Yes, the ergonomics of the EL02 are not the greatest... no comparison to the EL01,L05 and especially the 908. Weird finger grooves, sharp axis bar pins. The knife forces a more angled grip on you, in hammer grip position it is not so comfortable. If I read through (my very old) first impressions, I notice that I have gotten a lot less forgiving over time. Back then I was blown away by the value/money ratio... now I am a lot less forgiving, when there are (minor) flaws.
@GC: the EL02 is substantially bigger and has more heft to it compared to the L05-1. Remember EL=Extra Large / L=Large.
The EL04 is also very good (I have the G10 version), but the closed knife is much expanded (the picture of Horst show it well), but the ergonomics of EL04 is better.
The Navy K507 is another nice knife (this is the second knife I know with a stonewashed blade) and more a EDC as the big EL-class of Enlan.
Without the thumbpin (you have to remove it in Germany to carry it with you - you are not allowed to carry knives with a pin or a openhole like Spyderco in public) it’s easy to open with both hands.
At the moment my EDC is a SRM763 (sharp, small and has a bottel opener )
I carried mine around for some time too, but i don’t want to remove the thumbstuds… so in order to prevent problems with berliner cops, the only blade I’ve on me at the moment is the one in the Squirt ps4 :cry:
Has anyone been successful in taking this knife apart? What did you use for the odd shaped pivot pin and what size hex does it take for the handle screws?
I felt the same way at first, I used to like symmetrical knives better. The asymmetrical looked "broken" in the past to me. But since I now hold the EL08 and the Navy K507 in my hands, my reservations strike me as silly in hindsight. Especially the Navy should not miss in any collection. The slimness and smooth clip surface make it such a great knife and it's on sale. At least if one doesn't mind that the design is stolen from a 400 dollar knife.
I like my EL08, but it has some issues, detent ball tension is a little strong making it hard to flick open and the cut-out of the frame lock has some sharp corners. I am a little hesitant to recommend this one. The EL01, 909 have better build quality when I look at the finish.... but the EL08 is certainly a beast when opened and the perfect knife to use with gloves, because the grip is just massive and ergonomic... and the lock engages with authority. Overall a knife for people that think that the EL01 is too flimsy. ;-) The handle screws are Torx T8! ... ha... that's the size of the pivot screws on other knives.
You had me on the Navy at sale, but argggh . . another mixed grip. I’m not paying $400, but I’d buy the clone if it looked as good. Is that 909 the same as that green handled Land - that is a nice looking knife!
I thought I’d post a follow-up. I just ground the offending raised area of the handle using my random orbiter sander and now the handle is fine.
There is no need to take the knife apart to do this but initially I tried to do so. There was one screw on one side that wouldn’t come out. It would turn and the head wasn’t stripped but the threads must have been.
I’m not sure because it wouldn’t allow me to take one G10 handle off. While disassembled I checked out the axis lock springs. It looks like they are tack welded/soldered/glued on the spring end but I think they are really kept in place by a shallow compartment formed by the G10 handle when assembled.
I thought about simply removing one spring to see if it would lessen the tension (evenly) and make the axis lock easier to opperate. I decided not to potentially mess up this knife after all the grinding work I’d just done but that’s a possibility.
So, if anyone is really bugged by the bump in the handle…it’s easy to remove. I really like this knife so I’m glad the “fix” was relatively easy.
It worked for my fingers as well when I held it a certain way but it was annoying when I wanted to hold it in a different manner. Now I can hold it any way I want to.
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