Ganzo firebird 6802al

I just got this model along with some others. This one impresses me enough to single it out. It was $8.30 shipped from GB. I didn’t expect much for the money but it is a really nice knife.

Pros:
Lockup is strong and solid in the open and close with zero play in any direction. Detents in open and close make this feel very solid.

Fit and finish perfect. Nicely rounded edges on aluminum grip and everything is machined well.

Surprisingly lightweight. That is something the China knives often fall short on. Many of the China knives are heavy for their size. This one feels just right.

Nice rubberized insert in grip helps with traction.

Well thought out jumping on back of spine and scales. It’s grippy but not abrasive to the thumb.

Edge came very sharp.

Looks good. Attractive matte gray handle and muted gray pocket clip just looks good.

Size is perfect for EDC. Your can get a full grip but it’s a fairly small knife overall. It’s not a beast and it’s not a mini knife that is too small to use. A lot of these China knives are sized funny. Some are way too big and some are just a little too small. It’s hard to tell from pics what you are going to get. This feels good in the hand.

Cons:

Tip up right hand carry only with no provisions for other carry methods. This is not a con for me as this is my preferred carry but lefties or people who prefer tip down may not like this.

The detents are so strong that it is hard to unlock and open. They may wear in with use but out of the box, they are too strong IMHO.

It’s not a silky smooth action. Feels a little gritty. This may smooth out and probably will but many of the Ganzos are so smooth that I know they could do better in this area.

The hole for opening is placed in such a way that it makes it somewhat difficult to open. Your thumb hits the scale first and combined with the stiff detent, it is more difficult to open than needed. This is minor as it’s perfectly usable but it could be slightly better.

Bottom line, for $8.30 I know of nothing better. This is ultra cheap but the quality is on par with a $30 knife. These would make nice inexpensive gifts or EDCs for people who like value.

I also got a F759m which is a well known knife right now. That one is much easier to open and is smoother. It is also lighter by a little. The f6802al has it beat in the looks department and grip feel. The blade is also longer by about 1/2” while having the same length handle. It also has a liner lock which is easier to use than the back lock but that seems to be a personal preference.

If you are looking for a small/medium EDC knife, this is an overlooked one in my view. The F759 is getting all the press lately but this one has some benefits. For $8.30, you can’t go wrong on this one.

Thanks for the review and pointing out this knife model.
The item description says “- Semi-automatic quick opening feature, faster to unfold / fold the blade than normal knives”
Could you maybe elaborate a little bit on this point? Is there a spring in the knife somewhere, does it jump out as quickly as other assisted opening knives?

Thank you!

It’s not assisted in any way. Just a standard liner lock. I didn’t notice that description but it’s not accurate.

I cant seem to find it? Link please.

funny thing, my search couldn’t find it either.

Looking for “ganzo” worked:
http://www.gearbest.com/pocket-knives-and-folding-knives/pp_603462.html

Thanks!

Thanks for the review

Can anybody point, where can be find out, what are BRD4116 stainless steel?

As far as I can make out it’s a Krupp 4116 but produced by a Krupp plant in China.
Whether it is Krupp owned or just a plant bought by China I don’t know. Cold Steel used it in it’s Krupp 4116 form in the Tanto Lite and
Outdoorsman Lite knives as well as a couple of others. I have had a Tanto Lite for a few years and the steel is a decent budget offering. I have the Ganzo G714 and the G7142 that use the BRD 4116 steel and it sharpens the same as Krupp 4116, easy, and edge retention seems a little better than 8Cr13MoV but it could be down to heat treat on particular knives.

Thank you

Update

I couldn’t let it just be so I fixed the hard deployment issue. I disassembled the knife and found the culprit. There is a tiny ball bearing set into the liner lock. I put it on my vise and with a small punch and hammer, one light tap and the ball bearing popped out. I reassembled it and smiled.

Gone is the struggle to open. It now can be flicked open with a light flick of the wrist. The hitch in the action when almost open is totally gone now and it feels glass smooth.

There is one small downside to doing this mod. In closed position the blade is now able to open with minimal force. It won’t fall open with gravity but there is now a chance of it opening up in your pocket or pack if it gets knocked around a bit. If you carry it in your front pocket clipped your your pocket like I do, this won’t happen as the blade will be retained against the pocket in normal carry so it’s not an issue for me but I wanted to melted the one possible drawback to this mod.

Personally this small mod changes this knife from a hard to open knife that would be relegated to the drawer with the dozens of others that just don’t quite work for me to something I will use and enjoy. For a sub $9 shipped knife, this is a great deal assuming you do this easy mod.

I think it would be possible to grind down the ball bearing to reduce the tension on the blade but I didn’t want to mess with assembly and disassembly if I didn’t grind enough and have to repeat. Ball bearing are hardened steel and it’s set in softer spring steel so I didn’t want to risk grinding into the liner lock steel if my dremil slipped off the tiny ball bearing.

The ball bearing in the detent. It is used to keep the blade in the closed position.

The are other ways to loose the detent but none of them are easy.

For me the strange thing when seeing the knife for the first time was the lanyard hole pattern.

Just like on my Enlan M021, the place for a long hole is visible but it’s not actually there.

Strange to me…

I guess you could use the last standoff to add a lanyard, I at least like that on smaller knives but I put one on any knife anyways.

Enlan M021

I cleaned off the paint before making glassfiber scales.

Funny thing is that the liners do have this long hole which is perfect to add a hidden (copper) pin for a lanyard.

Nice work Adahn. Love the colour and texture of the new scales. Include the work you did on the lanyard mounting point and it makes it a much improved and unique knife that is truly your own.

Nice work Adahn!

Knives are a very personal item, that’s why there will always be a market for new models. Everybody likes something different and sometimes we just get bored and want to try something else. I don’t know any knife enthusiast that has yet found the absolute perfect knife. Lol

There are people who don’t understand why someone would put time and money into a $10 knife. They are just not that into knives I guess. Thanks for pointing out that model of Enlan. I don’t have that one yet. I have the Enlan EM01 which is a really nice small knife. How does it compare and contrast with that one?

I never put lanyards on my folding knives. I feel they just get in the way. I do sometimes put them on my fixed blades depending on their use. It is strange that this knife has a shallow depression for what looks like what was intended to be a hole but it doesn’t bother me.

The detent on the 6802al is the biggest drawback. It’s just way too strong. It ruins an otherwise great knife. With it gone, it’s so much better of a knife.

Hey Ganzo, if you are listening, skip the extra work of adding a detent into this model and most people will like this knife more. It will save you a little bit of money and you will eventually sell more knives. It’s a win win for you! You are welcome for my consultation. If you would like to reward me for my expertise, feel free to send me free stuff.

Thank you 8steve88 and Speedsix

I actually used a cheap folder because I couldn’t afford to ruin a more expensive knife when I’m just trying something new.
Now after making some scales I feel confident enough to do that on an expensive knife, too, but I don’t have the funds to get one :stuck_out_tongue:

The M021 is an interesting little knife with good ergonomics and a well ground blade.
I also like the added choil and the one-sided thumb stud which is fixed with a screw.

I don’t like the pocket clip, it should be closer to the butt of the blade and it should have some jimping.
They should make one with anodized AL scales instead of that melting foil on AL, different colors could be interesting.

There’s also a black G10 version with lanyard hole but I’ve only seen it in Russian shops.
Somehow many Enlan knives seem to be exclusives for Ru.sites, but also on AliEx and DHG they seem to buy many knives.
Maybe the people there are more relaxed about edgy tools than they are in Europe :stuck_out_tongue:

I have a few knives with the “semi-automatic” thing in description from GearBest, and none of them are A/O. These two for example:
Sanrenmu 7129 LUC - SC http://www.gearbest.com/pocket-knives-and-folding-knives/pp_367461.html
Ganzo G7531 - CF http://www.gearbest.com/pocket-knives-and-folding-knives/pp_458179.html

I think GB got mixed up between one-hand opening and semi-automatic.