, I too am interested in how to splice the paracord?

baliflipper02 · Nov 2, 2015

Another question I have is should I get the stainless Izula? I really don't want to worry about rust and stuff. But is the wear resistance and stuff the same?

KaguyaKenji · Nov 2, 2015

baliflipper02 said:
Another question I have is should I get the stainless Izula? I really don't want to worry about rust and stuff. But is the wear resistance and stuff the same?

Can't help you there, but I'm intrigued by that too. For one, I never knew there was a stainless Izula. Also, I've never had any quality knives with 440c steel, so 440c's been a lower end steel on my list.

baliflipper02 · Nov 3, 2015

KaguyaKenji said:
Can't help you there, but I'm intrigued by that too. For one, I never knew there was a stainless Izula. Also, I've never had any quality knives with 440c steel, so 440c's been a lower end steel on my list.

When you say you've never had a quality knife with 440c, do you mean that the actual build quality of the knife was bad? or the steel was bad?

jonnyt16 · Nov 3, 2015

I almost always use what is called a Strider wrap on my neck knives, made popular by Strider Knives. Fairly easy to do, looks good, and holds up well. There should be plenty of tutorial videos on it. Here's my Izula and Swampwarden done in the Strider wrap:

baliflipper02 · Nov 3, 2015

jonnyt16 said:
I almost always use what is called a Strider wrap on my neck knives, made popular by Strider Knives. Fairly easy to do, looks good, and holds up well. There should be plenty of tutorial videos on it. Here's my Izula and Swampwarden done in the Strider wrap:

Interesting.. I will take a look at this wrap fo' sho!

slims_88 · Nov 3, 2015

jonnyt16 said:
I almost always use what is called a Strider wrap on my neck knives, made popular by Strider Knives. Fairly easy to do, looks good, and holds up well. There should be plenty of tutorial videos on it. Here's my Izula and Swampwarden done in the Strider wrap:

who made your sheath?

jonnyt16 · Nov 3, 2015

slims_88 said:
who made your sheath?

I can't quite remember for sure. I know it was from one of the more popular makers here on these forums, AZWelke or somebody like him.

slims_88 · Nov 3, 2015

jonnyt16 said:
I can't quite remember for sure. I know it was from one of the more popular makers here on these forums, AZWelke or somebody like him.

That's what I thought. Looks a lot like the sheath I got from him for my ESEE 3.

91bravo · Nov 3, 2015

Here's a wrap that my wife thought up a few years back...

KaguyaKenji · Nov 4, 2015

baliflipper02 said:
When you say you've never had a quality knife with 440c, do you mean that the actual build quality of the knife was bad? or the steel was bad?

The steel. I've heard people say if the heat treat's done right, then it's quite a nice steel. But all the 440c blades I've used tends to dull on me faster than 8cr13mov. I had one that went faster than my mini food-prep 3cr13 knife (kershaw3800). It's probably because they's all under the $30 range.

That's why I wanna buy something like a Boker and try that out, heard their 440c's heat treat's real good. Until then, I'm just not a fan of the 440 series of knife steels. Anyway, don't take my word for it. ESEE'll hopefully do a better job on 440c than those companies I've tried that steel from.

KaguyaKenji · Nov 4, 2015

91bravo said:
Here's a wrap that my wife thought up a few years back...

That's pretty darn cool. Are there any tutorials out there on how to wrap that? Sure would like to give that a shot

n7titan · Nov 4, 2015

baliflipper02 said:
Another question I have is should I get the stainless Izula? I really don't want to worry about rust and stuff. But is the wear resistance and stuff the same?

No, different steels have different properties. I don't know the specifics between 440c and 1095, but lemme copy and paste for you.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/368828-Steel-FAQ

440 A - 440 B - 440C
The carbon content (and hardenability) of this stainless steel goes up
in order from A (.75%) to B (.9%) to C (1.2%). 440C is an excellent,
high-end stainless steel, usually hardened to around 56-58 Rc, very
tough and with good edge-holding at that hardness. 440C was the king
of stainless cutlery steels in the 1980s, before ATS-34 took the title
in the 1990s. All three resist rust well, with 440A being the most
rust resistant, and 440C the least. The SOG Seal 2000 is 440A, and
Randall uses 440B for their stainless knives. 440C is fairly
ubiquitous, and is generally considered a very good general-use
stainless, tougher and more stain resistant than ATS-34 but with less
edge-holding and weaker. If your knife is marked with just "440", it
is probably the less expensive 440A; if a manufacturer had used the
more expensive 440C, he'd want to advertise that. The general feeling
is that 440A (and similar steels, see below) is just good enough for
everyday use, especially with a good heat treat (we've heard good
reports on the heat treat of SOG's 440A blades, don't know who does
the work for them). 440-B is a very solid performer and 440-C is
excellent.

The 10-series -- 1095 (and 1084, 1070, 1060, 1050, etc.) Many of the
10-series steels for cutlery, though 1095 is the most popular for
knives. When you go in order from 1095-1050, you generally go from
more carbon to less, from more wear resistance to less wear
resistance, and tough to tougher to toughest. As such, you'll see
1060 and 1050, used often for swords. For knives, 1095 is sort of the
"standard" carbon steel, not too expensive and performs well. It is
reasonably tough and holds an edge well, and is easy to sharpen. It
rusts easily. This is a simple steel, which contains only two
alloying elements: .95% carbon and .4% manganese. The various kabars
are usually 1095 with a black coating.

Edit: regarding rust, it depends on how much you will use/maintain your knife. Seeing as you're in LA, If it's going to see long periods of inactivity (like in your garage) you may want to get stainless. Otherwise regular use and some maintenence is usually enough for most people and 1095.

KaguyaKenji said:
ESEE'll hopefully do a better job on 440c than those companies I've tried that steel from.

Esee has a great reputation for heat treating. I'd give them a fair shake based on that.

EChoil · Nov 4, 2015

If you haven't wrapped it yet, don't forget about leather.

Leather makes as good or better a wrap than paracord and can look awesome and gains "character" as it ages and is handled. Also, it can be treated with anything from a "preserver" to "waterproofing" to keep it looking good and meet your needs. Can't do that with paracord.

Good leather boot lace can be found at shoe shops as well as some retailers. Also, many sizes, forms and colors of sheet leather can be found very reasonably at retailers such as Hobby Lobby or Michaels. It can then be cut to custom widths, lengths or even textured is one desires.

My knives are about 50/50 wrapped in cord vs. leather. Both look excellent when finished. I believe I tend toward leather however for comfortable, firm and eventually "molded" handle grip. I also like the way leather wrap ages.

crom · Nov 4, 2015

Mine came wrapped in paracord but when I started using it, the cord was moving around and I didn't like the feel so off it went. I have the Micarta inserts, makes a good knife a great knife.

jonnyt16 · Nov 4, 2015

EChoil said:
If you haven't wrapped it yet, don't forget about leather.

Leather makes as good or better a wrap than paracord and can look awesome and gains "character" as it ages and is handled. Also, it can be treated with anything from a "preserver" to "waterproofing" to keep it looking good and meet your needs. Can't do that with paracord.

Good leather boot lace can be found at shoe shops as well as some retailers. Also, many sizes, forms and colors of sheet leather can be found very reasonably at retailers such as Hobby Lobby or Michaels. It can then be cut to custom widths, lengths or even textured is one desires.

My knives are about 50/50 wrapped in cord vs. leather. Both look excellent when finished. I believe I tend toward leather however for comfortable, firm and eventually "molded" handle grip. I also like the way leather wrap ages.

Hmm, now a Strider wrap done in leather sounds like something I might have to try. Would love to see some of your leather wraps, got any photos?