To all who posted here, the sanrenmu 710 has its place, even maker and modifier here on our forum Mr. Steve Rice has a lengthy post about how surprised he was with the overall quality, fit and finish etc. of the sanrenmu 710 he liked it so much he bought 3 of them, the post is here on this site I think in his makers forum. Mr. Rice is no novice the man has been making, modifying and or repairing knives for decades he has even been an authorized service provider for some of the majors such as Kershaw. So for all those who just write it off as a cheap gas station knock you may want to rethink that, no saying it isn't a cheap gas station knock off but advances in materials and workmanship with CNC machines, etc., have obviously elevated the gas station knock to a much greater level of overall quality.
This is a prime lesson in economies of scale and all that comes with, to freq18hz you reference a knife is a tool that is designed to cut and your 8 dollar sanrenmu 710 does that just fine. What you must realize is that you, like 90% of the others on this site aren't lost in the woods fishface5 used for his reference which given the fact that 90% of us will NEVER have that happen and that 90% of us will merely throw the knife in our pocket and occasionally take it out to cut something, no more no less. We don't need that knife to survive nor or we relying on that one knife as our only cutting tool, even our kitchen knives are not really required any more, your chicken, beef or fish comes already cut in ready to cook and eat portions, you can buy your seasoning vegetables already chopped, etc. For most of those on this site and society in general our lifestyle's simply do not require that cutting, as say compared to the people of yesteryear say anytime prior to the later part of the 20th century. When daily survival depended upon having good knives and other cutting tools such as axes, hatchets, etc.
So fishface5 analogy of the lost in the woods scenario while totally and completely true in all reality bares little significance because so few people who actually have owned or handled a sanrenmu 710 and a sebenza will ever get lost in the woods, follow me so far? Now, I also agree with Ankerson who says the sanrenmu 710 is a cheap gas station knock off, its just that the gas station knock off just 30 years ago when I was a kid was a cheap carbon steel blade, plastic handle Barlow slip joint that would come apart after one good summer of carry, now well its a sanrenmu 710 that will pretty much cover most knife carriers and users everyday task for a very, long time. Moreover it comes off looking clean, shiny and well together it has stainless steel handles, and a stainless steel blade a far cry from the old barlow I carried as a boy. Why, hell it even looks like the coveted pinnacle of the folding lockable pocket knife world "THE SEBENZA"
The bite comes from the fact that the sanrenum is manufactured in China probably under what most of us Americans would deem unfit working conditions for what amounts to slave wages, versus the sebenza manufactured in a high tech machine shop by a salaried machinist in Idaho who has healthcare, a 401K plan or equivalent, 2 weeks paid vacation not to mention the fact that the knife is made from premium materials such as 6Al4V titanium which is expensive just by itself. For the vast majority say 99% of the population let alone the knife enthusiast among us that will never be lost in the woods or ever desire more in a pocket knife than a tool that fits in one's pocket and cuts thing when needed, the difference of $8.00 to $385.00 is all but invisible. Just as fishface5 pointed out and rightly so most people would need to be lost in the wilderness to see and truly comprehend the difference, truth is most of the population would carp their pants if truly lost in the wilderness and not be one damn bit concerned about comparing the overall durability of their pocket knife even if they have one on them, but thats another argument all together. For the most part you look at the 2 knives together and really go over the sanrenmu 710 and then start thinking about what your mostly going to use it for and MOST people with the exception of us knife enthusiast and even some of us are going to start having difficulty with it, i.e. this post, are going to have a hell of a time comprehending the $300.00+ difference, $100.00 maybe, $200.00 possibly, $300.00 given the nature of society today and actual knife usage, NOT A CHANCE in H E double hockey sticks. Your only going to spend that much on a knife if your really into knives or by some chance one of those rare 10% or so among us that really need a knife build that well with those kinds of materials due to our work and or hobbies.
Also to those who keep doing the car analogies like the mercedes to the toyota prius, I was blessed to born into the right family so to speak, my dad had 3 different mercedes when I was growing up and most of friends dad's drove mercedes, bmw's or porsche's there all high maintenance vehicles, while all of us kids drove mostly 4wd toyota pickups that were abused beyond belief that didn't spend much time in the shop at all. So until you've seen both sides of that fence the car analogies are way off base, relying on my personal past experience. They drove those cars for status plain and simple no more no less, which brings us to the fact that while the Sanrenmu 710 is a cheap gas station knock off and the Sebenza is the pinnacle of the lockable folding pocket knife world being made with premium materials by professional craftsman, unless you plan on getting lost in the wilderness your carrying for status.
Please don't take this the wrong way, I five (5) $300+ titanium framelocks and I love em, I have em in case I ever need them (reference lost in the woods or similar scenario) but I also have a box full of Onatrio rat 1's, and Cold Steel American Lawman's because their cheap and made very well, the Onatario Rat 1 at $30 shipped to my door, dare I say would more than hold its own against the titanium frame locks I have and the sebenza, so in truth I buy, own, carry and use the $300 titanium frame locks because I want to, like them, am into knives and think their cool, oh yea I like the fact that I carry a $300+ knife (status). Don't mean to sound like a snob just trying to be honest.
Its just a sign of the times given the advancements in materials and construction methods such as CNC machines, changes in overall behavior due to a multitude of technological advances in other aspects of daily living like buying your food already prepared for cooking, not having to make your own clothes, not having to hunt and fish to feed oneself, build your own shelter, make traps, grow a garden, etc. combined with the tremendous increase ($8.00 to $385.00 is a 4,712.5% increase) in price to actually enhance the knife's durability, perform, etc. just a little bit is difficult for many to comprehend. Does anyone here think that the sebenza is 4,712.5% more durable or to say that a sebenza will last 4,712.5% longer than a Sanrenmu 710, and there in lies the rub of economies of scale the Sebenza simply will not outlast the Sanrenmu 710 4,712.5%. Is the sebenza better, certainly and without question but is it 4,712.5% better than the sanrenmu 710 under any set of circumstances lost in the woods are not, I find that highly improbable.
I hope this helps and doesn't tick everyone off just trying to put it in a more rational light than opposed to Sanrenmu 710 is an $8.00 grail knife, as opposed to that is blasphemy to even mention that cheap gas station knock off.
