Help me pick, ESEE 5 or ESEE 6. Serrated or Clip Point too?

E

Ekdrm2d1

Joined
Jul 6, 2010
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696
Hey ya BF,

I want to pickup a nice knife for house hold duties, as well as some small outside yard work. Can you please guide to something that would suit my needs? Thanks.

I need the knife as a 'EDC' but to be kept in my bedroom. This knife will be the knife that I use the most.

Some things that I would use the knife for.
Cutting packaging tape.
Cutting cardboard boxes.
Cutting string/yarn/rope.
Cutting food (non meat).
Cutting thin tree 'branches'.
Cutting weeds, and other small backyard items.
Just random house-hold uses.

I'm also confused on the benefits of a Serrated and Clip Point styles.
For my uses (see above) would the serrated or clip point be of an advtanage to me?
Could you please define what the advantages and uses are? Why are there options for them?

Also, I understand the ESEE 5 is more geared for "extreme uses" as it's branded as a Downed Pilot's Knife. I want a awesome, rigged, and tough knife, should I pick the 5?
Is the extra inch of length of the 6 worth it?

Thanks for any and all help. :thumbup:
 
I don't think the 5 or 6 are great choices for any of that and definitely not a clip point.

I would think a 3 would be better for general use. If you try to get a jack of all trades, you get a master of none. A 3 isn't going to cut branches well and a 5 or 6 is a lot of knife for opening packages.

I'd try to narrow it down for what you really want to use the knife for the most and go from there.

Also, check the running review sticky of the ESEE-5 at the top of the forum.
 
the 5 is overkill for what you want.
the clip point would also not be necessary for your list of duties.
the 6 would handle everything you list very well, but may still be more knife than you "need".
an ESEE 3 or 4 would cover all your bases pretty good, and I would lean towards the 4 becuase it feels better in my hand. (I have fairly large hands)
Serrations may or may not be helpful based on the tasks you listed.
What's your prior experience with knives? brand, style, size?
 
I just got an RC 3 and I will say the following about your listed tasks,
Cutting packaging tape. excellent
Cutting cardboard boxes. excellent
Cutting string/yarn/rope. excellent
Cutting food (non meat). excellent (even meat)
Cutting thin tree 'branches'. will require minor effort
Cutting weeds, and other small backyard items. depends on size and thickness, ain't no machete though
The five is a little on the thick & heavy duty side for these tasks and the 6 seems like to much blade. IMO, YMMV.
Hope this helps.
 
Whoops, I forgot the 5 did not come with a CP option.

Oh really? Interesting thoughts adaman. I just assumed the bigger the better.
Well, lets say I need to tackle a job and the 3 is too small. I would hate to be SOL and have a small knife.

The old knife that I used for general use has been trashed. I was using a 4" folder blade. I thought if I upgraded, I would want something bigger, a 5 or 6" blade.

A lot of my thoughts on the 5 or 6 is I just want a bad ass knife. Sturdy, well built haus. It could tackle anything I throw at it.
I don't mind over-paying for something I wouldn't take advantage of. I want to hold the knife and think "Wow, this knife is awesome!" haha :p

Edit: I'll be sure to check the sticky. Thanks.

Thanks for replying.. Tons more people have just chimed in :)
 
For what you listed, a 3 or a small folder would work just fine. In fact, the best ESEE for the listed tasks is probably the Izula. The five and six are "hell just froze over" survival knives, and while they're great knives to have, I sure as shit wouldn't wanna be using either to open up boxes.

That's what my izula is for :) If you still want beefy but suited to the tasks at hand, I'd go for a HEST
 
Dizwolf said:
the only job I wouldn't use a three for...is batoning an entire oak tree.
Click to expand...

Lol. I can tell you there have been very few times that a 3-4" blade wouldn't do what I needed it to do. A blade too large and cumbersome is much more common.
 
If you're set on a larger knife, for the tasks you mention, I'd go with a -6 for the larger jobs, but then I'd also get an Izula for the smaller ones. You can't go wrong for the price point. :)
 
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Wow, good replies here. Thanks :thumbup:

It seems a lot of people are mentioning the 3 and 4.

1066vik said:
the 5 is overkill for what you want.
the clip point would also not be necessary for your list of duties.
the 6 would handle everything you list very well, but may still be more knife than you "need".
an ESEE 3 or 4 would cover all your bases pretty good, and I would lean towards the 4 becuase it feels better in my hand. (I have fairly large hands)
Serrations may or may not be helpful based on the tasks you listed.
What's your prior experience with knives? brand, style, size?
Click to expand...

I'm a knife noobie. My old place of employment laid me off. The only knife I had was a holiday gift from that office. It was a $3.00 made in China folder.
Since I'm no longer with that company, I wanted to upgrade to something personal. Something awesome.

I picked up my first knife last week, the Busse Bushwacker Mistress. It's an awesome knife. Like others have mentioned, the Busse Bushwacker Mistress is overkill for my daily needs. I'll be "putting away" the Busse and using the ESEE.

I like larger knifes, hence I want a ESEE 5 or 6 for general use :p

Style, I like the look of the Americanized Tanto, but I've heard you sacrifice performance with the tanto tip. The busse has a Double Cut Bead Blasted blade finish, so this time I would like a black coated blade finish. I love the look of the black finish, makes it seem combat.

As I mentioned above, I don’t mind over paying for a knife that I would not be taking advantage of. I would rather have a “hogg” of a knife in case I ever needed it. Maybe the zombies will come in 2012!! ha

Edit: A lot of replies! yay :)
Do I have to quote each and every person? Thanks so much for the feedback. BF rules!
 
Ekdrm2d1 said:
As I mentioned above, I don’t mind over paying for a knife that I would not be taking advantage of. I would rather have a “hogg” of a knife in case I ever needed it. Maybe the zombies will come in 2012!! ha
Click to expand...


Heh. Big knives are great and fun to collect. No one here will try and stop you from buying a Junglas.

But there's also having cool knives for when the zombies come, and having the right knife for the task at hand. For most of your task, hell, for most of OUR tasks, an Izula, HEST, 3 or 4 work better than a larger knife. It's like slicing a watermelon, or opening it Gallagher style.

I've got 'em all... my 3 and izula get the most work, the HEST is getting up there.
4380636292_579fa060ff_b.jpg
 
stjones,
Cool. Thanks.

Dizwolf said:
For what you listed, a 3 or a small folder would work just fine. In fact, the best ESEE for the listed tasks is probably the Izula. The five and six are "hell just froze over" survival knives, and while they're great knives to have, I sure as shit wouldn't wanna be using either to open up boxes.

That's what my izula is for :) If you still want beefy but suited to the tasks at hand, I'd go for a HEST
Click to expand...

Why do you say that? Too dangerous, you might cut yourself on a simple task as boxes. You would not want to "damage" the expensive knife?

Would it be harder to use?

I do want the "hell freezes over" type of knife :p
 
You have the Busse for "hell's freeze over" and ANY of your BIG jobs. Now you need to pair that up with something suited for smaller tasks.
refer to my earlier post, the 3 sounds right up your alley.
 
Dizwolf said:
Heh. Big knives are great and fun to collect. No one here will try and stop you from buying a Junglas.

But there's also having cool knives for when the zombies come, and having the right knife for the task at hand. For most of your task, hell, for most of OUR tasks, an Izula, HEST, 3 or 4 work better than a larger knife. It's like slicing a watermelon, or opening it Gallagher style.
I've got 'em all... my 3 and izula get the most work, the HEST is getting up there.
Click to expand...

That stood out. Uh Oh, I understand everybody's point now.
Awesome collection, I want I want :p

I guess I just want a big knife, I want to look like a bad ass. haha
But you're right. Might be harder to use a big knife for such a small task.
 
Ekdrm2d1 said:
Why do you say that? Too dangerous, you might cut yourself on a simple task as boxes. You would not want to "damage" the expensive knife?
Click to expand...


It's not terribly dangerous (abet it is slightly), just more difficult. Also, It leads to poor results sometimes. A a 10 pound sledgehammer is awesome for sure. But it leaves something to be desired when driving finishing nails into baseboards. Grab a big knife, but have the smaller ones around for lighter tasks. an Izula is only $50. Buck Paklite's are under 20. There's an endless array of inexpensive folders out there from gerber, Benchmade, and Kershaw. Moral of the story? Always get both :)

As for damage... I take care of my tools, but I don't exactly hold back on them...

3991272616_1a7fb019c9.jpg
 
stjones said:
You have the Busse for "hell's freeze over" and ANY of your BIG jobs. Now you need to pair that up with something suited for smaller tasks.
refer to my earlier post, the 3 sounds right up your alley.
Click to expand...

Right. The Busse is 16.25" total, the ESEE 6 is 10.25" (give or take) so I do think an ESEE would be noticeably smaller. I guess the 6 is still a big knife, compared to a 3.

Dizwolf said:
It's not terribly dangerous (abet it is slightly), just more difficult. Also, It leads to poor results sometimes. A a 10 pound sledgehammer is awesome for sure. But it leaves something to be desired when driving finishing nails into baseboards. Grab a big knife, but have the smaller ones around for lighter tasks. an Izula is only $50. Buck Paklite's are under 20. There's an endless array of inexpensive folders out there from gerber, Benchmade, and Kershaw. Moral of the story? Always get both :)

As for damage... I take care of my tools, but I don't exactly hold back on them...

Click to expand...

Yeah, I gotcha.
I'm not interested in any folders or Bucks. I want a fixed blade from ESEE. :)
Cool photo.

This thread is like an hour old and I've already learned a lot. :thumbup:
 
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