ESEE 5
Value for Money: 5/5
Ease of Use: 4/5
Construction: 5/5
Alliness: 4/5
A good knife is an essential tool for any soldier – indeed for anyone who spends any time outdoors at all, particularly in remoter regions and for a prolonged period of time. A good multitool is almost as vital as a rifle in the right environment, not least because it can keep your rifle going, but a decent fixed blade can be equally important. There is a lot to be said for the soldier’s classic, the Mora – it’s robust, great value for money and comfortable to use, but it’s just not enough knife to handle what I wanted it to. I wanted to purchase the ultimate soldier’s knife, and there were several key criteria I needed it to satisfy.
- Robustness: Above all, the knife had to be robust. There needed to be literally no question about it ever breaking, regardless of what I threw at it, whether I was on a two week exercise or a six month operational tour. I wanted a tool that I could be confident would last me the rest of my career.
- Value for Money: I was content that this knife would not be especially cheap – like I said, I was in the market for something that would last for years, but I didn’t want to pay an outrageous premium – especially as if you pay too much for something, you tend to use it gently. I wanted a workhorse – something I could thrash and not be too concerned about.
- Size: A tricky one. On the one hand, I wanted a blade that could handle some rough tasks – batoning through wood, cutting through tree roots, felling small branches, what have you. This would require a certain amount of size and heft. But at the same time, I didn’t want a comically oversized knife – nobody likes some Rambo wannabe cutting around with what would probably be legally classed as a sword strapped to their webbing, particularly in the wilds of Thetford.
Enter the ESEE 5.
ESEE, an American knifemaker, have been in the business for a long while. They used to be part of Ontario Knives, but split over decisions to do with the steels used, and still share a few designs. They have established a reputation in the military/law enforcement/survival community for absolutely bombproof knives, and to stand by this they offer an outstanding warranty – break one of their knives, no matter how, no matter when, and they will replace it. They offer simple blades that are obviously utilitarian in nature – no fancy leatherwork, no pointless decoration, no saw backs, hollow handles or other wannabe nonsense. Just straight-up, workmanlike tools. Their knives come in all sizes, from the tiny Izula to the comically outsize Junglas, and are standard issue to a number of elite military units. The one I opted for, after careful consideration, was the ESEE 5. Originally designed as a survival knife for pilots downed over the South American jungle, it is meant as a utility knife which can, at a pinch, be used for fighting.
First, some specs. The ESEE 5 is 11 inches long overall, with a 5 inch blade. It has a canvas micarta handle, a full tang, and a 1095 high-carbon steel blade (for ease of sharpening) with a textured powder finish and a sabre grind. It comes with an excellent kydex sheath and is offered in plain edge (my choice) or part-serrated, in a variety of colours for both blade coating and handle. And it is built like an absolute tank. To be honest, it’s probably overbuilt for what a soldier needs. The knife itself weighs almost half a kilo and is a whopping quarter of an inch thick at the spine, meaning you could use it to baton with a cricket bat and it wouldn’t even think about bending or breaking. Hell, you could probably use a metal bar if you were that way inclined.
The knife isn’t light, but by God does it perform. Once you’ve put a decent edge on it, it will chew through wood and tree roots like a hatchet. If you use a stick or pick handle to baton with it, it can chop down small trees with minimal effort. The point is remarkably sharp for such a wide-profile knife, and virtually indestructible – it would take some serious, deliberate effort to blunt it, and bending it is probably impossible due to the thickness of the blade profile. If you ever found yourself in need of stabbing through some sheet metal, the ESEE 5 wouldn’t flinch. You could pry open a door with it without worrying about it breaking. The micarta handles are similarly bombproof, but can be easily replaced as they are held in place with exposed allen keys if they did happen to get damaged somehow. The handle also offers a divot for bow-drill firestarting, which – let’s be honest – you’ll never, ever, use in our line of work. I have large hands, so I found the handle scales very comfortable – they didn’t create fatigue or give any hotspots despite prolonged use, but be warned if you have tiny paws you may struggle. The pommel is of the glass-breaker type, so it can be used to smash through windows or in a combat situation, but not to hammer with, which is a bit annoying given how hefty the knife is.
The Kydex sheath offered with the blade is outstanding – particularly given that in this price range (I paid £100 for mine from Amazon) you’re normally stiffed with some useless nylon rubbish which you have to replace. The sheath comes with a handy belt clip which can thread onto either a standard belt or MOLLE PALS, but you can also purchase a MOLLE mount separately. The blade locks securely into place with no movement and a satisfyingly meaty click, but if you feel like you absolutely, categorically want the knife to go nowhere, ESEE have thoughtfully provided a simple locking system which makes it impossible to extract the blade unless disengaged.
My one complaint about the knife is that it seems to lose its edge fairly rapidly. Not a huge issue as this can be rectified with a sharpening stone and a few minutes’ work, but frustrating on a longer exercise when you’re living out of your Bergen and haven’t packed one to save weight. However, given how well the knife performs in other areas I’m willing to overlook this.
Could you fight with this knife? Probably – the makers certainly intended for you to be able to. I’m no expert, and unless you’re either a fantasist or a wannabe you know that the chances of even an infantryman ending up fighting mano a mano with an enemy are slim – particularly as you have a rifle, a pistol and a bayonet with you to give the enemy the good news, so you’d somehow have had to exhaust all those options. But let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you have. Or, more plausibly, that you’re sat manning a night navigation checkpoint in the Kenyan Oloo and can hear creatures of the night rustling about in the undergrowth and have nothing to protect yourself with if they decide they want to sample you (not that a knife would do you much good, but it made me feel marginally warmer and fuzzier about things). The ESEE is probably too heavy for the kind of ninja stuff you see people demonstrate on Youtube, as it’s likely too slow in the hand. But ultimately, it’s a five-inch, sharp hunk of steel with a wicked point. However, it’s not a combat knife in the true sense of the word, so if you want one, look elsewhere.
To sum up, then:
- Pros: Utterly bombproof, comfortable in the hand, packed with premium features (sheath, handle) at a reasonable price.
- Cons: Heavy, tends to lose its edge quicker than a harder steel would (but easier to put one on).
If you’re looking for a premium, medium-length fixed blade which will never let you down, and which you can use for any variety of camp tasks within an exercise or operational environment without worrying about damage to the knife, then the ESEE 5 is the tool for you. You can find it here.
This Kit Pest Review was written by Tommaso Lagana. Hopefully you enjoyed it and if you have any thoughts or comments related to this article then leave a comment!
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