Review: Sanrenmu 9052MTC-GH, 9054MUC-GP, 7053DUC-GVI

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers
1

I recently received in the post 3 Sanrenmu slip joint knives.

They all have the ball detent system as implemented on the Sanrenmu M1. I’ve found this mechanism to be quite reliable.

Sanrenmu 9052MTC-GH

I’ve got this knife from Fasttech for $15.12

This knife has a rather straight blade with a clean look, it also features a rope cutter and a can opener at the rear of the handle (slip joint), and a glass breaker.

The part of the liners which stick out from the handle provide some extra traction for a more steady grip still being very comfortable to hold.

The sharpening of the blade towards the tip was a little off centre (a bit like a chisel?) so that will need some fixing. There is also a very thin slit in the left g10 liner (last image above) which you would expect to find in a lock liner knife.

The knife is completely ambidextrous, with thumb studs on both sides of the blade and clip that can be moved to either side (tip down). To note the covering that can be screwed on where the clip is removed…

Unfortunately the blade is just beyond the 3 inches legally allowed for UK EDC.

9054MUC-GP green (also available in black)

This knife came from ebay for almost $18.90

I find this to be a very interesting knife as it has a “flipper” which becomes a finger guard once opened (which makes perfect sense as it is a slip joint)
The G10 pattern is really nice and very similar to the one on the Sanrenmu GB-763; even the clip (which has 4 possible positions) is the same as the 763.

Another interesting feature is the hole in the blade which would make the knife lock open if something where inserted…
The blade on this knife is definitely more than 3 inches.

7053DUC-GVI (7053LUC-GVP has liner lock)

Bought on ebay for $15.90

I didn’t think I would like this knife so much, but it opens really nicely and the blade feels somehow stronger than the 763 which is similar in size.
It has a rope cutter at the end and a tiny glass breaker. The carabiner is very strong.
It is ambidextrous although the two liners are different (suggesting an opening for righthanders)

I personally hate the scales as they remind me of the Sanrenmu H02 (which I never liked) so I thought of changing them… and perhaps remove the whole tail part as it’s not very comfortable if you plan of carrying it in your pocket. (If you want to remove the tail you’ll have to provide some support between the liners)

Unfortunately it has no clip or lanyard holes, but this makes surely a nice UK legal EDC knife.

Cutting edge of the tree knives aligned:

2

Nice review. Wish I could carry them in Denmark. But if a knife has a lock or is designed to be one hand operated it is a no go (sulks...)

3

@Ledsmoke:
The knives haven't a lock. If you remove the thumbpin, you can use the Sanrenmu 9052

The 9054MUC-GP looks reallly interesting - I like the design. Now I have to decide - do I need/want it and do I want it with a lock as the Real Steel (but this costs much more).


4

Interesting bring your own lock design on the bigger one. I wonder what you could carry with it that would work well.

5

One view I’ve seen of it there is an Allen key through it with the long part held close to the handle and the short end through the blade.
In the U.K. ebay.co.uk doesn’t carry knives and bars ordering them from ebay.com
Amazon is the same, no pocket knives unless they sneak in and are gone as soon as Amazon realise what they are.
Amazon.com is O.K. as long as you order from an “offshore” trader.
I do wish they would realise that knives such as these are legal to carry (within reason) in the U.K. As long as the cutting edge is 3” or less.

It seems at least one it going to be shortened slightly, maybe the first tanto version. :wink:

I had no idea that SanRenMu 9052MTC-GH was a slip joint. - now ordered :slight_smile: Thank you Teutate. The way the tape measure is placed it looks like 3” blade, or it will be after a bit of judicious sharpening. :bigsmile:

And I’ve just ordered a SanRenMu M1 as well. Just to be perfectly legal you understand. 8)

6

The Real Steel might flip better.
I’ve heard that the SanRenMu version needs a bit of a wrist flick to open it - when new at least, I’m sure it could be made freer by cleaning and lubricating.

7

I’m not sure how to interpret the uk law wording of “cutting edge” of the blade:

I have the feeling it refers to the red line… :frowning:

wouldn’t it be smarter to dedicate modding time to the 9054MUC-GP and shorten the blade from the bottom? something like this:

then you would have a legal knife that also has the extra protection offered by the flipper (not to mention the little hole in the blade) and an extra rest for the index if you need a super tight grip :wink:

It is definitely stiffer to flip compared to an enlan el-01, I will clean and lube it.
but even loosening the blade pivot the blade is still hard to flip, I believe it’s due to the slip joint mechanism that needs to apply pressure on the blade from the liners, so there will always be some friction. Having said that if you can flick out a M1 this is not much different.

Regarding ebay I bought thm here: 9054MUC-GP and 7053DUC-GVI (you can get $1 off on both if you make the offer), just make sure you search for knives on ebay.com and not ebay.co.uk, no probs in buying them from ebay.com.
Hopefully fasttech will have them soon in store at better prices…

ps. thanks for the explanation on BB forum regarding the triangle and numbering on the blade, they are respectively made Aug, Dec, Nov 2013 :slight_smile:

8

I forgot to thank you for the review, it spurred me on to get off my arse and order some knives, the first of the year.

Ebay.com works fine until I get to the payment stage, it must compare the shipping address to the item ordered and it flags knives as not to sell to the U.K. all I get is a message about not circumventing the ebay policy of not supplying knives to the U.K.
Even when I create another account with different email and name it still gets stopped at the payment stage.
Amazon is the same only there’s some manage to slip the net. It’s a fairly recent thing as a couple of years ago I bought Enlans, SanRenMu’s from them.
Never mind, I’ve managed to buy a 9054MUC-GP, and a M1 other means :bigsmile: and a 9052MTC-GH from FastTech.
I even got a spare 9054MUC-GP for modifying.

I completely agree about modifying the cutting edge but I’m unsure yet where the powers that be :Sp measure from - the handle to the tip or just the sharpened edge, I will find out and adjust it accordingly. Either way rotary tool and Lansky will win the day. :bigsmile:

I’ve just bought some bits and pieces to re-scale some knives and had the stupid situation of a pair of brown mallee burl wood scale blanks costing £5.61 and £3.44 postage from Australia but £14 incl P+P from U.K. U.S.A topped the list with maple scales £11.34 and £9.91 postage.

Regarding the triangles - what chance of a square for 2014, or they might start counting from Jan 2013 and go triangle 13, triangle 14, triangle 15 etc. as the months pass.

9

9054 looks really good. I only see them on eBay though.

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I’ve been wanting one for a couple of months now since I saw and read about them, like the SanRenMu M1 they are a very innovative design, not ripping off any of the other makers work. The prices are very good for the amount of work involved in the mechanism. I was looking for a cheapish backlock to convert to a notch lock but now I don’t have to.

11

What is eBay on about?

You can own any knives you like (apart from automatic/gravity knives) in the UK, you are just limited to sub-3 inch non-locking folders for normal carrying in public. You can even carry bigger locking folders if you have good reason, like you use them for work.

I guess this is what happens when your government are a pack of old women.

12

Some back ground for you. During the UK media madness of “all knives are dangerous” eBay was part of a BBC Watchdog show a few years back. The show reporters purchased knives via eBay and imported all sorts of nasty things that any child could buy over the computer and murder their family with. eBay knee jerk reaction was a blanket ban on selling any knives in the UK. Although they have started to let it go a bit, I understand you can now buy Swiss army knives and multitools on UK eBay.

13

Thanks for the review. I am still on the fence about the 9054. It looks like a strange, ugly fish. >.< How does it feel in the hand?

Adding a choil near the flipper would be easier, but you lose the cutting power nearest the tang/pivot. I found I missed this on my Cryo after I added a choil. ;_;

7053 looks like the most fun for modding; new scales covering the whole liners and a nice spacer to replace that ugly caribiner section, would make it a very different knife. It has quite elegant lines.

14

You were right, cleaned and lubed (with quality olive oil :stuck_out_tongue: ) and now flicks so much nicer… still different from a lock liner that has no pressure on the blade.

already ordered an orange sheet for new liners and spacer :wink:

It’s actually very nice to hold, good grip with all four finger on the handle. Even having the finger coil on the blade the remaining 3 fingers would rest well on the handle. The only thing could be the clip which tends to burry itself in the palm when holding the knife tight, maybe having the clip on the end of the handle could solve this (but I prefer tip down).

I don’t think shortening the blade is an option as it’s really too long and it would also require to shorten the handle. Seeing as the only reason to have a slip joint over a locking knife would be EDC I’m happy to go ahead with the coil mod.

As I don’t want to do this only using my small metal saw and sandpaper… can anyone suggest some good/budget rotary files to use on a drill for making the coil, preferably from UK dealer?

Thanks

15

For the Cryo choil I used these Dremel sanding drums. Going slowly to avoid ruining temper, they were quite easy to work with:
http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Tools/Pages/ToolDetail.aspx?pid=407

16

Because every child has a credit card and a Paypal account.

I’d just have sued the BBC.

17

Just a heads-up, Exduct now stock the 9054MUC-GP and the 7053LP slip joint and 7053MP liner lock same knife style, different locks.
Prices could be better but that’s Exduct, they do carry a lot of knives that are unavailable elsewhere without a lot of searching.

18

That’s a good looking job.
Chloe, or anyone, have you ever tried the Dremel Speed-Click (or EZLock in the U.S.A)?

19

Fasttech now has 9054 in black and green for $13. Crazy cheap! SRM 9054

20

Cutting edge is now less than 3 inch, and very nice to hold… :wink: