My new collection of 50+ Chinese knives

Its nice to see Enlan & Sanrenmu surviving without the compromise of quality that many of their competitors have faced. Lets hope the high standards for these cheap knives continues. Of the 100+ folders I have, the Enlan EL-01 still remains my preferred EDC.

I have the black 939 and like it more than I thought I would. Surprisingly thin and light for its size, and the sheepsfoot blade is a nice differentiating feature, not to mention all the holes to make it look cool yet save weight. It is a nice simple all-metal framelock, which is a major benefit if you plan to do food prep with it (don’t have to tear apart G10 scales and liners for cleaning).

I’m still undecided on which knife I love most, but the 710, EL-01, and G704 all have their highlights. I EDC the SRM 763 currently. I have more knives on the way and i’ll probably add more to my favorites list :slight_smile:

Now that's ALOT of knives!

It is… but they are so inexpensive.

Wow what a collection!!! :slight_smile:

Very nice…….

Jeez, you’ve got alot of buddies that like knives!

Have you tried the Enlan EM01 and Enlan M025? I’m not a particularly big Enlan fan but these two medium sized knives are new and really dang good.

The M025 needs a bit of the g10 removed on the left scale to allow you to engage thumb stud better. I just took my dremil to it.

The EM01 needs nothing. It really is an amazing knife for $7.50. It is easily one of the nieces Chinese budget knives on the market.

Although Im sure they are good knives, I havent seen a need for either. The EL-01 is still by far my EDC of choice. The difference in size of smaller clip-on knives doesnt make them any less obtrusive for me to carry, but their lack of performance in deployment, dexterity, ease of handling and in large cutting jobs is often sorely missed. For that reason, I carry with the larger knife rather than the smaller. Every time I leave one of my EL-01’s for something else, I regret it almost every time.

I might pick up an EM01 for my GF. There is nothing like a budget knife that needs absolutely nothing to perform well. Thanks for the tip.

Interesting review:

Hello there! I’m a blade collector myself and I started collecting blades long before I started collecting flashlights. Here are some of my blades:

Thats a very cool collection. Thanks for posting!

Thanx FlashPilot. :beer:

Dude, are you sure youre not some kind of midnight stalker of sorts?
Thats an impressive arsenal there ;)!

There’s definitely a wide array of some very cool blades in that collection. :bigsmile:

My order of knives came in today (much to my surprise, since the tracking site said it was still in Hong Kong just a few hours before it showed up). The order included a black SRM 733, SRM 710, SRM 711, and a half-serrated Enlan/Bee EL-01.

The SRM 711 is a slightly larger clone of the CRKT K.I.S.S., 6.25” open as compared to 5.75” open. It also uses a harder steel than the original. I got it mostly because I always kinda wanted one (despite its inherently-unsafe design) and this was only $5. It’s unsafe because: if the blade opens even slightly, which isn’t very hard to do, it could easily catch on almost anything and cause damage or deep injuries. And while in use, it can only be held in one specific way to avoid letting the lock slip, so it’s risky to use. A friend of mine learned this first-hand and ended up with permanent nerve damage. However, it’s still a neat item even though (for safety reasons) I’ll only be using it to open postal mail.

The SRM 710 is exactly what reviews said it is — well-designed, well-built, sharp, effective, ergonomic, and boring. Its boring-factor is actually a good thing, since it doesn’t look like anything special and therefore shouldn’t attract negative attention. It simply looks like a generic knife… however, it is also a deceptively good generic knife. I don’t have a specific use in mind for it yet, but I may end up carrying it if the SRM 733 attracts too much attention.

The Enlan/Bee EL-01 (half-serrated) is just a tad bit too long to be legal for carrying in public where I live, and is too large for my EDC tastes anyway. However, it seems like it’ll be very nice for my intended use, which is a workhorse knife for heavy-duty tasks around the house and garage. I’ve already got a pile of boxes waiting for its attention, to be broken down for recycling. It’s large, but that’s a good thing in this case. It also seems to have the strongest locking mechanism, with the far edge of the frame lock naturally sliding slightly past the edge of the blade, so 100% of the lock is in contact with the butt of the blade. It’s a very grippy and well-built knife, and my only complaint is that its blade is a little off-center when closed. Its weight and flipper make it fun to fidget with, too, since it’s easy to open even with just inertia.

The black SRM 733 is my favorite, though. It’s slim, small, fun to fidget with, opens easily in two different ways, is just the right size for my keychain or purse clip ring, and is black so it won’t draw the eye. It looks a bit more threatening than the SRM 710 though, which might be bad in public. In any case, it has a terrific grip with a good finger guard, gripping it holds the lock closed, and it’s sharp and attractive and comfortable to use.

All four items are tight and solid, with absolutely no blade play or loose screws or significant imperfections (aside from the off-center EL-01 blade). All four easily slice through paper, cardboard, or even an entire magazine. I’m pretty happy with the purchase, especially since it all cost less than a single entry-level Spyderco would cost locally.

Also, by coincidence, I received a ceramic medium-grit sharpening stick today… so I should have no trouble keeping these knives sharp. (Lansky 8” Sharp Stick, recommended in another BLF thread)

Do you own a non-serrated EL-01 yet? You might find it much more useful in your everyday chores… unless your job is to cut lengths of rope all day. :wink: I carry my EL-01 at the rear most part of my pocket, where the length stays in line with my thigh and remains forgotten & unobtrusive until called upon.

My 733’s took forever to receive because they are so popular. I agree… they are a fantastic budget multipurpose blade. I shaved my face with mine during a long camping trip. Results werent great, but it did the job without slitting my throat. :bigsmile:

Thanks for posting your observations. Interestingly, at least two spydies are manufactured by SMR, and I suspect that holds true with many other posh brands that we arent aware of.

SRM’s… such fantastic bargains.

SRM 733:

No, I only have a half-serrated EL-01. It’s my only half-serrated blade (aside from a 20-year-old Leatherman) and I got it that way because I intend to use it as a “beater” for heavy-duty tasks around the house. With the serrated portion, I can brute-force my way through things even if the smooth part gets dull. I won’t be carrying an EL-01 with me because I prefer smaller EDCs and it’s slightly too large for legal carry in public where I live.

All my other knives, including the fabulous SRM 733, are a smooth edge. I intend to be gentler with those and take much better care of them.

BTW, since one of my knives is black, do you know which solvents I should/shouldn’t use to clean the blade without removing the color?

I use very hot water, a 3M white nylon scouring pad and Dawn dish washing soap to clean my knives.

Okay. I normally use nail polish remover / acetone to get extra-stubborn gunk off of knives, but didn’t know if that would damage the black finish. As far as I can tell from testing and ’net articles, it’s totally safe for the metal; I just don’t know about the black coating.

Has anyone used zippo lighter fluid? They seem to remove the sticky glue residue from masking and duct tape quite efficiently, but i’m wondering if they do any damage to the G10 and black coating…