ESEE Laser Strike

[Tachead01]

nucknfutz-

A month ago I was exactly where you are!!! The dilemma was enough to drive me nucknfutz. (ahh... see what I did there?)

I knew I wanted a drop point/spear point so it was down to the BK16 or the LS. ended up buying the ESEE LS on Amazon for $106.00. I now see they're up to $115 on amazon.

I justified the extra expense over the BK16 because if I wanted Micarta scales, plus a kydex sheath, I'd spent another $50 over the cost of the BK16, which would make the Becker more investment than the ESEE. Buy once cry once and all that, so I got the LS.
I loved the look, loved the feel of the materials, the sheath, etc... I thought the knife was the bees knees. I took it out for an initial test and it performed admirably. But a week later when i really wrung it out, I realized there was a very significant issue for me. The scales on that handle make it very very boxy. It became very uncomfortable to hold. Not because of the funny index finger position, that didn't bother me. It just had to do with how square the handle was. I wasn't about to take a new knife that was expensive (for me) and start grinding down scales and reshaping handles and all that.
I ended up selling it to a friend, and bought the BK16. Right from the get-go, the BK16 fit my hand like a glove. I've taken it to the woods and it is conformable for extended use, cuts like crazy, and is more than up to the task to deal with anything I'd realistically do with a knife. I don't plan to upgrade to micarta scales just yet, as the givory/zytel ones are just fine for now. As for the sheath, I'm tooling up to make my own kydex sheaths so that'll also happen, but the stock one is just fine for now. I have no doubt at all that the BK16 will be every bit as durable as the ESEE would have been.

Now, would I say anything bad about the ESEE? No. I think of it like a girl who I went on a couple of dates with who was a lovely person, we just didn't mesh romantically. I would not say anything bad about the girl, and if my friend wanted to date her i'd encourage it and tell him how wonderful she is. That's how the ESEE is to me. A fantastic, very very well made knife that will do ANYTHING a knife could reasonably do and do it for a lifetime's worth of use. I have nothing bad to say about it at all. It just didn't fit my hand with those boxy slab scales. Many other people don't have a problem with that, and many comparable knives (Ontario SK5 For example) have the same setup. I just happen to prefer the more svelte, curved feel of my BK16.

For a more direct comparison of the blades, I don't think the difference in the degree of the drop point is all that significant, at least I didn't find either way to be superior in my testing. The LS has a slightly longer blade, but it's not like you'll really notice a difference in how well they chop or anything since neither is a chopper. They both have more than enough blade to cut stuff, which is why we have knives in the first place. Both will make a nice pile of wood shavings. Both will baton approximately equal sized logs, if that's your thing (I don't do it so i don't care, but it matters to some).
One possible advantage of the BK16 is that the tang extends slightly past the handle scales, so if you need to whack the back of the knife or use the back of the tang to hit tent stakes or something, you're not going to hit and potentially damage the scales themselves. Not a big deal and not a big advantage at all, as I'd rather use a chunk of wood to do those things than the back of my knife anyway.

All in all, get the one you like. I like them both, but find the BK16 to be more comfortable to use.

You should have looked into getting new G10 TKC scales for the LS before you sold it. Easy fix and you could have kept the Esee. Nothing wrong with a Kabar but, their still not quite up to Esee standards. You get better materials, a much better sheath, better powder coat, better heat treat, and a better warranty with Esee. It is worth the extra cash imo.

 

[SFW]

I looked heavily at the LS, but in the end pulled the trigger on an ESEE 4. Love that knife. Just works better for my uses. Some people complain that the handle is too small, but it fits my heads perfectly.

 

[ocnLogan]

You should have looked into getting new G10 TKC scales for the LS before you sold it. Easy fix and you could have kept the Esee. Nothing wrong with a Kabar but, their still not quite up to Esee standards. You get better materials, a much better sheath, better powder coat, better heat treat, and a better warranty with Esee. It is worth the extra cash imo.

Adding those scales adds another $50 to the price of the knife, pushing it up close to $200 once you include shipping. That's a tough pill to swallow for most people.

Also, when you say "better" materials, you're talking about the micarta right? Because the steel is either the same, or better on the kabar (read up on 1095 cro-van at some point if you haven't already). The sheaths I would overall agree with you on, but the tweener sheaths are pretty good, and didn't ESEE either announce, or stop using kydex in their sheaths? I thought I heard about that a while ago. And finally the heat treat, I personally think they both do top notch 1095. You have a different opinion there, but I don't think there is much evidence to say that one companies ht is better than the other.

Again, I primarily feel the difference in price between their knives is mostly the cost of the micarta, and the warranty (where I think most people are helping fund someone elses replacement knife). Thus I still say choose the blade shape you like best, and go from there.

That's my opinion anyway.

And for what its worth I think the LS is one of the better knives in the ESEE lineup.

And OP, glad you read my review. I wrote it to help people out, so I'm glad you found it in your research.

Good luck making a decision .

 

[Tachead01]

I looked heavily at the LS, but in the end pulled the trigger on an ESEE 4. Love that knife. Just works better for my uses. Some people complain that the handle is too small, but it fits my heads perfectly.

Me too, I find the 4 to be the perfect size for an EDC camping, fishing, hiking, bushcraft knife. I love mine.

 

[TinyDog]

As the owner of the Esee 3,4,5,6 and Junglas I never understood the purpose or function of this knife that could differentiate it from another of its siblings other than a higher cost point.

 

[Tachead01]

Adding those scales adds another $50 to the price of the knife, pushing it up close to $200 once you include shipping. That's a tough pill to swallow for most people.

Also, when you say "better" materials, you're talking about the micarta right? Because the steel is either the same, or better on the kabar (read up on 1095 cro-van at some point if you haven't already). The sheaths I would overall agree with you on, but the tweener sheaths are pretty good, and didn't ESEE either announce, or stop using kydex in their sheaths? I thought I heard about that a while ago. And finally the heat treat, I personally think they both do top notch 1095. You have a different opinion there, but I don't think there is much evidence to say that one companies ht is better than the other.

Again, I primarily feel the difference in price between their knives is mostly the cost of the micarta, and the warranty (where I think most people are helping fund someone elses replacement knife). Thus I still say choose the blade shape you like best, and go from there.

That's my opinion anyway.

And for what its worth I think the LS is one of the better knives in the ESEE lineup.

And OP, glad you read my review. I wrote it to help people out, so I'm glad you found it in your research.

Good luck making a decision .

You pay for quality man. Really, $200 is not much for a high end bushcraft knife. Esee's are on the cheaper side really. Go look at Survive, Busse, Ambush, exc. if you think that's pricey lol.

Better handle materials(yes micarta), better powder coat(more durable/much thicker), better heat treat(maybe not by much but, there is more then one video available showing Kabar's breaking much easier then similar Esee's when abused), better sheaths(yes they are no longer use Kydex because they went to a more durable and tighter fitting polymer. Kydex is not the best, it's a common misconception) The grinds, factory edge, and fit and finish are superior on my Esee's vs Kabar's as well.

Again, I like Kabar's and still own them but, I don't think they are on the same level as Esee in any way. They are closer to Ontario's quality imo.

 

[ocnLogan]

You pay for quality man. Really, $200 is not much for a high end bushcraft knife. Esee's are on the cheaper side really. Go look at Survive, Busse, Ambush, exc. if you think that's pricey lol.

Better handle materials(yes micarta), better powder coat(more durable/much thicker), better heat treat(maybe not by much but, there is more then one video available showing Kabar's breaking much easier then similar Esee's when abused), better sheaths(yes they are no longer use Kydex because they went to a more durable and tighter fitting polymer. Kydex is not the best, it's a common misconception) The grinds, factory edge, and fit and finish are superior on my Esee's vs Kabar's as well.

Again, I like Kabar's and still own them but, I don't think they are on the same level as Esee in any way. They are closer to Ontario's quality imo.

Yep, I do think $200 is a lot, which is why even though id like a survive, or busse, there is no way I'd pay for them. I know everyone's finances are different, but $200 is not a small purchase for me.

Out of curiosity, have you tried the new coating the Becker line uses? I guess the change was made 2-3 years ago (when they started with the laser engraving switch). That coating is rough textured, and very different than the coating used before, and what is still uses on some of kabars other knives. Its quite a bit tougher than the old stuff. I'll mostly just wondering which one you were comparing the ESEE coating to when you said that. And thanks for confirming the sheath material switch, I hadn't heard when that went into effect.

Most videos I've seen of them (beckers) where they broke, it was older Camillus produces ones. I've not seen a newer laser engraved kabar version break yet, which isn't to say it hasnt/wont/cant happen, just haven't seen one yet (haven't actively been looking either).

Anyway, I'm not saying anything bad about esee or others, just offering another opinion that I don't believe ESEE to be in a whole different level. But, individual experiences differ, so I have no problem with disagreements like this.

And again, good luck to the op with choosing. It took me quite a while to select my first knife, but the search was fun and informative.

 

[TinyDog]

I do not care for either of their current coatings. Becker's coating can look terrible after taking a couple of swipes at cardboard, not that looks are important, but what you see as scratches is unprotected. And Esee's coating can be severely worn away in a single outing if you are a hard user. Either one is temporary but Esee's is much better IMO

 

[19-3ben]

Thus I still say choose the blade shape you like best, and go from there.

That's really it, in a nutshell. Many companies make very good stuff. I can't afford to get hung up on the superiority of one company over another.