My new collection of 50+ Chinese knives

Enlan/Bee EL-01

Its very natural to deploy for me. As soon as the knife has cleared my pocket, I use my index finger to press the blade guard (which is sticking out of the top of the knife when its folded).

Its like pressing a trigger on a firearm and easy to find. With almost no practice at all, I can deploy the blade faster than the eyes can detect, and seemingly no difference between this and a spring assisted blade. Think "handgun" when you press the trigger guard to start the blade moving. From there, a very small flick of the wrist/forearm locks the blade into position. The part that takes the most time is getting it out of your pocket, not deploying the blade.

I never did like zip ties or wave notches (pants rippers) to much.

After fiddling with mine for a while for left handed draw, I think Id be much more inclined to remove the clip and move it over to the other side of the knife. Sure, thats much easier said than done. Stainless steel is tough stuff and very difficult to drill and tap. Unless you like the knife as much as I do, I probably wouldnt even bother. For me, it would have been done a long time ago (if I were left handed). If you find that the 3 screws that hold the clip in place are not standard metric threads, you can always go with any similar standard size since you are drilling and tapping new holes. Just make sure you use the same size or the next up. You could remove the grips and drill the holes through the frame first to see how it goes. If you cant cut the SS properly, just pop the grips back on to hide the scratches.

You also might like it better without the clip and carrying it lose in your pocket (if you can live without the wave mod)

Welcome to BLF! I dont have the 701. I will say that the G704 (I have the old and new versions) are my least favorite large folding knives. The quality, fit and finish isnt even close to SRM/Sanrenmu or Enlan/Bee. Its also more expensive than most, and for why - I couldnt even guess. It isnt a bad knife. Just not up to par with the others shown here. If you like the looks, then by all means pick one up. I dont regret owning them, but they definitely should have been built to a higher standard. Especially when considering the lower prices of their superior competition.

I second this. I guess the main appeal of the G704 is that it's a large, heavy folder that looks like a H&K 14205, well, at least if you don't look too closely. I have to admit I liked it at first and it's a nice knife if you don't use it a lot. After the novelty had worn off,

Like FlashPilot said, there are more practical, large knives for the money that perform better than the G704 but of the current lineup, it's the one I'd get if I had to choose a Ganzo. It's nicer than the G701 and it's a much better knife than then G705, which has mediocre written all over it, in my honest opinion (and I am being kind here). If you decide to get the G704, make sure you get the new version. Honestly though, unless you're really into the looks of the G704, I'd suggest you take a look at what SRM, Enlan and Navy (or any of the lesser known budget brands, like Tekut) have to offer. Ganzo makes some nice multitools from what I gather (not really my specialty; I have a few but I'm a knife/gun/motorcycle guy and I think as far as expensive hobbies go, I'm good for now :D), but I find I don't carry their knives much and if I am honest I use them even less.

Oh, and welcome to BLF from me as well. :)

I blown a lot of cash in the last year on Chinese knifes, and I was lucky I found Exduct.com, Sanrenmu, Bee, Enlan, Navy, ect before I wasted too much cash on some the cool looking pure garbage knifes out there on Deal Extreme and Focalprice.

Anyway the EL-01 with the plain Jane blade in white is my fave carry knife by far, it is a awesome knife for the money, no better deal on the market. Great fit and finish, just large enough to be intimidating if need be, but not too big, and makes that awesome CLACK sound when locking up. I've got three versions of it, but the plain steel is my fave. All of my male friends will be receiving one this year along with a 502B flashlight for Christmas.

Flash, I've gotten the hang of pulling it from my left pocket and opening very quickly. Just a bit of practice.

It's not the dealbreaker, now. Opening it with the blade horizontal seems to give me a snappy deploy, without resorting to a wrist-flick assist. Call me cautious, but the last thing I want to see is my knife zingin' out of my hand toward left field, especially if something is tear-assin' my way.

I wear it inside my khakis pocket, and forget it's there during the day, whether seated or scooter-poopin' on two legs.

Buy Enlan EL-series, those are adult size ;)

Sanrenmu was forced by political pressure to abandon the larger 900 series for the Chinese market, because there were reports about knife fights with them. I only own 1 700 Series SRM since I find them to similar to SAK in size, but I own 7 of the now discontinued 900 Series knives. A suitable substitute would be the L-series from BEE/Enlan... I personally think that the EL-series is too bulky for a pocket knife. Myself and gimepepe seem to like the Bee L05 and Bee L05-1 very much. L05-1 for looks and FFG and the L05 as a everyday workhorse with hollow grind. Both are available at Exduct.

I've this, and I think it would be just perfect if its total length were 9 or 10 inches instead of 7. I havent seen any Enlan, Navy or other from Exduct with some other tools like this one: bottle opener, screwdriver, gut hook.

I also have this other one, very nice too, but I also would prefer it was slightly bigger

Oh, and the problem with exduct (for me), is that I must pay something like 5 to 8 dollars per knife for shipping.. I hope Manafont, Lightake or Kaidomain get some Enlans and Navys

ya, i have bought Dual Sharp Blade Portable Manual Release Knife with Clip/Chain from priceangels.

It is really cheap and good quality! Friends said that do not buy chinese knockoff, but i think it is ok for me if i know it is not original before order.

Just some more detail to add: I read that it was a local police ordinance that ordered SRM to haul production of their larger 9 series knives due to at least two murders involving a 9 series SRM. Thats why I keep telling people to buy them up when they turn up from time to time. They boast the same legendary quality of all other SRM knives but in the larger size. Its sad that such gross incompetence in the local police jurisdiction of SRM halted production. I can only imagine what new ingenious creations might have been available today, had SRM been allowed to continue producing larger folding knives.

While researching the Browning 863 before purchasing it, someone compared it to a very high quality steak knife. I would second that motion, as it lives up to culinary carving duties far better than most knives of its size. Of course, it also works well for utility purposes. Its a real beauty, with a polished steel finish and buffed burly maple handle. The blade, grind and steel quality is on par with SRM, as are all the Brownings in my collection so far, but the fit & finish is above anything else in my budget collection... that's Browing in general.

I used it at a friends BBQ tonight and let others use it to carve their steaks. Well, I actually insisted that they try it. LOL! Now I need to order 3 more. Its to bad that Browning doesnt make a matching fork and spoon to go along with it. I almost didnt buy this knife and now Im more than happy that I did.

Check out the other Brownings in the first post. IMO, they are great buys for what I paid for them.

I know the feeling. I also wasted far to many greenbacks on pocket knives from DX, MF and several others, etc... but we all have to start somewhere. If you havent owned an SRM or Enlan, then you probably dont have anything of high quality in your budget collection to compare it with. And once you do have an SRM or Enlan, then nearly everything else in the price range seems like pure junk. I hung onto only a few of those "DX" knives and gave the rest away as gifts. Of those gifted, I dont think any of them survived a year before they were worn out, broken, lost or thrown away. Pure rubbish!

Only one of those knives made it to my list as "recommended": Dealextreme sku19366

It retains an edge quite well for the harsh box cutting duties Ive used it for, but I have yet to abuse it to find its true muster. I found another similar Kershaw knife for +$50 in a local store. The sales person agreed that the DX was of higher quality. He never asked me what I paid or where I got it, and I didnt have the heart to volunteer the information and embarrass him in from of several other customers in his store. Its roughly a $5 knife.

I think the whole Tekut-series is considered to be of decent quality. I don't own any of them, though.

I bought this smaller Enlan for curiosity, but I still prefer the bigger ones.

Wow that looks awesome, Ive never seen that model before...

Can you pls let me know where you ordered it? I could not find anything with that model name on Google...

I found it at Ebay. There's also a camouflage alu handled version with a plain satin blade (M018CA).

One of my favourites from the middle size category is the Navy K502 (more pics in my blog):

Flash,

Finally my Ganzo G710 has arrived. In two words: highly recommended!

More pics in my blog.