Help me decide which AFFORDABLE knife to buy please!

[Kozified]

Anyone have any opinions? I am looking to buy a knife for just average use, as it's my first knife i'm not willing to spend loads of £££ and looking for a fairly affordable one. I have rounded up 3 knives in which I am interested to buy, but the question is which one..

1.) Sanrenmu GB-704
2.) Enlan EL-02B
3.) Ganzo G704

If anyone has any experience with any of these knives please put you're opinions forward and help me decide which one to get!

SORRY IF THIS IS IN THE WRONG PLACE, I'VE NEVER USED A FORUM BEFORE AND I'M REALLY CONFUSED.

 

[singularity35]

Pick the one you like best. Not a lot of difference between those three. They'll work.

 

[Jim malone]

Hi Kozified, welcome to the forum.
I had to google the knives you mentioned because i never heard of them.
They all are in the 15$ range so my guess is that these are chinese knives.
I can't really help you with the quality of these knives and it is possible that very few of the other forumites have experience with these knives.
I would like t suggest that you look into other knife companies instead.
Spyderco has the Byrd line, you should check them out, or look into the spyderco resiliance.
They cost more then 15$ but you get good quality. The knives you posted can't be of good quality imho due to the price of the knives.
Most people on these forums easely pay the tenfold of your budget on a knife ( i do), and some collect customs worth 1000 of $.
MAybe others will chime in to guide you in the right direction to get a quality first knife.

 

[Kozified]

Do you know any pros / cons with each knife? I'm really uneducated within the knife community so I don't know anything about steel types or which are the best. If you could say anything will could promote any of these or could veer my towards a certain one it would be appreciated

 

[Kozified]

Thanks for the response man! I totally understand i'm sort of going on a long shot asking about these knives, but I'm on a super budget at the moment and as it is my first knife I was hoping to get a cheap one just to get the main feel before I really venture into the named brands and expensive ones. I have actually read that these 3 knifes are fairly good even compared to brands such as benchmade and kershaw!

 

[singularity35]

Do you know any pros / cons with each knife? I'm really uneducated within the knife community so I don't know anything about steel types or which are the best. If you could say anything will could promote any of these or could veer my towards a certain one it would be appreciated

Same steel on all. 8Cr13Mov. They're all basically made by the same company. It's just personal preference for you. What I like may not be what you like.

 

[WuGod]

For not a lot more $ you can get an ontario rat1/2 or utilitac 2, either are much better knives than any of those unless you really want an axis lock.

 

[singularity35]

Hi Kozified, welcome to the forum.
I had to google the knives you mentioned because i never heard of them.
They all are in the 15$ range so my guess is that these are chinese knives.
I can't really help you with the quality of these knives and it is possible that very few of the other forumites have experience with these knives.
I would like t suggest that you look into other knife companies instead.
Spyderco has the Byrd line, you should check them out, or look into the spyderco resiliance.
They cost more then 15$ but you get good quality. The knives you posted can't be of good quality imho due to the price of the knives.
Most people on these forums easely pay the tenfold of your budget on a knife ( i do), and some collect customs worth 1000 of $.
MAybe others will chime in to guide you in the right direction to get a quality first knife.

They're actually good quality for what you pay. When some of my friends ask for a recommendation for an inexpensive modern folder, I usually recommend the Enlan EL-01. None of them have any complaints. The usual issue is that these brands have knockoffs of the some models of more expensive brands. I'd just suggest applying loctitte on the torx screws.

[video=youtube;axX_vsTvDWE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axX_vsTvDWE[/video]

 

[Kozified]

Same steel on all. 8Cr13Mov. They're all basically made by the same company. It's just personal preference for you. What I like may not be what you like.

Awesome! Thanks for the info, i'll just see which suits me best. Do you believe these knives are of good quality, as Jim doesn't think these will be very useful as they are VERY cheap... which I also thought too until I looked at reviews and tests.

 

[singularity35]

Hi Kozified, welcome to the forum.
I had to google the knives you mentioned because i never heard of them.
They all are in the 15$ range so my guess is that these are chinese knives.
I can't really help you with the quality of these knives and it is possible that very few of the other forumites have experience with these knives.
I would like t suggest that you look into other knife companies instead.
Spyderco has the Byrd line, you should check them out, or look into the spyderco resiliance.
They cost more then 15$ but you get good quality. The knives you posted can't be of good quality imho due to the price of the knives.
Most people on these forums easely pay the tenfold of your budget on a knife ( i do), and some collect customs worth 1000 of $.
MAybe others will chime in to guide you in the right direction to get a quality first knife.

Awesome! Thanks for the info, i'll just see which suits me best. Do you believe these knives are of good quality, as Jim doesn't think these will be very useful as they are VERY cheap... which I also thought too until I looked at reviews and tests.

Price isn't an indication of quality. I'd call them inexpensive rather than cheap.

 

[Kozified]

For not a lot more $ you can get an ontario rat1/2 or utilitac 2, either are much better knives than any of those unless you really want an axis lock.

I'm going to be completely honest, I really don't know anything about the different types of locks, I know I should probably just research this myself but could you tell me the benefits of an axis lock / the disadvantage of an axis lock.. many thanks

 

[Kozified]

Price isn't an indication of quality. I'd call them inexpensive rather than cheap.

Sorry! I didn't mean to use the term 'cheap' as in bad quality, I just mean price wise it's much more affordable than the bigger brands, i'm a newbie to all this don't forget haha!

 

[WuGod]

I'm going to be completely honest, I really don't know anything about the different types of locks, I know I should probably just research this myself but could you tell me the benefits of an axis lock / the disadvantage of an axis lock.. many thanks

The axis tends to be stronger than the liner locks, some prefer the ambidextrous nature of it and it may be easier to use, since you manipulate it on the top of the handle. But its got some small springs you need to maintain and Ive read about these chinese ones rusting a lot. I dont own any axis lock knives, so that is about all I know.
But I do have a few knives from these brands and the Utilitac smokes them. About $20 shipped and has a better warranty.

 

[singularity35]

Sorry! I didn't mean to use the term 'cheap' as in bad quality, I just mean price wise it's much more affordable than the bigger brands, i'm a newbie to all this don't forget haha!

No worries. Glad to share what I have learned here too.

 

[Kozified]

No worries. Glad to share what I have learned here too.

it's very much appreciated!

 

[Kozified]

The axis tends to be stronger than the liner locks, some prefer the ambidextrous nature of it and it may be easier to use, since you manipulate it on the top of the handle. But its got some small springs you need to maintain and Ive read about these chinese ones rusting a lot. I dont own any axis lock knives, so that is about all I know.
But I do have a few knives from these brands and the Utilitac smokes them. About $20 shipped and has a better warranty.

oh sugar! I didn't take that into consideration.. i'm a lefty, so maybe I need to make sure the knife I buy has an ambidextrous function! thanks for bringing my attention to that

 

[250624a]

If you are going for quality... Kershaw has some great knives in that price range. 15-30$ looks like your price range. If you are wanting to hash out a little more money. The Kershaw Cryo 1 or 2 are great knives, wide selections and built tough, especially for it's 35$ price tag... Either way. The knives you have selected. I have only heard of a Sanrenmu, which is simply a Chinese version of a sebenza, that is unless they make other knives in which I'm unsure. Picking a knife is difficult. Hopefully this can help

 

[Insipid Moniker]

Check out the Lansky Responder. It's a collaboration with Mikkel Willumsen and is priced right around the same as the knives you're looking at, but it will have better customer service and warranty support available to you. It will also likely be more readily available and easier to return should you get a lemon.

Edit: Scratch that, just saw you were a lefty, and the Responder is set up for right hand only. You might look into the Bucklite series. Very affordable and comes with Buck's Forever Warranty.

 

[Kozified]

If you are going for quality... Kershaw has some great knives in that price range. 15-30$ looks like your price range. If you are wanting to hash out a little more money. The Kershaw Cryo 1 or 2 are great knives, wide selections and built tough, especially for it's 35$ price tag... Either way. The knives you have selected. I have only heard of a Sanrenmu, which is simply a Chinese version of a sebenza, that is unless they make other knives in which I'm unsure. Picking a knife is difficult. Hopefully this can help

yeah man that's the one, it's a rip off of the Sabenza but i've heard it's not from far the quality of a Sabenza, whether this is true or not I really don't know. However as it will be my first ever knife i'm fairly positive i'm going to be impressed either way as I won't be able to compare it too anything other than my rip off victorinox which can't even cut a piece of paper after being sharpened.. thanks for the recommendations i'll defo look into them!

 

[craytab]

Since it looks like you are not in the USA you might not care about this but you should know it anyway. The two knives that use the axis lock are stealing a patented design from Benchmade. This sort of theft would not be tolerated in the US but since these all come from China there is nothing Benchmade can really do. I would not recommend this type of counterfeiting. Your morals and values may be different though.

If you must go with one of the Chinese knives from SRM I would second the recommendation of the Enlan EL-01. I have one and it is a good knife for what you pay.

I would agree with others above that you should spend a tad more and buy from a company that stands behind their product with a warranty. I love the Ontario Utilitac II.