SRM, Bee, Enlan, Navy and knives Fan post

Chris "Anagarika" · Feb 23, 2012

Review of Navy and Enlan .. comparing previous purchase and new arrival.

Consistency:
EL01 is left, EL01-KH is right.
Enlan is much better, all the grinds are exact (including the non symmetrical swedge)

The left swedge is shallower consistent between old and new

The cut out for the tang for lock interface is exact as well

The khaki scale is very nice, although being new, rougher than the black one, especially the parallel lines cutout. The edge of the cutout is sharp, but nothing serious.

Navy is so inconsistent, but this time in a better way. Both are FFG Navy k631, but the old one is about 8 months old.

The lanyard hole is now lined (right is new, left is old)

The blade grind is more symmetrical, but ended up thinner. The old one has the right side ground more acute, resulting blade slanting to left.
Left is old blade, right is new.

Strange is the logo and series, using different font:

The pivot is countersunk deeper, and pivot head smaller.

Chris "Anagarika" · Feb 26, 2012

A preview on the latest arrival SRM T21. Overall view:

It comes with deep pocket clip, but right hand tip down only. The handle is textured and feels very nice, not like cheap plastic feeling many have associated with FRN.

The blade is so sharp from factory and I did my shaving using it, up to now only maintained by stropping on cardboard + MAAS metal polish to maintain. It has some recurve:

Recently someone brought up a necro thread on recurve. I don't hate it based on this blade, but I haven't found what it excels at, only noticed that I had to keep adjusting my cutting method.. Even though I can sharpen it on sandpaper with some tweaking on the backing, it is still a hassle. Overall a minus point for me.

Lockup is tight with good spring pressure. Accidental release is possible due to te lockbar being higher thannhandle cutout, but from the handle design that's quite hand filling due to thickness, it likely won't happen.

The liners are nested, and skeletonized, which reduces some weight. Very nice.

From the above two pictures, it is also to be noted that the edge right after the sharpening choil is not sharpened properly. What's the point of having sharpening choil but the edge is not sharpened?

I might take it to the stones later.

It has glass breaker, seatbelt cutter, and bottle/can opener (?). I'm not sure as the shape looks like can opener, but it has no edge. Victorinox can opener has edge and I've used it without problem. The cutter & opener are not locking, they are slip joint and the spring is part of the nested liner.

All these tools haven't been tested yet, except to find out if the inward curve of seatbelt cutter is sharp. It is, tested on some copier paper, and it started a cut by pressure only.

Closed, the blade is not 100% centered, but not rubbing the liner at all. Glass breaker protrudes, but not very high. In reverse grip, it falls onto the fold of thumb joint, so it won't become a problem for thumb supporting reversed grip. Not sure how effective the glass breaker would be

The overall handle shape is very comfortable in hand. One minor complain is the blade spine thinned down with the swedge will bite palm/finger if glass breaker is to be used when blade is closed.
I don't see the point of having a swedge on such a small blade, it weights a little, and it's not designed as stabbing weapon (very short blade).

Overall, it bumped 763 from my EDC

with slight advantadge only: more tools, and handle is contoured, thicker towards the blade spine resulting in very comfortable grip.

drbobguy · Feb 29, 2012

mantzao said:
WANT!!

Just thought I should let everyone know this new EL-08 is now widely available online, not just on auction sites. One site that deals in excellent Chinese products has it for $25 shipped.

It's a beast at 6.5oz though because of the all-steel framelock. That's over an oz heavier than the EL-01.

Chris "Anagarika" · Feb 29, 2012

Thanks for new photo of this!

Thumbstud looks like slanted in Kershaw style. Anyone has it already? Preview please ....

drbobguy · Feb 29, 2012

The EL-08 seems to me perfect except they should have gone with Titanium for the frame. We know the Chinese can produce knock-offs with titanium for pretty cheap ($50) so I bet it would only have added $5 or so to the EL-08 price tag. At 6.5oz right now it's just too heavy for EDC. I ordered one anyways though, I'll post a review when I get it.

themandylion · Mar 1, 2012

themandylion said:
Oh, wow, a Rosewood version! The EL01D. Ordered, along with a "regular" EL01!

I'd like to say thanks to everyone at this forum that gave me to opportunity to learn about Enlan. I have no problems per se with (quality) Chinese-made products, but considering the vast amount of inferior products that do come from China, I would not have ever considered Enlan knives without the numerous reviews & recommendations here.

The Enlans "in hand" are every bit as good as I hoped. :thumbup:

They "flip" wonderfully, lockup is perfect, feel great in the hand, and look great, too!

I recommend everyone buy at least one EL01.

drbobguy · Mar 1, 2012

themandylion said:
The Enlans "in hand" are every bit as good as I hoped. :thumbup:

They "flip" wonderfully, lockup is perfect, feel great in the hand, and look great, too!

I recommend everyone buy at least one EL01.

Please do post photos/impressions of the EL01D. I'm tempted to order one although I already have a regular black G10 EL01. Are the scales slippery? Is the wood soft? How glossy is the veneer? Are the edges well machined or do they have splinters?

NinjaRyder0920 · Mar 1, 2012

Galeocerdoshark · Mar 2, 2012

The EL-02 really grow on me. I got used to the heavier weight (I was used to carrying lighter stuff such as Vic Cadet, Delica etc.), the axis lock is not nearly as stiff as it was in the beginning, the axis lock does not rip my thumb and indexfinger open anymore either. This 8cr is probably the sharpest steel I've ever had (and have been able te resharpen to such a sharp edge). Much sharper then my VG10, S30V, etc even sharper than the carbon steel blades I have and it gets resharpened to a shaving sharp edge so easily. Only thing is: it's too big for carrying with me to school/work. It would scare the living sh*t out of people in my non-knifeloving country. Oh well. Any suggestions on another blade within the SRM/ENLAN series that could offer me the same pleasure (micarta, axis lock, same steel, lanyard hole) as the EL-02? In other words: a comfy axis locking blade that is easily resharpened, non scaring to non-knife people and that is great in light duties such as office work. I'll have to keep the EL-02 for around the house/garden and sometimes for trips into the woods or hiking trips.

Chris "Anagarika" · Mar 2, 2012

SRM 763. G10 or the aluminium version ...
EL04 is rather big too (check few pages back) so it might not fit, but micarta.

Galeocerdoshark · Mar 2, 2012

Chris "Anagarika";10576107 said:
SRM 763. G10 or the aluminium version ...
EL04 is rather big too (check few pages back) so it might not fit, but micarta.

Thanks for the suggestions. I do think the 763 still looks a bit too tactical though for office duty...
EL-04 is a very beautiful knife, and one I will definately buy, but as you said already: too big.
I might have to compromise and go for another locking mechanism. The 710 or one of its variants comes to mind in that case. I'll have to dig a little deeper, I guess.

Chris "Anagarika" · Mar 2, 2012

If 710 is ok, then 723 might be a better option. More elegant.
Or newer 738.

Galeocerdoshark · Mar 2, 2012

Wow, that 738 looks really nice! I'm going to look into that one for sure.

Chris "Anagarika" · Mar 2, 2012

There's a review by Dagon, a member here too.

flash900 · Mar 2, 2012

Highly recommend all reviews by Dagon. Wish he did a lot more.

As to the 763, it ranks right up, IMO. It's a nice size -- too small to look tactical scary.

I like the wide blade and belly; the double thumb studs; the Axis-style lock; the jimping and the fact that you can adjust the pivot screw, if necessary.

Don't much care for the clip, although it is serviceable enough.

I slightly prefer the G10 version of the 763, but they're both good value for the $$. And very smooth opening and closing, in my experience.

The 763 is every bit as good as my current small favorite Chinese import: the Enlan M025.

69murray · Mar 2, 2012

Well, I just received a package from China containing a couple nice knives so I thought I'd post some photos and talk about one of them in particular. Oh, and take the opportunity to show off my Sanrenmu collection as it seems I now have one!

The two I just received was the black G-10 version of the 763. I already had the aluminum version and I love it, so I figured for what they cost why not collect them all? I tried to get the tan G-10 one, but I haven't been able to find it in stock lately. Anyway, the other one was the Sanrenmu 715. I hadn't seen it before until recently and it looked intriguing. It is!

rIMG_2435 by 69murray, on Flickr
As you can see, it's a stainless steel framelock knife with Micarta scales. The blade length is about 2.75" and the overall length is about 6.3", very close in size to the 763. It's overal length is almost identical to the 763, but the 715's blade length is a little longer and it's handle is a little shorter. You'll notice that mine doesn't have a pocket clip. Where I got it, it was shown and advertised that way, but I've noticed on some other sites, it does show a pocket clip. It just so happened, though that this one fits perfectly in a small leather slip case I made for carrying my slipjoints:

IMG_2436 by 69murray, on Flickr

rIMG_2431 by 69murray, on Flickr

It's also very close in size to the 710 (almost the same blade length, but shorter handle), though it feels more comfortable in the hand in some ways. Probably due to the Micarta scales and its 'curviness', although the longer handle on the 710 does give a more secure purchase on the knife - same could be said for the 763.

Lockup is rock solid just like the 710, and there was no blade play horizontally or vertically. The blade was very close to exactly centered, but since it was a little stiff when I first opened it, I loosened the pivot screw just a tad and this fixed both the centering (which wasn't really an issue) and the stiffness.

As this is my first knife with any recurve in the blade, I guess I'll find out if that's going to be a negative for me when I go to sharpen it. For now, I find the blade shape quite pleasing to look at.

Since had the camera out, I figured I'd snap one to show the family so far (just the Sanrenmus - I have a Bee, Enlan, and Navy as well):

rIMG_2430-2 by 69murray, on Flickr

Every one of these knives have turned out to be outstanding values.

gomipile · Mar 2, 2012

I love the G10 763. It is probably my favorite EDC design ever. I'd love to see one in a better steel, but the 763 is more than adequate to keep in my pocket.

Galeocerdoshark · Mar 3, 2012

flash900 said:
Highly recommend all reviews by Dagon. Wish he did a lot more.

As to the 763, it ranks right up, IMO. It's a nice size -- too small to look tactical scary.

I like the wide blade and belly; the double thumb studs; the Axis-style lock; the jimping and the fact that you can adjust the pivot screw, if necessary.

Don't much care for the clip, although it is serviceable enough.

I slightly prefer the G10 version of the 763, but they're both good value for the $$. And very smooth opening and closing, in my experience.

The 763 is every bit as good as my current small favorite Chinese import: the Enlan M025.

I'm going to get a 763 for sure, but not as an office edc. On your comment that it's too small to be scary...well, you'd be surprised.
The boss of the company where I'm doing an internship at the moment was surprised as hell when I took a Vic Cadet out of my pants to open a box for him and he asked: are you going to kill someone with that? I then said: only the ones hat bother me too much. He laughed greenish.

I'm thinking of placing a larger order on an EL-04, a srm 763, 710 and 738.

I know Dagon and his vids, too bad he'll be making less vids for the next couple of years.

flash900 · Mar 3, 2012

Galeocerdoshark said:
I'm going to get a 763 for sure, but not as an office edc. On your comment that it's too small to be scary...well, you'd be surprised.
The boss of the company where I'm doing an internship at the moment was surprised as hell when I took a Vic Cadet out of my pants to open a box for him and he asked: are you going to kill someone with that? I then said: only the ones hat bother me too much. He laughed greenish.

I'm thinking of placing a larger order on an EL-04, a srm 763, 710 and 738.

I know Dagon and his vids, too bad he'll be making less vids for the next couple of years.

"Tactical" is in the eye of the beholder, no doubt.

What's the deal with deal with Dagon -- is he ok?

Galeocerdoshark · Mar 3, 2012

flash900 said:
"Tactical" is in the eye of the beholder, no doubt.

What's the deal with deal with Dagon -- is he ok?

He said in his last vid that he will be going to somewhere in Indonesia -work related, some high function abroad anyway- for approx 2 years so there will be fewer vids. After that he'll pick right back up. He is taking a few knives with him (I think it was a PM2 and some other stuff, and he already located a knife shop in the city where he's working, haha) so there will be other reviews and such, but just less for about 2 years.