I want to buy one because it has a nice flat ground blade plus the axis lock. Seems like they were everywhere for $15-20 a couple of years ago but now they have dried up.
Interesting knife! It’s a Spyderco Paramilitary blade with an Axis lock! Just my impression, but it seems Spyderco is aggressive in defending their designs and stopping others from producing blades that resemble theirs, especially their trademarked Spyderhole. For example, a clone of the Slysz Bowie would be most popular, but those have all but disappeared as well.
I’ve bought a lot of Ganzos and they are often good knives for the money. I actually bought one of the 729s in carbon fiber but I want the g-10 version. And I gave away my knife a couple of years ago thinking it would cheap and easy to replace.
There’s a rebranded knife from an Austrian webshop I believe, edelsteel ES802
(Edelstahl is German for clean steel, often falsely used for stainless steel)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/253512439921
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01N5PNFOY
One reviewer on Amazon says it’s better than the Ganzo G-729, another one says it has a too soft blade, so take it with a grain of salt.
Maybe @Isti242 would know a similar knife on aliexpress or dhgate
I was mostly familiar with the original Ganzo knives in D2. Those are decent for the money. I recently tried some of their “copied product” line. The 440C seems pretty soft. I made their ersatz Meadowlark my EDC for a bit and used it on my weekly cardboard. The edge is visibly chewed up now. Curiously, the spots that aren’t deformed are still fairly sharp. In comparison, the 8Cr13Mov blade on a real Meadowlark tends to dull more evenly and without the visible deformation. While I can push the mangled Ganzo edge longer on cardboard, the extra work in sharpening just isn’t worth it. Of course, the real Meadowlark in 8Cr13Mov isn’t worth it either due to the ridiculously high MAP of $28.70. For that kind of money, you can get a D2 Ganzo that’ll cut circles around it.
BTW, my experiences with cheap 440C via the QSP Parrot are exactly the same. It’s just not worth it. Unless you really love the visual aesthetic, there are lots of better budget options. Get one of the original Ganzo designs in D2 or try a Petrified Fish. For stainless, the Tangram Santa Fe in Acuto 440 is a real gem.