Enlan Folding Knives A Round-Up

Chinese-made knives, in the old days were very easy to spot and usually a case of once tried always avoided! Being poorly made and generally incapable of holding an edge for more than 5 minutes! They looked OK-ish, which was about as far as it went, but these days their blade industry is a whole different thing! So if Spyderco are happy for selected companies from the PRC to make some of their products and the whole of their Byrd range then it’s safe to assume that they can now produce cutlery worth serious consideration.

NOTHING OVER £18

Blades & Bows import a Chinese brand called Enlan and sent me 17 examples of their craft and with nothing over £18 I thought oh no more cheap crap from the Far East! Well I was very wrong indeed and had to take a mental check pace and get my head right before I continued as they’re a serious eye opener! All are locking folders and the blades are made from 8cr13Mov steel hardened to HRC 58-60. Given the aforementioned maximum price point some models show G10, rosewood and micarta handles as standard. I doubt if £18 would cover the cost of those materials on Western made products either?

With 17 models and just two pages I am not going to do every single one, so will cherry pick across the range as some are quite similar, with others being unique.

EL-19A RESCUE

First up the EL-19A Rescue, it has a 7.9cm sheep’s foot blade with opening slot and is liner-locked. The black G10 scales are well textured and the top of the frame and rear of the spine are jimped for extra purchase. At the base of the open-topped frame is a hardened steel glass-breaker, with a seat belt cutter hook and screwdriver/bottle opener swinging out from the top. A stainless clothing clip completes the layout and all that for £16.99.

M017S

EL-04MC1 Ridiculously good looking is the EL-04MCT. With its green/black Micarta scales on a stainless frame you might think that £50 would be a fair price. The 8.5cm blade is a drop point and shows twin, ambidextrous thumb studs for one-handed operation. Locking is by a pull-back, axis lock that pushes a bar behind an angled shelf to the rear of the pivot point. With a clothing clip and 20cms open and 11.5cm closed this is a solid and elegant design at £14.99.

M011

The MO11 is a more classic design with wooden scales on a light stainless frame. The modified drop point blade is short at 7.1cms and it folds to a compact 9.4cms. Locking is by a liner and there’s a single thumb stud on the left of the blade. With a clothing clip it’s more a gentleman’s folder; cost well £6.49.

EL-01

The EL-01 is a flipper-type with a raised lug that sits above the grip that allows you to swing the blade open by rolling it back with your index finger. When deployed it acts as a half hilt or finger stop. The 10cmn blade is a more spear point style and locking is by a liner. The open-topped frame is jimped front and rear, there’s a lanyard hole and clothing clip and the scales are rose wood. Another good looking and effective design at just £14.99

EL-03A

Big and tough is the EL-03A. With a skeletonised stainless frame and black G10 scales it’s a decent handful for hard work. The big drop point blade shows some serious jimping on the spine and ambidextrous thumb studs for easy opening. Locking is by a large liner and there’s also a big clothing clip along with an integral lanyard hole. A lot of knife for the money at £14.99!

M07

Keeping it simple and practical is the M07. With black G10 scales and a 7.3cm, liner locked drop point blade this is another small pocket folder with ambidextrous thumb studs, clothing clip and lanyard slot at £5.99 it will not break the bank!

L01-1

I love Tantos so the LO1-1 caught my attention. With a combined Tanto/drop point, 8.7cm blade locking is by a liner and opening is by a bi-directional disc bolted to the rear of the spine. The black/grey Micarta handle is quite blocky and vertical, zig zag grooves provide a sure grip. A clothing clip completes the build at just £9.99.

SECOND THOUGHTS

There are a couple or unique, ultra lightweight folders but the other models are very much variations on the theme of the eight I have looked at. For example the EL-01A is just the EL-01 but with G10 scales. But as can be seen there is a good choice and in all cases build quality is excellent with solid engagements of locking systems and all metal and handle materials well fitted and finished. If I have one criticism it’s that the clothing clips cannot be reversed or inverted as to the side and end they are positioned. With the exception of the Micarta-handled EL-16 all give a ‘tip down’ carry position, which is not conducive as it reverses the knife and negates easy one-handed draw and deployment. But apart from that I can find no fault with the Enlan range and get the feeling that even though the prices seem far too cheap they will last a long time and give good service while doing so. NAME: Enlan Cutlery Co. Ltd CONTACT: Blades & Bows, 01246 810353 www.bladesandbows.com FOR: Well made with quality materials AGAINST: Not a lot VERDICT: Innovative designs Build and quality well above the price