- Joined
- Mar 12, 2010
- Messages
- 975
So I have been a knife user for as long as I can remember. It all started when I was 6 and my grandfather gave me a massive (when I say massive, I mean nearly 2 1/2 feet long overall length) bowie knife as a present. It was a piece of crap, and obviously not really designed to be used, but either way it planted the seed of my knife collecting obsession.
I turned 28 today, and in the 22 years since my grandfather planted that seed, I have had many knives go through my hands. I was infatuated by all of them, regardless of their style, size, shape, steel composition, etc. It is only recently that I really began to expand on my "collection" of knives and actually started taking it from a simple pleasure to a full blown hobby/obsession.
2 years ago I began learning how to sharpen knives. Then I wanted more. I began to learn more about edge geometry from my sharpening, and then more about steels, blade composition, and heat treatments. I was gaining so much knowledge about this simple tool, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to know.
I am the General Manger of a restaurant, and my life's work has been as a kitchen professional. I have used a chef's knife and an EDC knife every day of my life since I've been 14. After 14 years of consistent knife use, I can chop onions as fast as anyone, and I can get any blade "scary" sharp if I have the right tools. With this experience has come a preference when it comes to the knives I carry, but this is still evolving the more I learn about these ancient tools.
In March of this year I became a member of bladeforums, and it opened my eyes to so many more knives and skills. I've learned a ton from all of you out there, and I've also had the opportunity to share some of the knowledge I've gained in my years.
One thing I've learned is that more money does not always equal a better knife.
How many of you out there have a favorite truck, pen, knife, or pair of pants for that matter, that happens to be old and beat up and completely worthless to anyone else, but to you it's perfect and you wouldn't throw it away for something newer or "better" even if it was given to you for free?
That is how I am beginning to feel about some of my blades. For a while recently, I was getting into this frame of mind that I had to have these expensive knives, and that if I got an expensive knife I would be satisfied with it because someone out there considered it to be "the best of the best". Once I obtained it, it certainly occupied me for a while, but I was still left wanting more...
The more I searched for knives, the more I saw people mentioning ESEE or RAT Cutlery. I had never owned or handled one of these knives, but they weren't too expensive, the company had a great following, and almost all of the reviews I had seen were very positive. I already had a good wilderness knife in the Fehrman Last Chance, I have a decent SOG folder, and I have a go-to EDC knife and favorite workhorse, which is my Murray Carter Neck Knife. I have what I consider to be a modest but well rounded collection, and I didn't really need anything else.
When I found out how affordable ESEE knives were, I decided to look into a possible purchase. When I found out I could get an Izula for under $50, I was WOWed! I didn't see any harm in picking one up and trying it out.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting that much. It was a small fixed blade, and I was anticipating keeping it around and probably not using it that much, since I already had a very quality neck knife in my Murray Carter. What happened when I began using it was not something I expected.
I wrapped my black Izula in some OD green paracord, threw it around my neck and went to work. I immediately fell in love with it. The size is perfect, it felt like an extension of me in my hand, and it completely plowed through any task I threw at it. My favorite part about it was that the knife is cheap, comes with a stellar warranty, and is tough as hell. It didn't matter how hard I pushed it, because even if I damaged it or even broke it I would be able to get it replaced. Even if the warranty wasn't so good, it was only 50 bucks, ya know?
I found myself so much more inclined to use it for anything that could even remotely be considered a task for a knife. Today, I used it to cut all of the boxes in the cooler, slice through some plastic lids that had melted to some cooking equipment, scrape some caulk off of a wall that needed to get removed, cut through dry wall and a booth in order to replace and repair some water damage, and then cut through copper wire to repair a cord for a grill. I loved that I felt so free to use this knife even if the task might be considered something more suitable for an axe, a bolt cutters, a putty knife, or a wire cutter. After all of that punishment, I took it home, spent about 10 minutes working the knife on my 1000 grit and 8000 grit japanese waterstones, touched it up with a leather strop with green sharpening compound, and the knife was hair popping sharp again. I frickin' love this knife.
This has taught me a few things about what makes a good knife. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Murray Carter, and when it comes down to it, my Murray Carter is still the best "cutter" of any knife I own, but I am definitely going to reach for the underdog, my Izula, every chance I get. My Murray Carter is expensive, and I just have that little voice in the back of my head that tells me to take it easy on it... when it comes to my Izula, that same voice tells me to push it and PUSH IT HARD.
You don't need an expensive knife to be satisfied, you just need the one that is going to offer you what you need in a blade, and one that suits you. For me, simpler is better. I never saw this coming, but ESEE has completely turned my knife collecting in a different direction.
This is post # 1 on my path to becoming a member of the Rat Pack.
Here are the little curlies my Izula was able to create after all the punishment I put it through at work. It shaved a nice clean patch of hair off my arms as well...
I turned 28 today, and in the 22 years since my grandfather planted that seed, I have had many knives go through my hands. I was infatuated by all of them, regardless of their style, size, shape, steel composition, etc. It is only recently that I really began to expand on my "collection" of knives and actually started taking it from a simple pleasure to a full blown hobby/obsession.
2 years ago I began learning how to sharpen knives. Then I wanted more. I began to learn more about edge geometry from my sharpening, and then more about steels, blade composition, and heat treatments. I was gaining so much knowledge about this simple tool, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to know.
I am the General Manger of a restaurant, and my life's work has been as a kitchen professional. I have used a chef's knife and an EDC knife every day of my life since I've been 14. After 14 years of consistent knife use, I can chop onions as fast as anyone, and I can get any blade "scary" sharp if I have the right tools. With this experience has come a preference when it comes to the knives I carry, but this is still evolving the more I learn about these ancient tools.
In March of this year I became a member of bladeforums, and it opened my eyes to so many more knives and skills. I've learned a ton from all of you out there, and I've also had the opportunity to share some of the knowledge I've gained in my years.
One thing I've learned is that more money does not always equal a better knife.
How many of you out there have a favorite truck, pen, knife, or pair of pants for that matter, that happens to be old and beat up and completely worthless to anyone else, but to you it's perfect and you wouldn't throw it away for something newer or "better" even if it was given to you for free?
That is how I am beginning to feel about some of my blades. For a while recently, I was getting into this frame of mind that I had to have these expensive knives, and that if I got an expensive knife I would be satisfied with it because someone out there considered it to be "the best of the best". Once I obtained it, it certainly occupied me for a while, but I was still left wanting more...
The more I searched for knives, the more I saw people mentioning ESEE or RAT Cutlery. I had never owned or handled one of these knives, but they weren't too expensive, the company had a great following, and almost all of the reviews I had seen were very positive. I already had a good wilderness knife in the Fehrman Last Chance, I have a decent SOG folder, and I have a go-to EDC knife and favorite workhorse, which is my Murray Carter Neck Knife. I have what I consider to be a modest but well rounded collection, and I didn't really need anything else.
When I found out how affordable ESEE knives were, I decided to look into a possible purchase. When I found out I could get an Izula for under $50, I was WOWed! I didn't see any harm in picking one up and trying it out.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting that much. It was a small fixed blade, and I was anticipating keeping it around and probably not using it that much, since I already had a very quality neck knife in my Murray Carter. What happened when I began using it was not something I expected.
I wrapped my black Izula in some OD green paracord, threw it around my neck and went to work. I immediately fell in love with it. The size is perfect, it felt like an extension of me in my hand, and it completely plowed through any task I threw at it. My favorite part about it was that the knife is cheap, comes with a stellar warranty, and is tough as hell. It didn't matter how hard I pushed it, because even if I damaged it or even broke it I would be able to get it replaced. Even if the warranty wasn't so good, it was only 50 bucks, ya know?
I found myself so much more inclined to use it for anything that could even remotely be considered a task for a knife. Today, I used it to cut all of the boxes in the cooler, slice through some plastic lids that had melted to some cooking equipment, scrape some caulk off of a wall that needed to get removed, cut through dry wall and a booth in order to replace and repair some water damage, and then cut through copper wire to repair a cord for a grill. I loved that I felt so free to use this knife even if the task might be considered something more suitable for an axe, a bolt cutters, a putty knife, or a wire cutter. After all of that punishment, I took it home, spent about 10 minutes working the knife on my 1000 grit and 8000 grit japanese waterstones, touched it up with a leather strop with green sharpening compound, and the knife was hair popping sharp again. I frickin' love this knife.
This has taught me a few things about what makes a good knife. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Murray Carter, and when it comes down to it, my Murray Carter is still the best "cutter" of any knife I own, but I am definitely going to reach for the underdog, my Izula, every chance I get. My Murray Carter is expensive, and I just have that little voice in the back of my head that tells me to take it easy on it... when it comes to my Izula, that same voice tells me to push it and PUSH IT HARD.
You don't need an expensive knife to be satisfied, you just need the one that is going to offer you what you need in a blade, and one that suits you. For me, simpler is better. I never saw this coming, but ESEE has completely turned my knife collecting in a different direction.
This is post # 1 on my path to becoming a member of the Rat Pack.
Here are the little curlies my Izula was able to create after all the punishment I put it through at work. It shaved a nice clean patch of hair off my arms as well...
welcome!
