Just recently received this and a esee 3 on the dame order to compare the two, will be doing the other similar model comparisons as well. So to the point this knife is a awesome lite fixed blade, i own ALOT of knives and this thing has made it into my work carry rotation. Knifeworks shipped this order faster than i think any other retailer has yet for me. The reasons this knife is getting a three star review aren't because its a bad knife by any means. First flaw is this is probably the weakest powder coat job I've seen, the blade feels like sandpaper, if i wipe it down the coating catches towel fibers, there is also some spots that are so thin that in just the right lighting you can see bare steel, bow mind you that the coating is only aesthetic and the only actual purpose it even remotely possess is to help fight corrosion. To me its not a big deal but to some it will be a major annoyance.
The other thing i am not to fond of is how quick the micarta gets dirty, i have many knives with micarta and am not inexperienced with cleaning it, but i swear the hAndle on this looked filthy after about 5 minutes of handling, another thing about the handle is that it is very noticeably shorter than esse 3's in Hand. And the last issue and the main reason i gave this 3 stars aside from the fact that i have been doing a side by side of this and the esee 3(lol) is that this says that the knife came with a tecklock mount which is awesome because that makes it much easier for me to preferd carry this horizontal, but the box i received came with a clip plate, which has a plastic (kydex?)
Clip, definitely don't feel confident in it'song term durability.
All in all, this is a good knife , had i only recieved this and not had it next to its competitor i would have probably given it t stars, assuming the mounting was as listed too.
But stuff happens, and overall knifeworks has been a very awesome retailer to purchase from.
Stay sharp y'all

NOMOREMRKNIFEGUY89