A pic of my current favorites. Help me find a new knife!

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers
1

I’m bored and want a new budget knife :party: Here are a few of my current favorites that see occasional carry. I don’t cut much :stuck_out_tongue: but like carrying one all the same.

My favorite is the Bee L01 with the red-black micarta handles. I like the large blade and the handle just feels right in my hand. The Ganzo and Benchmade are fun to fiddle with but ultimately just a bit too bulky. The SRM is shown (and sometimes worn to work due to smaller size) but I’m looking for a knife similar in size or slightly larger than the Bee. Something with a bit of styling and keep it under $20. Any recommendations?

Top to bottom:
Benchmade 9050
SRM LB-763
Ganzo G704
Enlan Bee L01-MCT

2

I’d suggest either an Enlan/Bee EL-04MCT

Enlan M08

Harnds Viper

Or my current favourite, Enlad EL-01D

None of them over $20, the Enlan M08 is under $10 and are all very capable knives.

3

The Harnds Viper looks interesting but I don’t own one yet. Will prob get one shortly.

The Ganzo 714 is a nice knife that is large but not too heavy or bulky.
http://www.fasttech.com/product/1320801-ganzo-g714-stainless-steel-foldable-tactical-survi

It shares the Tanto blade profile of your Bee L01 but has a more pointy tip. I’m not normally a fan of Tanto blades but this one is thin enough and pointy enough to actually use. I like it and can give it a thumbs up!

Another good one which is thin and a great slicer is the Navy K-631. It is quite heavy though. The two things that keep me from carrying it more are the weight and ever so slightly too long of a blade. It looks more like a weapon than a tool with that long slender stabby blade.

4

And enlan el01 it is a must have!.
Well, the ganzo g710 is good but i had a very bad experience with the g712 and i do not want more ganzos now.
The el04 isnvery good too. My inron my803 for soft tasks is good enough.

5

I like the Harnds Viper. Is it a budget knife? I don’t see it at the usual chinese shops

6

Exduct and Fasttech have it. Forgot which is cheaper.

7

$15.37 at FastTech v $18.50 at Exduct.

8

I have the viper incomming and i still can not say nothing about it.

9

How about the Inron MY803? Hinderer clone with 440C steel and a framelock:

http://www.exduct.com/chinese-folding-knives/inron-knives/inron-my803-frame-lock-pocket-knife.html

10

I have the my803 orange. Well, it is a big size knife with a for me beautiful blade hollow ground. Some users have comment than has a weak lock, i think it is ok for soft tasks. The handle is too slim for my taste but it is not a bad knife for the price and its size. And it is not 440c but 9cr13mov if i remember well.
I love flippers and it is hard to find it on chinese brands on big knives.
I got for 8 or 9 dollars in a 50% off.

11

I’ve never had any problems with my Inron knives, that said I have indeed heard bad things when it comes to QC. If the QC was good then it would definitely be well worth that and much more.

How about this one, it’s basically a Spyderco, 440C steel. I believe it’s something like a mix between two different Spydercos. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a scrapped Spyderco design seeing as some Spydies are made in the same Chinese factories as Enlan, SRM, etc.

http://www.exduct.com/chinese-folding-knives/navy-knives/navy-folding-knife2013-05-31-01-13-271096496770.html

I do feel like this one could be cheaper, to around $15, but the quality on it is great. Absolutely no blade play for me, sharpest out of the box knife I’ve gotten, and the heat treatment was fine. It’s just a matter of whether or not you want something that looks like a knock-off Spydie, even if it’s not a direct copy of any current models.

There’s also the latest Enlan EL06, it comes with a new steel, 9cr13mov or 440C just with slightly worse corrosion resistance, it looks like it comes with a pretty sweet stonewash finish.

http://www.exduct.com/chinese-folding-knives/bee-enlan-knives/rimei-manicure-set2013-05-31-11-33-201510261378.html

I also saw these recently, they’re Rockstead clones. They’re made with 8cr13mov and are quite large, $18.99 seems like a pretty good price too. I don’t tend to like Chinese knives that copy everything, including the brand name. But Rockstead are super high end knives so I doubt anyone is going to be fooled, at least I hope not:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/FREE-SHIPPING-NEW-CNC-ROCKSTEAD-8Cr13Mov-Blade-Full-Brushed-Handle-High-quality-Folding-knife-FD34/1388961200.html

Finally I’m quite interested in this knife, I can’t find any other information on it but it looks really nice. It’s a huge knife too:

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 wish I knew more about that last one, it looks very pretty. :c

12

I’ve never had any problems with my Inron knives, that said I have indeed heard bad things when it comes to QC. If the QC was good then it would definitely be well worth that and much more.

How about this one, it’s basically a Spyderco, 440C steel. I believe it’s something like a mix between two different Spydercos. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a scrapped Spyderco design seeing as some Spydies are made in the same Chinese factories as Enlan, SRM, etc.

http://www.exduct.com/chinese-folding-knives/navy-knives/navy-folding-knife2013-05-31-01-13-271096496770.html

I do feel like this one could be cheaper, to around $15, but the quality on it is great. Absolutely no blade play for me, sharpest out of the box knife I’ve gotten, and the heat treatment was fine. It’s just a matter of whether or not you want something that looks like a knock-off Spydie, even if it’s not a direct copy of any current models.

There’s also the latest Enlan EL06, it comes with a new steel, 9cr13mov or 440C just with slightly worse corrosion resistance, it looks like it comes with a pretty sweet stonewash finish.

http://www.exduct.com/chinese-folding-knives/bee-enlan-knives/rimei-manicure-set2013-05-31-11-33-201510261378.html

I also saw these recently, they’re Rockstead clones. They’re made with 8cr13mov and are quite large, $18.99 seems like a pretty good price too. I don’t tend to like Chinese knives that copy everything, including the brand name. But Rockstead are super high end knives so I doubt anyone is going to be fooled, at least I hope not:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/FREE-SHIPPING-NEW-CNC-ROCKSTEAD-8Cr13Mov-Blade-Full-Brushed-Handle-High-quality-Folding-knife-FD34/1388961200.html

Finally I’m quite interested in this knife, I can’t find any other information on it but it looks really nice. It’s a huge knife too:

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

13

Yes, the navy 631, a classic. But i have read much about that navy and the heat treatment is not very good and perhaps is not 440c but 7cr13mov even.
The rope tests that you can see in youtube says that the retention on navys are worst than enlan/sanrenmu. There is a navy 631 rope test too.
The spyderco tenacious 8cr13mov have much better edge retention than enlan/ganzo/sanrenmu and navy worst than enlan etc.

14

Best bang for the buck which doesn’t perform “cheap” is still the Kershaw Brawler.

Last X-mas this sucker went for $20 including a dam nice tactical pen and a multi-led 3 AAA that in of itself was a healthy step above your HF freebies.

Bargain of that year.

Outstanding quality and consistent QC performance out of that blade.

15

A Russian guy on YouTube compiled comparisons of the various knives he’d done cutting tests on.

Interestingly, the Ganzo 710 was comparable to the Cold Steel Voyager or Spyderco Tenacious (suggesting their 440C is probably 9Cr13MoV or maybe 8Cr).

The Navy was pretty pathetic. The Ganzo made 70 cuts before dulling, the Navy K632 made 15.

16

I like better if the bolster and handle are made of different materials. That allows better combinations of strength, weight, grip and interesting materials.

17

Yes, i have not any navy for that…