Recommend the best Chinese-made or budget knives/tools you have come across!

Hey everyone, we’re all fans of all things budget, and as of late China has been getting better and better at making knives. So much so that their own home made brands have become very popular. I have come across a number of knives that in my opinion far surpass their price point and knives many times their value. So I thought I would make a thread asking everyone to post the best Chinese knives they have come across.

Here is my list:

FIXED BLADES:

JinLang Columbia Knife SA28 $16

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10-New-Wood-handle-Fixed-Blade-Survival-Bowie-Hunting-Knife-HSA28/830633248.html

-Full Tang

–440C (knives made by the same brand have 5cr13mov, and 3cr13mov which are significantly lower grade steels than 440C however I can confirm that the steel is high quality, stands up to abuse without chipping easily and is at least 58+ HRC).

-Looks great

-Comfortable

FOLDING KNIVES:

SanRenMu H03 $6

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001877/1286806-sanrenmu-h03-folding-pocket-knife#

–8cr13mov / AUS 8 A steel, great heat treatment (as with all SRM knives)

- Legal in almost any country

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-Very comfortable for a small knife

-Has a solid lockup even though it’s a slipjoint

-Looks great (IMO)

-Extremely affordable

-Random underline bug

SanRenMu 681 $6.55

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001877/1282102-sanrenmu-zb-681-pocket-knife

-Incredibly strong lockup, full size axis lock

-Extremely affordable

-Very comfortable

-Very small

-Original design, looks great

-Extremely tough

–8cr13mov / AUS 8 A steel, great heat treatment (as with all SRM knives)

SanRenMu 710 $9.99 (cheaper elsewhere, can be bought for $6-7

http://www.exduct.com/chinese-folding-knives/srm-folding-knives/sanrenmu-710-stainless-steel-knife-srm-knife-710.html

-The most famous Chinese made knife

-Line bug

-Well reputed for it’s excellent quality

–8cr13mov / AUS 8 A steel, great heat treatment (as with all SRM knives)

-Very comfortable

-Solid lockup

Sanrenmu M1 $11 (no longer available?)

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001877/1286805-sanrenmu-m1-folding-knife

-Excellent F&F

-Great blade

-Great value

–8cr13mov / AUS 8 A steel, great heat treatment (as with all SRM knives)

-Extremely comfortable smooth handles

-UK legal (if the blade is shortened a bit)

Ganzo G704 $15

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001878/1282100-ganzo-g704-stainless-steel-foldable-tactical

-Extremely sturdy knife

–440C steel, great quality

-Genuine Benchmade axis lock

-Good weight and feel to the blade

Enlan EL-01 $15

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-Great overall knife

–8cr13mov steel, great heat treatment

-Great lockup

-Can be customized from SRJOBEN with stonewash, acid wash, new washers etc.

http://www.lazylizardgear.com/

Inron MY803 $16

Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

-Extremely sturdy knife

–9cr13mov or 440C steel

-Great grind

-Solid lockup (though some have reported to have quality issues, some lockups have failed)

-Affordable

MULTI-TOOLS:

Ganzo G301 multi-tool $35

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001881/1198502-ganzo-g301-multi-tool

-Carbon steel head, 440C tools

-Locking tools

-One handed opening

-Extremely good quality

-Comes with bit set & hard pouch

-Slightly less budget, but I think what you get for your money is well worth it

Ganzo G201 multi-tool $20

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001881/1198501-ganzo-g201-multi-tool-pliers-with-kits

–440C tools

-Non-locking

-Great value

-High quality

-Comes with bit set also

This is my list based off of the knives I own that have been good quality from China. I hope some people appreciate it and share their own opinions and their own links. I’m sorry if I did something wrong as I am new to this forum. I hope if people buy any of the knives here they enjoy them and don’t have problems.

Hi xaru, some of your pictures are a bit too large to fit the BB pages.

I’ll get to my list later but must go for now.

Sorry, I didn’t see that huge H03 picture. Hope it’s better now?

I like that SanRenMu 681. It looks nice and comfy.

Just remember it is a tiny, tiny knife. I love it because of how powerful the thing is, it’s practically unbreakable as far as I can tell. If you check this video here you can see just how loud it is when it opens, it’s really fun to see such a tiny knife with such a powerful axis lock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=UdiwX3QCb4M#t=29

SRM 681 is not an axis lock :wink:

Oh sorry, what lock is it? Compression lock? I don’t know much about locks, all I know is that it’s strong as hell. Zytel + Steel + That lock on such a tiny knife makes for a tank. I just like the fact that it punches above it’s weight! :slight_smile:

The 681 a lock-back/backlock knife.

My favourite budget knives are Opinel and Mora. I have some Sanrenmu and Enlan but I don’t use them often.

Definitely I do love Mora & Opinel! Opinel convex edges are super sharp! You can cut through an entire newspaper with them, I managed to cut through tissue paper with an opinel after stropping it. Moras are amazing. I probably should have listed them but they’re just so well known. I wish more folding knife companies did primary edges like convex/scandi grinds. I saw a Chinese scandi grind knife recently on aliexpress, apparently a finnish company got sold to a Chinese manufacturer and they made some budget folding knives. I might buy one just to have a folding scandi knife.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Marttiini-New-Arrival-Camping-Folding-Pocket-Knife-Tactical-56HRC-440-Steel-plastic-handle-Best-Gift-Free/946072348.html

I would recommend them but I haven’t tried them. Definitely interesting though. Also hi Chloe! I’ve been a long time lurker and I’ve seen you post a lot of good comments. Thanks for replying. It’s also good to see girls who are into knives. :smiley:

Hi Xaru! Welcome to BLF! :party: I have not seen those before. Their shape reminds me a little of an Enlan model. Sadly a scandi doesn’t excite me in this steel. ;_;

Have you heard of Kizer knives? It is a Chinese brand but using more expensive imported materials. Their designs aren’t my cup of tea but it is nice to see anyway:
http://www.kizer-tbt.com/about.asp

Aww, it’s like 3 inches unfolded. Twice or 3 times that size is my preference.

I’ve sold a few 681s. They’re a very good little knife, sharp as heck with a deep hollow ground blade.

Let’s face it, Enlan and Sanrenmu make good knives.

A Harnds 6015 Viper ,I was wondering if any one can verify about the blade material as being VG10?how is its own factory edge and how well does the blade resist rust and HRC?

I saw it on Fasstech.

I can confirm that the Harnds viper does not have a VG10 blade. Every seller that I’ve seen says that they are 9cr18mov. Got a Viper and I love it.

Marttiini is a finnish knife company and they produce some of their knives in china.

I still carry the GB-763 and I even have an LB-763 on the way. I have much, much better knives but I’m still infatuated with the 763 and have been for over a year now.

I was asking not making a statement which you answered the +VG10 is the answer and yes I read about the handle not being carbon fiber, all was asking is if any one had the Viper and how has it held up because I was considering purchasing one and I didn’t know much abojt it.

With 15 bucks you cant go wrong with the viper. I really like it.

I’ve seen the viper lately, and the blazer. They look interesting. 9cr18mov is a great steel, it’s basically 440C with more carbon content I guess, and the heat treatment is probably decent. The blazer looks pretty cool, it has a strange hump at the front of the blade though, I don’t know what it’s for - extra strength?

As well as the quality increasing over the years it seems like the steel quality is increasing too, 9cr18mov is becoming more readily used for cheaper, and D2 is being used a lot as well. I hope the trend continues. But I would really love to see a simple carbon steel knife from China for a decent price. Carbon steel knives are way too expensive ATM.

In no particular order.
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Enlan M08, feels good in hand, great blade shape. $7.58.
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Just a great knife. $10.16.
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U.K. legal edc. Slipjoint with positive stops half way, open and closed. $8.06.
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Enlan EL-01 variety, solid, large, well built and around $15.
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Enlan/Bee L05-1, Smooth action, wood scales and full flat ground 87mm blade $9.23.
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Hultafors Heavy Duty Knife. The best camp/home knife. Built like a tank. £6
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SanRenMu LB-763 Probably the best version of the Axis lock on a Chinese built knife, Deep hollow ground 68mm blade. $10.30.
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Enlan EL-01D, Harnds CK6015 Viper and Harnds CK7006 Blazer.
Harnds Viper, smooth action, top quality, large knife. New to the market and going for the top. Harnds Blazer, very large folder with a heavy but smooth opening blade, both Harnds have 9Cr18MoV steel, a higher quality than most budget options.
All three offer outstanding quality, the EL-01D and Viper for around $16 and the Blazer ~ $24, for a knife of the quality and size unbeatable value, it even has LAWKS safety feature done right, manual not automatic. If you haven’t used a knife with LAWKS before (mostly CRKT knives) then it’s a lever that activates a plate that stops the linerlock from disengaging, supposedly giving the knife near fixed blade strength, the automatic version sets itself when the knife is opened and gets to be a pain in the arse disengaging it when you want to close the knife, the manual version you set yourself.
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550 Paracord, home made lanyards are a bargain compared to bought ones, even the cheap lanyards.
I reckon that for versatility 550 milspec paracord beats everything else.
Unfortunately it’s not the Chinese made stuff but the American made paracord that is the best but I had to include it because it goes with Chinese knives - I don’t use pocket clips, it pays not to advertise that you carry a knife in the U.K. :slight_smile: so it’s lanyards for my knives.

Sorry I cheated a bit on the 550 Paracord, I’ve used both U.S.A. abd Chinese made and the U.S.A. is really better, it ties more evenly.
And the Hultafors, superb quality and stropped in the manufacturers factory. I got one for £5 but that was a couple of years ago.