- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 7,437
Background:
A fellow member on this board won a prize package with ESEE and received a boat load of knives. One of which was the ESEE Izula II - I told him that if he didn't want it - that I would take it off his hands. Considering the fact that he now had about a dozen ESEE knives - he decided to part with the Izulla II (which was actually in Kit form) for a very good price to me.
Because it was not straight from ESEE I cannot speak to how they normally package their equipment - but I recieved the knife well packed and set to work seeing what all the hype about these ESEE knives were all about.
Specs:
OAL: 6.718
Blade Length (from Ricossa: 2.655
Blade Thickness: 0.163
Blade Height: 1.040 at rear of blade
Steel Type: 1095
Handle Length to Finger Guard: 781
Handle Length (Scales): 3.547
Handle Thickness at butt: 0.988
Handle Thickness in middle: 0.983
Handle Thickness at front finger: 0.696
Handle Thickness at Ricossa: 1.076
Handle Width: About 0.586
Handle Material: Grey Canvas Micarta
Fit and Finish:
I wanted this knife, primarily as a bomb proof, no frills knife for Hiking and Camping. When I was going on a small day hike and would like a knife that I would likely not use (other than to open packages and pop blisters) but COULD use in case I had to. I wanted something light and rugged that took little to no maintenance with a variety of ways I could attack to my pack, my belt, my neck, or other. The ESEE seems to fir that bill for me.
With that said, this was the first knife that I have ever owned that came with some sort of coating on it. The textured powder coat that came on this knife, I feel, is a love or hate type of thing. I think ESEE can offer fairly inexpensive knives because they can water jet their blanks, C&C the flats, and merely need to set the bevel on the blade for it to be ready to ship. However, this type of finish can either be tactical, rugged, and cool - or - the pejorative all those things in the knife world 'Tacticool'.
I have found that I like the powder coating for this application because I don't need to worry about rust or maintenance on the 1090 steel. However, in terms of elegent or pretty, you better be in the mindset of form following function before even assessing the Izula II. For what I wanted, the fit and finish on this knife is just fine. I have no idea if there are terrible grind lines, or rugged marks on the blade - it is covered in thick powder coat. The Scales are removable so there is a little gap in between them and the blade (not enough to let light through - but nothing similar to epoxied scales). The grind lines look perfect because I would wager they are done by a computer. The plunge lines are super straight, even, and well done. The Scales are well rounded and nice in the hand as a result. The etching on the blade is deep and well done. If you like this sort of industrial look - ESEE does it well.
First Sharpening:
If you have read my other reviews you can see how anal I am when it comes to sharpening my knives and making them as perfect as I like them before using them. I might give an out of the box knife a text swipe or three at some wood or paper - but I usually break out the stones first thing.
The Izulla II came with a nice edge on it - a little steeper than 25 degrees inclusive - and had a decent polish to it. I immediately took out my Japanese water stones, put them in my free hand double bevel jig and set to work putting a 25 degree inclusive edge on it. I started at 800 grit and moved to 1200, 4000, and then to the strop. The buffing compounds later I had a mirror edge that was very very sharp.
1090 is very easy to sharpen - and I have found that this knife is not only easy to sharpen and take a edge, but the edge is robust and stays sharp for a very long time.
Blade Geometry:
The blade is a full flat ground double bevel drop point blade. There is very little flat portion to this grind before the blade sweeps up to the tip. I find this geometry and blade design to be very multi purpose. It has enough belly to skin small game, enough tip to drill out a bow drill starter hole, and enough flat to carve flats on a bow drill spindle. It is a very simple knife with a lot going for it - but no real tricks or gimmicks to speak of. This was great for my purposes.
One design element I didn't like was the thumb jimping. I am mixed on jimping anyway - but if you are going to have thumb jimping, at least allow it to be usable. ESEE makes what looks to be some nice jimping and then fills it with thick powder coating. This does allow for a purchase for the thumb, if you are into that sort of hold, but it certainly does not allow for striking a firesteel. In fact the entire spine of the blade is well rounded by the powder coat, so you better pack a striker with your firesteel or you will be forced to use the blade - something I would not do unless there was an emergency and I couldn't find any sharp rocks.
Balance:
This handle is highly skeletonized so I was expecting the knife to be blade heavy - but because the blade is shorter than the handle - it is only slightly blade heavy in skeleton mode and very well balanced with the scales on.
In Hand / Handle Design:
The handle is nothing to write home about - again sticking to the no frills concept of this knife. It can be used is skeletonized mode, which I would not choose to do unless I had to for any extended period of time, can be wrapped with tape in a pinch, or paracord wrapped. I am not a fan of thin handled knives to begin with - so after testing the paracord wrap, which was easy to do and has a cool look - but I put the scales on after that and have not taken them off.
The scales on the Izulla are held on in a unique fashion. At first blush it looks like you simply tighten a few Allen screws and the scales are held on. However, as you can see in the picture above - there is an orange portion under the scales that seems to be some sort of thick sticker designed to fit the scales inside the skeletonized tang. I am not sure why ESEE doesn't simply mill these scales out to have them recessed in a fashion to do this and rely on a sticker to do the job - but I have not had an issue with the scales and so don't concern myself too much with the why.
The hole in the end of the Izula II is a cool touch. When coupled with the sheath - it makes for a knife that can dangle from anything by a carabiner. I can imagine people using this blade ins skeletonized form dangling from their pack for general purpose or for when the SHTF. I like that design.
Sheath Shots:
The sheath that came with the Izula II is an inection molded clamshell sheath It is very minimalistic but very well thought out. It can take a Tek Lock, a Caribiner, a Molle clip or belt clip (that comes with the Izula II kit). Again, no frills, this sheath looks like the prototype was taken off the C&C machine and straight to the mold making machine. It is rugged, and has thin ribbing on the outside for a positive grip in wet conditions. I like it for its diversity and bomb proof-ness.
One awesome feature that the sheath has is two nubs inside the sheath that allow the blade to snap into place and holds the blade very securely. It also allows you to withdraw the sheath and put it back with one hand and when you hear it click be secure in the knowledge that your knife is put away safely.
I added a Tek Lok to mine and carry it in the small of my back when without a pack - and take off the tek lock and attach it to my pack with a carabiner when I am weaing my pack. I love this diversity and ease of use.
Overall feelings after nearly a year:
This knife isn't gonna win any awards for beauty. It isn't an elegant knife - or even an original pattern. It is, however, a very tough knife that I feel very comfortable carrying in the woods and could bet my life on if I needed to. I can see why people fall in love with ESEE and have considered picking up an ESEE 4 because I liked this knife so much. For the money - you can barely beat the options that this knife has and how durable it is.
TF
