11 years every day with my Izula

What is your trusty, long-term compagnion?

I’ve been carrying my Esee Izula 1095 every day for 11 years now.

After 11 years of service, I cleaned it up probably one last time, sharpened it, wrapped it with paracord, and tied a Two Strand Diamond Knot at the end of the handle.

For me, the knot made all the difference. This way, I can have a nice five-finger grip, yet it remains slim and lightweight, with all the strength of a full tang knife. It also makes batoning much easier.

It fits in my pocket comfortably, and it doesn’t print “KNIFE” awkwardly on my pocket with this config. Compared to a folder, I can deploy it with much less fuss with one hand only.

Yeah… it’s not as fidgety as a folding knife, but I had a ton of fun wrapping it with paracord, DIY-ing a custom Kydex sheath (because the original sheath is pretty crappy, in my opinion), and sharpening it with various sharpening systems.

For 40 bucks, it has served me very well for various tasks, like hardcore batoning on lightweight camping trips, smashing it with a metal hammer every Christmas (carving the tree), and also some light cardboard cutting. It’s not the sliciest, but it gets the job done when sharpened to razor sharpness.

After it became a little rusty and finding another good deal, I finally decided to upgrade to the s35vn version for EDC-ing and retire the 1095 for batoning and Christmas hammering. I can’t wait until it arrives. The Kydex sheath rivets have also lost their black paint anyway, so I’m expecting just as much fun with the fancier version.

Thanks for all the fish!

by Adorable-Routine-474