The ESEE 6 for a do-it-all bushcraft knife?

A

ASharpCanadian

Joined
Sep 12, 2011
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Hey all

Ive been kicking around alot of ideas as for what I want as a first blade. Its probably going to see the most use trying out
some bushcraft skills or trying to develop some anyway. I was thinking go small like 4 1/2" but after watching this guy ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=865jIoeuDPY )
it seems theres a reasonable advantage to packing a little bit more steel. i figure ill be....

1. getting wood
2. fire starting. Fuzz sticks, making small tinder etc.
3. shelter construction, so pretty much getting wood

So I'm thinking ESEE 6. It seems to be somewhat large enough to do some chopping with, but its a bit smaller and more maneuverable than the Junglas. As well, it has the choil so I can choke up on it when making fuzz sticks and doing finer work. People love the Faalkniven and feel free to make suggestions but I friggin love
the ESEE sheath system and price. Anyways what do yall think about this knife selection? Itd be nice to just carry one knife- but should I just bring a smaller knife, or just go for a junglas?
 
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Dont get an ESEE get a Falkniven S1.... Esee's are cool but the only one i got which was a izula didn't feel right. I prefer the convex edge on the fallkivens and the rust inhibition, but thats just me....
 
Hard to go wrong there, I also really like the Esee4 and carried one (when it was RAt) for ages. Very tough well built knives from a great group of guys. Also look into the Swamp Rat RatManDu, its a good mid size blade also. THe only reason I retired my 4 was to gain an inch ogf blad length with my RatMandu
 
I hear the ESEE 6 is a great knife, and I have no doubt that it could do everything that you need to do in the woods.

Another good blade that is in the same category and price range as the ESEE 6 is the Becker BK12 (otherwise known as the Ritter MK2). Its a 6in 3/16 spear point blade with a pretty high grind, and a really nice handle.

RSKMk2_beauty_back_600w.jpg


Good luck with whatever you do.
 
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ASharpCanadian said:
Hey all

Ive been kicking around alot of ideas as for what I want as a first blade. Its probably going to see the most use trying out
some bushcraft skills or trying to develop some anyway. I was thinking go small like 4 1/2" but after watching this guy ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=865jIoeuDPY )
it seems theres a reasonable advantage to packing a little bit more steel. i figure ill be....

1. getting wood
2. fire starting. Fuzz sticks, making small tinder etc.
3. shelter construction, so pretty much getting wood

So I'm thinking ESEE 6. It seems to be somewhat large enough to do some chopping with, but its a bit smaller and more maneuverable than the Junglas. As well, ithas the choil so I can choke up on it when making fuzz sticks and doing finer work. People love the Faalkniven and feel free to make suggestions but I friggin love
the ESEE sheath system and price. Anyways what do yall think about this knife selection?
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I could see that.
I've got pretty much the whole ESEE bunch, and to my eye the 6 would be very versatile as an all around performer and excellent on the weight / utility ratio.
As flat-out cool as the Junglas is, I don't often feel inclined to drag it around in my backpack with me, too heavy.

pete
 
ASharpCanadian said:
I was thinking go small like 4 1/2" but after watching......Anyways what do yall think about this knife selection?
Click to expand...

Too much thinking and not enough doing. No disrespect, but everyone has there own tolerance levels regarding features. The only way for you to find out what you like is to get off you-tube and go try a knife you think seems close to your chosen duty.

In my experience which may or may not be worth anything, your first thoughts were pretty close to where I ended up after a few years. Go small and thin with a solid heat treat.

All you will get here are counter points and opinions. If you are going to use your knife, finding out what works for you is paramount.

If you want to know, I use my ESEE-3mil for damn near everything. (except the slipjoints I carry at work)
 
no 'dispect, it definitely does help alot to hear other peoples opinions about why they carry what they do though, right. It helps inform my decision of what to buy- anything
after that will be what it is, if I find I need a small blade I'll get one. recession days or not Im not into spending $150 on an item without hitting the streets for some info and I aint ashamed of it, counter points and opinions plenty welcome. Im kinda pondering that right now, getting a full size like a ratmandu/junglas/esee 6 and maybe something really small in the future like an f1 or even an izula.
 
ESEE-6/ESEE-3 would be an excellent combo if you were thinking of going that direction.
 
Two quick general opinions/suggestions:

1) Don't put too much stock into what is shown on YouTube.
2) "Do-it-alls" do-it-all by sacrificing "doing-things-well"

That said, the mid-sized Fallkniven, ESEE, Becker, and Ontario Ranger Bushcraft are all very well-made knives and reasonably priced. It would be hard to go very wrong with any of them.
 
I usually take a large chopper(mine is a Busse Basic 11) with a Stainless Mora Clipper or Ontario Blackbird SK5.
Or a Bahco folding saw and a Stainless Mora Clipper or Ontario Blackbird SK5.
Just depends, if I have thicker wood then the saw.
 
EK20 said:
ESEE-6/ESEE-3 would be an excellent combo if you were thinking of going that direction.
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Couldn't disagree more. The 6 would offer you minimal utility with the 3 along and wouldn't be worth the weight IMO.

To the OP. The 6 is NOT going to be a good chopper. If you noticed in the video how hard the guy had to swing his knife to chop down that tree, try doing that with a blade almost half the size. There is no 1 do-it-all knife for bushcraft. You're going to need at least two blades to do all the bushcrafty things. My recomendation is either the ESEE Izula II or the 3 and a chopper of some sort. That means hatchet, hawk, machete, or asian chopper(kukri, parang, etc.) From what I see in the video I wouldn't even get the Junglas. A lot of guys talk about how good a chopper this blade or that blade is then I see videos of them in action and they are using WAY too much effort chopping. If you're going to carry a pound and a half of steel make it something that can actually chop. I can't believe the guy in the vid is lugging a junglas AND an axe around. I guess he's into carrying extra weight? :confused:

My current blades I take into the woods is an Izula II and a CS trail hawk though next time I'm gonna try out my 14 inch tram.
 
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ron_m80 said:
If you are going to use your knife, finding out what works for you is paramount.
Click to expand...

Good point.

No knife will come with skills. Only after you better understand your skills and the limitations of your skills can you select a knife that will best suit your needs.

Additionally, different environments and situations will require different skills.
 
Agreed, it seems like although there are "do it all" type blades out there, most people will agree that having two will work out better in the long run. I think the plan of taking a small skeletonized knife with you is a great idea. More precision on the small tasks, without much excess weight.

When I go out, I take a folding saw, a BK2, and a smaller folder. That covers pretty much all of my bases. But everyones needs are different, so your mileage may vary.

For a do it all blade, the BK2 is great, as are the ESEE 6, the BK7, and the BK12.
 
unit said:
Good point.

No knife will come with skills. Only after you better understand your skills and the limitations of your skills can you select a knife that will best suit your needs.

Additionally, different environments and situations will require different skills.
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Sage advice.
 
There are pros and cons to the ESEE vs Fallkniven for bushcraft all 'rounders. The Fallknivens have a harder VG10 core which is brittle but holds a razor edge. The ESEE are mostly if not all 1095 iirc.. which is softer and will take more abuse, but won't hold as keen an edge. It's also V ground rather than convex, so in some ways it's easier to sharpen, but if you know how to sharpen a convex edge it's usually preferred. The F1 or S1 or A1 or A2 depending on the size you want would be my leaning, but the ESEEs are much cheaper.
Unit is indeed correct about experience and knowing your limitations.
 
I wouldnt consider the esees to be much cheaper than faalknivens. maybe they should be because theyre made of 1095 but the sheath is added value vs the faalkniven.
a really good point was made about the 6 not being a great chopper and ALSO not being able to do fine work. thats really gonna inform my decision so props for that. I probably
will end up carrying a chopper and a small knife and it makes sense to bring something tiny like an izula with a chopper. now i see why folks on here have so many damn knives
 
The ESEE 6 is an awesome "one knife" knife. It is big enough to do many things, but as others have said, it's not a true chopper. But, there are many times I'm not going to be carrying anything as large as a khukuri or machete. The 6 is a great choice for this IMHO. The ESEE 4 is a perfect knife to pair with a chopper if you go that route. Good luck.
 
jdk1 said:
The ESEE 6 is an awesome "one knife" knife. It is big enough to do many things, but as others have said, it's not a true chopper. But, there are many times I'm not going to be carrying anything as large as a khukuri or machete. The 6 is a great choice for this IMHO. The ESEE 4 is a perfect knife to pair with a chopper if you go that route. Good luck.
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I was thinking the OP could carry a small folding saw for chopping.
At ~ 8 oz it offers a great weight savings over carrying a big heavy chopper.

pete


pete
 
I have the 6 and it's a sweet blade but if I was going out I would take my 4 and a hatchet like my Husqvarna. The six is in no way a chopper and is a bit big for finer task like cleaning fish and game. The four is a bit easier to use for smaller task and the hatchet covers chopping chores, imo. You could have a Esee 4 and Husqvarna hatchet for about the same price as a six.
 
I also just got an esee-6 and can already tell it's not a good chopper. I expect you'd have to baton with it to get some real chopping done.
With regard to the sheath system, its good, but I prefer Kydex. I think it's made of "regular" plastic, but the fit is good and the holes make for multiple points of attachment.

So since you are mostly interested in woodcraft/bushcraft type activities, maybe a slighter longer blade will fit the job better. For what it's worth, I still will be using my esee-6, but I don't expect to be doing a lot of wood chopping or fire prep. The esee-6 will do it, but it will be fatiguing especially the bigger the job, I suspect.
 
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