ALL THINGS BUDGET KNIVES

I picked-up a couple of new budget folders over the last 2 weeks, and I am really impressed with both of them. The top is a Ganzo Firebird F720, and the bottom is a Harnds Talisman. The Ganzo is a large folder with 440c blade steel and an Axis style lock. The Talisman is a large flipper with AUS-8 steel and a liner lock. Both knives came nicely sharpened with solid lock-ups. I am really impressed with the quality of these knives, especially at their price points.

Regards,
Frank A.

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They must have made an error but they are selling knifes with an accessory, for example https://www.gearbest.com/pocket-knives-and-folding-knives/pp_1631878.html

I have both and both reviewed on my blog. The G720 is one of my favorites beasts and one of my favorite ganzo. The talisman is a piece of beauty, good looking and very very smooth but with too much retention blade, but nice.

Received Ganzo FB7601 yesterday. Open closing action wasn’t so smooth so I put drop of sewing machine oil in bearings, now it works like a charm, but edge is not sharp all the way?! By looking the edge i see different sharpening angles…Is this normal for ganzo knives? I mean, it’s sharp blade but by test cutting paper, beginning of the knife need to be more upward to cut through it, otherwise it will just tear the paper…Sanrenmu LAND 910+ is still my favorite. I’m currently waiting for Sanrenmu 7112, 4097 and AH-02, will see how they are performing, and I will mod the scales (will make new scales from some wood and stain it black, I think it’ll look classier) and post pictures once I put new scales on.

the sanremu land 910 discount didnt appear in cart at gb, but it said can’t ship to USA so maybe that is the issue, but anyone know why it is USA restricted or is this a new thing?

Pretty much. Ganzo are cheap junk. They know how to copy the look of a knife but they don’t know how to make a good (functional) knife. They are for mall ninjas

Unfortunately the same problem now exists with all these Chinese titanium framelock flipper knives. Made by guys who know how to buy titanium stock, and know how to operate a CNC machine. But not how to make a good (functional) knife. Such a crapshoot

Thanks for reply varbos. It’s my first Ganzo knife, after careful searching for best made Ganzo I decided to buy this one. I really like it so far and expecially axis lock mechanism since I’m left handed/ambidextrous, so it’s easy to flick it open and close it. I’ll probably take it to a friend to re-angle the cutting edge anytime soon. I’m not sure if they’re really that bad as you say, but anyway I like more Sanrenmu ones, don’t have any specific reason except overall design look more appealing to me, hence why I stick with Sanrenmu…

Indeed this is considered by many the ‘best’ Ganzo knife. The fact that the ‘best’ one has some quality issues should tell you everything you need to know about the brand in general. It took them years to get their axis lock copy right - too tight, too loose, some of them would suddenly close if the knife got a small impact.

Unfortunately the knife scene is dominated by dishonest youtubers and bloggers who get hundreds of free knives from Gearbest and co. They say everything is great in order to keep the free knives coming. Never give critical reviews even though logic dictates that some knifes must suck. You think a guy who got 50 free Ganzos even has time to properly test each model?

Your observation seems to be flying in the face of the vast majority here who have nothing but praise for Ganzo knives, me included.

On some forums you will have a majority praising them. On others you will have a majority deriding them.

What the majority think has no bearing on my opinion. My opinion is that they’re mostly junk copies with bad locking mechanisms, bad grinds, screws that strip too easily etc. They ‘look’ great and if you use your knife to open letters maybe they will seem great.

If you disagree that’s fine.

[quote=varbos]

That’s good, because I’m pretty sure that your opinion has no bearings on the vast majority of the people here :smiley:

Ganzo knives are definitely not perfect. I’ve had my fair share of them and yes, some come better than others from the factory.
But at the same time, I think that their quality in general is way above the $15/$20 price tag that they go for.
Not often can you find better at this price.

We all have our opinions, that’s why I like forums like this, but please, do not fight, we’re all different!

2 days of handling, 910+ feels a lot better in my hand than Ganzo FB7601 even thou they’re very similar, but that’s my opinion. Only positive that goes for Ganzo is that it feels kinda lighter and that Axis lock, works way better for me than liner lock (curse of left handed people!)… After having FB7601 for 2 days, I’ve got a chance to sell it and get Harndsman Talisman :heart_eyes: I hate selling knives but can’t refuse this offer!

I think you are seeing an insult which does not exist.

“What the majority think has no bearing on my opinion” does not mean I disrespect your opinion. You are entitled to your opinion and I am interested in it.

What it means is that “the general consensus” is not a factor I consider when evaluating a knife. I form my opinion independently. I handle the knife, I use it, I examine it. If I reach the conclusion that it is no good then that is my conclusion, no matter whether it “flies in the face” of the general consensus.

Perhaps the general consensus influences my decision to try/buy a knife. But it does not influence my final opinion, nor should it. Therefore quoting me to telling me that my opinion was at odds with the majority is of little discussional value.

That is fine, and I understood that and I am not offended by any means.
What I didn’t appreciate is your comment influencing someone that is getting into knives avoid a Ganzo by saying that they are garbage. I think that in general, they are excellent options and values for below $20 and should be considered if you are getting into budget knives.

Now, as for MARKOEN500’s comment regarding the 910 vs the FB7601, I definitely agree, the Sanrenmu is a better knife, and that’s why I said that there were not too many knives that could beat the Ganzo below $20, but there are some.
As I said a few times here, the 910/9103/9104, again imo, is unbeatable for its price.

My $ .02 would be that Ganzo’s a mixed bag.

For me the G-712 was a really good knife, I’ve got it from a forum friend to make a skull crusher for it like on the original Benchmade Bedlam.
That guy had the original as well but likes the “clone” more because it’s downsized to an edc-able size whereas the Bedlam is a huge monster.

Also my G-719 automatic knife was a good purchase, smooth and good edge retention, maybe a tad too heavy, but I really like that pocket clip.

On the other hand my G-717 Sebenza-esque knife was way too heavy and bulky, I’ve read the next batch was better in every aspect but I haven’t tried that.

My G-7531CF was super smooth, I modded the scales a bit to make the lock more accessible and I like the knife in general but the (borrowed) blade shape is not very useful and it dulls pretty quickly.

I don’t mind copies/hommages but I prefer if there’s no original maker’s name/logo on it (clone).

In that aspect the Sanrenmu 910+ is the best budged knife I’ve ever bough, after making a pair of cf scales for it and getting rid of one steel liner I like it even more (96g).
The 9104 I’ve handled is a bit more difficult to open as one finger is often on the lock. Also the lock was wobbly, I had to carbidize the lockface to fix that issue, now it locks at around 80%. The “worst” Sanrenmu I’ve ever had due to this lock issue but still a great deal for roughly $15.

After handling this blackwashed one I think I’d more like the 9103, it just looks more classy. MAybe I’ll get one and deep etch the scales with a sun ray pattern like on an old SRM 710. Or would anyone have a better idea? (Simple geometric patterns only)

I noticed the same on my Ganzo knife, the edge wasnt sharpened the same angle all the way through, half of the length of the blade was a different angle than the last half.

I should also add: my 7010 (Sanrenmu) blade was far from centered, when i centered it, it was way too tight to flip open. I dislike having an off-centered knife but thats what i gotta have in order for it to flip easily. I did take it all apart and try re-centering it but no luck.

An uneven blade grind can be fixed by reprofiling the edge. I use my all steel Ruixin Pro III sharpener with diamonds for that. You can set any angle for the edge and since a lot of different stones (ruby, diamond etc.) in grits upto 10000 are available for the Ruixin you can achive even a mirror edge with some practise.

Exchanging / replacing the washers could help in centering the blade if you have spare ones in different thickness.

IMO the SRM - Land 9xx and the Ganzo 7xx series are still hard to beat for their price/quality ratio.

I agree with that. Tremendous value.

In Europe there is a special edition called the 910+ Titan. Basically a 9103 with Titanium frame and a few other small refinements. It is way too expensive in Europe (for what it is). I contacted Gearbest to request that they will stock it…he said he will try and there are samples on the way currently.

The Harnds Talisman is a more upmarket knife than the 910+ series but it is usually more like $30. I got mine on flash sale for I think $22 or something.

Yes for the same price Ganzo is behind the quality of some excellent knifes, like the big sanrenmu or some clones. But its still good for the money. They are aware of this and added several improvements.The biggest problems are the rough on the fingers and hard axis-lock (but sometime it can be very good) and the sharp edges on the handles. And yes the screws are total junk. Even worst on the F729 it is glued… But I still love this knife.

Yes, the problem is that the companies who invent a locking mechanism put a lot of time into understanding and refining it. Testing different stuff, different strength springs etc for a long time until they are satisfied that it functions well.

Whereas Ganzo just copy the overall look of a lock design and don’t pay attention to the function. They think if they copy the components in a general sense, it will function the same. But it won’t. So their axis-lock copies are all over the place….some are plain dangerous.