This knife has been in my possession for close to 4 months but never saw any actual use since the S&W CK402 was always the go-to blade for general utility work. That is, until i conveniently dropped it somewhere, no thanks to a large hole in my bag. And since now is as good a time as any to start getting used to a new knife for everyday use, I thought I'd share some my impressions about this little $12 knife from a very well-known Chinese company.
First off, it's not a big knife, but it's not small either. My last finger has a comfortable grip on the handle with just a little extra material pocking out, which is what I prefer anyway. Blade material, as is standard with Sanrenmu and Enlan, is 8Cr13MoV. Works well enough for average cutting jobs like involving packing tape, zip-tiles, shrinkwrap, thin cotton and nylon rope and the occasional packing strap. Blade length from tip to end of cutting edge is about 6.5cm (7cm if measured up to the handle). Also, don't be fooled by the presence of screws on the clip; it really should not be removed because the clip actually serves an additional purpose of holding the blade's pivot in place.
Should also point out that this is one of Sanrenmu's new non-locking folders that do not use any backspring (not the typical slipjoint).Instead, it uses two detents, one on each side of the liner, to hold the blade in the open position. The detents are not punched out from the liner; instead, Sanrenmu chose to use two tiny free-moving ball bearings for that task instead. A bit of a double-edged sword IMO; the ball bearings definitely ensure a very tight and secure engagement on the blade when in the open position, but the fact that they are free-moving makes them very prone to falling off its socket when disassembled. And it actually happened to me once; i'll skip the details, but let's just say that searching the floor for such a tiny bearing is not something I want to experience ever again.
You can sort of see the detents in this close-up:
The 7095SUC is a bit of a multitool; it comes with a glass breaker which will never be used, a bottle opener whose tip can also double as a flat-head screwdriver, and a sharpened hook (which, i might add, is very sharp; just pressing my finger against it resulted in a tiny cut) that can be used as a beltcutter if necessary. The protrusion at the top of the hook is actually a tiny Philips screwdriver.
There's only one thumbstud on the model, and despite what it looks like, the 7095SUC cannot (at least, this particular one owned by yours truly) be opened one-handed. The ball-bearing detents secure the blade so tightly in both the open and closed positions that simply relying on thumb strength is insufficient to dislodge the blade from them. This, apparently, is very much a case of YMMV because my other Sanrenmus using this mechanism can be opened one-handed effortlessly. Also, because it's so tightly secured in either position, closing the blade is a little tricky; you'd really want to move your fingers away from blade's socket, then use your other hand to firmly grasp and push the blade down to dislodge it from the bearings. Quite a bit of control is also needed; push the blade down too lightly and it's never going to generate enough momentum to dislodge itself from the bearings. On the other hand, push it down too hard and you will shut the blade on the fingers of your other hand if you have not moved them away previously. Tricky at the beginning, but a non-issue when one becomes accustomed to the amount of force required to free the blade from the detents.
Also, it seems like Sanrenmu has been wooing quite a few new designers over. My older SRM blades were designed by Liang Gang, while this one is from someone who apparently goes by WindRunner.
All in all, not a bad knife at all. After all, for a world-legal knife (< 3", non-locking) with decent steel for only $12, it has definitely proven itself capable for my needs.
First off, it's not a big knife, but it's not small either. My last finger has a comfortable grip on the handle with just a little extra material pocking out, which is what I prefer anyway. Blade material, as is standard with Sanrenmu and Enlan, is 8Cr13MoV. Works well enough for average cutting jobs like involving packing tape, zip-tiles, shrinkwrap, thin cotton and nylon rope and the occasional packing strap. Blade length from tip to end of cutting edge is about 6.5cm (7cm if measured up to the handle). Also, don't be fooled by the presence of screws on the clip; it really should not be removed because the clip actually serves an additional purpose of holding the blade's pivot in place.
Should also point out that this is one of Sanrenmu's new non-locking folders that do not use any backspring (not the typical slipjoint).Instead, it uses two detents, one on each side of the liner, to hold the blade in the open position. The detents are not punched out from the liner; instead, Sanrenmu chose to use two tiny free-moving ball bearings for that task instead. A bit of a double-edged sword IMO; the ball bearings definitely ensure a very tight and secure engagement on the blade when in the open position, but the fact that they are free-moving makes them very prone to falling off its socket when disassembled. And it actually happened to me once; i'll skip the details, but let's just say that searching the floor for such a tiny bearing is not something I want to experience ever again.
You can sort of see the detents in this close-up:
The 7095SUC is a bit of a multitool; it comes with a glass breaker which will never be used, a bottle opener whose tip can also double as a flat-head screwdriver, and a sharpened hook (which, i might add, is very sharp; just pressing my finger against it resulted in a tiny cut) that can be used as a beltcutter if necessary. The protrusion at the top of the hook is actually a tiny Philips screwdriver.
There's only one thumbstud on the model, and despite what it looks like, the 7095SUC cannot (at least, this particular one owned by yours truly) be opened one-handed. The ball-bearing detents secure the blade so tightly in both the open and closed positions that simply relying on thumb strength is insufficient to dislodge the blade from them. This, apparently, is very much a case of YMMV because my other Sanrenmus using this mechanism can be opened one-handed effortlessly. Also, because it's so tightly secured in either position, closing the blade is a little tricky; you'd really want to move your fingers away from blade's socket, then use your other hand to firmly grasp and push the blade down to dislodge it from the bearings. Quite a bit of control is also needed; push the blade down too lightly and it's never going to generate enough momentum to dislodge itself from the bearings. On the other hand, push it down too hard and you will shut the blade on the fingers of your other hand if you have not moved them away previously. Tricky at the beginning, but a non-issue when one becomes accustomed to the amount of force required to free the blade from the detents.
Also, it seems like Sanrenmu has been wooing quite a few new designers over. My older SRM blades were designed by Liang Gang, while this one is from someone who apparently goes by WindRunner.
All in all, not a bad knife at all. After all, for a world-legal knife (< 3", non-locking) with decent steel for only $12, it has definitely proven itself capable for my needs.
