I received these the other day. The Enlan knives have really impressed me. While not overly sharp on arrival. They sharpen excellently. For the money they seem like a lot of bang for the buck. If you want a good knife & don’t wanna drop a wad of cash… Might wanna check these models out…
We’ll start with The Enlan EM-01
Awesome little knife, be great for carrying places where at the sign of a blade people start to freak. Shouldn’t be too alarming to those around you. Not to mention it sharpened up razor sharp with only a few passes over my Arkansaw soft stone. I think it cost me like $7.52 at Fasttech… Definitely worth looking into
Details:
Blade length: 2.79” (71 mm)
Blade thickness: 0.098” (2.5 mm)
Blade steel: 8Cr13MoV Stainless Steel (58 HRC)
Open length: 6.33” (161 mm)
Closed length: 3.58” (91 mm)
Weight: 2.64 oz (75 g)
Handle: G-10 with steel liners
Lock: liner lock
The next is my new found favorite. The Enlan EL-01KH ( I also have a black one on the way )
A bit bigger than it’s brother. You prolly wouldn’t want to carry this to a cocktail party. Great knife though, just like it’s little brother. A few passes over the sharpening stone & it was razor sharp. Can’t wait for my black one to get here. These two will be my primary EDC’s from now on. Both are very well build… A bit tight out of the box, nothing a dab of three in one oil didn’t cure…. I am really surprised by the quality of these knives & their design. While the Sanrenmu’s are OK… I won’t be buying anymore. Not while these are available. This one was $16, I paid a bit more for a stateside shipper.
Details:
Blade length: 3.70” (94 mm)
Blade steel: 8Cr13MoV Stainless Steel (57-59HRC) same as the entry level Spyderco and Byrd knives
Open length: 8.26” (210 mm)
Closed length: 4.52” (115 mm)
Weight: 5.43 oz (154 g)
Handle: G-10
Lock: liner lock
Carry: right hand tip up
I’ve just got an Enlan EL-01D with the rosewood scales. I already have an EL-01 black G-10 and 2 EL-04MCT’s with Axis lock and sculpted Micarta scales. I’m thinking of filling the grooves in the scales on the EL-01’s with Epoxy and glow in the dark powder.
The EL-01s all come a bit slow to open but a spray through the pivot with contact cleaner followed by an oiling along with a good flipping session sorts them out, a small price to pay for a knife as strong as these.
The one thing they have in common is very good quality, not just in an inexpensive knife but good quality full stop.
I like the look of that Khaki one and they come in Grey as well, what with the black blade versions and the part serrated versions there’s no shortage of models to collect.
The EM-01 is a great knife as well, the only thing missing is a flipper.
I can’t see me buying any knife but the Chinese knives in the near future!
I’ve sat around sharpening these darn things & playing with them all week. I have several little nicks all over my hands. Trying to ‘dial’ in these actions & locks takes a toll on the fingers.
The identifier is not all that logical, the -B is the black blade the -A is the straight edge yet the -AB is the satin finish part serrated blade, the -KH is the khaki version and the -GY is the grey scaled one, oh and the -D is the wood scaled type.
Looks like more uncomfortable plastic handles. If they had wooden handles, it would only take another knife to make them comfortable. Plastic takes much longer to shape. But thanks for the tip about the blade quality.
@Fritz, G10 is made out of nylon thread and glass (perhaps you already know), its surprisingly strong for how lightweight it is. The edges are beveled smooth and the texture is really grippy, it doesn’t feel like plastic at all to me, its closer to a carbon fiber or woven kevlar texture.
I like the wooden scales version for looks but I probably won’t get one, I haven’t held one but I think I would prefer the G10 in the way of feel and grip.
The first good quality chines knife i bought was an enlan el01 years ago. And a lot of knives after, the el01 still is one of the best. I don’t know why they don’t make the el01-2.
There are only a few fliper knives and i really like flipers!.
The em01 is too small because i like knives bigger, like the EL series from enlan. For example the ganzo g704 is smaller than the enlan EL series in general.
I just said I like wooden handles, but looking at the design, there is no bolster and at least on the KH the liner is split for the locking, so the handle supports the blade pivot. Rosewoods are dense, but there are probably denser and stronger woods that could be used, and I now see the value of fiber reinforced composite plastic.
