Sanrenmu 913P.
First, the specs taken directly from Sanrenmu's site.
Blade: 8CrMov14 (57-58HRC), Tini Finish 3 5/16 in. (8.4cm), 1/8 in. (3.29mm) thick
Scale: Terxtured G10
Overall: 7 11/16 in. (19.5cm)
Lock: Liner Lock
Weight: 5.10oz (132g)
The specs are pretty close, but I can tell you with all assurance that their "tini" coating is not titanium nitride. Whatever it is, it is definitely a water based paint. I have yet to do anything to compromise the finish, but like with all of my reviews, I do an initial and an updated usage review. I tried to take some pictures but the cloudy weather just wasn't doing my old phone camera any favors.
We'll get back to the blade. The finish is as stated above, a water based paint. Real titanium nitride would be nice, but whatever "tini" is it will suffice. The Sanrenmu markings look clean and professional. The blade is a very Benchmade like sheepsfoot design. It has an angle to it that should make cutting on flat surfaces a breeze. The tip has a very slight false edge that tapers in closer to the tip. This helps get some stickiness to it, but getting it to stab into a log for a photo was a chore compared to my clips, drops, spears, and tantos. If you want a pig sticker, this is not the knife. However, if you want a slasher, this is perfect.
The knife came mediocre sharp. As in I've only had one modern knife come out of the box duller, which is my Ganzo G704-Y. It can cut paper, but it doesn't slice it and is no where near shaving sharp. From what I read, the sharpness consistency on these does vary widely, and for $14, who cares? I use my knives hard at times so out of the box sharpness doesn't matter unless you plan to never take it out of your pocket. I'm not a fan of serrations, but they are significantly sharp.
The thumbstuds are very large and easy to access. The action was pretty tight out of the box, and the knife does use what look to actually be brass washers. With a slight wrist flick the thumbstuds send the blade open easily, and in time I have no doubt any wrist movement will be unecessary. Again I can't stress how convenient the oversized thumbstuds are.
Lock up is achieved using a liner lock and external stop pin. The liner and lock pin are pretty thick, and that goes double for a sub $20 Chinese knife. The liner locks at about 40%, which in my opinion is a bit late for a brand new knife. Keep in mind the liner is about 33% thicker than that of my Buck Vantage Force Pro though. In fact, I only own one knife with a thicker liner, which is my Zero Tolerance 0350. It doesn't lock up as authorative as my 0350 or my Utilitac II despite that though. There is no slop when locked up, the blade is nice and centered when closed, and the detent retention is about perfect.
The handles are made of thick G10. Thick enough that the width is the same as my 0350. As mentioned above, the grip is the leftovers of the Benchmade Vex. It feels very good in the hand and is quite comfortable. It has jimping on the blade spine, liners, and even the liner lock. The liner does protrude a little bit, but it's nowhere near as offensive as my Buck Vantage. So I'm not worried about accidental engagement like with the Buck, but it is apparent when gripping it due to the jimped lock.
The knife is only drilled for tip down carry, which is a major turn off for me. Unlike most cheap knives, the clip screws actually extend into the liner which is far tougher than only anchoring into the grip. Heck, even my 0350 is anchored only into the G10. Still, I despise tip down carry but with no flipper I guess I can live with it. The knife carries about a half inch deep. The deeper and more discreet, the better in my eyes. So that comes as a bonus for my use.
The knife does have some heft. It uses pillar style spacers instead of a solid G10 back spacer to save weight, but the thick liners lack any relief to save weight. Honestly, I like a knife with a little heft. When I'm out on patrol it's good to know something is there without having to check. Despite the unrelieved liners, the balance puts an obvious majority of the weight from the pivot forward. In all honesty, the knife would feel weird if it was any lighter in the handle.
Overall, I think it's a good buy for $15. It's been alluded that the Tenascious is just a reshape of this, which is just a reshape of a Benchmade Vex. While the pivot is the same, the Tenascious uses thinner liners and thinner grips. They are very similar, but if given a choice of the two I would pick the 913P simply because it's a bit more stout.
It is a solid knife for $14. I would have to say the Ontario Utilitac II is still the reigning champion in my collection. I'm going to start in on hard use testing of the 913P, but it has a long ways to go before I trust it enough to carry at work like my 0350 and Utilitac II. For $20 shipped, I'm happy for my initial impression. Now let's see how it does in time.
