Enlan EL08 in da house!!!

N

nilfire77

Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Messages
84
Finally, after some waiting... The latest mofo from Enlan..
01.jpg


Front view (Closed) - Black G10 feels cheapo but grippy
02.jpg


Front view (Opened) - Gorgeous blade shape with a slight recurve
03.jpg


9Cr13Mov blade
04.jpg


Imperfections: Obvious machining marks on the lock bar
05.jpg


Enlan logo and model
06.jpg


Very late and solid lockup with no blade play whatsoever
07.jpg


Lockbar stabilizer - Prevents lockbar from over-extending when disengaging
but doesn't prevent movement of lockbar towards the spine when gripped
tightly
08.jpg


Flow through design with nice stand-offs that are similar but smaller than those of Sage II
09.jpg


Functional dual thumbstuds providing plenty of traction
10.jpg


Blade is off center (damnit!) Update: Blade is now almost centered after a day of breaking in
11.jpg


Size Comparison
12.jpg


Pros:
- Nice blade shape
- Feels very hefty and indestructible in the hands
- Very affordable
- Solid lockup with no blade play in any directions
- Great ergos with functional jimping
- Scary sharp out of the box
- Pocket clip is sturdy and tension is just nice ; tip up carry
- Lockbar stabilizer
- Cut-out of lockbar on the outside improves lockup stability

Cons:
- Feels heavy in the pocket
- Fit and finish befits a $20 knife (ya know what i mean)
- Requires proprietary pivot adjustment tool and it aint cheap!(Thumbs down)
- Pivot action is a lil jerky (might improve with time?)
- Lockbar stabilizer doesn't prevent movement of lockbar towards
the spine of the knife when gripped tightly

Overall, the Enlan EL08 is a great knife for the bucks! Oh did I mention the
fit and finish is a lil wonky?
 
Last edited:
Thanks for reviewing! I was interested in these... Too bad it has those finish issues; most other Enlans don't seem to have those problems if what other members have been saying is true. I have to admit I'm disappointed in the thickness of the knife; that framelock looks more like a liner to me. Guess the upcoming Kershaw Cryo will be the big Chinese "poor man's ZT 0550."
 
Where did you pick it up from and for how much?

Also, can you confirm the weight (6.5oz listed)?

Thank you sir.
 
Great review thanks for that. I do love that blade shape, definitely the best thing about this bad boy.

I have one of these in the mail too (somewhere between here and Hong Kong) and can't wait to test it out. In some ways it's a pretty big step forward for the Chinese, although it looks like it has some real problems (weight, F&F). One thing that is pretty apparent to me know is that using the materials they use (cheap G10, all-steel, etc.) it's much easier to make a small quality knife than a larger one. Not in terms of tolerances, but for instance the all-steel construction becomes a problem, doubly so if you make it a frame lock because you can't skeletonize the steel side.

I'm a huge fan of Chinese knives and I want to see them come up with original mid-class designs, as opposed to know where it's half original small designs and half rip off designs. So for instance this knife would have been better without the Hinderer washer.


Tsujigiri said:
I have to admit I'm disappointed in the thickness of the knife; that framelock looks more like a liner to me. Guess the upcoming Kershaw Cryo will be the big Chinese "poor man's ZT 0550."
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that the frame is solid steel unlike the Ti framelocks we're all used to. Overall it's still heavier than the ZT 0550 for instance.
 
Tsujigiri said:
Thanks for reviewing! I was interested in these... Too bad it has those finish issues; most other Enlans don't seem to have those problems if what other members have been saying is true. I have to admit I'm disappointed in the thickness of the knife; that framelock looks more like a liner to me. Guess the upcoming Kershaw Cryo will be the big Chinese "poor man's ZT 0550."
Click to expand...
The lockbar may look thin and flimsy on photo but the truth is it isn't. As a matter of fact, it's slightly thicker than my small sebbie 21 and not to mention that it's stainless steel instead of titanium so that should be even tougher.

Here's a rundown on the thickness of lockbar vs thickness of cut-out for the folders displayed in my size comparison pic:

Thickness of lockbar/Thickness of cut-out
1) Small sebenza 0.128"/0.055"
2) 755 MPR 0.211"/0.038" (OMGGGG that's suicidal!!)
3) Sage II 0.122"/0.052"
4) DPx HEST/F 2.0 0.156"/0.056"
5) EL08 0.132"/0.057"

Seriously, if not for F&F issues, I would have recommended this folder to everyone whole-heartedly.

Agree that the Kershaw Cryo's gonna sell like hotcakes once they hit the streets!
 
Last edited:
TEFL0N_D0N_81 said:
Where did you pick it up from and for how much?

Also, can you confirm the weight (6.5oz listed)?

Thank you sir.
Click to expand...

I got it from exduct.com

I don't have a scale with me to confirm the weight though. All i I can say is it's the heaviest among my folders right now! LOLLL!
 
nilfire77 said:
I got it from exduct.com

I don't have a scale with me to confirm the weight though. All i I can say is it's the heaviest among my folders right now! LOLLL!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I hope to get an accurate weight from one of you guys soon. I have several concerns with this knife, but weight is by far the biggest. 6.5 oz is A LOT. I hope the listed weight is wrong and it's actually closer to 5 oz.

I should also say something positive. I love the blade shape of that EL08.
 
Like many, I too felt that the price could have been lower, but alas... See exduct's reply on the price:

[Start of quote]
"I have no idea why factory make it so expensive,but i guess
it's not because of the quality is much better than other knives.

It seems factory choose some nice model to upgrade his "Brand Value",so Enlan is a "Senior Brand",which have multiple levels quality and price.

I was talk to factory,ask them remove the black pouch and color box,sell a knife normal packing,so we can sell it cheaper,we can give the option for customers who need a gift box or not.

but factory do not agree this,it seems,they
want us to sell it higher in order to reflect his brand value"
[End of quote]
 
Sonnydaze said:
This post #25 on this thread shows what happens when there's not enough support... OUCH!
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...only-one-quot-post-with-a-slight-twist!/page2

Sonny
Click to expand...

i've seen a pic of this pwned HD-7 somewhere before in one of neptuneknives' videos. IMO, if you're gonna use your knife that hard, get a fixed blade, or at least a folder with something along the line of a tri-ad lock.

But heck, $20 for such a beefy beater folder is a crazy good deal. :)
 
How's the thickness of frame lockbar compared to EL01? Seems only 20% or less thicker.

And thanks for the review. If they make it 4.25"-5" blade, it's an option for me (larger & more robust). As of now, the overall form/length for usage is covered by EL01 already.
 
nilfire77 said:
The lockbar may look thin and flimsy on photo but the truth is it isn't. As a matter of fact, it's slightly thicker than my small sebbie 21 and not to mention that it's stainless steel instead of titanium so that should be even tougher.

Here's a rundown on the thickness of lockbar vs thickness of cut-out for the folders displayed in my size comparison pic:

Thickness of lockbar/Thickness of cut-out
1) Small sebenza 0.128"/0.055"
2) 755 MPR 0.211"/0.038" (OMGGGG that's suicidal!!)
3) Sage II 0.122"/0.052"
4) DPx HEST/F 2.0 0.156"/0.056"
5) EL08 0.132"/0.057"

Seriously, if not for F&F issues, I would have recommended this folder to everyone whole-heartedly.

Agree that the Kershaw Cryo's gonna sell like hotcakes once they hit the streets!
Click to expand...

Interesting... Is that a 4mm thick blade? The lockbar really does look thin relative to the blade and G-10 handle, but I guess you don't absolutely need the extra thickness for strength if it's steel. Hopefully they get the production kinks ironed out and start building some titanium framelocks!
 
Tsujigiri said:
Interesting... Is that a 4mm thick blade? The lockbar really does look thin relative to the blade and G-10 handle, but I guess you don't absolutely need the extra thickness for strength if it's steel. Hopefully they get the production kinks ironed out and start building some titanium framelocks!
Click to expand...

I measured it at 0.136" or 3.45mm. Seems thin for a folder of this size... :confused:
 
Chris "Anagarika";10616345 said:
How's the thickness of frame lockbar compared to EL01? Seems only 20% or less thicker.

And thanks for the review. If they make it 4.25"-5" blade, it's an option for me (larger & more robust). As of now, the overall form/length for usage is covered by EL01 already.
Click to expand...

As I just got the EL08 and I have the EL01 too I will take the liberty to answer you question.
To the naked eye the thickness of the frame lock in the EL08 is a bit bigger than the 50% of the EL01 although is quite harder to operate. Keep in mind that the width of the lock is, again to the same naked eye, the double in the EL08 than in the EL01.

I just took a couple of photos of both knives side by side. I hope it helps despite the flash glow...

P1020080.JPG


P1020078.JPG


I hope it's ok I answer even if I wasn't asked.

Cheers.
 
Last edited:
Asincrono said:
As I just got the EL08 and I have the EL01 too I will take the liberty to answer you question.
To the naked eye the thickness of the frame lock in the EL08 is a bit bigger than the 50% of the EL01 although is quite harder to operate. Keep in mind that the width of the lock is, again to the same naked eye, the double in the EL08 than in the EL01.

I just took a couple of photos of both knives side by side. I hope it helps despite the flash glow...

P1020080.JPG


P1020078.JPG


I hope it's ok I answer even if I wasn't asked.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for replying, Asincrono. I don't have an EL01 for comparison anyway. :)
 
After a day of use I have a question for you myself.

¿Is hard for you to push the framelock to close the knife?

For me, opening (less) and closing (more) is becoming a pain, although I can even feel my thumb is getting stronger ¬¬
 
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