I spent a whopping $7.23 on this knife at Manafont, on the advice of fellow BLFers who said Sanrenmu would be a higher quality knife than the other inexpensive ones I bought in the last 30 days or so.
They were correct. Fit and finish on this one http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/sanrenmu-stainless-steel-manualrelease-folding-knife-pr703-p-5667 is better than the others I got.
Still not very sharp out of the box, but that can be fixed.
My thinking, for $7.23 it's a good knife. For 10 bucks it could have been an even better knife that I would buy multiples of, if they fixed the shortcuts they took to make it 7 dollars.
1) Goofy tang that protrudes when closed. Why? Engineer the sides to fit! Look at the top of the knife in this image...
Very nice wood. On one side??? Would have been a great knife if both sides had the wood
Well-finished, springs open nicely with a flip of the thumb, packaging is nice, and it is a nice sized carry.
I just wont use it as an EDC because it already looks like I broke the wood scale off of one side... This knife has real possibilities, just needs to go a little bit farther than they took it. Still, I don't know how they can make it and ship it for so little money. But I really would pay more for a more complete package.
I am not sure how you happened to pick that knife? Of all of the Sanrenmu knifes I don't recall any of us recommending that model. I agree, I don't like half sided one scale knives, they look unfinished like car with one fender missing. I don't like the SRM skeleton knifes either and I even own a few of those. If you are picky and want the best from Sanrenmu I would suggest these, they are among the best in my Sanrenmu collection:
Model 733 in natural stainless very fine fit and finish, "flipper tang", and very very factory sharp, cool torsion clip, but no pocket clip
Model 710 black or stainless nice EDC
Model 704 black or stainless (a bit boxy but looking better in person) but dirt cheap and tip down or tip up carry another good EDC
Model 763 easy blade axis style deployment and light weight carry.
most of the more common sanrenmu knifes can be seen on utube review if you google
"sanrenmu (model #) utube review"
... I have pretty much exhausted my SRM desires, so now I am ordering Bee-Enlan they are similar in quality with nice style variation. Finally, I own one Navy K605, but I cannot recommend the Navy brand, as the liner lock is unreliable
Just got my first Sanrenmu a few days ago, a T01. I have 3 others on order as well. A 733, GB-763, and an LB-763. So far I'm really liking my T01. I'll be keeping this one in my car because it's got the glass breaker and seat belt cutter thingy on it
My second Sanrenmu arrived on 12/19, the LB-763
Got my third on 12/21, an all stainless framelock 733
I have never seen that Sanrenmu and also wonder what made you choose model. I orderered 7 knives from Exduct two weeks ago I have never owned or seen a Sanrenmu in person so I jumped in head first on this I guess. I hope they live up to the reports.
I got 3 Sanrenmu, 2 Enlan, a Navy and a Ganzo. Not sure at I am going to do with them all but if they get here by Xmas, maybe I can give away one or two as gifts if I don’t love them.
This is my first axis lock and I like it a lot more than a liner lock. The blade flips open incredibly easy! As for how it fits in my average sized hands, see for yourself :) If you have big hands, it may be a bit small for you.
Enlan L02 is a nice medium size and also fits larger hands... 700 Series is good for EDC carrying, but a little too small for actual use imho. For people who like wood finish on their knives there is the medium L03-2 ("open" pores wood... gets dirty a bit too quick) and the large SRM 905 ("closed" pores wood).
