ESEE Knives Izula-II Fixed Blade Knife, Micarta Handle, Molded Sheath, Clip Plate (Black)

Great smaller knife, that lives up to the hype. I probably own + 50 personal working knives, mostly fixed blades. All of them get USED, as I'm wearing/using a fixed blade +18 hrs a day, every day. No "pretty-boy" display knives. Most of my knives tend to be bigger than the Izula 2, but thought I'd give it a try, after reading/watching a bunch of reviews here/YouTube. I gotta admit, I was pleasantly surprised. The handle has a nice feel to it, the blade has nice coating, and it came razor sharp. Sheath is actually pretty good for a 'stock' sheath, and has a nice small profile. I was concerned about the belt clip, as most 'stock' belt clips might work okay for the casual knife person, but usually don't hold your knife in place (very well). But for this Izula 2, I have been able to use the belt clip attachment that came with the knife, as the spring tension of the clip is really strong. I was impressed. I like the sheath that came with it, as it has nice retention to it, with no rattle. But for folks who buy the Tan or OD Green colored blade, the sheath tends to leave a dark black mark on both sides of your blade, whenever it's inserted/extracted from the sheath. I found 2 little nubs on the inside top part of the sheath, that holds the blade in. But they tend to rub on the blade, leaving a small black smudge mark. Easy to clean off, but will probably continue to leave those marks, and eventually wear away the protective coating. For many of my fixed blade knives, I buy a custom sheath, as some 'stock' sheaths are sub-par. While waiting for this knife, I started looking for a custom sheath. Found a great double-layered, two-tone kydex sheath, made for the price that most folks charge for a single layer kydex sheath. DeepCreekCustoms did a great job on it, and very inexpensive (about 1/3 the cost of the knife). Nice part is, I now have two really good sheaths that I can use, and each has their purpose. My 'stock' sheath works nicely if wearing my knife on pants, etc., and my custom one works great if attached to my pack or work gear. I've only owned this knife for a week or two, so I won't go into assessing how functional it is. Most of the other reviews here have covered most of that pretty well, already. I will say that I am very satisfied with my purchase, and for a smaller, utility knife, it will handle almost anything I throw at it. Try one .... you'll be glad you did.

I am deployed O/S. I don't know where to begin. This knife is the bomb & a bag of chips. It was a far departure from what I would carry with a blade length of little over 2 1/2" & overall 6 3/4" length. I carry IWB over strong side right side kidney. You can can easily forget its there, really that comfortable. It's like 4oz. It is so handy. Who knew? What a revelation that it would do so much for it's size. I couldn't be happier with it. I got the carbon steel version as this is easier for me to sharpen. I have coated the blade with all manner of oil & grease. Olive oil, Coconut oil, Bacon grease & motor oil. Easy to sharpen & scary sharp. Esee knives punch way above their weight. What a pleasant surprise when a purchase exceeds our expectations & at such a reasonable price.

This is an excellent knife. It is a great size for everyday carry. It fits well in the sheath. Knife holds an edge good and is easy to sharpen. Esee knives are great quality and value!

I was a little skeptical when I bought this knife because of the low price but man was I surprised at how great this little knife was. Great cutting power for such a small package. The blade is 1095 carbon steel (which will rust if the blade is not covered with some kind of water repellent), heat treated to hold a superb edge, and is razor sharp out of the box and a few passes on a strop or sharpening stone after heavy use keeps it sharp enough to shave with. The handle is micarta, which is a hardened canvas, and feels really comfortable in my hand with or without gloves. Besides batoning through large pieces of wood and chopping branches, this knife can do it all. The knife comes with a plastic sheath and hardware for hanging around your neck. I happen to hate having anything heavy dangle around my neck so I ditched the factory sheath for a Kydex one (for durability) made by Grizzly Outdoors and paired it with a Blade Tech TekLok to wear it from my belt. I usually pair this with a hatchet or a larger knife like the Esee 6 when expecting to process lots of wood for shelter building or for a fire, and I may or may not carry the larger tool on my person, but this baby never leaves my belt. Whether its slicing meat, quickly sharpening a stick into a tent stake or making a spit, or cutting cord, or skinning an animal, the tool I need is no further than reaching down to my hip. The spine is not 90 degrees out of the box so I cut it down to such using a file, which enables me to use the back of the knife to strike sparks off a ferro rod. A simple modification that makes this a good survival knife and the only thing I would change about it if I were the designer.

This is a review of the Izula 2 compared to the the Kabar BK 14. I own Both of these knives and will compare these two very similar blades. Both knives are very sturdy, equally capable, light weight knives in this review I will list the advantages of the Izula 2 over the BK14 and the reasons I think the Izula 2 is a better purchase. Handle and length: 1/2 inch extra of handle on the izula 2 makes it much more comfortable to use than the BK 14 and really fit well into my size XL glove hands. The wide micarta handles included with the Izula 2 Help make the Izula 2 a better value as neither knife can be used comfortably without a Handle, even para cord warped handles don't cut it for large hands. Sharpness: The Izula 2 came sharper and is easier to sharpen thank the BK 14. The BK 14 seems to have a less fine grained steel than the Izula 2, I could not get the BK Shaving sharp but with the same tools I can get the Izula 2 sharper than shaving sharp, wicked sharp? As sharp as my Mora can get. The Izulas sharpness is likely due to its Rowens heat treatment ESEE has. Weight: the Izula 2 w/ handle scales is less than the BK 14 without handle scales. Fit and finish: MY BK14 has uneven edge grinding getting worse at the tip and was missing blade coating in several very small spots. The BK14 also was only working sharp when delivered. The Izula 2 shaved hair on my arm when delivered and after using it on a backcountry camping trip as our only knife. Handle scales fit perfectly. Blade coating: The blade coating on the Izula 2 is less abrasive and stays cleaner than the BK14's coating. It seems more durable and was more evenly applied than on the BK14. Sheath: The Izula 2 has a better sheath hands down. It's smaller, has better retention, has no rattle and is much lighter than the BK14 sheath. MY BK14 doesn't snap into the sheath like It did upon purchasing. Blade geometry: The spine of the blade of the Izula 2 has more of a downward curve and IMHO it gives the knife better ergonomics, cutting ability and fine control. While the BK14 has a longer blade IMHO it does not seem any more capable and it's wide blade hindered its ability to do fine wood carving. See images I uploaded comparing the Izula 2 and BK14's blades. Heat treat and steel. The Izula 2 is made from 1095 steel with a Rowens heat treatment all ESEE knives have. The BK14 is 1095 chromium vanadium steel with a not quite as good as Rowens heat treatment. 1095 cro-van steel is better on paper but according to many people heat treatment is more important than steel chemistry at least to a point. After using both practically speaking I like the steel of the Izula 2 better because I can get it sharper than the BK14 steel. Warranty: ESSE has the best warranty in the knife business, a unconditional if you break it you get a new one warranty. Kabar BK has a good warranty but not unconditional. Is the Izula 2 worth the extra $30? I think so. For $30 more than the BK14 you get 1/2" extra handle, better ergonomics, better fit and finish, mythical Rowens heat treat, comfortable micarta handles, a unconditional warranty, a better sheath and more effective blade geometry. I uploaded lots of images so how this helps.

ESEE makes great knives for the outdoorsman and survivalist. This model is good for small knife duties. I really like the ergonomics. If they had done a 3D job (coke-bottle shape) they would have gotten five stars. As a small knife goes, I think this knife is as sturdy as ESEE knives are meant to be. The blade shape is great for a variety of tasks. It is fairly thick blade with a full flat grind. A variety of color combinations are offered. P.S. I was not a fan of the kydex sheath. The tension is very high, but it is serviceable. If you want a kydex sheath, I recommend the Armatus Architect. There are also a variety of good leather sheaths available for it. Mine is custom made to my specifications.

Just bought this knife today as an EDC knife that I scout carry on my 6. Blade itself is insanely sharp. I have very large hands but the handle still gives me a very solid grip. Everything about this build is very high quality but I do have 2 things that I think are negatives. First is the belt clip. The clip itself is very strong but is designed to fit 2" belts so I do wish they had an 1.75" clip option. The second negative is the retention system. The retention on the sheath does great with preventing the knife from falling out but was so secure the sheath would just slide across my belt without letting go of the knife itself. 15 minutes with a file fixed the issue. Be prepared to do a little work to get a perfect fit but it's totally worth it at the end of the day.

A while back I gave a valid and glowing review of the first ESEE knife I'd ever added to my collection, the ESEE-4. In that review I said that I thought there may be more ESEE products added to my collection, based on how much I liked the ESEE-4. Well, I wasn't wrong. Since then I have purchased two more ESEE knives, the Izula and Izula II. This specific review is for the Izula II, and so I'll focus mainly on that. This is another great knife that's a little smaller, but just as well built and functional as it's bigger family members. I would recommend this knife, and likely any of the USA made products in ESEE's line up. I'm just really happy with their knives so far. They're well made, balanced, sharp right out of the box, and seem to have been made with care and precision. These aren't twenty dollar knives, but I feel the price point is fair. Also, the knives that I've purchased are manufactured in US, that's a big plus in my book. On top of everything else is their warranty. You just don't find many businesses willing to back up their products like this anymore. If you like knives at a core level then ESEE knives are worth a look.