ESEE and Fallkniven - Your Thoughts

TattooBlade

TattooBlade

Joined
Apr 4, 2009
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I own both and have never had a problem with either. I'm just curious if there are other ESEE owners who own both and how they compare in your book in the areas of durability, sharpening, hard use, etc.

One thing I can say is ESEE warranty takes the cake in that department, bar none.
 
I have an F1. It's my go-to-knife for hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, you name it. It's light, holds a wicked edge, won't rust, and is very ergonomic (for me anyway). I wouldn't trade it for any other 4 inch blade on the market. Period. I do have an ESEE-6 under the X-mas tree, but I bought it mainly to replace my camp axe for winter hikes. That shit get's old lugging around an axe in the winter time just to split wood. Especially if you hike more than 5 miles in, and I frequently do. Silky saw and E-6> axe, and lighter too.
 
I have the main Esee lineup minus the lite-machete and Izula 2 , and Fallknivens F1,S1 , and A1. Totally different knives of course , but I would put as much faith in a FK as I would an Esee blade.

Fallknivens are almost maintenance free , except for cleaning and sharpening.
They can handle a lot of abuse , but their fine convex edge does need a little more respect as far as hitting hard stuff with it. Once you sharpen them a few times , the edge gets even more tougher. I bet you most of these guys who micro-chipped their edges never sharpened the thing from what the factory edge is. My favorite size is the S1. It has the clip point which I like better than the drop point of the F1. The A1 is a heavy knife; kinda like carrying the Esee 5 around with you. But , it can do a heck of a lot of bush work.

I never worry too much about rust , but then again , I'm not dumb enough to leave my knife lying around wet too long but with FK's , you can and not worry about it at all. Strange I don't see any posts of guys using them in the Jungle , as it's a very corrosive environment and the Lam VG-10 would hold up really well along with the Thermorun handles/kydex sheath set-up.
 
I have several ESEE's and a Fallkniven F1. Both companies make great knives. Both makers knives take and hold a great edge and are easily field sharpened.

The Fallkniven's handles transmit way less cold in extreme cold conditions.

The lack of a choilk is in my opinion an improvement over the ESEE's use of a choil. Choils get hung up in use (as when skinning etc) so i prefer the Fallknivens in that respect.

Rust has never been a real problem for me with any knife steel except in close proximity to or imersion in saltwater. There the stainless in the Fallkie's really wouild shine.

ESEE's warranty is indeed top notch but I have heard of no cutomer service problems in regard to Fallknivens products either.

One of my next purchases will probably be a Fallkniven S1.
 
Fallkniven and ESEE are my two favourite brands for fixed blades in my price range.

ESEE has better warranty, better sheaths, and the RAT Pack

Fallkniven use better steel (arguably), and they're convexed out of the box. Gotta love the S1 too, it's close to perfection for my needs.

Both great brands, wouldn't want to choose between them and I'm glad I don't have to.
 
When I first got my RC-4 and first Izula, my sister also ordered a Fallkniven F1. They do make very nice blades. It came hair popping sharp out of the sheath like the ESEE's

I did a little bit of comparison for cutting and fuzz-stick making ability and both my ESEE's and the F1 performed equally.

Advantages for ESEE: Way better Sheaths, Unconditional Lifetime Warranty
Disadvantages: 1095 is prone to rust

Advantages for Fallkniven: Great Convex grinds, VG-10 has excellent rust resistance
Disadvantages: Sheathing system could be improved, fancier/bigger FK knives tend to be quite pricey, warranty is only 2 years (I think)

I'd say they are on par with each other. But they both offer different styles of knives and sheathing setups for different needs. If I were offered an ESEE or FK, I would try and take both ;)
 
hiwa said:
Fallknivens are almost maintenance free , except for cleaning and sharpening.
They can handle a lot of abuse , but their fine convex edge does need a little more respect as far as hitting hard stuff with it.
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Agreed. Although I've done plenty of light batonning with my F1, this is why I ultimately chose the E-6 for heavy duty splitting chores.

hiwa said:
The A1 is a heavy knife; kinda like carrying the Esee 5 around with you.
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Here I disagree. It's actually more comparable in weight to the ESEE 6. The ESEE 5 is a 1 lb. knife without the sheath. E-6= 11.8 oz, A1= 12 oz.

wildmike said:
The lack of a choilk is in my opinion an improvement over the ESEE's use of a choil. Choils get hung up in use (as when skinning etc) so i prefer the Fallknivens in that respect.
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I totally agree with this. Completely unnecessary imo if the overall design is right. Especially on blades under 6 inches. If the ESEE 4 didn't have the choil, I'd be all over it.
 
Not to be a smart ass but the reason you don't see a lot of stainless knives being used in the jungle is a little RUST DOES NOT MATTER when it comes to working knives, survival knives, etc. When I first started taking extended trips into the jungle I never carried anything except a carbon steel machete and carbon steel fixed blades, such as old KaBars. They served me well. Very well.
 
I'm always happy to find quality blades in 1095. I have an F1 too but I don't feel so bad abusing 1095 blades as I do it. 1095 blades are easy to sharpen/maintain compared to most any other steel anyone wishes to name.

Rust? Not enough for me to worry about keeping up with it. A bit of maintenance goes a long ways. Make mine 1095.
 
I have them both, and I will always have them both...but if for any reason I could only keep one, it would be the F1. Just my choice.

Warranty?? a good thing....if you figure you'll be using it.
 
R.A.T. said:
Not to be a smart ass but the reason you don't see a lot of stainless knives being used in the jungle is a little RUST DOES NOT MATTER when it comes to working knives, survival knives, etc. When I first started taking extended trips into the jungle I never carried anything except a carbon steel machete and carbon steel fixed blades, such as old KaBars. They served me well. Very well.
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Meaning they get so much use they never get a chance to really corrode?
 
R.A.T. said:
Not to be a smart ass but the reason you don't see a lot of stainless knives being used in the jungle is a little RUST DOES NOT MATTER when it comes to working knives, survival knives, etc. When I first started taking extended trips into the jungle I never carried anything except a carbon steel machete and carbon steel fixed blades, such as old KaBars. They served me well. Very well.
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Jeff, I hope you don't mind me posting this picture of yours of the Peruvian jungle training instructor's knife, but I think of this knife all the time, and this seems like an appropriate example of a "Jungle guy's belt knife."

1009-48.jpg


:D

Personally there's something I like about carbon steel beyond just the properties of the steel compared to stainless, it just has a slightly more "old world" feel to it, if that makes sense at all. That said I do hope to own a Fallkniven some day, I'm all for Swedish engineering (SAAB driver). :thumbup:
 
TAGannon said:
Fallkniven made in Japan.
ESEE made in the good old US of A. Enough said.
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LOL. Take a look around you man. What about the computer your using? Or the phone you talk on? Or the TV you watch? The Japanese have been practicing metallurgy for over 2000 years. Made in JAPAN does not equal inferior. With many products, it's quite the opposite. A quote from one of my favorite movies comes to mind.

"It appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds" - Doc Holiday, Tombstone.
 
Got 2 RC3's, 3 Izula's and a RC 5. Brilliant using knives. Also got a Fallkniven H1 which is the best hunting knife I have used. Would not swap any of 'em. And would be happy with any one of them if I was in the shite!
 
MtnDude said:
LOL. Take a look around you man. What about the computer your using? Or the phone you talk on? Or the TV you watch? The Japanese have been practicing metallurgy for over 2000 years. Made in JAPAN does not equal inferior. With many products, it's quite the opposite. A quote from one of my favorite movies comes to mind.

"It appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds" - Doc Holiday, Tombstone.
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I am pretty sure this was more about supporting your nations economy (If your from USA) than product quality. Most everyone knows Japan can produce some wicked blades.
 
Japanese, Europeans, etc. all make GREAT products with excellent quality. We simply choose to support the American worker and manufacturer whenever possible. And we will indeed put our quality up against anyones.
 
R.A.T. said:
Japanese, Europeans, etc. all make GREAT products with excellent quality. We simply choose to support the American worker and manufacturer whenever possible. And we will indeed put our quality up against anyones.
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My knives and tools are one area where I buy American, with great prejudice. I know there are great makers elsewhere, but these days I'm endeavouring to put more dollars in the pockets of my friends and neighbors.

SP
 
Between those two, I gotta go with ESEE. ESEE is hard enough to pronounce, the other one would be way too annoying.
 
In real survival situation - I bet rust will be the least of your concern. Having a reliable knife make the difference between life and death.

On the other hand - if you are a knife collector - you definitely have the time to maintain and care for your knives against rust.
 
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