Hi everyone. I recently picked up an Izula 2 package- my first (and last because they feel like bricks) ESEE. Out of the box the blade popped hairs. I have had it for maybe a month, have not cut a single thing, and now the blade won't even cut paper....at all. Obviously the sheath is wearing down that edge. Have any of you had that problem or is this just a fluke? The micarta scales don't fit the tang very well either. I have always heard the fit and finish on ESEE was superb, but this particular knife leaves a lot to be desired.
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ESEE Izula sheath dulls blade?
- Thread starter Doc8404
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- Jan 2, 2013
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It is possible that the sheath could be dulling the blade. Some Becker and Cold Steel sheaths are notorious for this. Corrosion on the edge is a possibility too.
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- Mar 24, 2009
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I own several izulas and izula 2s and I've never had an issue with the sheath. Is the edge rusted? I keep an izula in my BOB and one in my car and they have been sitting for months. They are both hair whittling sharp. I've heard of the sheath issue with Beckers but not izulas.
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- Dec 30, 2008
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I would go with, you don't carry and use it enough and the edge has oxidized. It happens to any carbon steel knife that isn't protected. Sharpen it up and spray the blade down with silicone spray and wipe the excess off. Then you'll be fine. Same thing happens with my custom, my esee 4 and my opinel.
I don't thnk this is the problem. There are no signs of oxidation, the blade is well oiled. I have drawn the knife at least 100 times while getting a feel for it; that must have worn down the edge. I am going to email ESEE and see if they will send me a new sheath and hopefully that will fix the problem.
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- Feb 12, 2012
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Same. Tho I will say mine came from the factory dull
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- Nov 25, 2006
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Never had a major problem with an ESEE knife. Although my orange group buy IZ-2 scales were wonkey. I just took them apart, put in a dap of locktite, reset the scales, and good to go. I have had peripheral issues on some knives from manufacturers, grinds a tad off etc. If I can fix it myself I don't bother worrying anyone about it. Yes the odd ''off'' piece slips by now and then. I sent a sloppy Endura back once and was treated very graciously by Spyderco.
That really shouldn't happen. Becker's sheaths are glass-nylon filled so they have been known to cause this problem, but the Izula sheaths are just plastic-injection molded sheaths. I've had the same problem though and talked to Jeff Randall and he said there's no way the plastic used for the sheath should be hard enough to dull an edge at all, and suggested that there was probably some debris of some kind stuck in my sheath. This was easy to confirm for me because it only dulled one part of the blade--by the sounds of it, it's dulling the entirety of the blade for you? Shine a light in there and see if you can see anything visually.
I'd also suggest oxidation though, and also how much dulling are we talking about? Sometimes when I sharpen a knife up to hair popping and let it go for a while, and try to pop hairs with it again, it really doesn't. If it's not even paper slicing still that just sounds very weird and I'm thinking that the knife didn't come very sharp, but rather had a burr (a burr will seem very, very sharp) that has since worn off. The soft plastic of the sheath could have gripped and tore this burr off--though that's a pretty long shot in my opinion, I know some people use corks to debur very thin edges, but I just can't imagine plastic this soft wearing it off unless you've taken the blade out and reinserted it thousands of times.
In any case, ESEE should take care of you, but might suggest flushing the sheath out with water first. I tried that myself and it did no good, getting a new sheath fixed the problem.
Edit:
Oh, and the fit and finish on the Izulas aren't quite as nice as the rest of the line-up. The Izulas are kind of "economy line". I'd suggest an ESEE 3 to try out, most of the models are pretty "beefy" but the 3 is quite thin in the blade stock and the handle and feels pretty light for its size.
I'd also suggest oxidation though, and also how much dulling are we talking about? Sometimes when I sharpen a knife up to hair popping and let it go for a while, and try to pop hairs with it again, it really doesn't. If it's not even paper slicing still that just sounds very weird and I'm thinking that the knife didn't come very sharp, but rather had a burr (a burr will seem very, very sharp) that has since worn off. The soft plastic of the sheath could have gripped and tore this burr off--though that's a pretty long shot in my opinion, I know some people use corks to debur very thin edges, but I just can't imagine plastic this soft wearing it off unless you've taken the blade out and reinserted it thousands of times.
In any case, ESEE should take care of you, but might suggest flushing the sheath out with water first. I tried that myself and it did no good, getting a new sheath fixed the problem.
Edit:
Oh, and the fit and finish on the Izulas aren't quite as nice as the rest of the line-up. The Izulas are kind of "economy line". I'd suggest an ESEE 3 to try out, most of the models are pretty "beefy" but the 3 is quite thin in the blade stock and the handle and feels pretty light for its size.
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- Mar 26, 2013
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I suggest buying an Izula from a reputable retailer....what you describe is not only false, but highly subjective and contrary to the thousands of field tests and detailed reviews by real world users. That said, return your Chinese counterfeit to ESEE and perhaps they will replace your "economy line" fake with the real deal.
I suggest buying an Izula from a reputable retailer....what you describe is not only false, but highly subjective and contrary to the thousands of field tests and detailed reviews by real world users. That said, return your Chinese counterfeit to ESEE and perhaps they will replace your "economy line" fake with the real deal.
Can always count on you to post a rude comment....
That being said, I emailed ESEE and Mike got back to me right away, took my address and will be sending out a new sheath to me. A++ customer service right there. He asked that I send my sheath back to them so that they can troubleshoot it.
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- Mar 8, 2008
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Never had that problem with mine.
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Anytime 'bama boy, but my post was directed to your snarky "economy line" crack, and not ESEE's stellar reputation for making things right. Take some lessons in reading comprehension, and don't parse my post to fit your agenda. BTW, I understand you have another account here on these forums; there's a word for that....sock puppet perhaps?
And there's another dick comment. I didn't make an "economy line" crack...perhaps you're the one who needs the reading comprehension lesson- try reading the name of the poster you're attempting to insult, that was KennyB.
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