Custom traditional Thai Enep

philllll

philllll

Joined
May 23, 2013
Messages
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I just received this one after a long ride across the big pond. It is absolutely amazing and I wanted to share it with you all.

Discussing SE Asian traditonal knives with my good friend Jay, I mentioned I liked the looks of some of the eneps from Thailand. He told me not to bother with the cheap tourist stuff, he will find me a special one that any Thai person would be proud to own.

The maker goes by Mana and has loads of talent. He makes lots of other styles of knives, integral bolster kitchen knives, knives for cutting comps (the Thai are very serious about their cutting comps), but I wanted something traditional. Mana forged this enep for me out of bearing steel, 52100 equivalent. The flowing lines, significant distal taper, and perfectly ground bevels really showcase his skills. The handle is some type of rosewood I think, very beautiful obviously and with a whole lot of chatoyancy.

The enep weighs 18.5 ounces and is 21.5" overall with a 13" blade and 8.5" handle.

Please forgive my amateur photos, I think they just barely do the knife justice.

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Here is a progress pic of the knife after grinding, and a photo of Mana in his shop with the finished knife.

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Super cool piece! :cool:


There's a guy at work that is an all around, big, bad-ass-m*-f*... He teaches knife fighting and MMA type stuff. He spent many years of his childhood in SE Asia which heavily influenced his fighting style and his preferences on knives. He has really increased my appreciation for this style of blade.

Thank you for sharing. :)
 
Amazing knife!
I really like the enep but, unfortunately, it's not easy to find a good thai knife maker on the web.
 
Sheath?

I have an E-nep from Thailand, most certainly not for tourists.

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I got this from fellow Forumite located in the region....mine is 11 1/2" blade, please explain differences between "tourist" and "real traditional, for use"?

I like the steel ferrule very much, but was told brass was traditional. Mine has a rounded, not peaked spine and tapers from 3/16" to 3/32" almost at the point....definitely a chopper, but NOT balanced in such a way to not be used as a fighter.

Thanks, and Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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Thanks for the compliments everyone.

STeven, the sheath is kind of useless, made from rattan and the tip sticks out the bottom. Jay said it's just for storing the blade as you should always have the knife out and in hand when trekking in the jungle.

I think you got me on the "tourist vs. traditional" question. I guess I meant "costs more than $50 and doesn't look like it was run over by a dump truck." :confused::D

This one is also not a chopper for sure. The blade tapers from 5/16" thick at ricasso, to 1/8" at the widest point of the blade, to less than 1/16"(!!!) at the tip.
 
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philllll said:
Thanks for the compliments everyone.

STeven, the sheath is kind of useless, made from rattan and the tip sticks out the bottom. Jay said it's just for storing the blade as you should always have the knife out and in hand when trekking in the jungle.

I think you got me on the "tourist vs. traditional" question. I guess I meant "costs more than $50 and doesn't look like it was run over by a dump truck." :confused::D

This one is also not a chopper for sure. The blade tapers from 5/16" thick at ricasso, to 1/8" at the widest point of the blade, to less than 1/16"(!!!) at the tip.
Click to expand...
I think it'll chop if you find the point of percussion...tap the flat of the blade against the heel of your palm and pay attention to the oscillation. The spot where it dies down is the POP. On that I'm guessing it'll be a little past haldlfway up the blade, with that long point...
That really is a beautiful blade.
 
I just found the thread!
Wow Phil those are really nice pics!

Are you getting a sheath done for this,Phil?
At least something that you can carry without cutting yourself?
 
Mana's enep is magic!! it has the best blade shape i've ever seen for that kind of knife...the flow is amazing!!
Thanks for showing

Stefano
 
Hi all.

I have been fallig in love with forging pattern on the blade. Anyone kind to lead me to who can get one of this original thai enep?
Great thanks
 
Phil,

Very nice one, thanks for showing us ! :cool:

STeven,

Yours as well. :thumbup:

Doug
 
The enep is a great pattern, and that one looks like a sweet cutter. One of my favorite blades.:thumbup:
 
my thai enep (boonhoome), and the golok/parang by him too (that's a beast), not a tourist blade, but for knifeknuts:

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Same guy that made mine, isn't it Spyken?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
Same guy that made mine, isn't it Spyken?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

Looks like it. Or they're brothers ... I recall the brother also made eneps. Yours has an extra pin at the bottom of the scabbard, I haven't seen that on the boonhome ones I've handled.
 
spyken said:
Looks like it. Or they're brothers ... I recall the brother also made eneps. Yours has an extra pin at the bottom of the scabbard, I haven't seen that on the boonhome ones I've handled.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm....right about that pin! I like it, helps keep the scabbard from splitting.

Not sure about you, but Santi hooked me up with mine. Haven't seen him around here in a dog's age.

Your e-nep looks real cool, btw!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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