Ganzo G704 Or Enlan EL02, My Head Hurts!

S

Svs

Joined
Sep 5, 2012
Messages
161
Hello All,

Im currently looking at the Ganzo G704 & the Enlon EL02. I've read tons & tons of reviews on both but wanted to check here with the experts or anyone that has experience with both.

Is there more pro's than con's with one over the other?
I'm looking for the one that is the better of the two?
I'm new to the knife world so I'm not completely knowledgable on everything. I'm learning everyday though.
I guess my main questions are, is one steel better than the other? Which of the two is built better and more durable? Granted I know it may be splitting hairs.

I just would like a good inexpensive knife and some knowledge on these knives.

Thank you for any and all help/input!
 
What about the CRKT Crawford Kasper?

Is this a better blade? I like the idea of being able to lock it.

I had no idea how many knives were out there. I'm seriously glad this forum is here though. I hope to at least get steered in the right direction.

Many thanks!
 
Yes that is a better blade. If your looking around that price range +/- 20$. Take a look at the Spyderco tenacious or a kershaw skyline.Even a kershaw cryo, all of those are great bang for your buck and will last a long time.
 
If you don't want a "Chinese knockoff", there are other good Chinese designs that aren't ripping someone off. The Enlan EL-01 gets a lot of love on the other side of the pond and it's only $10.

If it had a Western company's name on the blade I think most people would expect it to cost at least £75. Superb knife.

Danzo
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Awesome, thanks for the info. Looks like I'm getting to the right place.

Sorry for the newb question, so the CRKT has 2 different forms of a locking blade and the Ganza & Enlon only have 1, which is the auto lock correct?

I seriously just like 10 minutes ago came across the CRKT. It looks very promising. I'm glad I waited. Now I'll have a look at the Tenacious. I've read good things about that knife as well. Not sure if I can find it on my budget though? I'm looking for a $25 knife.

My next knife will def. be something of higher quality, but for now, I need a cheapie. This will be my blade saver for hen I get a higher quality knife.
 
I forgot to ask about customizing. Can I add colored spacers to the scales on the CRKT?

I want to keep the scales black and go with a toxic green spacer on both inner sides.

I seriously hope this is possible. I think it would look sweet!

And the Segway to my next question, lol. If adding the spacers is possible, how would one go about finding someone to do the job? What should the cost of this mod be?


Again, many thanks!
 
Sorry for the newb question, so the CRKT has 2 different forms of a locking blade and the Ganza & Enlon only have 1, which is the auto lock correct?
Click to expand...

The CRKT has a little tab that pops out to stop the linerlock being pushed in to close the blade. You first have to move the tab back... I had a couple and it didn't bother me (some people hate it) but I don't feel it was necessary (or that much stronger)

It could help to stop the blade closing if something bad happens but it's not amazingly ultra strong.



Take your time, there are tons of knives out there... another cheap one I like is the Kershaw One Ton, but it's not for everyone.

CRKT_M21_blokada_det.jpg


^there's the Auto-LAWKS mechanism
 
I forgot to ask about customizing. Can I add colored spacers to the scales on the CRKT?

I want to keep the scales black and go with a toxic green spacer on both inner sides.

I seriously hope this is possible. I think it would look sweet!

And the Segway to my next question, lol. If adding the spacers is possible, how would one go about finding someone to do the job? What should the cost of this mod be?
Click to expand...

Just ask around on the forum, I'm sure there would be many people willing to do that for $
 
Thanks for that close up pic Goosey!

Will be watching some YouTube videos before I decide. CRKT and Kershaw One Ton on top of the list.
 
Svs said:
Thanks for that close up pic Goosey!

Will be watching some YouTube videos before I decide. CRKT and Kershaw One Ton on top of the list.
Click to expand...

I don't have the CRKT Crawford-Kaspar but I have a couple others with the same lock mechanism and they were fine. I can tell you about the One Ton though. The framelock on the One Ton feels very solid but it took a bit of breaking in... the first day I had to force it open with a pencil once... :eek: it smoothed out after a few openings and is fine now. I like the very large belly for slicing, it gets very sharp and cuts well. It isn't the best at poking holes in things (obtuse tip) but it does the job OK (I think I slightly rounded the tip on mine). The handle is very wide so it feels a bit uncomfortable in a hammer grip, but it feels much better gripped like this:

standard


The handle is nice and secure and it's quite narrow in the pocket. It is a bit smaller than published specs: the blade length is about 3 inches from the furthest point of the G10, the cutting edge is about 3.5 and the overall length is about 7.75 inches. Interestingly it seems pretty large... even compared to a 4 inch folder, because it is so wide.

I like it, I got mine for about $30 but I have seen them going for $20.
 
If I had to pick one, I'd go with the G704, hands down. I like the G704 quite a lot - it's a genuinely well made knife for all of 14$, and can take a surprising amount of punishment.

I do not like my Enlan EL02 - it works, but it's uncomfortable and pretty shoddy.

I wrote a review of the G704 here, along with a bunch of pics: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...G704-The-Little-POS-That-Could-(lots-of-pics)

As for the steels, the G704 is listed as having 440c (which I have no problem believing given how well it performed), while the Enlan has 8cr13MoV, which I'm really not a fan of.
 
Thank You for all the replies guys.
I just pulled the trigger on the CRKT Crawford Kasper.

Next thing to do is find someone who can pimp it out for me?

I would like the Scales carved out to make that ripple effect (is this called reptilian?)
And want to add some Toxic Green spacers.

Can anyone tell me what price I would be paying for this? I have no idea what the cost is, so I'm hoping to get an honest answer here.

Also, can you recommend me some users that do this kind of work?

I just want to get it in the mail and them mail it right back out to get pimped! Lol
 
This "dilemma" is about as compelling as deciding between a Whopper and a Big Mac. Either way, you're getting crap. I wouldn't trust fast food to not give me diarrhea, just as I wouldn't trust a cheap Chinese made knockoff to not fail and slice off my damn finger. If your "head hurts" on a $10-20 decision (moral/ethical issues aside), then I can only feel pity and disappointment for you. You're on the internet, so you're not poor or destitute. Get them both and make up your own damned mind. Or use the money you'd spend on both and buy a knife from a reputable company with a dependable lifetime warranty, like Kershaw, Buck, or Byrd (Spyderco). There's people on this forum that love these $10 Chinese knockoff knives, yet buy them by the dozens. How does that save any money? Maybe you like 10 crappy knives at $10/each for $100, but I'd rather have one good knife that cost $100.

You don't have to spend much to get a reliable, safe knife. If you're a skydiver, are you going to buy the cheapest parachute on the market? If you're a cop, are you going to buy the vest with the least amount of protection? If you're a racecar driver, are you going to go with a bargain-basement flame suit and roll cage? If you need major, life saving surgery, are you going to go to Mexico just because it's cheaper?

I carried and used a really cheap knife once. It failed and I have slight nerve damage in a finger (no loss of mobility or anything - I was lucky). A cheap knife that fails probably won't kill you, but there's a good chance you'll pay for it (and way, way much more) in the end if it does. Knives are sharp. Sharp is dangerous. Don't risk anything just to save what literally is only a few bucks.
 
Dorito,

As much as I also have & uses the Chinese knives, I don't believe they use a real 440c. I'd rather go with Enlan that list their steel as it is.

Never has a Ganzo, my experience is after going through 3 Navy k631, and the level of consistency is much better with Enlan (3 EL02, 2 EL01).
 
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Planterz said:
This "dilemma" is about as compelling as deciding between a Whopper and a Big Mac. Either way, you're getting crap. I wouldn't trust fast food to not give me diarrhea, just as I wouldn't trust a cheap Chinese made knockoff to not fail and slice off my damn finger. If your "head hurts" on a $10-20 decision (moral/ethical issues aside), then I can only feel pity and disappointment for you. You're on the internet, so you're not poor or destitute. Get them both and make up your own damned mind. Or use the money you'd spend on both and buy a knife from a reputable company with a dependable lifetime warranty, like Kershaw, Buck, or Byrd (Spyderco). There's people on this forum that love these $10 Chinese knockoff knives, yet buy them by the dozens. How does that save any money? Maybe you like 10 crappy knives at $10/each for $100, but I'd rather have one good knife that cost $100.
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I find it funny that you're trying to steer people away from cheap Chinese knives, but steering them towards cheaper Kershaws or Byrd knives. :confused: :eek: When you buy those 8cr13MoV economy-line models from big name brands (like the Spyderco Tenacious or Byrd knives), chances are pretty good that they're made in exactly the same place as your Enlan, Bee, Navy, Sanrenmu, Ganzo knives... They're all made in china, and a lot of them are made by the same people. Sanrenmu, for example, used to be pretty open about listing companies that had contracted them to produce knives before they overhauled their website. Spyderco and Benchmade (with the now-discontinued Red Class series) were both listed by name.

The more you know... ;)

Chris "Anagarika";11297016 said:
Dorito,

As much as I also have & uses the Chinese knives, I don't believe they use a real 440c. I'd rather go with Enlan that list their steel as it is.

Never has a Ganzo, my experience is after going through 3 Navy k631, and the level of consistency is much better with Enlan (3 EL02, 2 EL01).
Click to expand...

I can only speak to what I've seen with the Ganzo I have. Given the amount of punishment I gave it and how well it stood up to use, I'm led to believe that this company is telling the truth about their steel. I can tell you that, if my knife had been made of 440a or 8cr13MoV or some other pot-metal, it would have sustained a lot more chipping and rolling on the edge than it did (after coming in contact with rocks and literally sawing away at metal wire). I don't doubt that the knives you bought may not have lived up to the advertised materials, but the amount of work I've done with this Ganzo has given me a pretty good idea of the quality of the steel.
 
Having had both versions (3mm & 4mm blade width) of the Ganzo 704 and still owning 2 of the now discontinued Benchmade 14205s (of which one is my EDC, the other a spare) I think that the Ganzo is the absolute bargin of the tactical pocket knife world. The steel stood up to the kind of abuse that would have to be a survival necessity for me to put my 14205 through similar treatment. Of course the BM has a better steel and steeper, more efficient cutting profile but it is by no means 10x the knife of the Ganzo. The 704 is a magnificent substitute for those who love the Snody design but can't afford or find the discontinued BM. I for one am glad that a Company (Chinese or otherwise) has decided not to let this excellent design go to the blade grave yard and can only commend them for being as faithful to the design as they have been- make no mistake this is no looky-likey crap knock off. It is a very fine inexpensive reproduction of the orginal (in fact the rounded edges on the G10 of the Ganzo are more comfy then on the BM and if I could get the scales off the G704 without stripping out my torx drivers I would have swapped the scales over long ago).

It was getting the G704 in my hand that made me want to get the BM 14205 in the first place. Having decided I loved the ergos and practicality of the knife I got myself 2 BMs knowing they were getting increasingly hard to come by and I expecting them to be stellar in quality considering... (which they are not). Never would have invested if I had not been able to try the cheaper knife first.

If I could not afford the original I would not feel in any way short changed by the reproduction. Almost regret paying out on the BMs when the Ganzos are so competent in their own right. Maybe I'm just a steel snob after all (as there was no other reason to keep the BMs and move on the Ganzos).

To any one thinking of getting a pocket tank at pocket money price THE GANZO G704 IS THE KNIFE FOR YOU. Use it, abuse it, lose it. Buy yourself another. When I finally lose or break my edc Snody BM HK 14205 I will not be very serene about it (and I have a spare).

As to the comments that this knife is more likely to bite your fingers simply because its Chinese built: please bear in mind that this isn't some crappy liner lock, it is an axis lock on a 4mm thick blade stock and if anything the omega springs feel stiffer (stronger?) then the BM.
If I need to use the tool in such a way that I am continually putting my hands at risk of blade closure then no matter if it's a $1000 custom, I need to stop with the folding knife and switch to using a fixed blade for that application. As to the odd occassional spine whack I've had much more expensive American and European branded knives that I trust less.
Ymmv

Peace
 
KaBar Dozier Hunter is a good folder that can had for $18 shipped. Lower than that I would get a Mora or Victorinox SAK on sale.
 
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