ESEE Xancudo S35VN quick review

ESEE Xancudo S35VN Stainless steel fixed blade knife. This is a great fixed blade from ESEE, its edge retention for stainless steel is excellent. Here i make a simple somewhat basic try stick for bushcraft to show the ease of use with this excellent blade. The ESEE Xancudo is a fixed knife, based on the design of the famous ESEE Zancudo. ESEE took the profile of that folding knife, and turned it into a one on one fixed knife. In terms of steel ESEE selected CPM S35V. This steel retains its sharpness a lot longer than ESEE's 'traditional' 1095 carbon steel. As such you don't have to sharpen it that often. S35VN is also stainless, which means it doesn't require a lot of maintenance. As such this knife is great when spending time in the snow, maritime surroundings or when you find yourself in other circumstances where maintaining your knife is not an option. So are there only advantages? No, unfortunately this is a 'compromise' as every type of steel is. S35VN is quite tough for a stainless type of steel, however, compared to 1095 carbon steel it is not as tough and flexible. As such this knife is meant for cutting tasks, not batoning. For that purpose you should always bring an axe. The handle is made from G10. Nicely layers in bright orange and black. The grooves on the handle make sure you have enough grip over the knife. The ergonomics of the popular ESEE Zancudo are reflected in this with the large finger groove at the front of the handle. The ESEE Xancudo comes with a solid Zytel sheath.