Esee 5 handle question.

Joined
Mar 7, 2011
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13
Just got a new Esee-5, and I was caught off guard by the size of the handle. I have an Esee-4 and a whole clutch of Izulas and love them all, but can't seem to get a grip on the 5. It is so thick and unwieldy I feel like I'm trying to shake hands with a 2x4. I can't see myself doing much more than chopping with this blade. Anyone else have this problem?

I've got average size hands, and have never had a problem gripping bigger knives...

Should I take out the spacers? Trim the micarta? Or ditch the scales all together and wrap the handle?

Thanks in advance.
 
Part of the girth is the knife itself, it's 0.25" thick which does not lend itself to a think handle no matter how you wrap the steel.
 
If you think the 5 has a thick grip, try on a BK2 for comparison. The BK2 is a fatbottom girl, the 5 is anorexic.
 
My scrapyard SOD is a thicker blade but still has a more tapered handle. It's not just the thickness the width barely lets my fingers reach my palm.
 
I wouldn't screw with the knife. It is what it is. I like the 5 and all but it's not what I want to be EDC'ing in the bush or anywhere else. For me it's too heavy for that and the grind is too obtuse for general woods use although some would disagree with me. What I do like it for is beating the living crap outta stuff , battoning , and things I want to save my thinner knives from doing. Same goes for my BK-2 ( truck knife) It's thick because of the stock and thinning the handles would just mess it up , IMO. ( besides, the screw length wouldn't work anymore)
 
last time i checked, the 6 and the 5 have the same shape grips, and the 6's are much thinner. you could try trading the 5's grips to somebody who has some 6 grips.

oh hey, look at that, i happen to have a 6 and would love to trade for some 5 grips....

shoot me an email/ visitor message if interested. I just got my 6 the other day, and the grips are like new.
 
You guys must have tiny girly hands. Anything but the 5 (including the 6, and especially the 4) feels small in my hands. ;)
 
Wanna make a trade, those Esee 5 slabs for my Esee 6 slabs?

If so email me....
 
If you got the time and a few $$, why not just make your own scales and buy some screws that fit the new scales? :)

Micarta is pretty cheap to make if you dont like wood, and screws are anything from free to 20$ a piece.
 
If you got the time and a few $$, why not just make your own scales and buy some screws that fit the new scales? :)

Micarta is pretty cheap to make if you dont like wood, and screws are anything from free to 20$ a piece.

I don't think it's a bad idea making your own scales, but like you said, not everyone has the time to do it :thumbup:
 
funny, the ESEE 5 is the only one that really fits my hand. The Izula, three and four are too thin and short.
 
Swapping 6 scales for the 5 won't help. They are the same scales except for the bow drill divot. The 6 is 3/16" thick steel and the 5 is 1 /4" thick stel. That is the difference. The 5 was designed as a very heavy duty knife. Most spec's were from the SERE trainers in the Air Force so cutting out of an aircraft or prying open ordinance crates are amoung the duties for this knife. It is not the best 'chopper' or camp chore knife we produce simply because the blade geometry was not designed with that as the primary goal.

You might get someone here on Blade Forums to make a thinner set of scales for you. You would have to cut down the barrel nut and screws to match the thinner scales but it could be done. Making a larger radius on the top and bottom edges of the scales might also help the grip be more comfortable for your hand.
 
Yep, thickness of the scales is the same. The difference you're feeling is in the tang thickness, not the scales.
 
last time i checked, the 6 and the 5 have the same shape grips, and the 6's are much thinner. you could try trading the 5's grips to somebody who has some 6 grips.

oh hey, look at that, i happen to have a 6 and would love to trade for some 5 grips....

shoot me an email/ visitor message if interested. I just got my 6 the other day, and the grips are like new.

Sounds like a plan!
 
You never know if a knife is right for you till you handle it. I would say your best option would be to sell or trade it if it's not right for you.

You will not hurt ESEE's feelings, they prefer their knives to be used, and if it is not comfortable to you, chances are you will not use it.
 
shaking hands with a 2x4 describes it perfectly. it's the square shoulders more than the thickness that bothered me with my rc-5. you can use sandpaper to round out the shoulders but it's going to take a lot of time without a belt sander though...even better, sell that one, get a junglas and don't look back.
 
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Two things. You can do what I did and also round off the edges even more, or, if you peel the spacer off the ESEE 6 scales, they will be thinner, you will just have to adjust the length of your retaining screws so they don't bump into each other in the middle of the knife.
 
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