ESEE Knives Izula II Knife Molded Sheath Belt Clip Plate

I have gone through countless folder knives, 90% of them lost due to falling out of my pocket. I'm not cartwheeling all over the place, yet somehow they just fall out eventually.The best thing about this knife is that I haven't lost it, all due to it's incredible sheath, which is designed to not just clip to things, but to clip and not let go. It's sort of a double sided grip that 'bites' onto whatever you attach it to. The sheath itself that holds the knife can be tightened enough that you must use your thumb to push against it to get the knife out of it. I have had several people try to take it out of my pocket and every time they do all they end up doing is turning my pocket inside out, sheath and knife still attached to me. Someone put the correct amount of effort into the engineering of this sheath. Its brilliance is not touted in the product description nor on the ESEE website, so I feel it needs to be mentioned.I didn't buy it for the sheath though, I bought it because I wanted to carry a fixed blade instead of a folder. I train a martial art with a lot of knife work (kali/escrima) and upon playing with my folders realized that there's basically no situation where I would trust them to hold up in the event I would actually use one to fight with. A morbid male fantasy yes, but still a valid consideration for many knife owners. Folders will break exactly where you think they will and theoretically at the moment when you need them most.The Izula II is the perfect EDC weapon. It is a perfect size in your hand and has a superb bolster (the area that protects your finger from sliding onto the blade). It can be held in either a normal grip or reverse (ice pick, or as some in kali/escrima call it, pakal) and even the less common ice pick grip with the blade facing toward you - stab in and then pull to tear, like an animal claw. Because it is a fixed blade, you are free to strike with the spine of the knife, although there is no sharp edge there (you could add one if you wanted). The extra length on the Izula II as compared to the Izula gives a nice small butt to the knife that you can strike with as well, although it is blunt, not pointed like on the ESEE-5. Draw speed from the sheath is fast and the handle is easy to find and deploy it without too much fine motor skills like you would have with some folders. The flexible nature of the steel (discussed more below) would prevent this knife from breaking should you hit a bone or need to pry it loose from one to retrieve it.You may be wondering, as I did, if carrying around a fixed blade in your pocket with the handle sticking up is going to make you look like a psycho. I carry mine daily in a major city into coffee shops and such, and although it sometimes attracts eyes I have yet to have anyone actually comment on it. No one has reacted poorly. I mostly attribute this to how it looks in pocket. The rounded end of the handle, seasoned micarta, and green coating on mine give it a very outdoorsy feel rather than a tacticool vibe. The bulky clip looks very utilitarian.I've read and watched many things regarding ESEE. If you're familiar with their line, you'll know that the ESEE-5 was designed to cut through airplanes, no joke. It is essentially a pry bar that happens to have a sharp edge on it as well. The Izula II is pretty much just a smaller version of that same concept. While much thinner than the 5, the Izula II is probably the thickest chunk of steel you will ever carry in your pocket, all while still being very lightweight. The choice of hardness and use of 1095 steel is purposeful. While you may find a better *blade* in other knives and fancier choices of steel, you will unlikely find one that is also strong yet flexible enough not to break when abused.Maintenance of 1095 carbon steel is not difficult, and I say that as a person who is notoriously forgetful and not the greatest maintainer of things like this. The coating is a blessing and I've applied Tri-Flow lube to the exposed parts of the steel only a handful of times. No rust problems.

This is a high quality, fixed blade knife in the smallest of packages. At 6.75" it is perfectly sized for small chores and virtually disappears under a shirt when used as a neck knife (even with scales attached). The chamfering on the spine is effective at maintaining control of the blade when needing precision cutting. In fact, five minutes ago I used it to strip plastic from a few wire nuts.At 2.63" the blade length will not raise many eyebrows if you happen to use the knife around others. The powder coated,1095 Carbon Steel is easy to maintain and re-sharpen and the flat grind makes for a great utility blade.The scales can be easily removed (or a scale-less version purchased) for an even smaller profile but arthritic hands will appreciate the extra grip the scaled version provides.Lastly, ESSE has tremendous customer service and make other quality products. The Izula II was the first of two ESEE knives that I bought. I will be adding more to my collection. I have some pretty expensive blades and ESSE will be my carry blades from now on. I am that impressed with these knives.

Just received this knife so it hasn't been used. These are my first out of the box impressions. First, high praise for the company 5COL survival supply. I posted a concern about a negative(s) review that alluded to sheath scratching or making the knife blade when pulled out. What I found most impressive was company rep. posted a short paragraph answer on the Amazon forum reassuring me that the sheath would not mar the blade or the finish on the blade. I think it says a great deal about a company and its willingness to stand behind its product when it takes the time to answer questions potential customers have. The knife was everything they said it would be. It looks great (proud to own it), feels great in my hand, fits tightly in sheath (I like to neck carry) for tip down neck carry, and the blade is razor sharp. Instructions were both plainly printed and well illustrated. In the future I plan to buy a larger camping knife and I will definitely give Esee and 5COL first consideration. Really like the knife. Will do a follow up after some use. Well done 5COL

Damn near every pocket knife or fixed blade I've handled has some design choice or manufacturing flaw that makes me scratch my head as to why they would do things that way. While the Izula 2 seems a little pricey for a simple 1095 steel fixed blade it stands out as not having any of those stupid issues. No screwed up heat treat. No screwed up fit and finish. No glaringly obvious design flaws.It feels like it'll survive a bomb blast. The micarta scales were almost too grippy out of the box and wore into exact-right-grippy territory after brief handling. They're prefectly flush with the tang. Recessed hardware has no hotspots. The finger choil and overall handle shape are just perfect. Gimping is the right depth. The sheath, while not fancy, doesn't grind on the blade while sheathing or deploying and has "I can't shake it out no matter how hard I try" retention. The only thing that would be nice to see is the belt clip being designed to be rotated in any direction. Installing it for commando carry is possible, but it will only allow for 3 screws (which is fine) and ends up being a kind of ugly affair (which isn't a huge deal either). When installed for up-and-down carry it's perfect.I'd love to see a version of this knife with the same shape of handle scales but somehow lightened, as it's fine to neck carry for me, but it's on the verge of being too heavy, and I could see a lot of people liking a slightly lighter version.