Sanrenmu ZB-681 - Minireview
Size |
Tiny |
Blade | 8Cr13MoV (59 mm) |
Handle | Zytel, black (74 mm) |
Lock | Back lock |
Price | $6.50 |
From | Exduct.com |
Size
The SRM 681 is a tiny lightweight knife which is one of the reasons I bought it. When closed it is approx. 74 mm in length and when opened approx. 133 mm. The blade is 59 mm long and 2 mm thick (thickest part) and the knife weighs approx. 35 grams.
Size compared to a Xtar 18700.
Clip
The SRM 681 is a tip up carry and has a sturdy clip which is 43 mm in length. It is not possible to switch the position of the clip. About 14 mm of the knife is visible when using the clip. It has also a lanyard hole that fits standard 550 paracord.
Blade
The SRM 681 is pretty much razor sharp straight out of the box. I managed to lose a bit of hair on the back of my hand while testing it . The knife tip is also quite pointy. The blade is almost centered spot on with no vertical blade play.
Handle
The handle is black and made of zytel. Half of the handle is smooth (marked with yellow color in the picture below) and the other half is textured (marked with red color in the picture below) which provides a decent grip, but due to the small size of the handle it is only possible for a 2½-3 finger grip depending on the size of your hands. I wouldn't mind if the whole handle would have been textured.
Thumbstuds and gimping
The SRM 681 has dual thumbstuds which allows both right and left handed use. The gimping is quite "aggressive" which in my opinion provides a better grip for your thumb than the gimping on the SRM 763.
Operation
Due to the fact that the SRM 681 is tiny and it uses a back lock it is harder to open than e.g. a 710 or a 763, but it can still be opened using one hand. The design of the knife makes it feel comfortable to use. The edges are rounded and the clip is placed so you hardly notice it is there (perhaps a bit more noticeable if you're left handed).
Quality
The overall quality of the knife is on par with other Sanrenmu knives I have (SRM 710 and SRM 763). The quality of the blade is good, but the handle has some very minor imperfections (rough or uneven edges) which can be seen in some of the pictures above. However they are only visible if you look closely.
Pros
- Razor sharp out of the box
- Inexpensive
- Lightweight and tiny (since this is what I was looking for)
- No vertical blade play
- Comfortable to hold
- Nice design (in my opinion)
Cons
- Back lock (a very minor con, works well but harder to unlock compared to the axis lock of the 763 which is why I listed it as a con)
- Cannot switch the clip to the opposite side
- (Minor imperfections in the zytel handle)