Before Esee?

Discussion in 'Knives, Gear, Guns And Other Tools' started by Trailmaster, Jul 30, 2019.

  1. Trailmaster

    Trailmaster Member

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    Prior to discovering Esee, what were your go-to blades? I assume people still carry other brands, but I’m curious as to what. For me, back when I really used knives it was Cold Steel and Becker. Not the new stuff but back when Cold Steel used carbon V and Becker was made by Camillius.

    The Recon Scout was my primary carry for hiking and camping.
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    The Becker Brute tagged along on most of my Winter overnighters while camping.
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    The BK-7 was always a favorite, but the sheath was horrible to say the least.
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    I’ve been carrying the Cold Steel SRK the past few weeks. Always loved the size and feel.
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    This was one of my favorites, Cold Steel Trailmaster in Carbon V. A little heavy but back then I didn’t care. Prior the the CV I carried a stainless steel model
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    These are the folders I carried. I beat the heck out of the Recon 1 on the bottom. A variant of the Voyager stayed on my side for over 20 years basically everywhere I went.
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    There’s been many others especially the Buck Lite series but these are the main ones I carried as an adult.

    What were yours?
     
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  2. koolaidnd

    koolaidnd Member

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    I carried a buck 119 for a fixed blade. Benchmades for folders.
     
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  3. Kevo

    Kevo Member

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    The esee 3 was a real gateway drug for me in the fixed blade world. Prior I stuck to mostly cheaper stuff, Moras and Marttiini knives mostly.

    Folders have evolved less. I've mostly carried benchmade and spyderco for as long as I've been able to afford the good stuff. Before that is was my trusty swiss army knife or a small buck.
     
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  4. JV3

    JV3 Member

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    ka-bar was the gateway for me to quality knives then beckers. i'm not a steel snob so i was happy with beckers for awhile until i saw the esee forum (back when it was still in bladeforums) and noticed consistently far more members used their knives so i switched forums then knife brand.

    then i started hanging out with bearthedog often (and learned a ton) so i moved onto mora (510 as a neck knife) and h&b forge shawnee tomahawk as my goto woods setup.

    nowadays i'm a lightweight knife and tomahawk or axe kinda guy and will only bring a heavy duty
    knife (no choil busse basic 10 is my favorite and survive knives a close second) if i was limited to just one cutting tool and it has to be a knife.
     
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  5. Ballenxj

    Ballenxj Member

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    My first go to knife was a Schrade Bear Paw. I carried this knife for many a year, and worked it hard.
    [​IMG]
     
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  6. Ballenxj

    Ballenxj Member

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    Then I got started on Benchmade.
    [​IMG]
     
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  7. erik

    erik Member

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    Mora classic #2 and a SAK huntsman.
     
  8. RocketmanDane

    RocketmanDane Member

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    I had multiple kershaws, Bucks and eventually a KaBar and some CRKT knives. I found conveniently that with a little duck tape I was able to attach my kbar sheath to my belt just high enough that it would then fit perfectly into my BDU pockets. My kbar has seen some serious pocket time and more then once convinced a confrontational individual that I was the wrong guy to mess with that day :)
    Other then that I owned a bench made or 2 because I really liked how they looked. But they just never got any use and I no longer own any.
     
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  9. C99c

    C99c Member

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    A Swiss Army knife (Wenger, as no one around us carried Victorinox) and traditionals from Buck and Schrade along with well used and discarded (summer camp use) Old Hickory butcher knives when I was young.
    A Western Brand rubber handled hunting knife and Schrade Sharpfinger both saw a lot of game cleaning use.

    I migrated to OHO folders over traditionals in 8th grade or so starting with the Gerber EZ out (?) then Cold Steel Voyager (SE tanto!). I stumbled into Spyderco knives mid high school and ever since 99% of the time I've carried Spyderco and/or Victorinox. Occasionally I try something new and always end up returning to them.

    My oldest knives are a Victorinox Tinker I've had for almost 22 yrs and two Old Hickory butcher knives (that still get used regularly) I've had for at least a decade longer than that. I still remember my grandmother showing me how to sew sheaths for them out of some of her scrap cloth. One cross draw and one to strap around my lower leg like an Indian I'd seen in a book at school. And then off into the woods I went.
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2019
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  10. Hammer

    Hammer Member

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    Bark River, L.T. Wright, Lon Humphrey, Spyderco....many of the same knives and brands I still carry.
     
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  11. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    My first real knife was an old school cold steel SRK. Looked at it and carried it around more than used it. A lot of things have changed.
     
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  12. OutdoorsFamilyMan

    OutdoorsFamilyMan Member

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    Ive always owned knives but never gave them much thought. They cut stuff. My world consisted of mainly cheap chinese crap other than a buck 119 my brother owned, an old schrade hunting knife of my dads and a few SAKs. My eyes were opened around 2010 when I really got back into camping and discovered the world of knives and wilderness survival (and eventually bushcraft). I have a tendency to research things ad nauseam and so I quickly learned of esee and Becker. I was immediately smitten with both. I couldnt afford either so I picked up my first decent knife, a Gerber Prodigy (the older ones in the 12c27 sandvik steel). I loved that knife and used it alot. I still feel its probably the best budget knife out there...i sold it (regrettably) because I wasn't fond of the serrations. I later picked up a few beckers and eventually am esee3 and my initial feelings were confirmed. I really have no need for other blades besides my ESEEs and Beckers (and my LT Outback lol, Arthos Carnivore and TM Hunt Yuma lol)
     
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  13. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    Before Esee.....

    - cold steel outdoorsman, tai-pan, bushman, recon tango, G.I. and probably a bunch more

    - Sog desert dagger, tech, tech Bowie, scuba demo, tiger shark, recon Bowie, trident, gov tac, recon govt < all which I sold off in my early 20’s and now regretting it due their insane collectibility and worth in the $1000’s

    -bunch of machetes , mostly Latin and some milsurp ones.

    - kabars, SAKs,

    - Beckers, Scrapyard's
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2019
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  14. Ballenxj

    Ballenxj Member

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    Oh yeah, when I was a kid, I used to pack a Barlow knife around. Either Imperial, or some such brand I don't recall.
     
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  15. KMCMICHAEL

    KMCMICHAEL Member

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    Randall’s, Cold Steel, Benchmade, Spyderco, Tops, Case and a smattering of customs.
     
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  16. Trailmaster

    Trailmaster Member

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    Bucks were always a favorite of mine along with the hollow handle knives of the 80's.
     
  17. Trailmaster

    Trailmaster Member

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    Makes me almost cry seeing what some knives are selling for compared to what I could have bought them for back in the day!
     
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  18. Bozho

    Bozho Member

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    Lots of ColdSteels , Beckers, other ESEE's, RC, Ontario, Fallkniven, Buck, LionSteel, Juka Hankala, AlMar, Spyderco, Benchmade. I currently have 2 folders, 5 fixed blades and 2 MTs.
     
  19. Jeff Randall

    Jeff Randall ESEE Knives / Randall's Adventure & Training Staff Member

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    From the time I was old enough to walk, my grandad put a Schrade Old Timer pocketknife in my hand and taught me how to use and sharpen it. I probably cut a million hay strings using slip joints and sharpened several of them down to nothing left on the blade. I also still have a Cold Steel SRK that took years of abuse and now rides in the toolbox on one of our tractors. Just like any other youngster who grew up playing in the woods, I've always loved knives and owned a lot of them over the years. As you get older you tend to narrow down what you carry and I find myself going back to slip joints every so often but I can't stick with it. The pocket clip innovation on knives has ruined me, so my go-to "knife" will always be a multi-tool with a pocket clip. On my SAR gear, the Imlay rules the day for me. It just simply works for everything I need it to.
     
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  20. Rattlesnake

    Rattlesnake Member

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    Ka-Bar made Beckers, Case traditionals, Victorinox, and Cold Steel or Buck folders mostly.

    Fun fact, the Carbon V Cold Steels were made by Camillus, like Beckers used to be. The knife world lost a powerhouse when the original Camillus closed its doors forever. They were truly the knifemakers' knifemaker for years.
     

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