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It doesn't always have to be big and bulky: Sometimes smaller is also finer and sufficient for most things. This is about a subtle knife from the company KaBar/Becker named Eskabar, a knife that was created in cooperation with the company ESEE. Martin took a closer look at this small knife.

Eskabar - the name is a combination of ESEE and KaBaR, and just like the name merger, two popular knives were also combined to create the Eskabar. We're talking about the legendary ESEE Izula and the Becker Necker, both in the same class, small, light, skeletonized handle, and drop-point blade. Many knife enthusiasts found the blade of the Becker Necker genius, but were not so satisfied with the handle. Friends of the Izula found the blade a bit too small, so the manufacturers listened to the community and created a knife with the blade of the Necker and the handle of the Izula. By the way, ESEE and KaBar are known for good and usable tactical outdoor knives with excellent value for money. Even though many criticize the simple 1095 steel and there are reports of rust on the internet, there are just as many extremely positive reports - and we can only agree with that.

The Eskabar comes first with a chic packaging to your home. When you open it, you'll find the small knife, a usable nylon sheath, some black Paracord, and an instruction leaflet. The knife is black coated, and razor-sharp from the factory. The coating is slightly rough, making it very grippy. Since the knives are coated by hanging them upside down, you can see a small area on the inside of the handle where the coating is missing, but it's not a big deal.

The nylon sheath has a safety strap, which can be removed if you don't want it. The knife still sits securely in the sheath and won't fall out.

To improve the grip, there are countless ways to wrap Paracord around it, or you can buy the optional grip scales. KaBar/Becker offers a set of black/orange Zytel grip scales for a reasonable 14 €, or you can choose the Micarta grip scales of the Izula, but you may need to file them slightly on the inside to fit (the handle is identical to the Eskabar, but the coating may add some thickness). We have tried both Paracord and the Zytel grip scales, Paracord adds almost no bulk and works perfectly, the Zytel scales are very smooth, so it's worth roughening them with sandpaper to improve grip. The handle can be gripped well in both the reverse grip and regular grip - even without grip scales or Paracord - but of course, they improve comfort.

KaBar/Becker uses 1095 steel, which is very easy to sharpen and has good edge retention. The hardness is 56-58 HRC. The blade has been given a 15° flat grind - it comes in the so-called drop-point shape. At a weight of 76g, the Eskabar is slightly heavier than the Izula, but the blade is 1.1 cm longer and 0.3 mm thicker than the Izula. This results in the following values:

Blade length: 8.2cm (Izula = 7.3cm)

Blade thickness: 4.2mm (Izula = 3.9mm)

Overall length: 17.8cm (Izula = 15.9cm)

Weight: 76g (Izula = 57g)

If you attach the sheath horizontally on the back of your belt and let your shirt cover it, you quickly forget that you're carrying the knife. But if you need something to cut, it's quick to draw and feels good in the hand right away. Whether chopping food (and yes, a coated blade is not optimal for that) or cutting a good steak, you don't feel any difference compared to a regular table knife, everything goes smoothly and you don't feel like the coating is sticking to the food. After the meal, the knife is cleaned and ready for the true tasks of a knife: shaping wood into different forms.

Here too, considering the small blade, there are no significant obstacles: whether planing or carving fine shavings, the knife fits well in the hand and can also be guided perfectly with the thumb on the blade spine. When batoning (splitting wood), the wide blade comes in handy, providing enough striking surface at the tip to split the branch for medium-thick branches. It takes longer and requires more effort than using a larger knife, but the small Eskabar surprisingly holds up well.

During the test, fresh wood was used, which put up a fight to not be split, but ultimately, it had to give in. The knife was even driven vertically into the branch and levered, again no problems for the Eskabar. After use, there are slight marks on the coating, but no obvious signs of wear, at least in the initial tests. Time will tell if the coating holds up in the long run.

CONCLUSION: The Eskabar is a true (Almost) all-rounder. Whether cutting meat, chopping vegetables, cutting string, carving, striking a firesteel, or splitting branches with batoning, all no problem for the Eskabar. For just under 50€, you get a very good utility knife in a decent size, the included sheath and Paracord are also of good quality, and with a blade length of 8.3cm, you're always on the safe side of the law in Germany.

You can get the Eskabar and many other knives from ESEE and KaBar/Becker as well as accessories at Outdoormesser.de.

By the way, for those who don't like 1095 steel, you can also purchase a version of the Eskabar in D2 called D´Eskabar.