- ESEE Izula · Drop Point2.63″ blade · 0.156″ spine · 2 oz · 1″ tall (published)
ESEE Izula
The ESEE Izula is a 2.875" drop point fixed blade in 1095 Carbon, full flat ground. The handle is Skeletonized Steel. At 2 oz it sits 2nd-lightest of the 30 bushcraft and camp knives here, where the median is 7.2 oz.
- Blade
- 2.63″
- Weight
- 2 oz
- Steel
- 1095 Carbon
- Price band
- Mid
Camp cutting and light carving
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Specifications
Manufacturer-published figures, cross-checked against eseeknives.com, knifecenter.
- Blade length
- 2.63″
- Cutting edge
- 2.63″
- Spine thickness
- 0.156″
- Blade shape
- Drop Point
- Grind
- Full Flat
- Steel
- 1095 Carbon
- Overall length
- 6.25″
- Weight
- 2 oz
- Lock
- Fixed
- Handle material
- Skeletonized Steel
- Country of origin
- USA
Why a drop point
The default hunting and EDC shape, and the safest general answer. The spine curves down to the tip in a convex line, which keeps the point low and strong and leaves plenty of belly for skinning. It is hard to make a drop point bad at anything.
Every drop point here →About 1095 Carbon
The American survival-knife standard. Dead simple, very tough at these hardnesses, and it will start rusting the day you put it away wet.
1-5 is a relative ranking drawn from published composition and hardness, not a lab measurement. Higher is better on every axis, and no steel is a 5 across the board — edge retention and toughness pull against each other. All 1095 Carbon knives
What owners say
Drawn from 479 owner discussions of the ESEE Izula since 2024. The opinions are theirs. The specifications above come from the maker.
What owners like
- Owners report a decade or more of service: one owner carried a 1095 Izula every day for 11 years, through hard batoning on camping trips and an annual hammering while carving the Christmas tree, another has had theirs over ten years, and a third says their decade-old one has probably seen more use than any other knife in the collection.
- It handles small game and field dressing: one owner has processed hundreds of squirrels and field dressed multiple deer with an Izula, another carries it on every hunt and says knives bought to try instead of it do not compare, and a third has taken theirs on deployment and hunting in the Pacific Northwest.
- The size sits in a useful gap: one owner says the blade is right for everyday tasks while still mostly concealed, filling the space between the tiny Candiru and an ESEE-3 or 4, and another with bigger hands finds the Izula just big enough where a White River M1 handle felt too narrow.
- The bare skeleton handle keeps it slim: the 11-year owner wraps it in paracord with a diamond knot for a five-finger grip that still pockets without printing, and another owner preferred how theirs carried without scales.
- Scales turn it into a fuller knife: one owner says micarta scales make it seem a much better knife, a Venom Green owner finds the G10 scales comfortable under constant pressure with no sore spots, and a ten-year owner likes TKC scales for a pinch grip.
- The 1095 takes a deliberate patina: one owner forced a vinegar patina with a soaked paper towel, and another, who liked an Izula without scales, sourced a stripped and polished one and gave it a hot vinegar and nitrate bath.
- The factory clip on the sheath is strong: one owner says it fits belts, waistbands and MOLLE and stays right where it is put, and a new owner found the sheath snappy with a nice clip.
What owners flag
- 1095 rusts: one owner's Izula rusted badly after processing fish and being put away wet, a runner found their coated one rusting heavily from sweat, another sees rust with ordinary daily carry, and the 11-year owner moved to the S35VN version for everyday carry after theirs became a little rusty.
- The stock sheath frustrates pocket carry: the 11-year owner calls it pretty crappy and made a custom kydex one, one owner found it very hard to draw and said it marked the blade up a ton, and another could not find a comfortable pocket carry even with an Ulticlip on it.
- The bare handle is small for bigger hands: one owner with slightly bigger palms than average, who carried it for about 11 years, says a nice handle would probably make it perfect and relies on a paracord wrap and diamond knot for a five-finger grip.
- Fixed-blade carry does not always stick: one owner who has had theirs for a decade says they try to carry it every year and it lasts about three weeks before going back in a backpack, and another disliked fishing the sheath out of a pocket every time they broke down boxes.
- It is not a slicer: the 11-year owner says it is not the sliciest and needs to be kept razor sharp to do the job.
Two ounces of skeletonized 1095 with a 2.875 in blade make the Izula a fixed blade owners keep carrying for years. One owner carried theirs every day for 11 years, through batoning on camping trips, for about $40, another has had theirs more than ten years, and one hunter has processed hundreds of squirrels and field dressed several deer with it. Owners pocket it, clip it to a waistband or wear it as a neck knife, and one values that it can handle a little more abuse than a folder.
Rust is the price of the 1095. Owners report it rusting after fish processing, from sweat on runs and in plain daily carry, and the 11-year owner bought the S35VN version for everyday use. The stock sheath is the other complaint, criticized as hard to draw and awkward in a pocket, so owners move to kydex from Armatus or Etsy makers, leather pocket slips or their own builds. Some wrap the bare handle in paracord or add micarta or G10 scales, while one owner keeps it bare and slim and forced a patina on a stripped blade.
The ESEE Candiru is the smaller sibling it is compared with, and one Candiru owner recommends the Izula as big enough for most jobs. The Izula II is thought to have a slightly longer handle, the White River M1 is named for better ergonomics though one big-handed owner found it too narrow, and the Ontario RAT line comes up as its shared ancestor.
Will the 1095 Izula rust?
Yes. Owners report rust after fish processing when it was put away wet, from sweat while running and even from ordinary daily carry. One owner now keeps theirs lightly oiled and finds the maintenance worth it, and another moved to the S35VN version for everyday carry and kept the 1095 for batoning and hammering.
Bare handle, paracord or scales?
Each has owners. A paracord wrap with a knot on the end gave one 11-year owner a five-finger grip while staying slim in the pocket, and another prefers it bare. One owner says micarta scales make it seem like a much better knife, another finds G10 scales comfortable under constant pressure, and one swapped a paracord wrap for G10 scales.
Izula or Candiru?
One owner who loves the Candiru recommends the Izula, because it is still small enough to carry comfortably but big enough for most tasks, while the Candiru is small enough to fit a jeans watch pocket and has limits. Another owner sees the Izula as filling the gap between the Candiru and an ESEE-3 or 4.
How do owners pocket carry the Izula?
Owners use Armatus kydex sheaths, leather pocket slips, homemade kydex, or an Ulticlip added to the stock sheath. One owner never found a comfortable pocket setup on the stock sheath even with an Ulticlip, and the 11-year owner made a custom kydex sheath after finding the original pretty crappy.
Is it enough knife for hunting?
Owners who hunt with it say yes for processing and field dressing. One has processed hundreds of squirrels and field dressed multiple deer with it and values that it sharpens up quickly before the next outing, another has field dressed everything from squirrels to deer, and a third has used theirs hunting and backpacking in the Pacific Northwest.
Features
- Full fixed tang
- Full Flat grind
- Under 2.5 oz
- Made in USA
- Carbon steel blade — will patina
