I love this video, watched it several times. The guy bought his ESEE-5 used and decided it didn't cut very well. It may sound odd, but the ESEE-5 is not a good cutting tool, but it's an excellent survival knife.

There is a distinction to be made, as I have pointed out before, between survival knives and knives which may be used to survive a crisis. A survival knife is a knife which is closer to unbreakable than other knives. A survival knife will manage tasks which would cause other knives to fail, and tasks for which knives were never intended. A survival knife is overbuilt in its size class.

Anyway, because he was unhappy with the cutting performance of his knife, our French-Canadian friend re-profiled the edge to convex, which is a damn nifty idea for the ESEE-5. In this rather long video, we see him process wood, from batoning a not small log down into kindling and feathersticks, and then starting a fire. He opens food cans, batons through aerosol cans. He makes a bow drill set, and the left grip panel of his knife has a built-in bearing block; that's one less piece of the bow drill set to make. Cooks his dinner. Hell, he even uses his knife as a bottle opener. You can also see him drive the point of his knife into a stump and pull on it laterally. This is a test which separates the wheat from the chaff when it comes to durability. Lots of sturdy knives won't stand up to this kind of abuse. Bottom line- unless you have a six foot length of pipe and a solidly-mounted vice at your disposal, you're not going to break the blade of this knife.

There are better knives, but it would be hard to make better survival knife. Oh. sure, you could have a knife with 9" blade. Yeah, don't forget- you have to tote this thing. The ESEE-5 is IMO just right.

I don't have the skill to convex an edge, but I wouldn't mind trying out a setup like this.

Great fun. Talk about getting everything possible out of a tool:

The tip bending test was really impressive and the guy was well versed in showing the strengths of this type of knife.
I don’t really need one and this almost makes me want to get one anyway.

Wasn't too sure of his dinner (I'd prefer an MRE), but the video makes me want to go camping with my ESEE-4.

That was a neat video and I learned stuff.

I am wondering if he had to touch up the blade multiple times during the making of the video.

Thanks for the video.

I love ESEE knives and own a couple 5’s they are beasts. But another reason to love ESEE is their customer service. They will replace any knife that breaks no matter the reason. A few years ago a guy did one of these videos and ended up breaking his trying to drive it into what looked to me a manhole cover. He then posted the video on the ESEE forum and the members called him an idiot for blatant misuse of the knife, but the owners posted that they would still honor the warranty.

I’ve got a bunch of esee knives but never had a 5 until para posted his with the rounded handles and I bought one with the link he provided. Every time I pick it up I pause at how solid it is. It’s truly a sharpened crowbar. I don’t think I could ever damage that knife. The only thing I wish it had was a 90 degree spine. It’s a great value though for that much steel and the sheath is great too.

I really love mine. "Sharpened Prybar" is an apt description. The think is a beastly brute.
I also have a S35 Zancudo, ESEE-4, and ESEE-6.
The little stainless knife lives in my edc bag and has stayed razor sharp despite never having maintaining the edge.
The 4 gets carried on hikes and during camping trips as a gp fixed blade. It's my favorite as far a being the most usable.
I haven't really figured out a use for the 6 yet. I just wanted it because it looks rad.
The ESEE-5 with micarta grips lives in the center console of my truck. It's a super versatile and practically unbreakable tool.
I really love Armatus sheaths for carrying in the bush. They attach horizontally with pull the dot snaps and really keep them out of the way but still super accessible.
https://www.armatuscarry.com/s...c39/ESEE_Knives.html

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
I’ve got a bunch of esee knives but never had a 5 until para posted his with the rounded handles and I bought one with the link he provided.

How's the coloration of the blade and handles?

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
I’ve got a bunch of esee knives but never had a 5 until para posted his with the rounded handles and I bought one with the link he provided.

How's the coloration of the blade and handles?

A dark dark green, almost black blade. The handles (scales?) started out a medium dark tan but after handling it a good bit it has darkened up to more dark drown color which I like more. I’ll try and post a picture but I’m not sure it will show up correctly.

I got the 3 & 4 and looked and looked at the 5, but I am not planning any expeditions anytime soon (that means never) so I believe the 3 or 4 will do whatever I may need. I did get a kydex sheath from David Brown and it makes the 4 perfect for me. Have another kydex for the 3, too.

I've got a few others, so I am not likely to run short of sharp things anytime, soon.

Bob

Yep, I'm a fan. So much so that I keep a spare in case I break one. Pretty sure that's not gonna happen because I've beat the crap out of the first one and it's still going strong. Saw this video a few years back. Great stuff and a worthwhile testament to this blade.



It cuts OK out of the box but if you take the bevel up a little higher, and lean toward convex a little, it becomes as close to perfect as you're going to get. IMO, of course. Oh, and take the spine to 90 degrees and get rid of that black crap.



If you want me to work on yours, Mike, send it up. If I screw it up, you can have my NIB spare.

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