Not all ef (Eafengrow) knives are junk. Like everything else, you get what you pay for. I got an EF906 for Christmas & it is a serious instrument. They do a lot of clones which a lot of people are apposed to.
My recommendation is to stick to the titanium handled models which start at about $40. Also look for reviews. LTK on Youtube & a few others review many of Eafengrow knives.
I own a couple of EF (Eafengrow) folders and I like them. They are not as refined as a SRM Land 910plus or 9103 but for less than $20 shipped they are solid performers.
I have an EAB & also recommend it.
A while back, my clip broke. I called Gerber & they sent me a new clip right away. It is a compact & extremely useful instrument. The value is definitely worth the cost.
I normally do as well. I love the Ti handled one and still carry it most often. I was just happy to have the G10 one when I know I’ll be barehanded and wet. The G10 isn’t as thin as the Ti one but it makes up for it in grip. It’s not a small lightweight knife anyway so the extra thickness doesn’t really bother me too much. The clip though is awful. I’ll work on it this weekend and see if I can improve it a little.
This really turned out to be a great knife for the price. The machining is excellent. There is a hot spot edge, forward of the cut for the frame lock, but it’s situated such that it’s not in path of normal use. My first sole rear flipper (no other launch method). No blade play. My only “gripe” is that the handle is heavy. Compared to a similar sized Spyderco (Vrango), I’d be happier if the handle was 0.5oz lighter. BUT… it’s a minor gripe considering the price. Thanks again to folks here who encouraged me to buy it! :+1:
I’m satisfied enough that I’ve been able to resist temptation of buying more knives. Until I scrounge up enough cash for a $300~$400 “one time buy” high end knife, I’m not driven to get anything else.
Edited: because I rushed through your post.
It is a framelock. Some of the Chinese vendors have to picture it that way to be able to sell it legally. Some photoshop it & some have models that just don’t have that machining completed just for these photos.
Yes, you’re right. Before I bought it, I couldn’t find it in the photos and was puzzled. I wrote to the seller and they said it has a lock. But then I posted about it here in the Budget Knives topic and someone told me about this issue that it’s illegal in China for some reason. This frame lock works. It’s about 40% coverage of the lock by default, but then you can press it in so that it’s over 75%. I don’t mind that. Closure is easy normally. Then if you want more confidence, just press down. Requires a 2 handed unlock then, but that’s OK. Very solid in locked position.
One other minor gripe — the edges along the top side of the blade are almost hot spots. Very edgy, not smoothed over. Now, that could be a feature for some people. But I’d prefer it to be smooth. Once I get around to picking up a couple of metal files of different grades, I’m going to work on it a little. Knife is too cheap for future resale, so don’t care if I modify it.
Ah, ah, that’s a good one! I am pretty sure we all said that at one point or another, yet, here we are
Stared with Ganzos, Sanrenmu, Enlan etc… a few years ago.
Then moved to budget clones with Ti/D2
Then to premium clones Ti/CF/S35VN/M390
Then got a few originals from Boker, WE, Reate
etc, etc…
Knife collecting is a dangerous slope