Any orginal ganzo/sanrenmu designs ?

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ajkungfu

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Oct 4, 2015
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I was wondering, Do any of you know if ganzo or sanrenmu (or any chinese knife companies like enlan, tekut, bee ect.) have orginal designs and not copies ? Cause a majority of their knives are just chinese copies of popular knife company models.
 
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Ganzo G7212
ganzo-g7211-gr-g7211-bk-g7212-bk-g7212-gr.jpg
 
Looks alittle similar to a protech godfather but not to much we're I would consider it a copy. Thanks this one will probably be on my list. Anyone else ?
 
I think most SanRenMu designs are "original", they just have a rap for using elements protected by US patents, like the Axis lock. I'm not a big fan of most of their designs and it's true that their most popular knife is pretty close in style to a downsized Sebenza 21. Most are small blades (less than 2.5") and exceptionally heavy for the size.

Ganzo is a mix of bad original designs (like above, I bought one of those Ganzo autos and the fit and finish on it was pretty bad), fused copies (like a RAT with an Axis lock) and almost complete copies like their rip-offs of Benchmade.

At this point the Byrd knives, the Chinese Kershaws, the Chinese Spydercos and the new offerings from RealSteel are head and shoulders above the SanRenMu and Ganzo offerings...for not that much more money.

I guess there's something to be said for a $15 knife that is functionally ok, but I'd counsel anyone to pass on those cheap knives and save up for something from one of the lines above.

I know I may come across sounding like a knife snob, but if all you can afford for a knife is $15, you're WAY better off getting a good box cutter. Serious.
 
Oh, and the Enlan/Bee EL-01 is a decent original knife for the dollar, probably better than anything from SRM, but it looks like they're getting harder to find.
 
I have one of those Ganzo G7212's (stonewashed finish), and I have 4 of the G7211 (same knife, satin finish). I bought the 212 first, and I was so impressed by it that I bought the other 4. I've been very happy with them.

I really like the look and design of this knife. Before I bought the first one I searched the internet to try and find out if the knife was a copy, because if it was I would have bought the original, assuming it would be of higher quality. But I didn't find anything that looked identical, or even close.
 
Actually spyderco confirmed that most of their chinese knives are made by SRM. And im not saying that im gonna buy any of these cause I perfer to not buy chinese knives just on a moral standpoint. I just want to know if their are any designs that are orginal to them
 
ajkungfu said:
Actually spyderco confirmed that most of their chinese knives are made by SRM.
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Wow, that's a new one to me. It's been speculated that SRM was an OEM for Benchmade a long time ago, but SRM = Spyderco? I always thought Spyderco ran their own shops. Do you have a source for this?
 
Hackenslash said:
I think most SanRenMu designs are "original", they just have a rap for using elements protected by US patents, like the Axis lock.

I know I may come across sounding like a knife snob, but if all you can afford for a knife is $15, you're WAY better off getting a good box cutter. Serious.
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Yeah, that patent expired (in 2013), much like the one on the Edgepro that many here seem to be so hung up on.
And you'd probably be surprised at some of the knives that come out of those Chinese factories.
I picked one up just because I had to see what they were about, and for $15 it was way better quality than it has a right to be.
G10 scales, axis lock, 8CR steel, skeletonized liner, threaded thumb studs, bronze pivot washers, perfectly centered blade, it holds an edge as well as my Buck 110 or Schrade Uncle Henry, and the fit an finish is just as good, if not better.

I'll take it over any box cutter any day, and there are a helluva lot worse knives that could be bought for the same money (BudK anyone?)...
 
Look out for Twosun knives, not as easy to find as those mentioned but original designs and great fit & finish.
 
ajkungfu said:
Actually spyderco confirmed that most of their chinese knives are made by SRM. And im not saying that im gonna buy any of these cause I perfer to not buy chinese knives just on a moral standpoint. I just want to know if their are any designs that are orginal to them
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I was unaware of this. Can you post a link to corroborate?
 
Yeah, that patent expired (in 2013),
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The USPTO shows the Axis Lock patent as a utility patent. According to the FAQs at stopfakes.gov utility patents are good for 20 years from date of filing. The Axis Lock patent was filed 12 July 1996 according to the USPTO database. So, my understanding is that the Axis Lock patent doesn't expire until July 12th of this year. What am I misunderstanding?
 
ajkungfu said:
I was wondering, Do any of you know if ganzo or sanrenmu (or any chinese knife companies like enlan, tekut, bee ect.) have orginal designs and not copies ? Cause a majority of their knives are just chinese copies of popular knife company models.
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Most SRM knives are original designs. Just because their most famous models use certain familiar design cues does not translate to their entire lineup being copies.

Enlan has lots of original designs as well, although i can readily identify a few that are clearly based off another brand's offerings. Also, Enlan has apparently OEMed for Boker Magnum before, so there are bound to be similarities.

And Ganzo seems to love Benchmade a lot.
 
killgar said:
I have one of those Ganzo G7212's (stonewashed finish), and I have 4 of the G7211 (same knife, satin finish). I bought the 212 first, and I was so impressed by it that I bought the other 4. I've been very happy with them.

I really like the look and design of this knife. Before I bought the first one I searched the internet to try and find out if the knife was a copy, because if it was I would have bought the original, assuming it would be of higher quality. But I didn't find anything that looked identical, or even close.
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yes my G7212 has perfect action and F&F. I don't know anyone who complained about those Ganzo autos, they're really good knives.
 
This is based entirely on vague (mis)rememberings, but I think I read that SRM was getting out of the game of clones and pushing more original designs, including their higher end Real Steel line.
 
I can't find the exact video, but basically this guy was talking about a sanrenmu 710 and then halfway threw he mentioned that someone at spyderco confirmed that they make some of the byrd line. So I checked the desc and he had a link to a screenshot, which showed the email but I can't find it now.
 
Here are some SRM knives I've purchased lately.

This little scalpel-like knife is nice on a keychain and ladies seem to like them as gifts. They come in 4 sizes.

I like the pointier of these two although it's a little Klingon-like for my tastes. It's lived in my back pocket being sat upon etc. for a month or two. Held up well.

Many of the Sanrenmu offerings are actually less than $15 and are 8cr13mov. I'd rather a non-knife type individual get something like this instead of what they would get elswhere for that.

As has been said, most SRM knives are not copies.
 
Larcivs Lepidvs said:
yes my G7212 has perfect action and F&F. I don't know anyone who complained about those Ganzo autos, they're really good knives.
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My Ganzo auto isn't that great. The liners and G10 are ill-fitted and the action is "creaky". Mine is the G721, not the same one you're talking about...or an earlier version.
 
I've owned the Bee L01 or whatever that popular Bee knife is. It was a nice knife for sure, I gave it away as a gift though.

I just recently had my SRM 710 taken away at the airport. Forgot it was in my backpack. DOH! It's okay I ordered a new one for $10. No big deal. I really like this knife. It's a great quality knife for $10. I think it's a lot like the Ultrafire flashlights and stuff. They CAN make nice stuff, but you might order two and have the fit and finish be completely different between the two :rolleyes:
 
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