Your Opinion of Sanrenmu Knives

[saulysw]

I have 7 knives from Sanrenmu now --

1. PR-603. Small. Needed sanding. Good for opening mail. Easy to open once you loosen it up a fraction.
2. 704. Thought I might like the square-ish handle - but don't. Small. Can't open one handed myself. No gimping.
3. F3-710. Camo handle, black blade version. Smaller than I expected. Quite stiff. Nice design, thin. Has to be tight to keep the blade centred.
4. Land 962. Axis lock not as nice as my BM mini-grip. Spydy-hole smaller than my Tenacious. Weird pivot tool needed to loosen. No steel or model number etched on knife.
5. Land MC6-908. No belt clip. Nice handle, very comfortable. One sided thumb stud. Flat ground. Skeletonized liner on one side. No gimping.
6. Bee L02. Liner a little low profile. Nice belt clip. No lanyard hole.
7. Bee L05-1. My favourite, by far. Large knife with wood scales steel liners, came loose so easy to flick open. Full flat ground. Bit heavy. Pretty. No gimping.

In this small sample space, I would rank the Land knives the lowest, the SRM knives in the middle, and the Bee knives as the best. I am very fond of the L05-1, it looks good, it feels nice, and it works well. All knives came sharp with blades centered, however, many were quite stiff. The BEE logo looks like something right out of the 70's. Most seem to have one washer as bronze, the other as teflon or whatever it is. None of the lanyard holes are lined. Detent is good, a bit too strong even in some models.

I'm less impressed in the 710 than I thought I would be. It's ok, just a bit too stiff for me to be happy with it. Might just be the one I have. I'll get an all-steel version to see.

Overall, as most have said - surprisingly high quality for such cheap knives. Check out the Bee L05-1, it's my pick.

 

[saulysw]

For those visually inclined, here are two fairly crappy photos of these knifes. Knife 1 is missing (it's at work), but the others are in order above 2-7. Because of the slightly odd angle, they don't quite look the right size. Trust me that the L05 is bigger than the 704!

 

[oxbld]

2. 704. Thought I might like the square-ish handle - but don't. Small. Can't open one handed myself. No gimping.

Overall, as most have said - surprisingly high quality for such cheap knives. Check out the Bee L05-1, it's my pick.

I found the 704 a bit too small for me also. Seems ok, just doesn't get used.

I am ordering the Bee L05 with G10. I have liked the looks of it since I first saw it, but didn't know anything about their knives. Recently its been getting a lot of very positive reviews here.

 

[Bastid]

A wise person would keep the politics and personal carp out of this thread.

There will be no more warnings. Rules to this forum are posted. It is up to folks to obey them or not.

 

[cziv]

What does "L" mean Land models or something like that - I missed it if you labled the knives you photographed??

 

[saulysw]

Cziv, sorry, I made the post and then realised that a few pictures would help. Look at the post directly before the pictures for more details.

To be clear, from left to right --

SRM 704.
SRM F3-710.
Land 962.
Land MC6-908.
Bee L02.
Bee L05-1.

 

[Jedrus]

SRM does not make knives BEE. Bee trademark of another Chinese company - ENLAN (home site: http://enlanknives.com)

 

[Folderguy]

SRM does not make knives BEE. Bee trademark of another Chinese company - ENLAN (home site: http://enlanknives.com)

Where are these knives available? That website doesn't have any ordering info.

 

[cziv]

Cziv, sorry, I made the post and then realised that a few pictures would help. Look at the post directly before the pictures for more details.

To be clear, from left to right --

SRM 704.
SRM F3-710.
Land 962.
Land MC6-908.
Bee L02.
Bee L05-1.

I really like the one on the far right. Is that the Bee LO5-1 and is the largest of the new pile of Chinese knives we're discussing? Is that real wood? Does it open nicely? Would you recommened it based on your experience?

 

[Chris "Anagarika"]

Where are these knives available? That website doesn't have any ordering info.

Googling sanrenmu eBay will give you the seller that sells also Bee

 

[John Smith V]

Interesting. Land also has a L02 model, which looks exactly like the BEE L02 pictured above.

They are made by different companies in different cities.

Could one be a copy of the other?

This Chinese knife business is very complicated.

 

[saulysw]

I really like the one on the far right. Is that the Bee LO5-1 and is the largest of the new pile of Chinese knives we're discussing? Is that real wood? Does it open nicely? Would you recommened it based on your experience?

To answer your questions

1. Is far right the Bee L05-1 : Yes
2. Is it the largest knife (of the ones I have) : Close to it
3. Is that real wood : Yes, I believe so, but i don't know from what kind of tree, or how hard it is. I have not had the knife long so I don't know how it will wear. It's well sanded. If it's like my 603, the stain goes deep.
4. Does it open nicely : Yes, just the way I like it. Mine came loose, so I can flick it open with the thumb stud. Lockup is generally good.
5. Would I recommend it : Sure, for $10 or so, it's a really top knife.
6. (bonus, unasked question!) Where did you get it : From eBay, from a seller called sanrenmu.knife who seems to be on the level.

Sorry if I have confused anyone by introducing Bee / Land branded knives to the discussion. They were sold by the same seller and I kind-of-assumed they were re-branded SRM. I'm not trying to hijack this thread.

 

[XSrcing]

Anyone know of a dealer that doesn't only take PayPal? I'm not going to set up an account only to buy a couple inexpensive knives.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

Anyone know of a dealer that doesn't only take PayPal? I'm not going to set up an account only to buy a couple inexpensive knives.

paypal is probably the safest way to buy these while they are shipping from china and/or taiwan.

str had some identity theft problems purchasing otherwise.

 

[cziv]

Hey Thanks saulysw!

I was just trying to find something in the 3.5 to 4" range of blade length. I don't think they make any folders that long. Appreciate your reply.

 

[Jedrus]

Interesting. Land also has a L02 model, which looks exactly like the BEE L02 pictured above.

They are made by different companies in different cities.
Could one be a copy of the other?

No, these knives are different completely, the size and the design. Besides, SRM already does not make G-902.

Is that real wood : Yes, I believe so, but i don't know from what kind of tree, or how hard it is.

As to L05-1:
Blade Length: 3.5 inches.
Handle: beech, but beech is not stabilized, simply a wood covered with lacquer .
Knife is very good: he has excellent geometry and mechanics.

Hey Thanks saulysw!

I was just trying to find something in the 3.5 to 4" range of blade length. I don't think they make any folders that long. Appreciate your reply.

That you just do not know. Whole SRM series 9** has a blade length ~3.5 inch.
MC-962 is shortest - 3.3 inch. Others are longer. There are Bee model with blade length 3.5 inches: L01, L05, L05-1; 3.7 inch: L07, L07-1.

Anyone know of a dealer that doesn't only take PayPal? I'm not going to set up an account only to buy a couple inexpensive knives.

I buy knives from China: www.exduct.com. Payment via PP and WUnion.

 

[drbobguy]

I'm interested if anyone has tried SRM Model 6261, it's got wooden handles and an axis lock:

link

EDIT: Wow! Those enlan knives look amazing. Any place where they are available? Ebay and exduct.com only have a few, whereas their website has lots that I would be interested in purchasing, like these beautiful ones:

link

link

 

[wongKI]

Bottom one is pretty. Did you try mailing them? I emailed SRM about a year back and they were pretty helpful. Though they only gave me local (as in Chinese) dealers.

 

[NaturalMystic]

Those Enlan models are nice. BTW I made my 3 ebay purchases from sanrenmu.knife also and so far he's been really good to deal with.
My first purchase was for the Navy K615 in August. The second purchase was for the five models I just got last week which included the two 710s, etc that I posted pics on previously in this and the other SanRenMu thread.
He allows combined shipping with discounted shipping rates on the additional knives. The calculator miscalculated the combined shipping and he was quick to apologize and promptly issued me a credit for the over-shipping amount.
I just ordered two of the GB-763 to see how decent their "Axis" locks are. I really like the blade shape and handle also so we'll see how it stacks up. Based on the previous models purchased I figure they'll be ok.
After playing around with these a bit I can say I'm not crazy about the Navy K502 because it doesn't have the ball detent in the blade to provide some tension when closed so I think it might have a tendency to partially open up on you when in pocket, etc.

 

[jill jackson]

I had a chance to look at one of those Navy brand knives and take a couple of quick pictures. It's the one that's a close copy of the Spyderco Lil Temp.
The knife is well made and feels very strong. Lock is admittedly a very good copy IMO. It was not as well finished as a real Spyderco, but it is very decent for 20 dollars or so. I did set it up right on the back of the liners and it was even, unlike the one STR examied and found would set at a tilt because of uneven liners. It opened rather roughly, could feel grit so I washed it under hot tap water and oiled it with gun lube, then it worked a lot smoother. A few licks on the fine sticks had it hair popping sharp as any. When I handed it back to the owner they seemed rather pleased with it for the money spent.