Thinking about buying a cheap china knife

I'm with you Chevy. I did the same thing you're talking about doing and bought that Sanrenmu knife in your picture (I guess it's the 763), but haven't gotten it yet. It takes weeks to arrive and I'm still waiting. I've got literally dozens of other knives in the $75 - $200 range to use and carry day-to-day, but just wanted to scratch the itch a little without too much residual pain after the purchase. I've looked at this knife online quite a bit and I don't see that it's a knockoff (except for the Axis lock).
 
The only Sanrenmu that I have ever owned was a GB-763 like the one in the second photo.

I recently gave it away but there was nothing wrong with the knife. The axis lock mechanism is exactly the same as Benchmade's design as far as I could tell.

I bought it because I was curious to see what the Sanrenmu's were all about.

It should be noted that the GB-763 is a rather small knife.
 
You would likely get less static if you differentiated between "knockoff" and "made in China".

A "knockoff" is a blatant copy of someone else's design. Most folks here frown on purchasing "knockoffs" as supporting theft of intellectual property.

There are fewer folks who have issues with buying "made in China" knives. There are lots of inexpensive legitimate knives that fall into that category. The Byrd line comes immediately to mind. Likewise the Chinese-made Bucks and Kershaws.
 
shecky said:
I'd bet if you gave this guy a Sebenza and didn't tell him how much it was worth, it would end up with the same fate as his Chinese knives. Lost, broken, or dull as a butterknife with the user unable to bring it back. These things have probably have less to do knife quality than with user operation.

A random no name $8 knife from anywhere is likely to be on the crappy side. A $8 knife from a respected brand is likely to be decent. Sanrenmu, Cold Steel, Kershaw, Spyderco all have quality knives produced in China available in the US for very low prices. Some even come from the same factory. Stick with such brands, and you'll be OK.
Click to expand...

No - my friend is pretty good with knives - he is always admiring mine when we get together and I really believe he understands the difference.

He just has a hard time spending the money.

I've examined his knives - whatever he is carrying at the time - and it usually is not very well made - or uses some no name steel.

A Sebenza would be a waste on him, but a ZT wouldn't.
 
I've also been thinking about picking up a cheaper Chinese knife. From what I understand, Sanrenmu makes the Byrd and tenacious line for Spyderco, and probably manufactures several other companies' Chinese knives. Those knives are generally well though of, so I would expect knives from Sanrenmu and other Chinese brands to be on the same level.
 
The second one is the Sanrenmu 763. A really nice, practical EDC, irrespective of the low price. And when closed, you can use the end of the spine of the blade to open beer bottles! Clever!

I also recommend the 710, and -if you hurry, they're going out of production- the 939, which is a great and totally original sheepfoot blade folder, and the 1723 or one of its siblings which is the Buck Nobleman (not a clone, but the very same knife that SRM builds for Buck).

One particular cheap chinese knife that merits your attention, a lot more than the strider lookalike, is the Bee EL-01. This knife is not inspired by any western knife I know of and really is a "ZT0200 for the rest of us". I know as I have both.

Bee El-01:
Knives539.jpg

(Danzo from British Blades made the above picture)

If you're interested (I don't want to give the impression of pushing my hobby channel on Youtube), I examined and discussed all these knives in the following review clips:

101. BEE knives: offering great value
105. Sanrenmu part 1: SRM 710, 702 & 962
106. Sanrenmu part 2: SRM 728, 4730 & 1723
107. Sanrenmu part 3: SRM 905 & 939
108. Sanrenmu part 4: SRM 763 & 785

And you can now win the 763 in my very first competion:
3. Dagon's first competition: win a nice EDC knife
 
00ChevyScott said:
I just happened to come across some cheap china knives in another thread and figured what the hell, if it's a piece of junk I can give it away or throw it away.
Click to expand...

why even consider buying a knife, regardless of price, if your contingency plan is to give it away or throw it away :confused:. good luck. who knows, maybe the knives are of decent build quality, you should do a review on them.
 
Last edited:
Between the two, I would go with the 13 dollar one because I like the way it looks better and its ground more closely to the spine meaning it might have better edge retention/ease of use in cutting. In addition it has a lanyard hole whereas the other doesn't. Lanyard hole might not be that useful, but it does give options. I like options.

Peace Out. :cool:
 
Good advice on the Mora or Opinel for the money. Other thing I do when in your situation is go to a local gunshow and pick up a S&W (or other inexpensive) brand for $5 or $10, and at least that way you get to fondle it (and a bunch of others ;) )before you spend your money.
 
i've had cheap made in china knives that have held up better than expensive made in the USA knives, so its worth a shot.
 
ebay
Schrade USA "USED"
New to you. Put an edge on it and enjoy for years.

USClassichalf_whittler.jpg


Other than that U S Classic " China" fooled you / NOT!
makes a half whittler which I have carried for a year now.
I like the Wharncliffe blade, it cuts good, sharpens easy
and I don't have to worry about losing it $20
 
kozak6 said:
I'm glad you changed your mind.

An $8 liner lock is a terrifying thing.
Click to expand...

lol what you dont like having a nickel/copper/zinc liner stop a blade from cutting you?

but seriously if you want to go for a chinese knife i say go for it, besides its the first strider knock off ive ever seen
 
I really like the frame lock Sanrenmu 710 model and have ordered a half a dozen.

Most are fine, but a couple came with locks that are difficult to open or close. I kept them awhile to see if the locks would smooth out. They didn't and I gave them away.

The two Elans I ordered (an MO2O model) came with liner locks so weak I consider them dangerous.

The point is, the prices are good and some of the knives are good to excellent. But you will pay almost as much for shipping as for the knife, and shipping can take three or four weeks. If there is a problem with the merchandise -- and my experience is that there may be -- you will have no one to go to.

You will end up either giving the knife away (sadly, like two of my Sanrenmus), or throwing them away to prevent injury to you or friends. (Like those two Elans.)

There's also a risk in having your PayPal go through foreign banks that lack the security of banks here, as I found out when my American Express card was compromised after one purchase.

On the other hand, Spyderco (Byrds), CRKT (the Drifter models), and other U.S. companies have reliable and inexpensive Chinese knives that are easy to buy and for which service is available, if needed.

Just something to think about.
 
What a terrible thread.

If you want a Chinese made knife SO BADLY I suggest you stop whining, save up 20 dollars more and buy a Spyderco Tenacious. They are made in China but will last a life time, and they stand behind Spyderco's warranty.
 
Consider a Spyderco Resilience buddy. It is quite inexpensive, well made, and I feel that I got great value for little money on this one. It's now broken in and is so butter smooth to open that it's truly sweet to swing into that solid click lock up. It's fairly large if your into that.
 
Knifein said:
What a terrible thread.

If you want a Chinese made knife SO BADLY I suggest you stop whining, save up 20 dollars more and buy a Spyderco Tenacious. They are made in China but will last a life time, and they stand behind Spyderco's warranty.
Click to expand...

Already got one:thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top