Thanks to our esteemed knifemaker's Christmas special, I ended up with Esteban #002. I got it just over a week ago, and last night, I pulled out my usual EDC slipjoints and oiled them up to keep them from rusting. Unfortunately (for them) the Esteban has kept them in the drawer neglected.
I'm yet to find anything I don't like about it. Dylan's work is absolutely superb. I was lucky enough to get a knife out of his very first batch that came up for sale, and his work has improved by leaps and bounds in such a short time (not to say my first fletcher was anything short of excellent, in fact it's probably my favorite big fixed blade). As for the steel itself, O1 is really growing on me. This one was laser sharp out of the wrap, and after a week of cutting rope, insulation, cardboard, carpet, and kitchen duty, it only needed a light touch up to get back to put-it-away-before-you-hurt-yourself sharp. I'm used to thin-ish slipjoints for detail work, so I was a little worried 5/32" would be too thick. Not so. Dylan's grinds make it cut like a scalpel. The handle is what you'd expect from Dylan, nice and grippy, comfortable enough to hold all day. As for length, it's a solid three finger knife for me, my hands are pretty big. Almost forgot to add, when it's in the sheath, it drops right in to the front pocket of jeans or cargo pants if you go to some place that isn't belt-carry friendly.
I know you guys would tar and feather me for posting this without pics, so here you go.
Edge shot. Nice, even grinds.
Spine. Thick, but not too thick, with just the right amount of handle
Group pic, with a little amber goodness
I'm yet to find anything I don't like about it. Dylan's work is absolutely superb. I was lucky enough to get a knife out of his very first batch that came up for sale, and his work has improved by leaps and bounds in such a short time (not to say my first fletcher was anything short of excellent, in fact it's probably my favorite big fixed blade). As for the steel itself, O1 is really growing on me. This one was laser sharp out of the wrap, and after a week of cutting rope, insulation, cardboard, carpet, and kitchen duty, it only needed a light touch up to get back to put-it-away-before-you-hurt-yourself sharp. I'm used to thin-ish slipjoints for detail work, so I was a little worried 5/32" would be too thick. Not so. Dylan's grinds make it cut like a scalpel. The handle is what you'd expect from Dylan, nice and grippy, comfortable enough to hold all day. As for length, it's a solid three finger knife for me, my hands are pretty big. Almost forgot to add, when it's in the sheath, it drops right in to the front pocket of jeans or cargo pants if you go to some place that isn't belt-carry friendly.
I know you guys would tar and feather me for posting this without pics, so here you go.
Edge shot. Nice, even grinds.
Spine. Thick, but not too thick, with just the right amount of handle
Group pic, with a little amber goodness
Last edited:
