This is a Lionsteel M3 clone LionSteel M3 Hunter Fixed 4-1/2" Niolox Blade, Olive Wood Handles, Leather Sheath - KnifeCenter - M3 UL
I’ve just ordered a Pingo clone (sort of) from DHGate for $19.
There was one cheaper for around $15 but the seller wouldn’t send to the UK for some reason “friend ,we can’t send to UK” - maybe shipping to the USA and elsewhere is okay. I suppose I could have kept going at the vendor to see if he’d relent but didn’t bother for the sake of a couple of quid.
Anyway, clone-ish, but it has a different backspring/blade geometry meaning it has an exposed tang when the blade is closed. The scale logo markings are smaller than the real deal. The backspring and pivot screws are in different positions. There isn’t any choil jimping. Plus the Spyderhole, whilst purely decorative on the real one (to fit in with laws where OHO knives are prohibited such as Denmark) seems bigger and therefore possibly usable on the clone?
Anyway, I thought it was well worth 13 of my English pounds……
Thanks man! I don’t have the eye for clones a lot of people do… so it’s always good info.
Isti, which is bigger from this Brother 1601 and Ganzo G740 ?
If you had to choose one, what would it be?
Thanx
Hi Manx,
The G740 is the bigger one (details here), it comes with a longer and thicker blade with a longer cutting edge than the Brother 1601.
Both of them have their own merits. If you would like to try Spyderco’s ball lock and you prefer the opening hole and the finger choil on a wider blade go for the Brother 1601 otherwise for heavy duty cutting tasks my choice would be the G740.
Thank you very much Isti!
Is always a pleasure talk with you! (I’m a lurker of your blog too :+1: )
Hello isti,
the little Sanrenmu 7084 is a really nice looking little knife. When I saw that it’s even offered with a 12C27 Sandvik blade,
I spend immediately the few bugs at GB, to get one these tiny beauties. :sunglasses:
And for kind of decent compensation, I also ordered a Sanrenmu 9063 from FT. 
Manx:
You’re welcome! 
MACS:
The SRM 7084 is a little sturdy folder for sure and the dual tone (high polished - brushed satin) blade finish makes its appearance quite cool. :+1:
I'm getting kinda addicted to Kershaw...
You and me both! 
(Don't worry, though, it's a good addiction.)
I recognize the Clash and Scrambler, but what's this one?
Grid
That one did not have bronze bushings in it, it does now though.
That Scrambler is one heluva deal! Might be my favorite budget blade.
What do you think of the Grid?
(I may have to pick up one of those.) 
The Grid? It's ok, a little smoother feeling than I normally go for. Quality is not on par to the Scrambler.
Just bought a few used ones off the bay. Hinderer, Volt II RJ Martin and a Freefall. We'll see what those look like when they get here.
Anyone mod their budget knives?
I shortened and bead blasted my Navy K607 blade. It is now below 2.5" and the full sized handle makes for a very comfortable knife... Also bead blasted the S2+ with it... I like the bead blasted finish on both...
The edge took a while to get back after very slow grinding to the new profile. I think it is worth it...
Very cool. Nice work!
Wow! Nice work on both! They look great. :+1:
I actually decided to attempt my first mod this past weekend.
I have the Sanrenmu 7023 LUC-SA that I really like except for the tacky engraving that says “stainless steel folding knife” on the handle.
My first thought was to do a carbon fiber vinyl wrap on it.
While it looked really nice and the CF really suited well the knife, I wasn’t happy with the result.
I tried to do the wrapping 3 or 4 times but every time, no matter how I did it, I wasn’t able to make the wrapping being smooth on the corners and ended up always feeling the vinyl there.
So I gave up on the idea and decided to simply sand off the engravings.
5 to 10 min with 400 grit sand paper did the trick.
Then I decided to try to stonewash the scales.
And then, while I was at it, I also decided to try to acid etch the blade.
Here is what I ended up with
For it being my first mod, I’m very happy with it.
The stonewash ended up looking great.
The acid etch turned out nice as well but it’s also very dependent of how skilled you are with artwork and as you can see, painting is not my forte LOL!
Still, being pretty happy with the results, I decided to then acid etch my current EDC, a Syderco Domino clone.
Here are the results
Wow, I like your way of making them personal, thanks for sharing
bdpf79 - they look great - what acid procedure did you use?
Thanks.
I used nail polish to cover the areas that I didn’t want etched (artwork + blade edge + areas that make contact with othe critical parts like washers, lockbar, detente ball hole, etc…).
Then dipped in Ferric Chloride for 1h.
Then used nail polish remover and sanded with 400 grit sand paper.
Here and here are the 2 main tutorials that I used.
For the stonewash, I pretty much did the same thing as here .The only difference is that I first dipped the scales in Ferric chloride for about 20s before stonewash.
That darken them a bit. Also, instead of the plastic container + socks, I used one of the small cans of paint (filled with the rocks in between 1/3 to 1/2), closed the lid, then wrapped it inside a towel, taped the towel, put it inside the dryer with a couple of other towels for 1h in cold cycle.
Hope that helps.