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If consider budget knife from China store, which brand you would choose?

gearbest

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Aug 27, 2014
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2,070
Many persons posted Spyderco as their EDC. If consider budget knife from China store, which brand you would choose?

#1 Ganzo
#2 Sanrenmu
#3 CIMA
#4 Tekut
#5 Enlan
#6 HARNDS
#7 BOSIDUN
#8 SANJIA
.................(If others, you can post the brand under this thread)

PS: Though i am a rep of one dealer on CPF, this post is just for looking to hearing from all of you, not for advertisement. Hope it's ok to post here. If not, please let me know, thank you!
 

raz-0

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Nov 10, 2006
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Never heard of them and a bunch of them are blatant rip offs of specific designs.

Knives from China are exactly like everything else from China. They can range from pretty well done to something chucked in a box that stretches or downright obliterates the commonly accepted meaning of that word. (I'd say that it ranges up to excellent, but it's knives, and they seem committed to their domestic steels which are still a bit lacking )

Looking up the majority of those brands, they seem to be selling to someone who wants a lookalike to a good knife at 10% of the price. Their business is ripping off looks and not making something usable.

The next biggest category seems to be flea market fodder designed to stimulate the imaginations of 13 year old boys. This is never the realm of quality.

At least one appeared to be making knives of their own design that looked reasonably sane or fashionable. They might be trying to make a reasonable product based on competitive intrusion.

The prices on none of them were such that I wouldn't just go for the Chinese manufactured models of spyderco, kershaw, ckrt, etc.

They might be decent values, but they save me $5-10 over the above, and potentially cost me $15-30.

The Chinese knife making market now seems very similar to the Japanese output in the early to mid 80s. I suspect it will improve similarly.
 

akhyar

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Mar 12, 2013
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Malaysia
For China brands knives, Reate and Kizer are the two that comes to mind.
They do lots of collaboration with American custom designers, but their pricing are also like Spydy, ZT, Boker, etc.
 

verdum

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Dec 13, 2015
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The first one that comes to my mind is definitely Ganzo.
I like axis lock and all that new models like G729, G727.
Enlan is the second brand - already own some models. Just good cheap knives.
 

gearbest

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Ahah.. yes, Ganzo and Enlan are both popular budget knives. Maybe next time you can take a chance of Sanrenmu & Cima ;)

The first one that comes to my mind is definitely Ganzo.
I like axis lock and all that new models like G729, G727.
Enlan is the second brand - already own some models. Just good cheap knives.
 

akhyar

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Reate and Kizer... Both are new brands to our site. Any model of them impress you much?

Since you asked, Reate District 9 and Kizer Gemini are 2 that received great reviews.
They are both retailing for around US$200 each, so their target market are different than those $10-20 models from Ganzo, SRM, Enlan, etc.

If you only discussing about those budget China-brands knife, I've 2 Sanrenmus, 2 Ganzos, and one each of Enlan, Harnds and Snakehead.

I've heard good things about CIMA fixed knives, but haven't own one yet
 
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verdum

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Dec 13, 2015
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I've 2 Sanrenmus that are shaving sharp and well built straight from the box, while my Ganzo G704 which I ordered from Gearbest is blunt and the blade is not centered, in fact scraping the frame.
So my vote goes to SRM, and no more Ganzo for me.
Heh, G704 with his thick blade (4mm) is not for shaving it is for batoning! :D
 

jumpstat

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Dec 20, 2006
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2,418
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Ampang, Malaysia
Many persons posted Spyderco as their EDC. If consider budget knife from China store, which brand you would choose?

#1 Ganzo
#2 Sanrenmu
#3 CIMA
#4 Tekut
#5 Enlan
#6 HARNDS
#7 BOSIDUN
#8 SANJIA
.................(If others, you can post the brand under this thread)

PS: Though i am a rep of one dealer on CPF, this post is just for looking to hearing from all of you, not for advertisement. Hope it's ok to post here. If not, please let me know, thank you!
Hi there,

From the list above, I have only come across #1 & #2, the rest I am not familiar with. Those from Reate are really nice designs and their choice of materials really looks attractive which is reflected in their pricing. Other than that, I myself has owned a few knives built in china however under Spyderco e.g. tenacious etc etc.
 

TKC

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Dec 11, 2004
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Earth
I wouldn't choose any of those brands that you have listed.
 
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adama70

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Jan 2, 2016
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3
Are you looking to buy one of these knives? Do you want an opinion as to any of these companies being a hidden deal, with a lot of value for the money?

If you are looking to become a dealer of one of these brands I would suggest purchasing some samples of the most promising looking knives of your favorites from that list.

I'm not a fan of the fact that some of those knives a clear knockoffs. That creates a large potential for confusion over what a customer down the road might be buying. I am encouraged to see that companies have started combating this problem by making lower cost options for some custom knives (e.g. Kershaw Emerson).

In summery: if you are wanting a cheap Knife look at SOG Mini aegis, the Kershaw Emerson line, Case and Buck all have low cost well regarded useful knives. If you want to sell one of these companies knives, I can't help.
 

Sadden

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Mar 14, 2015
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262
None of them. A knife failure can cause someone serious harm.
 

lachesis

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Sep 18, 2012
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I have a friend who loved my Benchmade Griptilian (in particular, the Axis lock). However, he's notorious for losing knives. In the first two years I knew him, he lost four EDC knives. I picked him up an Enlan EL-02 for $20 off Amazon back in 2014, with the theory that neither of us would feel bad if he lost it.

In general, I like it. It's got a pretty nice blade and strong construction. It is a bit heavier than my Grip, however. Also, the Axis lock clone is very, very stiff, almost to the point where it hurts my hands to use. I wouldn't trade in my Grip for it, but I also wouldn't sneer at it. Not a bad knife at all for $20.
 

Destiny

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Nov 19, 2015
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Although I appreciate great and good knives, many people just want something they can carry daily that isn't utter crap. In fact, my first locking knife came from a Dollar Store. And that's one thing I recommend in a knife. Get one that locks. Most pocket knives have traditionally been slipjoint knives. These are your Case knives, Barlow knives and Swiss Army Knife (though they're making some locking knives now).

There are essentially two types of junk knives out there. One has a soft blade steel, comes sharp but dulls quickly with use. Still, one can get them very sharp, depending on the heat treat, and some aren't bad at all. The blades are most commonly 420 stainless. Don't buy 420J2; that and anything lower is junk. Avoid knives marked "surgical stainless." Most people don't know that most surgical scalpels and other surgical tools are normally used once, then discarded.

The next level is actually worse in my book. They're advertised as 440 or 440A. Böker makes decent knives, but its Magnum line uses all 440A stainless blade steel. This is a much better steel than 420, but the heat treat is almost always horrible. I bought two Böker Magnum knives. Neither came sharp out of the box, nor can they be sharpened. Other 440A blades from cheap manufacturers are pretty much the same. The only exception is Cold Steel. It made some knives a number of years ago with 440A blades and they nearly took my fingers off! I have a few Night Force, Pro-Lite and Recon 1 (all made by Cold Steel). What was the difference? It's the way the steel is heat treated. If blades are allowed to simply air cool, the quality of the blade will be different than if it comes out red hot and is then plunged into a sub-zero cryogenic bath. Cold Steel's heat treat has always been exceptional. So has Spyderco's. But I can take one of Cold Steel's 440A knives, serrated or plain, and it holds an edge very well, plus it's easy to sharpen.

Below are some cheap knives in my collection with some comments.




I have this knife in both plain and serrated edges. Beautiful knife
with a sub-zero quenched blade. Cuts like the ****ens! The plain
edge version almost nicked me right out of the box. Be very careful
with Cold Steel knives.


SWMagnesium_2.jpg





You'll hear a lot about S&W knives, both good and bad. I've
found them to be very underrated overall. The Magnesium
(top) gets its name from its magnesium handle and was
initially made to retail for more than $50. I bought a bunch
of the first ones for less than six dollars per knife. The
Hawkbill, above, also was to be a premium knife, but couldn't
command the price. I bought a bunch also for less than six
dollars per knife! Both knives shown here are very well made
and sport 440C blades that are easy to keep sharp.

(Note: Some S&W knives are less-than-stellar because
they're made by different manufacturers. But even the
cheaper models aren't total junk. Just judge on the look
and feel, or the photos.)




Maxam knives are synonymous with "cheap" and "junk."
They almost always have 420 stainless steel blades and
in my view are just fine for casual applications. This model
has a fairly decent frame lock, which is much better than
most liner locks, in my opinion. If going to a place where
I may have to ditch a knife, the Maxam is what I'll carry.
If a museum or other building has a metal detector, I can
usually ditch my gentleman's blade under a bush until I can
return for it. This knife set me back about five bucks.





This Eddie Bauer is hands down the ugliest,
most unappealing knife in my collection. It has
a titanium-coated 440C stainless steel half-serrated
blade, seems well made with a decent lock. It's
very thin, but the blade shape has an ugly hump
at the top. Fully functional, light weight with a
belt clip, but fugly beyond belief.





The first of these three is a very attractive M-Tech, with a
440A blade that isn't sharp and can't be sharpened much.
It can open a package, cut rope and is an okay knife to
give to a kid who otherwise might cut himself. What made
me buy it, years ago, was the neat coating. For those of
you who are 55-60 years old or so, remember those old
microscopes and other old fashioned optical devices with
a coating that epitomized quality? Well, this is a very similar
coating. It's hard to sharpen through. The other two knives
are Maxams. Very sharp, but made of 420 stainless, so one
has to sharpen them frequently if engaged in a lot of cutting.
The middle knife has a 5-inch blade and, though not a
tactical knife, can be carried discreetly for defense. The
bottom knife is really pretty nice and it's quick to open.
Also sharp, also easy to sharpen.


These knives are only a few of many, but I hope they will lay a little groundwork for what's out there. All in all, if a blade is 440A and not made by Cold Steel, avoid it. If the steel has a designation with a CR in it (like 8Cr13, don't drop below "7" for a first letter as a general rule.

Just my opinions. Others may vary.
 
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