The other day I m lugging my briefcase to my vehicle and am wondering why does this thing weigh so much? Well, after getting settled in on my surveillance, I begin to unload the contents.
Really, just what the heck am I thinking? You all can easily identify the ESEEs, a RAT Pack, ESEE-3 in black, ESEE-4, the other two are Tom Krein knives. The larger is the Bushcrafter in A2 and brown Micarta and the smaller is the Pocket Bowie in brown Micarta. It that was not enough blade power to be toting around, I had my IZULA in my pocket and another around my neck and this baby on the back seat. What you dont see is the Kimber Ultra-Carry 45 on my right hip, basically negating the need for anything else. Though you cant shoot the peel of an apple or pick your feet in Poughkeepsie. (First one to name the movie that line is from and Ill send you a RAT Patch.)
I began to realize that I do have a real problem. That is just a typical day in the life of my knives. Today, Im carrying a Randall Made model 11-3 in stag in lieu of the Krein pocket bowie, but, in a last minute display of pure knifeaholicism at 4:45 in the morning, I ran downstairs and helped myself to a brand new Cold Steel Pendleton Custom Classic. I put it back when I got home. Id much rather fondle my ESEE.
I took it out of the box and handled it a little and realized that, although it is really an amazingly executed knife with immaculate attention to detail, I cant see myself enjoying using it like I do my ESEE-3.
Here is my black ESEE-3 in the midst of making a priest for fishing or other small game that may venture my way. This one is being carved and scraped out of a Hickory maul handle with just the ESEE-3. You want to do something that is punishing to a blade. Scrap off ¼ of wood around the entire circumference of a piece of Hickory in addition to cutting, carving and shaping. The 3 does a good job, but, truthfully, due to the thinner blade, the edge will roll. Not so with the ESEE 4 or the IZULA for that matter. No edge roll or failure there. The only knife that did not experience any roll or dulling was the Krein Bushcrafter in A2. But, lets be honest, that is a whole different world of steel and price.
Each walking stick I make or priest I make is made with one knife. So, all the shavings you see, which is just a small sampling of the debris field, was made with the ESEE 3 in the photo. And, again, after the project, it took only a couple of swipes on the Sharpmaker to get back to shaving again. It does not take much to straighten that edge back out. It only gets dull where I scrape, never gets dull from about mid ship to tip where I carve and cut.
Finished product photos at a later date.
Really, just what the heck am I thinking? You all can easily identify the ESEEs, a RAT Pack, ESEE-3 in black, ESEE-4, the other two are Tom Krein knives. The larger is the Bushcrafter in A2 and brown Micarta and the smaller is the Pocket Bowie in brown Micarta. It that was not enough blade power to be toting around, I had my IZULA in my pocket and another around my neck and this baby on the back seat. What you dont see is the Kimber Ultra-Carry 45 on my right hip, basically negating the need for anything else. Though you cant shoot the peel of an apple or pick your feet in Poughkeepsie. (First one to name the movie that line is from and Ill send you a RAT Patch.)
I began to realize that I do have a real problem. That is just a typical day in the life of my knives. Today, Im carrying a Randall Made model 11-3 in stag in lieu of the Krein pocket bowie, but, in a last minute display of pure knifeaholicism at 4:45 in the morning, I ran downstairs and helped myself to a brand new Cold Steel Pendleton Custom Classic. I put it back when I got home. Id much rather fondle my ESEE.
I took it out of the box and handled it a little and realized that, although it is really an amazingly executed knife with immaculate attention to detail, I cant see myself enjoying using it like I do my ESEE-3.
Here is my black ESEE-3 in the midst of making a priest for fishing or other small game that may venture my way. This one is being carved and scraped out of a Hickory maul handle with just the ESEE-3. You want to do something that is punishing to a blade. Scrap off ¼ of wood around the entire circumference of a piece of Hickory in addition to cutting, carving and shaping. The 3 does a good job, but, truthfully, due to the thinner blade, the edge will roll. Not so with the ESEE 4 or the IZULA for that matter. No edge roll or failure there. The only knife that did not experience any roll or dulling was the Krein Bushcrafter in A2. But, lets be honest, that is a whole different world of steel and price.
Each walking stick I make or priest I make is made with one knife. So, all the shavings you see, which is just a small sampling of the debris field, was made with the ESEE 3 in the photo. And, again, after the project, it took only a couple of swipes on the Sharpmaker to get back to shaving again. It does not take much to straighten that edge back out. It only gets dull where I scrape, never gets dull from about mid ship to tip where I carve and cut.
Finished product photos at a later date.
