All About Pocket Knives

There are quite a few ebay sellers in China with SanRenMu and Ganzo knives. I have purchased from at least 6 different sellers some of whom had not been selling for long and had low FB numbers. In every case communication was obsessively good by the seller and knives arrive in under 21 days.
I'm posting this to show that there are other reliable options than Best Gear which is slower in shipping and replying to messages.
kj

There have been several occasions where the tools I wanted were available at a significantly lower price from China or they were the only place that actually had the tool I needed. As a result I have gotten used to the long ship times and more accepting of buying offshore. Jerry's post showed me that GearBest was dependable but a little slow. Given their low prices and large selection I can live with the wait time. I may try another company next time it I do this again.

orvet wrote:Jerry's post showed me that GearBest was dependable but a little slow.

It was their lack of communication that convinced me to cease doing business with them. I too am accustomed to slow service out of China but I cannot abide the lack of communication.

Quote Jerry: "I too am accustomed to slow service out of China"

Do you really mean "slow service" ? or long delivery time ?
The sellers in China i have bought from get the knife mailed out within 24-48 hours which is good service, not slow.
kj

I understand.
I am more put off when they communicate in Chinese than not communicating at all!

kootenay joe wrote:Quote Jerry: "I too am accustomed to slow service out of China"

Do you really mean "slow service" ? or long delivery time ?
The sellers in China i have bought from get the knife mailed out within 24-48 hours which is good service, not slow.
kj

No, I meant slow service. Lucky you.

For a knife to be considered "Chinese" does it have to be made by a Chinese company, or is any knife that is made in a factory physically located in the country of China by Chinese workers considered a "Chinese knife" even those made under officially licensed, registered & trademarked USA based companies? (Kinda similar to the question of whether a Northwoods knife is actually a Northwoods or a Great Eastern Cutlery knife.)

Reason I ask is because I have several AG Russell knives that were made in a Chinese factory (located in China) by Chinese workers, but I really do not consider them to be "Chinese" knives so much as AG Russell knives that AG had made in China. Same thing with the Hen & Rooster knives that were made in Germany when AG Russell owned that brand; are they German knives or AG Russell knives that were just made in Germany?

Here's my latest AG Russell / high quality "Chinese" knife:
~Q~

QTCut5 wrote:For a knife to be considered "Chinese" does it have to be made by a Chinese company, or is any knife that is made in a factory physically located in the country of China by Chinese workers considered a "Chinese knife" even those made under officially licensed, registered & trademarked USA based companies?

~Q~

~Q~ my opinion. Made by workers from any country, in a factory located in China. Chinese knife no matter who's tang stamp is on it. Made in a factory located in one of the 50 United States, USA made. To me, that's why goods are mandated to have the country of origin on them. Although I have a Ganzo, made in China, with NO country of origin on it. Others are welcome to their own opinion.

I vaguely recall reading somewhere once that the reason for laws regulating identification of the country of origin on products had something to do with international trade agreements & import/export tariffs and possibly also trademark protection (which may also speak to the concept of quality standards). But, it is interesting to note that other factors aside (racism, political differences, human rights abuses, low wages, sub-standard working conditions, trademark infringement, etc.), the reason to avoid buying a knife made in any particular country really can not be attributed exclusively to consistently lower quality manufacturing of every knife produced in that country; and certainly China is no exception--as many others have demonstrated in this thread with numerous examples of well-made Chinese knives.

~Q~

I have to say I was pretty satisfied with the Service from Gearbest. I knew shipping from China takes at least a month. When I purchased my knives, I registered my account at the top of their page and had no communication problems at all! I could log in to my account/order page and pretty much track where my knife package was all the way to the Port of Los Angeles. Once it was at the Port, I received the knives a couple a days later from my local Post Office. I also like the fact I could use Paypal to make my purchases and not have my Visa card number floating around Hong Kong!

Speaking of Ganzo Knives, I picked this one up on Amazon. It's a Ganzo G717, with 440C steel and sculpted desert tan G-10 Handles. The knife is built like a Tank and Hair popping sharp. This knife is one of the early Ganzo models before they started thinning out the linners and it weighs a Ton. Too Heavy in the pocket for me, especially in my work slacks. I gave it to one of my Jarhead friends at work and he Loves the Extra Heft to it, so to each his own!

QTCut5, a Chinese knife is any knife made in China regardless of what is marked on it.
kj

I can accept that logic, KJ.

I have noticed that, for some reason, it matters very much to many people if a knife was made in China. When I show my knives to someone and I identify the different countries where they were made (USA, England, Ireland, France, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Argentina, Japan, Pakistan), it's the mention of China that frequently elicits a strong negative reaction, an automatic dismissal, a lack of interest or even outright contempt, regardless of the quality of the knife.

I'm sure they must have their reasons (rational or otherwise), but I do find it curious.

~Q~

MITCH RAPP wrote: Speaking of Ganzo Knives, I picked this one up on Amazon. It's a Ganzo G717, with 440C steel and sculpted desert tan G-10 Handles. The knife is built like a Tank and Hair popping sharp. This knife is one of the early Ganzo models before they started thinning out the linners and it weighs a Ton. Too Heavy in the pocket for me, especially in my work slacks. I gave it to one of my Jarhead friends at work and he Loves the Extra Heft to it, so to each his own!

You silver tongued devil. You talked me right into it. My daughter is supposed to be in the process of ordering one (she has Amazon Prime) and having it sent to me. I'm in the process of putting the cash in the mail to send to her. Should work out well.

Edit: Just got a text from her. It should be here Wednesday.

Hey Jerry, You do Love you some Orange! Nice Find!

MITCH RAPP wrote:Hey Jerry, You do Love you some Orange! Nice Find!

Tee tee.

I got an email from GearBest that 4 of the 6 knives I ordered shipped yesterday.
One that is coming is the Ganzo G727M, little lighter than the G717.
I also ordered a Sanrenmu LAND 910 that I think I will like. The steel is 12C27 though I am not sure exactly what that is.

Dale of all the new Ganzo's and Sanrenmu's I have tried out, I really like the Sanrenmu LAND 910 Best! I bought a Black one and a Green one and I do like them a lot. I have been buying some of these new Chinese knives to try them out and then giving them away to some of my Work Mates. But the 2 Sanrenmu LAND 910's I bought are keepers and EDCers for me. Very Nice Knives!

Here are the knives currently in my 'Gift Box'. I get enjoyment from giving a quality gift to someone who is not expecting anything. I want the gift to exceed expectations so it becomes 'special' to that person. The best of the inexpensive Chinese folding knives are perfect gifts: always under $20, very smooth but tight fit & finish, super sharp edge that seems to hold 'forever'(for the casual user).
Most of these are SanRenMu made.
kj

A Ganzo G717-O joined my pile yesterday.

With all that I heard about the Ganzo G717 is I purchased one and received it in the mail today.

Today I carried the 717 in place of my trusted Camillus Heat.

I did not get a chance to use it but here is the low down on the carry. The Ganzo rides higher in the pocket than the Camillus does. Due to the location of the pocket clips. Both support moving the clip for right hand or left hand carry. The Ganzo is designed to carried tip up while the Camillus is carried tip down. I find that I like the tip up carry of the Ganzo.

Both knives lock in the open position. The Camillus has a very stout liner lock and the Ganzo sports a torsion lock that also stout and tight. Unlocking the Ganzo took a little getting used to but I can do it one handed. The Camillus is slightly easier to unlock. Opening the Ganzo is easy. Push the thumb stud and with a flick of the wrist she snaps open! The Camillus of course is an A/O that opens as smooth and easy as one would expect from a Daryl Ralph design.

I do like the Ganzo and will use it. But due to its weight it wont get a lot of pocket time. At 5.4 ounces its almost an ounce and 1/2 heavier than the Heat. The Heat coming in at a leaner 4 ounces. The 717 I think will ride in my back pack for a while. As I have a chance to use it a bit I will report back.

I'll probably never carry it but if I were to carry it, I think I'd probably carry it clipped in my RRP. It's grippy but the roughness of the handle would take a bit of getting used to. JMO I certainly don't have any buyers remorse.

Just picked up this little Ganzo Stockman. For a Whopping 8 Bucks. The fit and finish is again first class. Sharp blades and great walk and talk. Much better quality then Rough Rider.

I like Ganzos too.

MITCH RAPP wrote: Just picked up this little Ganzo Stockman. For a Whopping 8 Bucks. The fit and finish is again first class. Sharp blades and great walk and talk. Much better quality then Rough Rider.

Mitch where did you get the Ganzo Stockman from. Didn't know Ganzo made any classic patterns. Its a dead ringer for the newer Buck Chinese Models. Love it