I received today the Enlan EL-01, the same as the Bee EL-01. You can see it in this review.
I've heard some good things about this knive, but having it in my hand just blew me away! It is not an urban EDC, because it's just too huge. But I'll certainly use it on the farm. And won't be afraid to abuse that 4mm thick blade! Freaking awesome!
Didn't buy it from exduct. Bought it from a guy at the same forum.
Buy her something really nice like jewelry and she won't mind when you want to buy something for yourself. Give and take......and take.....and take. :bigsmile:
My knives arrived last week and I have to say: Damn, they are good!
I like knives as part of outdoor equipment but similar as with flashlights they can turn into an addiction making you buying knives not only for practical purpose. In fact I have had quite a few for several years that have never seen any field use at all (yet).
The SRM 763, 909 (marked "Land") and the Ganzo 704 are all very well made, lock securely (no fail in spine wack test) and seem to be reliable, useful tools. The edges are reasonably sharp and all screws appear to be loctited (sorry for verbing). The price makes it easy to use them as they're meant to without being too afraid to damage them which is also less likely due to the good quality than with other, more expensive knives I own.
FYI They made it through customs disguised as "electronics, value US$ 10.00". Guess someone at exduct made a "mistake"... :bigsmile:
Here's the trio:
Nice spacer sleeves on the Ganzo:
The SRM 763 is smaller than I expected, it will make a good backup knife. Here it is next to one of my bigger shelf queens (show off alert!):
Now I definitely have to close my paypal account. ;)
That Gerber knife reminds me of my Rambo knife in Alaska which I used everytime I went hunting. I had to sell it along with everything else before moving here.
I like the Ganzo best. It has a rather thick blade (3.8 mm max) which is marked "440C" - still a good steel and should hold the edge better than 8Cr13MoV. The handle has just the right length for my hands. The only "con" is the rather hard clip. It's almost impossible to lose it by accident, but it is hard to clip in your pocket and will eventually damage any fabric.
The 909 is also very good. And it has a very good clip - optimal balance between flexibility and firmness, but the blade finish is semi-mirror (well, that's just my personal preference) and the thumb pin is only on the left side, so it is a little bit complicated to open it with the left hand. I am right handed but I prefer being able to operate my tools equally with both hands. The excellent handle (the steel liner opposite to the locking liner has four large holes obviously with no other purpose than weight reduction, very unusual in this price range) is ok sizewise for me (I have EU-size 8 ) but if you have significantly larger hands or are wearing gloves it can be too short. Blade thickness is 2.8 mm max.
Both blades feature flat grind.
I have an old Spyderco Military imported from the US in the 90's (cause there were no plain edge models available in Europe by then) which is still one of my favorite edc and it has a much superior steel BUT the build quality is not a bit better compared to the Ganzo or the SRM which cost both together less than 1/10 of the Spyderco.
Thanks for your first impressions.... I'm happy that I ordered some of the 900 series knives... that 763 looks too small in comparison.... and I have EU-size 10 hands... that Ganzo looks really tempting...
Isn't 8Cr13MoV a higher steel (harder) than 440C and should hold an edge better or am I thinking wrong?
I believe that most china-made "440C" blades are really 9Cr18MoV steel which comes close but is still not the same
It is true that 8Cr13MoV can be hardened to a higher HRC (usually 58-60) than 440C (around 58), but the 440C contains more Chrome and Molybdenum which together with the (higher) Carbon form more carbides. Properly heat treated (you want them to be small) these are to a large part responsible for the edge holding capability of a blade. The problem is that the carbides are too small to influence the normally used Rockwell hardness test distinctly, so a harder steel does not automatically mean better edge holding.
However, I am sure you will love your new toys tools!
Thanks for the explanation... but then I wonder why even Buck, Kershaw and Spyderco use this steel... purely costs?
Some of this posts in a interesting thread imply that most "Chinese 440C" isn't actual 440C ... now I don't know what to believe... here in Germany we have a long steel tradition, but much gets outsourced to China these days ...
Isn't 8Cr13MoV a higher steel (harder) than 440C and should hold an edge better or am I thinking wrong?
hardness is mostly defined by the heat treatment.
for example plain spring steel (1095) can go from about 40 to 63 rockwell
Also in a 1 to 1 test it is impossible to find diffrences in edge retention between for example 440A and 440C or AUS6 and AUS8 (same knife brand same edge)
Some of the Sanrenmu blades were tested on an other forum and the hardness was 59-60 (ok for smaller blades/to hard for larger blades)
Absolutely, and the question is -why not? American knife companies decided a while ago that they needed low cost, foreign-made knives to compete with counterfeits and knockoffs coming out of China with their names on them, and one of the biggest costs for a knife is the steel (the other is the maintenance costs for machining).
I've had a LOT of experience with 8Cr13MoV steel and it's quite good - not as good as say, VG-10, or 154CM, or S30V steel, but a single machined blank of those steels costs as much as a good quality, lifetime warranty foreign made Kershaw knife from a retail store.
8Cr13MoV is also miles and away better than the alternatives at the price point, steels like Sandvik 12c27, 440A, 420J2 or AUS 4 steel, or Gerber's crappy mystery steel.