Are the other Fenix knives comparable to the gift Fenix knife?

nerdgineer

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 7, 2004
Messages
2,778
Location
Southern California
So I got one of the Fenix gift knives and - to my not knife aficianado eyes - it's surprisingly nice. The blade steel tested fairly hard, the fitting is very close, the lock-up is proper (frame lock engages on near side of blade) and tight, the bearings are smooth and appear to be made of bronze (!).

Unfortunately, I don't think this model Fenix knife is for sale, although other Fenix knives are, and IMO $10 wouldn't be a bad price if they were of comparable quality to my gifter.

My question is: does anyone have both the gift Fenix and one of the other commercial models to compare? I know the designs are different, but can you comment on the relative quality of the two? lockup, fit, type of bearing, etc.?

Thanks...
 
I don't think this knives are even made to be sold by Fenix. I was one of the winners of the survey and was truly expecting one of the black versions they have for sale. Notice this knives are not even branded, thats makes me think Fenix just bought a bunch of cheap knives to give out to the survey winners. Wood on a Fenix knife?? I don't think so. Fenix knives by themselves are kinda cheap, but look good next to any Fenix light, and the look pretty "tactical", this wooden handle ones they gave out, and don't get me wrong for a free knife its pretty good, look out of place on the Fenix line. I gave mine to the neighbor and he seems pretty happy with it, so Im happy too.
 
I think the model you're referring to is the KM-2 (thats the one with the faux-G10 scales) I have one and like it very much. Holds a decent edge too.

If you're looking for knives of a somewhat similar design but a step up in price and quality, take a look at the Benchmade Vex (thumbhole instead of thumbstud) or a couple of models in the Buck-Strider range (model 881 IIRC).

If you want to keep it cheap, knives very similar to the KM-1 & KM-3 are sold by dealextreme and the likes under the ultrafire brand.
 
If you want cheap knives with great quality, then check out Spyderco's Byrd line of knives. They are a real bargain and up there with the American made models.
 
I just received a free Fenix knife and it's pretty good. It's a steel, open blade design.

I came here to look for pictures of other fenix knives and comparisons to the free knife.
 
I just received a free Fenix knife and it's pretty good. It's a steel, open blade design.

I came here to look for pictures of other fenix knives and comparisons to the free knife.
O yeah this year's model is a huge improvement over last year's model. This year's model , despite the open blade design, is pretty decent. Tanto blades are pretty much useless for everyday tasks but , the novelty factor is pretty high. I just play with mine a lot.
 
I was given one of the KM-3 models. Seems well assembled. No looseness. Can't say how well it holds an edge. Only problem I see is it takes two hands to open it.

Geoff
 
If I have to do tasks that require a real knife, then I won't depend on the fenix, but will go with either a spyderco or a benchmade. Having said that, the fenix knives are good "general purpose knives" to be used for opening boxes, cutting tape, cutting letters, etc.

Also, you may end up with cuts on your hand if you are not careful using the open-blade design knife that fenix makes. As someone said, I belive that SanReMu (chinese company) makes these knives, and are available for bulk purchase at ~3 USD per piece, so that quality is definitely not going to be great. Afterall, you get what you pay for.

Good luck.

-amarendra
 
Some of the Fenix knives are made by SanRenMu.

Search for "SanRenMu" on ebay and you'll see some of the same models.

For example, the Fenix KM1 is a rebadged SanRenMu GB4-719.

Toshi
 
Last edited:
I've since picked up a few SanRenMus...the T21 is my favorite so far.

Anybody else have SanRenMus?

Toshi
Yeah mine is a 704. Bought it for P250/US$5. I've given a few to my friends and relatives but of different models though and cheaper by at least P50. Greetings from the Phils.:grin2:
 
Top