What to buy with my exduct coupon

Hey guys,

I won one of the exduct coupons in the last raffle and I honestly dont know what I should buy. There is just too much cool stuff, so maybe someone will post the stuff I ~have~ to get.. so far I only own two knives, SRM ZB4T21 and F1723. I dont really have a need for more but maybe theres something truly awesome or just something else.

I thought about giving the coupon away, but giving away something one has won doesnt seem right.

Ganzo G706? (I bought two of those with my coupon.. :))

Good choice. I had it in my possession for a mere 36hrs before my brother in law asked if he can have it. Definately a cool & one of a kind design. I ordered a Ganzo G709 with my coupon.

I dont like either of those.. but the G705 looks nice.

Or is there a nice small EDC out there that could replace my F1723?

Enlan EL-01D with the rosewood handles is an awesome knife.

I have purchased ten or so of the crowd favorites and think they are all worth the money, but I think the Sanrenmu 962 is worth the extra bucks. It is also discontinued. When they are gone, they are gone.

This too!

EL01

SRM 763

SRM 710

The EL-01D looks really good, I like the handles.. but whats up with that protruding piece of metal? Seems to be made to be opened one handed, and thats not allowed in my country. :/

or this

It looks even better in person in my opinion but you are right it does have a “flipper” and is designed to be opened one-handed. The F1-723 that you already have (I believe) has thumb stubs but I suppose you can just take them out? Just about any knife can be opened one-handed if you try however. That’s a tough restriction.

The SRM 1602G is a nice smaller knife with a Wharncliffe (straight bottom) blade if you don’t have one of those.

Yes, I had to take out the thumb studs on the both knives I have to be able to carry them legally.

I still can open them one handed, but that doesnt matter because now they are not designed to be opened one handed..^^ silly krautlaws.

How about the (16cm class) PR-728? Looks beautiful and is "Germany legal" (lock but not one-handed), would also make a nice gift for your German friends. The PR-728 looks better than the PB-728. I had both, but they were taken from me ;-) . A little bigger than the knives you have would be the (18cm class) L03-2 and L02 and the (20 cm class) L05-1 is liked by many for it's classy look. If you want pics with removed thumbstud... I could post them here.

Or you could go a little crazy and get the EL08... still "Germany legal" with removed thumbstuds.... but that thing is huuuge (22 cm) and weighs about a ton.

right or wrong, you chould still do it. i believe in you ;)

I feel your pain OP, I’m also really undecided.

Currently debating between the Navy K631 and SRM 962. I don’t own a backlock yet and the spyderco design looks neat, but the 962 is highly praised and soon to be extinct (but is expensive and has that nasty proprietary pivot!).

Alternately considering just going with a EL-01D and one more SRM 710, but concerned about the quality issues TallyHo recently posted about regarding the EL-01D stand-off sizing issues.

Currently have:
SRM 710
Enlan EL-01KH
SRM GB-763
SRM LB-763
Ganzo G704

I really like the SRM 728 Vectrex posted.. well, I like the handle, the blade is ok.

But right now I really cant decide. I'll just wait until I need/want something. I would have gotten one of those knife sharpeners if they had a better reputation..

Does anyone know how long these coupons are valid?

I also have an SRM962, a Ganzo G704 and an Enlan EL02 (micarta). For the price I prefer the fit & finish of the two last ones. SRM 962 is nice but is not worth the extra $, except if you absolutely want to catch one before complete exctinction.
The G704 has about the same size as the SRM962 but it is heavier, 30 grammes more because liners are not drilled with holes and its blade is thicker.
The EL02 is heavier, 30 grammes more, the liners are drilled but it is a bit longer than the 962.
The white plastic (teflon ?) washers of my 962 look terrible. G704 and EL02 have 1 bronze (or laiton) washer and 1 white plastic (teflon ?) on the other side.

I could buy more G704 or EL02 but no more 962 for me. Nope, for the actual price I am a little bit disappointed by the “much praised” SRM 962. Navy knives are over-priced too.

The Navy K-631 is a bit longer than the EL02, it is the longer knife of those four models, but for maintenance it is the easier to dismantle. Each screw is screwed down in a threaded tube with round head and those tubes have a flat “side”, as they are inserted in a hole with also a flat side, those tubes are blocked when you unscrew the screws.
G704 and EL02 use 1 screw on both side, inserted in a threaded spacer. Once you removed one screw, the other one will turn with the spacer. Sometimes it is a bit hard to break the thread lock compound without leaging a trace of pliers on the spacer.

The Navy K-628 has a good size but mine is hard to open even after cleaning it. I hope I could solve this with better washers and by adjusting screws (probably need to be untightened a bit)

http://imgur.com/a/xUWWF/embed

I also have the Navy K-628 (in the full serrated version). I really want to like it but like yours, mine is very stiff to open and close. Other than that it is a sweet knife.

I didn’t take it apart, but I have tried to wash its moving parts clean with Tri-Flow spray lube. After messing with it for a while, I have come to the conclusion that the back lock is the reason for the stiff deployment of the blade. If I fully depress the back lock, my blade swings freely, but fully depressing the back lock far enough to flick the blade open or closed is impossible to do one handed and tough two handed.

It is a nice knife and very nice looking, but unless I can make it to open and close easier, it will stay on the pile of also-rans.

Thank you Tally-ho! Glad to know I’m not crazy for not being all that crazy about the SRM 962. I just couldn’t figure out why it was so awesome. Don’t get me wrong, it probably was an awesome knife when it was cheaper, and still is a good knife, but at $25 I can’t see it doing anything particularly better than the EL-01 other than being a collectible.

Also thanks for the disassembly info, that will be helpful if my knife comes as dirty as the one you posted in another thread. I’m aware that Navy is over-priced and a little below SRM/Enlan quality, but the novelty and adding a backlock to my collection is enticing.

I hate to quote myself, but I want to recant my earlier opinion of the Navy K-628.

Since I made these statements, I have gone on a Spyderco run and have learned the proper way to close this type of knife one-handed. The K-628 is now on my list of must have budget knives. The blade movement and backlock are still stiffer than I like but do-able and I am glad I figured it out before I gave it away.