Izula: First Impressions

[KennyB]

I got my Izula today in the mail ( luckily, I swear the UPS guy was heading back to his truck with the box when I opened the door ) and so here are my first impressions...

1. Holy crap is it smaller than I thought. I was thinking it was about 1.5 to 2 times its size. Definitely going to need paracord wrap.

2. Ouch, it's sharp!

3. Wow, these retention clips are really tight.

4. This sheath is awesome configured for horizontal belt carry. Totally forgot the knife was there; even went to bed with it on by accident.

Anywyay, it definitely didn't match my expectations, but in a good way. I thought that it was a little bit bigger/thicker, but I actually like it in this smaller package, and it feels really solid still. I haven't put it to any good use though, so who knows how it really performs (well other than all you guys that already own one), but judging from the cardboard box I cut up that it came in this thing is an excellent cutter.

The one thing that I am a little disappointed by is the ever-so-slight recurve at the very butt of the blade. Not a very big deal at all though, as it's such a small area that it's kind of negligible, and I can get most of the blade on my hone surface. I thought about maybe filing it down at this part, but it seems like it would just thicken the edge out down there and it would just be dull instead of recurved... I'd rather just not sharpen the recurve ever than have a big flat spot. I'll use that part to strike my fire-steel when I go play with that.

Anyone want to point some things out that I should look out for? I noticed that the plastic clips leave a pretty good black mark on the blade... I've heard people say that their clips are still working fine, but I'm kind of wondering how fast they'll wear out beacuse of that.


Lastly, I'm thinking about getting another ESEE now... I liked the idea I had of the Izula when I thought it was bigger, but it's hard to convey how big I thought it was, and now I'm finding myself wondering how big the 3, 4 and 5 are.

 

[hoopster]

I wouldn't worry about the plastic nubs on the sheath, just try not to slice them up when reinserting the knife. IMHO the Izula is the best ESEE knife to date although the rest aren't to shabby and there are more to come. Maybe the Izula II will interest you.
It's got to be the toughest knife for the money on the planet.

 

[KennyB]

I wouldn't worry about the plastic nubs on the sheath, just try not to slice them up when reinserting the knife. IMHO the Izula is the best ESEE knife to date although the rest aren't to shabby and there are more to come. Maybe the Izula II will interest you.
It's got to be the toughest knife for the money on the planet.

Yeah, the thing feels super stout that's for sure. I haven't abused it or anything yet, but I poked some wood and bore down it, and the knife feels so solid and well secured. Really quite surprising given that it's a skeleton knife and it's so thin.

I can't wait to use it either. A lot of my knives I hold back certain tasks because I'm afraid of breaking them or screwing up the edge really badly, but I feel like with the warranty I could probably much toss this thing under a truck tire and come away happy. I would never do that of course, just saying, it seems like it could take it; and if it couldn't, they wouldn't ask how it happened. How could a knife get any cooler?

 

[Runs With Scissors]

That's kinda funny. I just got mine yesterday and posted some initial thoughts and impressions a few minutes after you.

So far, I'm very impressed with mine. It seems to me that they set out to put as much whup @ss into a small package as they could, and succeeded wonderfully. For regular outdoor use, I think I can get by with the Izula for the largest portion of my outdoor activities. I'd be more put off by the thin handle than the blade size for extensive use. (of course the handle is thin for a reason)

One thing I neglected to mention in my own initial impressions is that it's the first knife to be universally coveted in my household. I'm ordering a couple more for the wife and my son tomorrow.

Hope it works out for you!

 

[ak jones]

You'll like it even more with the micarta handles on it. It's easier to hold on to and work hard with.

 

[hoopster]

I hammered my Izula all the way up to the hilt into the end grain of an Elm log. It was tough to get back out but I'll do it again some day and take a pic. It's made for that kind of thing.

 

[Orion's Belt]

I absolutely love my Izula. It's perfectly sized for an EDC fixed blade. Sharp, strong, very ergonomic and the best warranty in the business; what else can you ask for?

 

[KennyB]

You'll like it even more with the micarta handles on it. It's easier to hold on to and work hard with.

Yeah, I was thinking earlier that I was going to have to get a pair after trying a few different paracord wraps.

 

[R.A.T.]

Kenny, thanks for the post!

 

[tarditi]

Respect the ant - it's small, but packs a BIG bite!

I don't have much MOLLE gear and personally have very little use for the plastic clips that came with the sheath.

 

[Stray Round]

I've not had my Izula but about a month now but it has already pushed my slipjoints out of my jean's pocket.

The little guy is just plain fun to use and disappears when returned to a pocket. Also, despite trying to find things that need cutting it is still arm shaving sharp.

 

[KennyB]

I got some use out of it the last couple of days.

First I batoned through a 2x4 just for the heck of it. I didn't split the whole thing because I'm still using it for something, but I got about 8" into it. Nothing too remarkable to note, except that it really helped to demonstrate how sturdy the knife is for its small size.

Somewhere along the line I rolled the edge a little bit ( probably stropping it) so I decided to rebevel it. I didn't reprofile it, left it at the 40 inclusive, but I used my DMT alinger clamp and a benchstone to put a flatter and higher-grit finish bevel on it.

Then today I was cutting up some carpet padding for some insulation. I passed through about 16 feet of it all together. It cut pretty good starting out, but after a while it got a little less sharp. Worst it got was "non-shaving" though, it still cut up pretty much everything I needed it to. I've stropped it back to shaving sharpness since then.

Oh, and I've fallen asleep twice with this thing on my belt. It's awesome how comfortable this thing is.

It's holding up extremely well so far, not that I"ve pushed it too much, but the work I have given it has been pretty hard. There's some noticeable change to the finish of the coating, but it's still looking pretty good. I'm kind of thinking about stripping it though, as the finish of the coating is very pourous and it adds a lot of friction when cutting up cardboard.

Anyway, so far so good. I basically haven't wanted to take the thing off my belt, even when I'm just wandering around the house. Edge retention seems like it's okay ( probably would be a little better if I wasn't trying to maintain a shaving-sharp edge ), and overall it's been impressing the heck out of me every time I use it. I used it to prepared dinner last night, and it cut up slices off of a ham better than the butcher knife did, even though it was only 3".

 

[hoopster]

I'm kind of thinking about stripping it though, as the finish of the coating is very pourous and it adds a lot of friction when cutting up cardboard.

It cuts much better stripped. :thumbup:

 

[KennyB]

It cuts much better stripped. :thumbup:

Did you do that with stripper and foil? I was thinking about doing it just like that, so I didn't. remove the coating on the handle and screw up the retention on the sheath.

I kind of like the coating though as I don't really like to keep oil on my knives. Maybe forcing a patina for rust protection would be the way to go Might be a question for Maintenance forum...

Anyway, it does make me think of one thing that I forgot to mention... Every person I've shown it to so far has said something like, "Oh, is it a throwing knife," or, "Oh, a nice little thrower," or something to that effect. I never really got that vibe from it, but I tried it out with some styfrofoam and was actually able to hit something throwing a knife for the first time ever.