ESEE knives

[jackknifeh]

Hey guys

I didn't get an ESEE IZULA like I planned. I got a Ka-Bar BK-11 instead. It has the same steel, well 1095 Cro-Van instead of just 1095. I don't know what the difference is. I have the handle wrapped with paracord now but i got the knife in a trade and a set of unfinished oak scales was included. I'll finish them later. I decided on the Ka-Bar because the blade was about 1/2" longer.

I have been able to get the knife very sharp but have some trouble getting a hair whittling razor edge on it. I'm not sure why. Has anyone experienced this?

How does this steel sharpen/perform? Edge retention has been discussed so mainly I'd like opinions on sharpening issues. I can get it sharp enough to stab the tip through a piece of phone book paper and then slice through the sheet easily. But I can't start the cut by just slicing into the edge of the paper consistantly. It just doesn't want to cut into the edge of the phone book paper. The edge just kind of slides along the edge of the paper pushing it out of the way. It won't "bite" into the edge like all my other knives do. Other than that I'm happy with the level of sharpness. This is not supposed to be a scalpel. I haven't used it enough or tested it's edge retention yet. Any input is appreciated.

Jack

[rg02]

I am not sure what the difference between the 1095 on the ESEE and 1095 cro van on the kabar, but I can say that out of the box I hit my ESEE 3 micro bevel with my SM at 40 inclusive and used medium,fine,ultra fine, and ended with the strop and it is hair shaving with no effort and slices through phone book paper with ease. Interested to hear feedback from someone with 1095 cro van......