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

Maniacal Pete said:
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
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How do you chop with a small folding saw? Never saw anybody do any chopping with a saw before.
 
Was in a similar position recently and was considering the exact same knives you are. Since I was looking also to gain some experience - I ultimately decided to pick up a Becker BK2 from a BF member at a good price. Amazon also has them at a good price too. Essentially, you can pick up a good, relatively inexpensive heavy duty all rounder - see how it does for you and go from there. I happen to like the knife and have been working it pretty hard and in the end with the experience I will be able to decide if it hits all my requirements or not.

Edit: also did some thinking about the comments regarding youtube. In my case, where there are absolutely no knife dealers anywhere nearby and when considering spending $60 - $200 as I was, there really is no other good choice but to gather as much information as possible through youtube and forums to try and make the right choice. I wish there was a place in my geography that carried a wide variety of knives, as handling them in person is a great way to determine if it is right for you. Doing extensive research online has lead me to some great knife decisions lately and is an invaluable tool for me (Spyderco Sage, Delica and Becker BK2 most recently) and I can see now that had I made a rush decision and not researched and thought a lot about what I wanted to buy, I would be stuck with something I didnt like!
 
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Try a silky accel folding saw for wood processing and a 3 or 4 inch fixed blade for everything else. I like my ESEE 4 and my Mora HighQ Allround in carbon for camp chores and food prep. There are a lot of great Moras and they are pretty inexpensive for the quality.
 
Folding saw and a small blade is a great system. Function to weight ratio is high....important if you're traveling significant distance on foot. My Bahco Laplander will go through wood without too much effort compare to my small axe. But I do love my Gransfors Bruks.

With that said, I've got ESEE-6 and it's awesome. Like everything about it; the grind, the steel, the handle, sheath, all of it. But it can't do it all, at least not well. Nor will my latest knife the Fallkniven S1.
 
someone mentioned the gransfor hatchets. I think thats whats gonna happen here. A ratmandu/hatchet combo sounds pretty good. With a fallkniven f1 joining them eventually-prolly christmas. Ill be one happy camper with all those blades in the house IMO- now i just need someone to give me an excuse to buy an esee
 
The 6 is a great do-all woods knife, and was designed as such. Good slicer, good batoner, good point control. Nice and manageable for fine tasks, but long enough to handle big jobs too. I love mine.
 
Try a BK9 and pair it with the BK13 in the provided sheath pocket, great chopper/survival/bushcraft combo and decent sheath all for under 150$ cdn. A Bahco Laplander that you can buy from Mountain Equipment Co-op for 30$ will change your life. All that for 180$ and you can arguably never need another knife again.
 
Based on performance alone, the 6 is probably one of the best all-around survival knives in mass production. As far as blade thickness, length, grind, and other features, that pretty much boils down to personal preference. The 6 is strong, has a good point, good belly, great steel, and relatively comfy handle. She'll get the job done and you'll get your money's worth.

Now, if you got a decent 15, 20 dollar machete, you could get a designated precision carving knife, and have greater performance in a wider range of capabilities.
 
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