Review: Navy K602 and Inron MY801

With both of these in my hot little hands, and based on little more than carrying them around a bit and cutting a few things, I thought I’d try my hand at reviewing my two new knives. The first being the Navy K602, and the second the Inron MY801.

Firstly, some pretty pictures… well pictures anyway.

The Navy



and the Inron



also a size comparison with my Endura 4, because Endura.

Navy K602
First impressions were rather like those of Steve Irwin’s take on stingrays, “crikey, that’s a big one!”

Make no mistake, the Navy K602 is a big folding knife. Of the big four, Sanrenmu, Enlan, Navy and Ganzo, I think this is the only one whose blade length exceeds 10cm in length, officially by 1 centimetre for a total of 11cm. Despite that I didn’t find it particularly heavy, this framelock is reasonably thin, and the blade itself is about 3mm meaning that despite its size it doesn’t feel unwieldy in the hand.

The blade and frame have a stonewash finish that is not unattractive and certainly the big recurve blade has an allure all its own. The black G10 is best described as functional, and functional it certainly is. Given the strength of the composite, so much so that some manufacturers run their knives with only partial, or no, liners relying on the G10 for handle rigidity, I wonder if this and the Inron MY803 use the G10 scale as a source of structural support for the steel.

The pivot rides on a bronze washer on one side, and a teflon washer on the other. During operation I found a certain self tightening that also moved the blade off centre, the centring of the blade being a convenient check that the pivot is correctly tightened, some loctite is on the way. With a spydy-flick (break the detent with the thumb and flip the blade out with the wrist) the blade comes out easily and locks up well. Although I didn’t go overboard whacking it, the lockup is secure enough that I don’t think it would close on my fingers.

Overall fit and finish is adequate, one of the things I like about the other “big three” is that you feel like you got more for your money than what you paid for. Navy, at least in the K631 and K602 that I own, feel very much like getting exactly what you pay for. This is a cheap knife, I paid $15.56US for mine and unfortunately it does feel cheap. When I got it there was a small chip on the edge of the blade, so I slapped it on the Edge Faux and with a series of stones brought it up to a near mirror edge that also polished out the chip. Hair shaving sharp, although I don’t yet have my strops ready to take it to its ultimate in scary sharpness.

Overall I would give this knife a six out of ten. If you really must have the biggest then this is the only candidate. Just make sure you can legally import it, I had to get a dispensation from the New Zealand Police before importing a knife over 10cm.

Inron MY801
The Enlan EL01 is one of my favourite knives ever. I own two already, and have a third in the mail. When I saw Inron’s direct competitor to it I hemmed and hawed a bit before finally pulling the trigger, but now I have it I’m glad I did.

That this is clearly inspired by the Enlan EL01 goes almost without saying. In most dimensions they are identical. If I can point to one specific difference of feel, the Inron feels like it was designed by an engineer. Like its big brother the MY803 it feels as if the major concern of the design team was the blade, with the ancillaries coming a distinct second in their priorities. The Enlan meanwhile feels like it was built by an arts student (with a slightly homicidal bent). But that focus is something I admire, because when all is said and done, a knife that doesn’t cut isn’t really a knife. It might be a spoon though. The Inron has one hell of a blade.

Compared to the 8Cr13MoV of the Enlan, the Inron boasts 9Cr13MoV steel. Whilst 1% carbon might not seem a lot, in metallurgical terms it makes a big difference to the potential hardness of a steel. Inron include a little brochure explaining that they harden their knives to 59-60 Rockwell, and I have no reason to disbelieve them. The blade is hollow ground (like the MY803) and comes hair shaving sharp (like the MY803). It has a good belly for carving, and the point is very pointy, presumably for pointing. Although nominally the same length as the Enlan, the difference of flipper and handle configuration means that cutting edge of the Inron is about a centimetre shorter.

Like the Navy (and the Enlan) the pivot uses a single bronze washer and a single teflon washer. It deploys on the flipper easily enough, requiring just a little wrist flick to finish opening, and if you like you can use the thumb studs.The liner lock does its job, locking the blade up securely with no detectable play. Interestingly the liners are both drilled for the pocket clip screws, but only the right side G10 is. Presumably you could take the scales off and drill the left side to match.

In the hand that engineer designed feature rears its head again, as the knife has almost a complete lack of jimping to give the user something to brace their fingers or thumb against. That said, the G10 grips are very comfortable and fairly grippy, so that jimping may not be missed. The only thing that counts against the comfort is that the inner edges of the liners are quite sharp. The handle is shaped in such a way that it is possibly more secure in the hand than the Enlan. Time will tell.

For the $16.81US I paid for this knife (Hello Gift Shop) I received a very good knife.

Overall I would give this an eight out of a ten.

Thanks for the reviews. When I first looked at the Inron I thought “a Enlan clone?”. Good info about the 801. I have several EL-01s and all have upgraded phosphor-bronse washers and lube. Opening one is butter smooth. Swap out the stock washers on the 801 and you’ll be more than pleased.

The thumb studs seem sort of redundant since its a flipper. I do like the classic blade shape so perhaps I’ll have to order one.

thanks for the review, its very well written and the subjects are extremely nice.

great review! thanks!!

now i’m looking at the inron my801… :stuck_out_tongue:

any links to where you got your phosphor-bronze washers (fingers crossed from somewhere that has reasonable shipping)? I have found some from US suppliers but the shipping is astronomically ridiculous (as in waaaaaaay ridiculous, waaaaaaay ridiculous beyond absurd…you get the idea… ;))

thanks!

:slight_smile:

I don’t really see any similarities between the Inron and the Enlan. In no way would I consider it a clone or a copy. It barely resembles it to my eye.

Thanks for the review though, always good to get info on budget knives. This site is probably the best source of info for these Chinese budget knives anywhere.

I have been pleased with my Navy knives and consider them the equal of other makers like SRM etc for the most part. I have 5-6 different models and like them. My fav is the 631 and K-607. I don’t think they feel cheap at all. In fact, I think the K607 which a copy of the Spyderco Lil’ Temperance, is better built than the actual Spyderco which I owned. My Navy copy has very little blade play which was not at all true for the Spyderco.

Thanks for the good review! I'm eyeing up that Inron MY801! So the 9Cr13MoV steel should be a more robust steel which should hold it's edge longer between sharpenings?

-Garry

I say inspired in that the Inron company was formed by a former Enlan manager, and the two knives are of similar size and overall configuration making them direct competitors. It’s certainly not a copy.

I really like my K631, it was the knife I took on holiday and it was great for cutting bread. Thanks for your opinion of the K607, I already have one in the mail, I’m looking forward to it even more.

It’s a pity that they don’t make the K610 any more. Perhaps it was just a little too much like a Tenacious.

I would assume so. Unfortunately I’m not hard enough on knives to notice any real difference.

One can always hope, but quality control from most Chinese steel production is not really good enough to verify carbon within 1% from batch to batch, so it might be difficult to make any meaningful comparisons…that could actually work out in your favor on some batches though…:slight_smile:

It’s not well known outside the industry, that because of quality concerns, the Chinese government will not allow Chinese made goods/materials to be used in critical areas of their own domestic power plants. And quality control does not address issues of intentional material degradation to lower the cost of production, and/or there is any truth to the advertising copy as to materials…

I’m not pointing a finger at Inron here, most manufacturers, even prestige name brands use Chinese sources in some, or all of their products.

dig that 801

the blaze endura is hot too :wink:

I like the Navy knife. Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t mean that the other knives are ugly. They look good too.

What a surprise, I found a K610 for sale on Ali so I bought one.

Tolight,

Contact Joben at Lazy Lizard Gear. He’ll supply w/ the washers and the shipping is very reasonable [like <$3] for some washers. In fact I need to order several pairs myself.

Well, today I ordered that Inron My801! Can't wait!

-Garry

Enjoy.

Received my Inron My801 on Wednesday! Just 7 days! Wow it's a big knife! (Well, to me anyway since I'm used to small pocket knives.) Needs a little lube so that it flicks open a little easier, but it's razor sharp and feels very solid.

-Garry

I’m glad you like it.

Thanks a lot for the review! Sticky’d.