My Knives Just Arrived!!! Just Bought 18 Knives for Under $200, Good Buy?

[knarfeng]

I went to Exduct and purchased a whole selection of 18 knives from the Sanrenmu, Enlan, Navy, Bee and Ganza Lines.

1) What do you all think?

2) Anyone Else done something like this?

So you have asked two questions. Here are two answers.

1) I think that, when I have a choice, I buy American. I have too many friends out of work to do otherwise. If I buy foreign-made, it is because I cannot find what I need domestically. Not because of low price. I have foreign made knives that I bought in order to try blade alloys or design features that I could not find on US-made knives.

No, I have never spent $200 for a knife or knives all at one time.

[Mattman888]

I actually did something like this, I payed probably... $180.00 and got a bunch of sanrenmu knives, Honestly some of them are really good well made with amazing fit and finish, i'd say in 14 I got, about 3 of them have been less then expected. Its a good way too find a model you like, just give away the ones that don't float your boat! I use all my sanrenmu's as major beater knives.

[CWL]

Do what makes you happy, this is a free country.

When it comes down to it, we only have 2 hands, so owning more than 2 knives is superfluous -yet most of us own way way more than we'll ever need.

[Shotgun]

Do what makes you happy, this is a free country.

When it comes down to it, we only have 2 hands, so owning more than 2 knives is superfluous -yet most of us own way way more than we'll ever need.

I agree. I don't get why people collect things but you seem happy so...awesome. Hope you get some you really take a shine to.

[T.K.C.]

I would rather have two or three good Kershaws or Spydercos for 200$ than a boatload of cheap Sanrenmu knives any day.

But that's just me. I prefer quality over quantity, personally.

Yup, I agree.

[hatchetjack]

Only you can decide if it was a good buy for you. It puzzles me why someone does something then asks other people if the did right by it.

It'll keep you busy that's for sure and you can always gift the ones you don't want to keep.

[Slider817]

Only you can decide if it was a good buy for you. It puzzles me why someone does something then asks other people if the did right by it.

It'll keep you busy that's for sure and you can always gift the ones you don't want to keep.

That was not a question looking for affirmation. But rather just to start interesting dialogue

[Slider817]

I would rather get a heavily used Sebenza for $200, pay ~$30 to tune it up, and carry it for 15 years.

I would do the same exact thing. But instead of rather I would do both.

[hardheart]

My last 3 chinese made knives cost about $24 total, my last 3 US made customs cost right around 45 times that.

[richarjs]

quantity has a quality all it's own.

[rprocter]

I bet you guys who are dissing SRM knives have never held one. I received the model 710 as a freebee when i bought an unused small Sebenza on the secondary market. Checked it over, super tight tolerances, silky smooth action and hair poppin blade. So i decided to carry it for a few days. Most of my work is outside, landscaping/gardening/clearing brush so that's the kind of gritty rough use it gets. That was about 6 months ago, i never go anywhere without it, original edge is still sharp.
So then i bought a bunch more from 2 different sellers, one in China, the other in Hong Kong. All are really well made knives. I've got Benchmades, Kershaws, Sebenzas, J.W.Smith, Larry Chew, and more, all medium to high end. These SRM knives i think are as good as the Blue Class Benchmades (and the design of some might be copied from BM).
I don't care if some people refuse to believe this. What does bother me are statements like "ya it's from China so it's crap", as some have implied in this thread.
Some of the best production knives in the world right now are coming out of China. You can read the same thing in many of AGR's knife descriptions.
The Hanwei knives i have are even better than the SRM (and about 5x the price). There are 2 "Rock Creek" folders at about $40 each that come close to Sebenza quality (and are much sharper). Not as stout a build, but plenty strong enough for 99.9% of all the cutting you'll ever want to do. I also have a Rock Creek Fixed Blade, it's excellent.
I mostly hang out in Customs and Traditionals and BRL forums but i came over here to see if others had discovered what a great knife the SRMs are.
If you think they're 'crap', buy a few, they're only $10-$20. Then carry and use them. You will be impressed and sell your Sebenzas. I did.
roland

[Josh K]

If you think they're 'crap', buy a few, they're only $10-$20. Then carry and use them. You will be impressed and sell your Sebenzas. I did.
roland

This is a joke, right?

[Speed Triple]

You guys are very lucky to buy knives at the prices I hear. In South Africa we pay $150 for the same knife that costs you $50. This was calculated with exchange rate in mind. Taxes cannot be that high.

[Joshua J.]

If you have a drawer full of Sebenzas, and can't think of any other gear that needs upgrading (watch, power tools, guns, car, computer, etc...) I would put the money toward a camping trip or sky diving, something that makes life worth living. To blow $200 on 18 pieces of metal that do the same thing as the dozens of other knives you already have, seems... insane.

[wmc1982]

Skipping out on the middleman ($30 a knife) will save you money, so you are getting knives in the $30-$50 range. The SRM's are great quality and thats the warehouse where places like spyderco send the Tenacious to get made. So the SRM and Bee/Enlan are the best of the best in China, so I think trying out a few is worth it. I personally ordered 5 myself. I love the look of the wooden Bee L05-1.

It's a tough debate though. Where does the line cross in design copying? The 710 looks a lot like two knives I know of. But the quality is that of a $50 knife. It's solid. Another solid one, arguably the best made knife in China is the Bee EL01.

Navy and Ganzo are like their budget knives, so I would stick to Bee and SRM



I personally got tired of saying only buy American. It's not up to us, it's up to the manufacturers in America to keep the jobs here. Maybe when I can find a job I'll buy only American. 95% of my knives are all American too, so if China has a cool looking knife I'm going to get it.

[Slider817]

I bet you guys who are dissing SRM knives have never held one. I received the model 710 as a freebee when i bought an unused small Sebenza on the secondary market. Checked it over, super tight tolerances, silky smooth action and hair poppin blade. So i decided to carry it for a few days. Most of my work is outside, landscaping/gardening/clearing brush so that's the kind of gritty rough use it gets. That was about 6 months ago, i never go anywhere without it, original edge is still sharp.
So then i bought a bunch more from 2 different sellers, one in China, the other in Hong Kong. All are really well made knives. I've got Benchmades, Kershaws, Sebenzas, J.W.Smith, Larry Chew, and more, all medium to high end. These SRM knives i think are as good as the Blue Class Benchmades (and the design of some might be copied from BM).
I don't care if some people refuse to believe this. What does bother me are statements like "ya it's from China so it's crap", as some have implied in this thread.
Some of the best production knives in the world right now are coming out of China. You can read the same thing in many of AGR's knife descriptions.
The Hanwei knives i have are even better than the SRM (and about 5x the price). There are 2 "Rock Creek" folders at about $40 each that come close to Sebenza quality (and are much sharper). Not as stout a build, but plenty strong enough for 99.9% of all the cutting you'll ever want to do. I also have a Rock Creek Fixed Blade, it's excellent.
I mostly hang out in Customs and Traditionals and BRL forums but i came over here to see if others had discovered what a great knife the SRMs are.
If you think they're 'crap', buy a few, they're only $10-$20. Then carry and use them. You will be impressed and sell your Sebenzas. I did.
roland

I think you some good points. But having both the Sebenza and the 710 it's hard to claim they come close. If it's just in terms of utility a kitchen pairing knife in a cardboard sheath will cut fine. And when you start getting into higher end knives the differences become more minor. And people who have been collecting and using all sorts of knives especially the higher end stuff know this. But they love the tiny details.
I looked into the rock creek brand. And they look excellent, I am going to order the Teton Folder. It less reminds me of a Sebenza and more of a Fallkniven but I am looking forward to it. I don't plan on ever selling my Reeve knives. But I just got the CRKT Drifter in stainless and have been very impressed.
Thanks so much

[cziv]

I know lots of you are going to say for $200 you could have bout 2 benchmades, or 4 Spydercos, or for $100 more a Sebenza, But I have tons of those.

You have tons of Sebenzas? How about making me a good deal on one, I've wanted one for a long time. I have two SRM 710's (new), I can throw in to sweeten the pot.

[bruss]

lets face it...theres just no getting away from "china crap", for xmas presents for me this year i got a $90 pair of dr marten boots a $110 cabelas traditional II fly rod and a $100 g. loomis fly reel..all quality stuff and guess what ? all made in china, i dont own a china knife but i am curious now to see what they are like

[rprocter]

Quote Josh K "This is a joke, right?"
Answer: No.
Until recently i firmly believed "you get what you pay for", that there is a a direct, almost linear relationship, between price and quality.
Collecting and playing around with knives is my hobby and being retired i get to spend a lot of time at it and really enjoy every aspect of 'knifing'. I buy a really wide variety of knives often just to see what a certain brand or knife is like.
For the last few years i've been buying Customs, often in the $500 range from well respected USA knifemakers. I love my Customs. They are very special to me.
I've also bought a lot of various 'offshore' production knives.
It has taken me a long time to get over the mental hurdle of cheap price equals poor quality materials and workmanship. I was biased against very inexpensive knives and would really look hard at them to find evidence of lesser quality. Often they are kind of 'lacking' but a few of these offshore brands have consistently proven to be of a quality far higher than their price would suggest.
So now i'm almost over this prejudice of low price equals crappy knife.
I still buy Customs as well as American manufactured production knives because i really love any well made knife. The SRM, Hanwei and a few others have finally taught me to judge a knife independantly from it's price.
I'll be listing my one remaining fancy large Classic Sebenza shortly.
roland

[Slider817]

You have tons of Sebenzas? How about making me a good deal on one, I've wanted one for a long time. I have two SRM 710's (new), I can throw in to sweeten the pot.

Sorry, I have many Spydercos and Benchmades aprox 40+, but only 3 Chris Reeves, and I am Keeping them, sorry, but I think you should definetly get a Reeve knife if you havent had one yet, my personel favorite is the Umnumzaan.