Review: Enlan EL-04 MCT

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers
1

Enlan EL-04 MCT

Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

Summary:

Blade Metal: 8Cr13Mov Stainless
Lock: Axis
Handle Material: Micarta
Length (open): 203 mm
Length (closed): 117 mm
Weight (g): 141g
Price Paid: $16.31 shipped
From: ExDuct
Date Ordered: 01 Jan 2012

Pros:

  • Big
  • Fits hand well
  • Sturdy
  • Looks cool

Cons:

  • Axis lock is stiff
  • Movement is a little rough

Features / Value: ★★★★☆

I'm not a knife expert by any means, so I'm just going to write up a few things about this knife that I bought recently from ExDuct. It arrived inside a plastic wrapper in an Enlan box in about 4 weeks from ExDuct. I had previously bought the SanRenMu 763 and like it a lot, but it is kind of small. I had heard good things about the larger Enlan EL series of knives and my brother wound up buying a couple of them (EL-03 and L05). The EL-03 was quite heavy, but the rosewood L05 was about right. I saw the EL-04 MCT and was intrigued by the neat looking design.

It is basically an oversized 763 with the clip (unlike the 763, not reversible) and the axis lock. While the 763 has GRB leaves on the sides, this has Micarta, which seems to be basically the same thing. There are layers of black and grayish-green layers of fiberglass or whatever this stuff is. Then they machine it down a little with finger ridges and give it this natural looking grain look.

The blade is stainless steel 8Cr13Mov which is the same as the SRM. It seems pretty sharp to me and has some ridges on the back of the blade for a good grip. It fits my hand quite well, even though I am left-handed and the clip is kind of in the way.

Design / Build Quality: ★★★★☆

The light seems quite sturdy. The blade is well centered when closed and came very sharp. There is no play side-to-side. While some people have said the micarta handle is too slick, it is pretty well textured with diagonal ridges and shaped for fingers, so I think it offers a very good grip. The clip is quite stiff. There is a nice weight to this knife and a good form factor, though it is kind of big for EDC in a pocket.

The downside for me is the axis lock is very stiff and and the blade movement is a little gritty opening or closing the knife and bearing against the axis. The SRM is really smooth and the axis has a light enough touch to be moved with one finger. The Enlan really needs the axis pulled on from both sides. I don't know if this is just the price you pay for a bigger knife, but it seems a little much. The axis itself seems a little crooked looking down into the spine of the knife. I wonder if that is part of the problem.

In comparison with the smaller and lighter 763:

SRM 763 Enlan EL-04 MCT
Length, open 157 mm 203 mm
Length, closed 93 mm 117 mm
Weight 59 g 141 g

I showed this knife to a friend who hunts and likes knives. When I showed him the SRM last year, he asked me to order two of them for him. But with this knife he did not. He thought it was still a good value, but not something he had to have. He pointed out the indent at the base of the blade isn't big enough to get your finger into, but I think your finger is supposed to be back on the handle, not close to the sharp edge. He pointed out that while the blade is sharp, the angle makes the edge quite fine and subject to quickly dulling. I think this is true of most Chinese knives though.

Summary: ★★★★☆

Seems like a good knife to me. I like the snake skin sort of design to the micarta handle. It is comfortable and secure to hold. The axis lock is a little hard to pull back and the movement is a little gritty, but otherwise this seems like a first class knife if the SRM 763 seems too small.

2

The EL04 is a nice one (I have only the G10 handle version - this MCT version looks relly good). If it is open, the handling is great (better as the EL02/EL02B/EL01), but if it is closed it is to wide 3,8cm (not very good for a pocket), the EL02B has only 3,1cm and looks more exclusive.

3

I have the EL04 w/G10 scales, and the axis lock is indeed stiff. I still prefer liner locks in general, but the EL04 has a quality feel to it. I like that it is tip-up carry. I'm not sure that it shares much with the 763 besides the axis lock, since there are significant differences in the blade shape and scale composition (the 763's is almost all G10, with hardly any steel liner, making it extremely light).

My L01-1 has similar micarta grips, and is a rather cool large knife, but it is tip-down carry. Still searching for that perfect fit, it seems. Quality Chinese knives, in general, seem to be in short supply these days.

A good fit, for me, would be a larger-than-usual SRM 710 (which currently unavailable, for the most part) with tip-up carry. I see that David with Hello Gift now carries a knockoff of a Chris Reeve knife, called the F32, which is exactly that - but I wonder about the quality (not SRM, Enlan or Bee).

4

Love the looks of this knife, will probably buy it together with EL-01, someday... when I have more cash :D!

Good to hear another positive review, thanks!

5

Thats funny. The only folding knifes I have ever purchased are these exact same ones. 763 and el-04. They seem a popular choice.

6

Just took delivery of 2 EL-04 MCT and I'm impressed with the feel of the macarta scales and the out of the boxsharpness of the blade. I feels like a quality knife in hand. But the axis is wayyyy too stiff and makes it more of a 2 hand operation to close the knife (which I do not like).

The beauty of a well done axis lock is that you can pull back on the lock (from open) and let the weight of the blade close the knife for an easy one hand close. No such luck though with this Enlan as the stiff axis lock makes it tough to get the lock pulled back with 1 hand and the weight of blade does not effortlessly swing the blade close when I am able to get the lock pulled back (maybe the pivot needs adjusting?).

Even with this limitation, I still really like this knife.

Edit: looks like the WD40 lubricant I applied earlier has loosened the blade a bit (in a positive way) as the blade now will swing half way down from open when pulling back on the axis lock...allowing for easier 1 handed close operation. Still not the free swinging blade I'm use to with axis locks but a definite improvement.

7

with use that stiffness may work to your benefit. bought 4 EL-01 about a year ago and gave away the three that opened easily to friends. keeping the one that opened with some effort for myself.

segue to a year later and one of the knives would be considered loose and brought back to me to tighten the pivot bolt and try to make less "floppy".

the one i kept and have been using has loosened slightly to a perfect flick. and one of my favorites. sometimes just using it for a while will make it "your" knife.

8

Good points Hyde, but that hasn't been my experience with axis locks. The two becnchmade griptilians I've had regular access to (1 mine and 1 a friends) are both over a year old...and though the blades swing freely from gravity with the axis lock disengaged, they both still lock up solid with no noticeable blade play.

But I am hoping that time and usage loosens the stiffness of the enlan axis locks. I also will try adjusting the pivot to see if that helps the blade swing. But this is a heck of knife for under $20.

9

Does this have steel liners? I’m guessing not if it is this light weight.

10

I'm not 100% sure what a liner is, but this picture might help (I've also added it to the review). Click for a bigger version.

11

I'm guessing the liners are steel as this is not a light knife. The weight is around 4.9 ounces making it one of my heaviest knives.

12

Yes, the EL-04 has full steel liners. There are a few narrow grooves cut out in an attempt to reduce weight, but it isn't much.

The pic with the 763 shows that its liner extends only about halfway to the butt of the grip, up to the plastic spacer that closes the back and provides rigidity for the G10 scales. As a result, the 763 is extremely light.

13

Thanks for the clarification. The heavy weight and slipperyness are the biggest beefs I have with my EL02.

I'm surprised they haven't introduced more knives inspired by the 763.

14

I took some sandpaper to mine and gave it a little bit of grip .

Didn't sand it enough to reduce the weight much , though .

15

All my SRM that have axis locks are smooth but the Elans are all too stiff. I am not a fan of Enlan in general. Something just seems off in all of them. SRM, Navy and Ganzo are all pretty good. For some reason people on this site seem to favor the Enlan but that has not been my findings.
The Ganzo 710 is the smoothest axis lock I own and seems as good as my real Benchmade Axis locks. Time will tell if they hold up as well however.

16

Mine didn't flick open well until I lubed it and loosened the pivot screw with a small pair of needle nosed pliers .

17

I want to amend my statements about Enlan. It is true the first couple of Enlans I bought were not great but some of the recent Enlans have been great. Notably the El-01 which is a good knife and has no issues. Also, the Enlan EM-01 is the best small/medium sized budget knife I own!

The EM-01 is not a full sized knife like the larger EL-01 or the EL-04, it’s more of a Sanremu 710 sized knife. Perfect for not scaring anyone but still big enough to use for many tasks. Out of perhaps 2 dozen different medium/small budget Chinese folders I have bought recently, the EM-01 is my fav.

The Sanrenmu 710 and Enlan 723 are both good smaller knives as well but they are all metal and heavy for their size.

18

I too used sandpaper to remove the cross lines machined into the Micarta and bring it back to what it’s supposed to be in the first place, velvety smooth with some grip. I kept the finger grooves, just removed those unsightly lines machined across it and got rid of the “mold” shine.

Micarta is essentially epoxy and linen. Strips of lined or canvas or fabric, whatever material was chosen, are dipped in epoxy then stacked. The best versions have tremendous pressure put on the stack as it cures, leaving the linen impregnated through and through with epoxy.

Different colors of materal can be used in the layers to provide character when finishing with finger grooves or radiusing edges.

I’m really liking my EL-04 and carry it daily, although I do have much better knives to carry. The Axis lock is proving difficult for me to master, having carried liner locks for nearly 20 years.