Is the Esee 3 the best general purpose fixed blade knife on the market? I think it is.
Here is my Review of this excellent knife. Thanks for watching!



Hey friends, I hope this video finds you well.
This is going to be a quick video on one of my long time edged companions, the ESEE 3.
The Esee 3 is the flagship knife of Randall's Adventure Training and Equipment group, or at least the design that put them on the map of the world of survival and bushcraft blades.
It is reknowned for its light weight, thin profile, and like most of Esee's product line; rugged, durable construction.
Over the years, the esee 3 has been produced in a number of different blade steels and colors, with numerous sheath and handle scale options, but we'll be looking at what is essentially the standard, base model because it's what I have.
The 3 is made of 1095 high carbon steel, and has a blade length of 3.88" and a cutting edge length of 3.38". It is 8.31" long, and .125" wide at its thickest point. It weighs in at 5.2 ounces, and has micarta handle scales attached to the blade with 4 hex screws.
The blade is coated with a textured powder coat and etched with the Esee logo, model name, as well as the name of the manufacturing company.
The blade shape is a drop point design which lends itself well to a variety of tasks.
For my use around the property and in the woods, I find the drop point design to work well for most types of utility work i subject it too including cutting cordage, breaking down cardboard, breaking down smaller pieces of wood for the stove or fireplace, getting into stubborn packaging, and countless other uses around the house and yard. In the woods I have found it to be a very usable bushcraft blade I'm not going to tell you it's the best woods knife ever, but if I had the option of having just one general purpose fixed blade knife, I would pick this one. It can handle most wood processing tasks; though I try and be realistic about what pieces of wood I baton, but it can make short work of reasonably sized pieces. Feather sticks, shelter building, food prep, game cleaning, there's really nothing it cant do. And if it came down to it, yeah I would think it would make a halfway decent defensive blade, or at least more so then other survival knives in this range. I sure wouldn't want to get stuck or cut with one. I would describe it as a jack of all trades, master of none; short of a large "chopper" type role, the esee 3 will pretty much do anything you would need a fixed blade knife to do in the backcountry, or around town. In my opinion, It's size and weight make it a realistic choice for Every day carry, especially with the right sheath. I personally don't carry a fixed blade knife as an EDC, but again, as a knife that can fill a lot of different roles, it's thin profile is a huge advantage over other similarly sized knives in this category.
The coating is starting to take a beating over the 3 or 4 years ive had this knife. No big deal there, I'm pretty good about keeping my sharp stuff oiled and well maintained. I've had lots of knives with 1095 carbon steel, and if you maintain the blade and keep it stripped you generally don't have to do a lot of sharpening. I've had this on the Sharpmaker maybe once a year since I've had it, and no issues there. 1095 is fairly easy to work if you take a chip out of the edge or what have you, there's a reason its such a popular steel it works.
The ergonomics are nothing to wrote home about, it's fairly flat and thin around the handle, which is an advantage and disadvantage. It has some jimping up top, and a finger choil in front of the handle if you want to choke up for more detailed work, I also find it useful to have more control when sharpening.
The ergos dont bother me enough to change it, but if you really wanted to have a knife that fit your hand just right and wanted to be able to use for long periods with no hot spots or pressure points, there's a pretty robust aftermarket in terms of grip options, and I'm pretty sure that Esee has updated this model with different handle profile because of user complaints. For me and my use case, it's totally acceptable.
I've been using the stock molded plastic sheath with a metal clip for as long as I've had this knife, and for toting it around outside and for my uses it works just fine. Could you get a better sheath? Sure but there's probably other things that I could spend my money on that would make more sense... retention is still good after all these years, and it carries nicely.
All in all, if you're an outdoorsman, bushcrafter, or homesteader looking for a durable, allaround fixed blade knife with a trim profile, you really cannot go wrong with the Esee 3.
It's my "you can only keep one" solution, and it would take a pretty amazing blade to make Mr change my mind.