Elan EL02 Micarta - Amazed...

gotcha. thanks for the follow up. i usually hold the handle with one hand and pull up and down and side to side with the other hand on the blade to see if there is play vertically or side to side. i'm gonna have to play with my 2 and pay extra attention. are we talking super light blade play or very, very noticeable...impossible to miss blade play?

yes, Sir, i figured at some point i'd wave my el-01's....i've seen your pics or someones pics of that done. or add a hole shape or thumbstud. when im not working or feeling lazy i had planned on doing that. stair tape is a good idea, quick and likely effective.

appreciate the insight and advice. thanks.
 
I thought the Enlan EL-02 I had was a nice knife for the money, but a real benchmade axis lock is FAR smoother. The Enlan I had was painful to use over extended periods of time and was impossible to actuate with one finger.
 
Minor play, only noticeable if tested, using quite deliberate push. That's when I could see it's moving against pivot.

It's possible they have improved it. Mine are from earlier generation, before the G10 model available via exduct. Bought EL01 first, found it too menacing ;) then when EL02 came out, thought it looked more elegant (sebenza style) on axis .. so I ordered 2 of them.
My EL01KH is from newer generation (second batch at exduct IIRC). It doesn't have the small hole on pivot to use ring snap plier on, this one fits with the new tools sold separately. Some simply cut a slot to the pivot head for ease of maintenance.
 
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jbmonkey said:
i myself would disagree on the el-01 being the best of the bunch. in the batch i own....my el-02's shine above the el-01. guess it's random, and maybe the random might side towards the el-01, but....... i think it's more folks feel the el-01 is an "original design" and they just feel better owning one versus the el-02 with it's copied,pirated,patent infringed axis lock. that might influence their decision somewhat? can't say i blame 'em.

the biggest thing outside of fit and finish which i'm not talking abut now, rather talking design...one thing i truly dislike about the el-01 is the lack of a hole shape or thumb stud. if the flip doesn't engage fully your going to a second hand to finish it, or if your lucky and it flies out enough....your sticking a finger under the flipper to finish the opening action. it's a massive design flaw, imho.

of course maybe that's why i side towards the el-02's on fit and function.;)

as always folks ymmv, i get that.
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Interesting... I'll have to take a look at the EL-02 if I like the EL-01 that's on its way. I am a sucker for the axis lock and I like having the thumb stud, but would you say that you side with the El-02 because of the quality or the design? Also, have you tried pushing straight into the flipper (perpendicular to the length of the handle) rather than pulling back on it? I've found with my flippers that I couldn't get them to open without a wrist flick until I figured out that you have to push straight down to build up enough pressure. The EL-01 seems to be well designed in that the flipper is rounded off to facilitate this, rather than being a "shark fin" shape.
 
The mod Joben did actually making the flipper more 'shark fin' like to provide leverage.

Just tried again, you're right. It's more perpendicular than downward if holding the handle vertical, with little bit of downward.
 
Tsuji....yeah, i tend to push it through rather than pull downward. although this weekend i did play with all of mine. i can make them(el-01's) open and lock fully, only aimed downward. changing the way i push the flipper allows about 99% lock up when done sideways. aimed straight up it's still hit and miss. tried many different pushing methods and angles, without any wrist action. couldn't make them lock up every time no matter the pushing style. it's likely more me than the knives, but........either way not a big deal though.

i like the el-02 on looks and the quality is not all that bad for what it is. i might lean more to the looks though and that could explain my preference for the el-02 over the el-01.

Chris.....i played with all my chinese made copies of axis locks. the ganzo was the worst of the bunch.....it had vertical blade play regardless of where the axis lock bar was....just like you said. one of my el-02's the g-10 stonewashed version has a very slight play.....sometimes. depends on how hard i open the knife. i dare to say without any science involved it has the blade play you mentioned due to the pivot issue. the other one i have the micarta version has none whatsoever? weird.

i got an el-04 and 962 axis copy versions coming so i will check those also when they hit the shore in a month or so.
 
jbmonkey said:
Chris.....i played with all my chinese made copies of axis locks. the ganzo was the worst of the bunch.....it had vertical blade play regardless of where the axis lock bar was....just like you said. one of my el-02's the g-10 stonewashed version has a very slight play.....sometimes. depends on how hard i open the knife. i dare to say without any science involved it has the blade play you mentioned due to the pivot issue. the other one i have the micarta version has none whatsoever? weird.

i got an el-04 and 962 axis copy versions coming so i will check those also when they hit the shore in a month or so.
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Thanks for checking. As long as it doesn't affect lockup, slight play is ok.
I tried pushing forward the bar and while holding it, the slight play is gone. I guess it needs to move forward a bit more to compensate for the slack at pivot.
 
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