So after seeing so much discussion about knives (especially by people who are also flashaholics) I decided to go ahead and order a Chinese Budget knife and see what all the fuss is about. I ordered an Enlan Bee EM01 from FastTech. It was cheap enough that I didn't mind ordering to check it out. Up until now I've been carrying (true EDC - more so than a flashlight) a typical Swiss Army Knife (Wenger) which I've had for about 21 years now. I haven't EDC'd it for that long, but at least the last 13 years.
Hope I'm not starting another addiction! Oh, and I have the Ganzo G713 in my FastTech wishlist too, but it's a bit pricier.
I hate to give you the bad news, but I think that you probably are/will be (seriously). I don’t know why, but lights and knives seem to go together for some reason. Maybe “EDC” is what ties them together?
em01 is a nice knife… enjoy!! then look at the SRM763… axis lock is nice… then enlan el01 is a must… the g713 looks nice… i got the g704 and many here were saying that the g712 is quite nice too…
Garry, you are in so much trouble! You just started a fresh addiction avalanche. Knives are almost as addicting as flashlights and once you have a nice one you'll want more. I will tell you right now though, get yourself a G712. ;) It's big but beautiful :love:
Make sure you look at the specs with the knives when ordering. Especially the size. Like with the flashlights, it’s often hard to judge the size since most of the time they have just the picture of the item by itself. A couple of times I’ve been a bit surprised at how small some of the knives I ordered are.
You’ll know when you’ve caught the addiction/hobby bug when you start buying more; and then you want to buy the other paraphernalia that goes along with it… sharpening stones, leather strops, polishing compounds. You might also venture into fixed blades and sheaths. Once you’re no longer satisfied with the less expensive knives, you ponder whether you should spend large amounts of money on the brand name and custom knives.
The Enlan EM01 is nice (small brother of the EL01). If you do not want to spend much money in knives, do not look at the Gear for Flashlight Carriers section again. NEVER ;)
You have the Ganzo 713 in your wishlist. If you take a look in this section, the wishlist will grow up :)
I don’t know about that. At least for me, my wife didn’t have a problem with lights, but when she saw a couple of knives coming in, she gave me “that look” (you probably know what I mean?)… so I’m sticking more to lights, at least until I find that Native 5 that I’m looking for at a price I’m willing to pay!
Yeah, I got an assisted opener also recently, just a cheapy Winchester off of Ebay, to see what it was like, and was amazed :)… “slippery slope”… I agree with that also, as I know that there are a TON of different assisted opening “systems”.
Tip up, tip down, lanyard hole, sheepsfoot, wharncliff, drop point, scales, weight, framelock, linerlock, axis lock, Enlan v SRM, Navy, Spiderco, SharpMaker….
You will love it!
Did I mention that I used the SharpMaker on my Wenger? What a difference.
I literally laughed out loud when I saw the price tag on that one that you say is “a bit pricier”. Wait til you discover the high end market! Benchmade knives are sweet, and even they have different levels that reach the stratosphere in pricing. My most fancy is a Mission Knives Multi-Purpose Folder (MPF) in Beta Titanium. All Titanium, from the blade to the screws and even the clip the entire knife is made of a Beta Titanium they developed to take and hold the best edge possible. No, it’s not even close on the edge front to the better steels from Sandvik and Crucible but it’s non-magnetic and gorgeous! I even anodized it so that the blade is a beautiful light green and the scales/handles are a deep purple.
This is the only pic I have in online storage… Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Far right is before the anodizing experiment. You might notice I have a thing for Benchmade AFCK’s. The Buck Stryder (2nd from left) has a 3/16” thick blade that’s only 3 in long, stout…my EDC. Uploaded with ImageShack.us
I think all Boker (Plus), Gerber, Benchmade under $30 in the Hong Kong shops are fakes. You can get some genuine Gerber Gryll under $30, but I would never buy these in the Hong Kong shops.
The Boker fake you posted was reviewed 2 years ago.
The Buck Stryder (2nd from left) has a 3/16” thick blade that’s only 3 in long, stout…my EDC.