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. 
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.
I had the wood EL-01, and SOMEHOW it disappeared from my room. I mean, really. I think I might have cleaned up some trash and accidentally thrown it away. It bugs me like crazy because I liked it so much. By the way, I highly recommend the Sanrenmu H03, $6 from FastTech, UK legal and super comfortable. It’s the most comfortable small knife I own, it just feels great in the hand as well as looking great, and having a bottle opener/pryer. I have a theory that since SRM made a lot of cheap Spyderco knives and since the H03 looks so similar to the spyderco kiwi, bug etc. that it might be a scrapped Spyderco design that SRM made under it’s own name? Just a theory though.
I used to carry the Spyderco Grasshopper as an edc but now I use the SanRenMu AOH02, I’ve got an H03 on order.
Your theory is wrong. On one f the boards Sal Glesser, Owner of Spyderco, saw a picture on the H03 and thought that somebody had modified a Grasshopper, when told the truth he didn’t seem that bothered, Spyderco get their budget lines - Tenacious family, the Byrd line and the Bugs made in China some by SanRenMu.
I had a Kiwi that I was using as an edc but the Wharncliffe blade felt odd and I couldn’t get the right angle to cut things without my knuckles hitting the work that was being cut, I ended up giving it away.
These look interesting and are in the Spyderco 2014 catalogue -
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Spydies with tools, I like the saw, I’ve never tried a Spyderedge.
Look out for the Chinese copies soon. :bigsmile:
You all so much ,this thread has answered a lot of questions I had ive have ordered l8ke six budget knifes in the last month starting with the Ganzo 712 ,EnlonEL01 bee L05 Srm 913 and two Harnds Vipers ,which I am still waiting for.
Just watched this video on the H02 the other day…
I like the Sanrenmu 710 - I have the original version and I like all the variations of the new ones, but can’t really bring myself to buying any more of them.
Wish they’d make it tip up carry. That’s my only real change I’d like to see for the 710.
The hump is in part created by the false edge/swedge which aids piercing/thrusting. I quite like the blade geometry (thick stock, hollow ground, no sharpening choil, stylish false edge, deep jimping), but the handle is just horrid. :Sp
Thanks! It’s definitely got the marmite effect, doesn’t it? I didn’t mind the scales, but I was put off by the swedgy-thing! 
Whats is a hollow ground?
A very good source of everything knifey.
Copyright 1996-2013 by The Jay Fisher
Not just the geometry but loads of information.
More information.
Here are my all time favourite budget Chinese folding knives:
as you can see they’re all Sanrenmu except for the 2 Enlan
The smaller ones:
- SRM 604
SRM 605
These two are very handy small knives, use them a lot around the house…
- SRM H03
This one is on my key chain, probably my favourite small UK legal EDC… I have a H02 and never liked it, it doesn’t feel good when holding it. The H03 has the curve for your finger at the beginning of the blade that makes it extremely versatile
- SRM 728
Beutifull looking gentleman hunting knife
- SRM GB763
No need for introductions
- SRM 785 with custom scales
I love the look and feel of this one.
- EL-M08
Great blade shape and very nice to hold
The longher ones:
- SRM M1
UK legal (after shortening the blade a few mm) for EDC
- SRM 913p
Work horse
- EL01
We all know this one…
8slSteve88 iam pursuing it now.
I have the M1 too, I forgot to mention that one. Apparently it got discontinued weeks after being produced. It was $10 on FastTech a while ago, definitely worth the money. I have been nervous about carrying the M1, do you think the police would be okay with it? I’ve been nervous because it’s such a huge knife in terms of the handle size. I would have to shorten the blade a bit though. It is a beautiful knife though, isn’t it? The quality is simply astounding, rounded spine, super comfortable handle, beautiful blade, gotta love it.
Glad another bloke loves the H03 as much as I do. I think it can’t be beat for a great UK EDC knife. It’s just so darn comfortable for it’s compact size. So versatile too.
I recently came across this website I’ve never seen before called www.oneknifestand.com and what caught my eye was the fact that there are a lot of knives I’ve never seen before there, a lot of hand made knives that look really cheap too, but most of those were sold out. I came across these knives which were listed as “hand made Case knives”, but I don’t recognize them, I don’t know if they’re copies of case knives or if they’re original hand made Chinese slipjoints, they seem to have some kind of filework on the back and claim to be made out of 8cr17mov which is a really good steel:
That said they don’t seem to deliver to the UK. |(
I’ve also seen this knife on FastTech which seems like a very unusual knife, it looks kind of like a balisong only it opens I’m guessing more like a multi-tool? It interested me purely because of how strange it seems. Any ideas anyone?
http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10006652/1520501-rimei-5975-stainless-steel-wilderness-survival
Finally I’ve also seen this knife on Aliexpress that interested me:
It’s $15 and looks quite nice, the only info I could find is that it’s listed as a “typical large Russian folding knife” though, it’s also MASSIVE:
SPECIFICATIONS:
NEW Typical Russian Large Wood Handle FOLDING KNIFE B77
Blade length: 4 1/2”
Closed length: 5 3/4”
Steel: 440C Stainless
Liner lock
I guess it really is like a multi-tool then, only instead of opening into pliers they open into a blade. I might pick one up just because it seems like a unique knife.
With a 70mm blade, and no locking mechanism, it should actually be UK legal.