The axis lock of jin02 is hard but the pivot is smooth. But for example my lk5010 and lk5011 are fully smooth.
I have a Y Start JIN02 since a while (orange version) , and i can tell that its quality feel is excellent : No play, feel good in the hand and quite heavy.
The steel is sharp, stay nice and can be reworked easily.
For the price, it is just perfect IMHO.
Will compare it to the Land 9104 i just ordered. 
So far, i do not own any expensive knife, my highest value one is the Survival half serated BearGrylls Gerber 22-31-000752 that is lighter than the JIN02 and that i use during all my mountain biking to cut my way thrue the forest. But it has got a bit of play now between the handle and the blade…. 
If I were you I’d try this one:
https://www.gearbest.com/pocket-knives-and-folding-knives/pp_1441456.html
$20 for a damascus blade, what’s not to like?
If I wouldn’t save up for other stuff I’d get this one…
I would be very surprised if it were real damascus.
I will keep an eye on this LK5013D too. It has to be my first Damascus knife. :+1: :+1: :+1:
Ask a question and end up with more knives to buy. :sunglasses:
Damascus steel is not such a big thing to make.
I’ve bought a damascus Enlan EL01 for a friend and it was “real”, 8Cr13MoV and another cheap steel I guess.
It doesn’t have the huge black and white contrast like some more expensive one but I prefer the Japanese style anyways that’s more looking like a polished surface etching.
I also have a Chinese small Sebenza clone with damascus, it’s so real that the detent track was rather gritty in the beginning as they didn’t cover it while etching…
Anyways, I was weak and ordered the LK5013D last night…
So, you can resist anything but temptation?
I wonder how many layers of damascus steel you get for $20... 
20 :-p
Ebay is full of inexpensive damascus blades from Pakistan. Damascus steel is not such a big wonder as US knife makers tend to claim.
Bord to be Wilde I guess 
I’m new to the knife part (well actually I’m quite new in general) of this forum, but I was wondering if you guys could help me out with this:
I’m looking for a (budget and therefore probably chinese) knife with the following properties ranked after importance.
-Slip joint (or otherwise German legal carry) that can be flicked open with one hand if assisted by hand motion. I have a Sanrenmu 9052 that I carry right now, which can be flicked open onehandedly with a hard hand motion and pressure on the “thumb studs” that aren’t actually thumb studs. It defintely isn’t made for flipping. I have seen Sanrenmus that are supposedly easy to flip and have a hand guard/flipper on the blade that can be used in conjunction with a hand movement to flip. However I also value:
-tip up deep carry clip. I prefer tip up (maybe I’m confusing around the words here, I prefer to say pivot-down or clip-at-the-back-of-the-knife carry) and I really need as deep as possible carry.
-bottle opener (I know knife people hate them but I use mine often) and screw drivers would be neat
-blade anything between 7 and 9 cm, steel doesn’t matter
-anything under 40$
Does something like that exist? I’m obviously willing to trade off on these requirements, but I’ve looked at most Sanrenmu’s and haven’t found any that are both deep carry and flipper slip joints…
Thanks for your help!
Buck knives 0818 apex folding knife. About $25 on Amazon.
My guess is that the answer to your question might be, - no. 
“A slip joint flipper with a real deep carry clip” (still forget the extra tools :smiling_imp: ) seems to be something that doesn’t exist,
at least in the under 40 $ price range.
So you maybe should give the Sanrenmu 9054 a chance, which btw. is the only quite well working slip joint flipper that I know at all. :person_facepalming:
Although it’s not a “flipper”, i. m. o. the SR 9055MUC is also a very decent slip joint knife. Since I had my one disassembled, cleaned,
sanded and lubricated, it’s really easy to open just by a little flick on the thumb studs.
If you are located in Germany, the SR 9054 is currently to get around 17,00 € and the SR 9055MUC around 14,00 €.
Does anyone own a Gough knife? I’m not into knives, but his technique and results are awe inspiring.
What do you think is the best sub $20 flipper with a thumb stud? Does such a thing exist? I’ve been looking around for a nice flipping action knife for my budget collection.
I’ve been following him from the beginning and he has great tips on how to make a knife that I used when I made mine.
Really enjoined his tests where he tested many of his blades all made a little bit different.
He’s got a unique approach that results in a good quality on all the knifes he makes.
However, its far above my budget… If I would win the lotery I would definitely buy one of his knives.
That being said, I might need a new budget knife to cure the temptations. :person_facepalming:
Some Kershaw knives have both thumbstuds and flipper (the Starter, Filter, Lifter, Manifold, Swerve, Brawler, …).
Not sure about sub-$20, but since you are in the US you should have the best deals available for these knives 
The Kershaw Drone is also a good choice:
Thanks for the input! I actually did some looking into all of those and really liked the look of the Swerve, but heard bad things about how the knife feels in the hand so took a liking to the Filter. Price is around $18+ on Amazon, but decided to wait til after the holidays and check Walmart. Luckily enough the only knife they had of those was the Filter!
Here it is on top next to my Ganzo Firebird F753M1 and Sanrenmu A148. Price came in at $15 after taxes, not bad at all. I really didn’t need assisted opening, but it works well though a little tough to push the stud after a few deployments.
Overall I enjoy it a lot.