Enlan, Ganzo, Bee ......Wow!

A

akthor

Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
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So a couple weeks ago I had a little extra cash and facing the depression of being a middle aged divorced dad at Christmas I figured I would buy myself an xmas present to cheer myself up. Been wanting a new EDC and I've been looking to get a high powered LED light to put in my laptop bag.

Moneys tight so I spent a couple days looking in the Exchange here and on the 'Bay in the end after searching around I decided to try out some of these cheap Chinese knives by Bee, Enlan, Ganzo that I've heard a lot about. In the end I got 3 knives and a 1000 lumen tactical led light with battery and charger all for under by quite a bit my $100 budget.

A Bee, an Enlan and a Ganzo each under $20, well under, with free shipping. The light is an Ultrafire also under $20 with free shipping.

So after waiting for a slow boat from China, literally ;) the knives arrived today.

Color me impressed! Unbelievable quality not even considering the price. They were equal in fit and finish to any Kershaw, Spyderco, BM I have ever bought and better then some of them. Only the ZT's I have gotten and the Gold Class Griptilian come to mind as having markedly better quality out of the box.

Centered blades, perfect lock ups. I am just amazed at how nice they are.

The only difference I see from much more expensive knives is the that they are not made of some unobtanium steels.

I will definitely be trying out some more models. These would also make great presents.

I can't wait till the flashlight gets here.
 
EL-02B, EL01KH, G711, Ultrafire 502B CREE XML T6
 

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I have always wanted a BM Onslaught this Ganzo is very similiar. I must say the handle style doesn't really fit my hand well. Glad to discover this at under $20 as opposed to $100+
 
I know little about them on a first hand level, however have seen the held in high regard, by a number of people on this forum. I suppose they're comparable to what a Rough Rider is on the traditional/slipjoint level. I'll have to try and obtain one in the future. I've got the 501B ultra fire as well, and am thoroughly impressed with it given the price, mine stays loaded with an 18650, I'm too cheap for Cr123s. The Chinese have become skilled, manufacturers, but that's a whole other can of worms.
 
I wasn't even aware these things existed (non-joke level quality cheap Chinese folders) until I started lurking these forums a bit. I recently ordered my first couple to try, so hopefully I'll like them too. I have plenty of nice knives, but I also fly on a regular basis and check luggage--due to my extreme laziness and hatred of ironing dress shirts--and have gotten tired of the TSA occasionally stealing the knives out of my checked baggage. If the SanRenMu/Bee/Enlan/Whatever knives aren't horrible, I'll feel a lot less pain when they mysteriously don't make it to my destination with me.
 
The tan handled flipper Bee/Enlan ( web says its Enlan but it came in a Bee box ) feels like it was made for my hand. Really really digging it. A few more in different colors might be in order ;)
 
Enlan/Bee are the same company.
So that'd explain the different boxes I believe.
=]

I've had the pleasure of owning a few Enlan/Sanrenmu/Inron knives and have been very impressed with all of them. Great fit and finish and quality for the prices asked. I still have an Inron MY803 and it's build quality blew me away. I don't really carry/use it anymore but I did for a while. They are excellent knives for the money. Come sharp, and hold a good edge. They're still highly underrated in my opinion.
 
I've been pretty impressed with the Chinese knives I've tried. The Enlan EL-01 is supposed to be the best of them. I quite like mine as a functional user, but I wouldn't put it up against some of the nicer production folders. Still, I'd say it holds its own pretty well at the $50 or so price point, which is impressive considering it costs about $15.
 
A while ago I bought an SRM 710 and a Bee L05-1 for something like $20 here on BF. I am very impressed with both knives especially the 710. I am a little worried about the Teflon washers on the Bee giving out. The 710 is very well made and is fun to play with. I liked them so much I put in a big order to try a bunch more out. Still waiting for the "slow boat" from China though. :D
 
It's a nice to get quality at a bargain price. I purchased the El-02 off a forum member also I use it when I'm playing with my Metal detector I dig with it. I've hit roots,rocks all sorts of things and it has performed geat. I've been thinking about the El-04 Mct. I haven't researched it but on looks alone it's very eye catching to me atleast.
 
They must have learned as we in reading reviews it seems the lone complaint is usually the pocket clip screws just go into the G10 scales but all 3 I got clip screws go thru the scales and into the liners.
 
Interesting.

I actually was so curious about the tales of the China knives that I bought a few. On first impression they are pretty decent. After use, you see where the deficiencies are. They do not hold up.

The screws are made from some kind of cheese, the clips never stay night, the blade steel holds an edge like a bar of soap...etc.

Plenty of decent knives for less than $100, including many made in the USA. Those are what I will stick to.
 
Tripton said:
Interesting.

I actually was so curious about the tales of the China knives that I bought a few. On first impression they are pretty decent. After use, you see where the deficiencies are. They do not hold up.

The screws are made from some kind of cheese, the clips never stay night, the blade steel holds an edge like a bar of soap...etc.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. Having used one that held up amazingly well, I'd say that's not necessarily the case.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...G704-The-Little-POS-That-Could-(lots-of-pics)

...and the clip is still tight as a virgin squirrel, to boot. ;)
 
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My sharpening skills are limited to hand held jobbies that have the "V" of tungstun and ceramic and you draw the knife thru them. The steel on these knives is perfect for that I can get them functionally sharp really easy. I have 2 custom fixed blades made with steel so hard that after abusing them I can't get them sharp and they have sat for a couple years. I keep meaning to take them to my custom knife guy to have him sharpen them for me.

So for me the fact they may dull quick is a non issue they also sharpen quick. For pocket knive I need something stabby that can cut some rope or open a box maybe cut a sandwich. And for $18 or less these knives are freaking amazing I have a Spyderco, Cold Steel and a few Kershaws that were all double or triple the price and are they 2 or 3 times better? Nope.

Does this mean I will only buy cheap chinese knives from here on out? I wish LOL be a lot easier on my wallet. But I will still buy ones from other companies and customs but for what you pay for these they are a lot of knife for the cash.
 
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