Is the ESEE-3 too thin for a survival knife?

C

csizma

Joined
Oct 19, 2010
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5
I've been looking for a survival knife and ever since I learned about RAT/ESEE knives I fell in love with them and decided that this is the brand I'm going to get a knife from. However, I can't decide between the 3 and 4. I really wish there was a 3.5, because that would be the perfect knife for me. I lean towards the 3, because I prefer its shorter blade (and the 4 seems to be very thick), however I'm worried that it could be just a bit too thin for a survival blade. I live in Hungary, and there is no way I could find one here, so that I could see it for myself and hold it in my hand. Can you guys help me describe how the 3 feels in your hands, how it handles more challenging tasks? Have there been any cases of broken 3 blades? Thanks.
 
The 3 is awesome. I own one and can't imagine needing to own a 4. It's a very robust knife in its own right and in my own opinion, I like the thinner ESEE-3 blade to the blade of the 4 since it is better at slicing. With ESEE knives, you don't just buy a knife, you buy a knife system and I like the sheath for the 3 better than the 4. I was never a big kydex fan.
 
I usually grab the ESEE-4 when heading out into the mountains but if some reason it wasn't available, I would have absolutely no worries taking the ESEE-3 with me instead.
 
My main go to ESEE is the 3 for me I think the ESEE3 can handle alot for it's size ,Granted my trio I pack is a the Lite Machete & ESEE3 with a folder & I never felt under knifed.
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wintermute said:
The 3 is awesome. I own one and can't imagine needing to own a 4. It's a very robust knife in its own right and in my own opinion, I like the thinner ESEE-3 blade to the blade of the 4 since it is better at slicing. With ESEE knives, you don't just buy a knife, you buy a knife system and I like the sheath for the 3 better than the 4. I was never a big kydex fan.
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Exactly this. I have a 3 and a 6. I love both, but the 3 is my go-to blade for hiking, backpacking and hunting.:thumbup: I haven`t felt the need to buy a 4.
 
csizma said:
I've been looking for a survival knife and ever since I learned about RAT/ESEE knives I fell in love with them and decided that this is the brand I'm going to get a knife from. However, I can't decide between the 3 and 4. I really wish there was a 3.5, because that would be the perfect knife for me. I lean towards the 3, because I prefer its shorter blade (and the 4 seems to be very thick), however I'm worried that it could be just a bit too thin for a survival blade. I live in Hungary, and there is no way I could find one here, so that I could see it for myself and hold it in my hand. Can you guys help me describe how the 3 feels in your hands, how it handles more challenging tasks? Have there been any cases of broken 3 blades? Thanks.
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I forgot to say Welcome :D
 
The 3 is my favorite blade as well for most things. It is a pretty robust blade, and as long as you use it as a knife and not a prybar, you'll do fine. Comfortable for long cutting or carving tasks, no hot spots. Holds an edge well, but so does the 4 (or any ESEE blade).

I can't really think of an situation where I wouldn't be comfortable with just the 3, short of CricketDave's Zombie attack. :D
 
I regularly rough use knives half as thick as the ESEE3 and have no problem with durability-especially with this 1095. My only gripe is the handle is insufficient, in my opinion, for a true survival knife.
 
I'd go for the 4. It's really not that much bigger than the 3. The blade isn't that much thicker either and blade thickness it's not a bad thing to have for a survival knife. The solution is simple though....buy both! :D
 
Welcome, I have the Izula, ESEE 3, 4 and 6 out of the 3 and 4 i like the size and balance of the 4 better, but thats coming from a guy who always grabs the 6 instead of the rest, its my Favorite of the bunch,just my 2 cents..... Good luck:D P.S. you will get them all eventually anyway......
 
I have beaten the snot out of my 3 to the point at which the coating was all chipped off, after which I stripped the whole thing and continued to beat it up. It's been holding up fine. :cool:
 
BloodGroove4570 said:
Welcome, I have the Izula, ESEE 3, 4 and 6 out of the 3 and 4 i like the size and balance of the 4 better, but thats coming from a guy who always grabs the 6 instead of the rest, its my Favorite of the bunch,just my 2 cents..... Good luck:D P.S. you will get them all eventually anyway......
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It's so true. You think you'll just get a couple of them...but no...you will get them all.
 
PayetteRucker said:
I regularly rough use knives half as thick as the ESEE3 and have no problem with durability-especially with this 1095. My only gripe is the handle is insufficient, in my opinion, for a true survival knife.
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we talking SAK's or razor blades? I guess moras are around that this too hey?
 
I have a 3 and a 4. More and more I grab the 3. Just feels perfect in my hand. Great blade length.

The 3 is so stout. I dont think you would ever have an issue with blade thickness.
 
I think the thickness concern is warranted. I have a swamp rat with very similar dimensions to the rc-4 and I wouldn't really want it any thinner for a survival knife. If I were you, I would just couple the rc-4 with a folding knife. In my case, I ordered the new zero tolerance ... spyderco para-military would also be a great choice. Be advised, however: the hest is very thick for a folder, so it might defeat the whole purpose.

You will naturally choose the folding knife for small work and slicing, as a shorter, thinner blade is superior for those tasks, but that really isn't the point of a survival knife, is it? To me, a survival knife should be designed to be able to handle abusive tasks rather than to do non-abusive tasks optimally.

Another option is to just pick up a sub-$15 mora for a thinner blade to use if you think that the rc-4 is too beefy.
 
wintermute said:
The 3 is awesome. I own one and can't imagine needing to own a 4. It's a very robust knife in its own right and in my own opinion, I like the thinner ESEE-3 blade to the blade of the 4 since it is better at slicing. With ESEE knives, you don't just buy a knife, you buy a knife system and I like the sheath for the 3 better than the 4. I was never a big kydex fan.
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This is why they make different models :)

I have a 3 and 4. I never carry the 3. The 4 feels better in my hand and I much prefer the sheath of the 4 over the 3.

For me the perfect combo is the ESEE 4 and my Izula. I carry the Izula and my SAK every day and then grab my 4 when I head to the woods.

Like they always say, it doesn't really matter what you start with, you are going to end up with one of each eventually :D

Welcome to the forum.
 
From my point of view, it's a matter of hand size. I could like everything else about the 3 but it's just too short for my hand. The 4 is perfect. The 4 will also slice well.

What I actually bought was the HEST and Izula. :)
 
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