Winkler II Field Knife or ESEE 6 HM?

[Ranger1]

Yes, this is yet another “Help me choose my next knife” thread, and perhaps it should be a one steel versus another steel, but before I spend lots of money, I am hoping for some informed opinions.

I am paring down my collection of knives, hatchets and axes. I have come to the conclusion that I have no need, for camping and outdoor purposes, half a dozen of each, but I need one and perhaps two and no more.

For a small, constant carry blade, I will use either my ESEE Izula II or ESEE 3. For the axe/hatchet, I will use the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe to cover both uses, and I am researching a camp saw.

My quandary at this time is for a larger “field” knife, one that can be used in place of a hatchet for camp set up, batoning for firewood, etc.

So, without further ado, Winkler II Field Knife or the ESEE 6 HM?

Money is not the object, I can afford either, I am however hard-pressed to believe that the Winkler is 2.5 times the value of the ESEE. When I look at the physical specifications of each, they are nearly identical with the exception of steel choice. I see several different steels offered on the Winkler, but ESEE has standardized on 1095. Winkler has changed steels over time based on whatever reason, but I certainly trust that a man of his superb reputation has a reason for doing that.

So, for those of you that have handled both, do you have a preference? I know that ergonomics is certainly a personal choice, much like buying dress shoes or holsters.

One thing that I have noticed with Winkler is that it seems that many people buy them, keep them near pristine condition and then sell them again, I have not seen a lot of hard used Winkler II knives, however I have seen many photos of hard used ESEE knives, of all models. Again, certainly not an indictment of Winkler, but perhaps it reflects the hesitancy to chop and hack with a 300+ dollar knife as opposed to one that is available for approximately $120. Yes, I have seen the Winkler video…

When it comes to sheathing, Winkler certainly wins there.

When it comes to warranty, I have no fear of either. ESEE’s warranty is as good as it gets, and from what I have seen here, Mr. Winkler’s response to any problems with any of his knives has been swift and exemplary, so it is obvious that he is attentive to anything that bears his name, just as is Jeff Randall and ESSE.

So, Winkler II or ESEE 6HM?

Thank you.

 

[JJ_Colt45]

Well they are definately two totally different creatures.

I love my Winkler II knives for hunting ... they are sturdy and hold an edge very well I have field dressed up to 3 deer in a day with only a few strokes on a ceramic hone. If I could only have one it would be the Winkler ... but that has alot to do with my uses.

That being said the Winklers are thicker blades and I have never pushed them with batoning wood ... I'm sure they would handle it great but the thicker blade may make the Esee the better choice for that.

The Esee 6 is very capable of anything you throw at it and backed by one of the best warrenties in the business. I would chose the Esee 6 for a general use camp knife ... I think it would handle woodcraft and batoning wood better just due to blade geometry of the two you mentioned. But I would also recommend you look at the Esee 6HM with the new scales ... they are wider and much more comfortable for extended uses IMO.

And if it matters to you I don't have any troubles sharpening either steel ... but the Esee is slightly easier to sharpen ... and again think it has alot to do with blade geometry.

Both excellent knives ... just comes down to what your uses will be.

Hope maybe that helped a bit.

 

[Ranger1]

Well they are definately two totally different creatures.

But I would also recommend you look at the Esee 6HM with the new scales ... they are wider and much more comfortable for extended uses IMO..

Hello JJ,

If you look again at my posting, you will see that I was specifically referring to the 6HM for exactly the same reasons you specify, the new handle is a marked improvement over the standard model 6. And, this was what led me to my direct comparison with the Winkler II. To be fair, I have handled only one of the Winkler knives, that was at a gun show and it was one of the rubber handled models. It still felt quite good and the grind lines and other things all seem to be well done, but my basic question is is the Winkler worth 2.5 times the ESEE 6HM?

I think not.

As I said above, I sometimes make evaluations on a certain knife based on how many of them I see either here or on eBay, and almost always they are in mint condition or "safe queens". This tells me that people purchased them, handled them and for whatever reason, decided to sell them. Certainly not an indictment, I have done the exact same thing when I was interested in a particular model of knife, but if I am going to buy something for use, it gets used and I have seen very few of the Winkler's come up for sale that had been taken to the field and used.

I appreciate your informed reply.

 

[JJ_Colt45]

Yes I saw you had specified the HM series after I posted ... was an over sight on my part.

And although as I said I love my Winkler II hunting knives ... I couldn't justify the cost diffetence between them and an Esee 6HM for the uses you stated. The Esee is very comfortable with the new handles ... maybe even more so than the Winkler IIs ... and they are both very strong blades ... but again for your uses I think I would be hard pressed to pick my Winkler over my Esee for those uses.

I tend to fall back on my Esee HM knives for camping ... hiking etc ... unless I have somethimg new I just want to use ... but hard to justify paying more then the Esee unless it"s just a personal preference. The Esees are a great value.

 

[Ranger1]

I completely agree with you. Within the next few days I shall have a ESEE 6HM in my hand.