The knife in this video was highly requested by my viewers for a while. This is an antithesis to knife snobbery and, as such, I recognize that not everyone has a need to know what’s it capable of, but honestly, I think they should.
I’m not surprised by your conclusions here. I have a handful of Ganzos and an embarrassingly large knife collection. My 23yo son asked if he could have a couple of pocket knives, and I told him he could choose whatever he wanted. One of the ones he chose was a Ganzo FH-41 (D2 at an advertised 60 RC with a liner lock and a traditional back flipper). It’s a $25 +/- knife. He said he liked the traditional flipper and liked how that knife was so snappy. I pointed him to other, nicer knives, including a handful of SharpByDesign knives (including an Apex traditional flipper and some Mini Evo flippers) and offered him any of those (since he really seemed to gravitate towards the traditional flippers). He said he could tell by handling them that they were of higher quality and a lot more expensive, but for something he just wanted to carry and use every day, he’d feel guilty using them and really liked the Ganzo anyway. Ganzo makes really good and practical knives for the money. Just finished watching your two Drop Bear videos and this one. Great job as always!
It sounds like your son has good taste and he’s learned that it’s better to carry a practical and affordable knife than chasing a “grail de jour” the influencers are blabbering about on instagram. I sincerely appreciate your generosity and looking forward to many more interactions!
I have found that Ganzo offers quality knives at affordable prices. I prefer their D2 tool steel over the 440C. The D2 models I have have good edge retention and are reasonably easy to sharpen. My knives are the Firebird editions in case you are interested. I enjoy watching your testing methods which are different from others I've seen. Great job!
thank you for this review and test. I do appreciate the serious way in which you run tests. I’m an engineer too, and I’m with you. I have a ton of Ganzo knives, I also have lots of premium brand knives at 5 to 10 times the price. Frankly, I’m comfortable carrying a Ganzo much of the time. Or another budget brand like for example, some Spyderco Byrds are totally fine. I am not troubled by the fact that many Ganzo models seem to be inspired by namebrand models. Given that so many US brands are actually manufactured in China anyway I would suspect some of them are made in the Ganzo factories.
Impressive review for an impressive knife. I have the D2 version of this Ganzo and it has performed very well over the last 3 years and it was under $30.
Very nice ! Ganzo makes knives with great quality/price ratio. Not as fancy and sexy as some other brands, but as good for sure. And 440 C is very good steel, of course it will loose it's edge faster than super steels, but I started buying knives when 440 C was THE steel. And for me, as long as the brand is known for doing decent heat treatment, it remains a fine steel to make great affordable knives. Thank you for this new video.
I’ve actually carried this exact knife for over 2 years. I bought it after buying a kizer button lock which was shit and even cut my hand with a lock failure. I learned to sharpen with the ganzo, 440c was easy to figure out started getting good edges with it. Everything that I asked this knife to do I would with no issue. Never had a lock fail or an issue that I couldn’t sharpen out. Knife has no side to side play but as of recent slight up and down play. This knife did me so well 3 of my friend eventually bought ones as well. Around 9 months ago I decided to get the real thing and got a benchmade bugout I was thoroughly disappointed. Benchmade has more blade play. And a worse action even with the blade play. I choose to get a new knife because I am a firefighter and I felt as I need something I can depend on for myself and others. I bought a Spyderco para 3 with I currently carry.
If I may, the Bugout is a total niche product that somehow went mainstream. For your profession, take a look at Mini or full size Presidio, the mini is the size of the full bugout and the full size is close to Spydie Military 2. These are actually the last reasonably priced Benchmades
@ agreed I think I’d like the mini presidio, mini freek, 940 as well. All over the bugout. I still carry the bugout I like it, just wasn’t worth the price over the ganzo.
Is it possible to put ur recomended knifes that passed that u carry ad heat treat/Rockwell and all that down below, see ur video of them but forget them again thk u learn alot n love ur videos. Alot of hard work
@@CuttingBoardRxthe clamp block . I'm used to seeing you drop the hype smasher from a taller height. Now it's what looks like 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the top. Which made me believe that maybe the holding block had changed. Keep up the great videos!
@@DonJohnson-b8t these were all smaller knives 3” or less, so they sit deeper in the clamp. I lower the ram by the same amount so that the drop distance is always 6” +/-eyeball
A great question on knife steel. Frankly I am a little under impressed with the my magnacut Belair. It is better than anything I have ever had in 440 BUT $140-$150 better?
I've looked at this brand many times and now I may have to pick one up. Regarding your sharpness testing, is wouldn't surprise me if your system is more consistent and accurate than the BESS system.
I carried, used, and abused this knife for atleast 6-7 years, and still have it somewhere, it's really underrated and cheap enough to use without worry for everything from opening fertiliser bags to cutting thick rope to even harvesting mushrooms and herbs etc. I seriously think that for a pocketknife 440C at 58-60 HRC is perfectly fine and better than 12C27 and 14C28N at the same HRC, now if you go to 60-62 HRC then 14C28N would be preferable.
I bought 2, the spyderco copy and ad10/lionsteel copy...horrible. sent both back, axis lock very bad, simple rap on the spine and both failed. When I typed in "fix my axis lock", ganzo came up 1st...
I’ve had a Rat 1 in AUS8 for any year’s. Back around 2015-16 I spent around a hundred bucks and purchased 6 Ganzo knives. There copy of the Rat 1 with the bar lock has become a favorite. The Ganzo is a bit smaller overall with more usable blade length. The 440C edge is ground thinner than the AUS8 blade and more of a joy to use. While I think I have an anomaly with my AUS8 Rat blade (it out preformed even a D2 Rat 1 and the 440c in edge retention) Ganzo’s 440c out proformed other AUS8, 8cr13mov knives I had back then. I would put it more equivalent to a few 9cr18mov blade’s I tested. One man’s perspective...FWTW
Ive got one Ganzo that was a collaboration with another company and a specific designer and I love it. I ended up buying another one when i thought i lost it, then I found it, and gave the extra one away to a coworker.
@@birddog61999 unless you are in a proven rust belt-seashore-D2 is a really good steel. Maybe a little hard to sharpen, but all the good ones are , are they not?
Yes, the axis lock is better in terms of operation, especially for beginners, but as a knife lover, I first of all look at the appearance when choosing a knife, and from an aesthetic point of view, the linear lock is better, since it is not visible.
I have no issues with well heat treated 440c on a edc folding knife ( own 2 Ganzos myself ).......... imho it doesn't belong on a hard use knife the toughness just isn't there. Ganzo 0753 - washers , 440c , G10 , weird setup on the washers ( 2 in total not 4 ) one phosphorous bronze one nylon. Crossbar lock. Ganzo Firebird F755 - bearings , 440c , g10 , crossbar lock , cleaver shaped blade.
@@anthonyrollins9825 Having visited Spain, Croatia, Costa Rica and Portugal recentlyu, let me assure you: 440C is considered premium steel by many. Many a hunting knife sold there is in that steel. They even have a sub-market of cheap knockoffs that are made of even cheaper 300 series stainless but marked 440C 🤣🤷♂️ it’s all marketing and prospective…
@@CuttingBoardRx tbh if its thick enough any steel can be hard use , but Buck moved away from 440c in 1979 because of its low toughness and ppl snapping their blades went to H1 for 1 year it flopped then started using 420Hc in 1981ish. thats to say 440c given the same dimensions will fair less favorable than most steel in the toughness department .
@@anthonyrollins9825 they used 440C for decades and moved away because it was difficult to sharpen at that time by the average person when heat treated to over 60HRC, NOTHING to do with toughness, please do not share wrong info. They went from 440C to 425M to 420HC.
My favorite Ganzos are the autos that aren't obvious copies of other knives. Ganzos are what first got me into the hobby, so I have a soft spot for them.
I have a couple Ganzos. They're just okay. I don't like the crossbar lock on the PM2-like ganzo. It's very uncomfortable to use. And it was a pain in the butt to take apart, clean, and reassemble. And it's weird how it uses a brass washer on one side and a nylon washer on the other side.
Good 440C any day, bad magnacut is just a waste of money and steel. Compared to the AUS-8 on the RAT2, 440C is better IMHO. Happy it turned out as good for you as it did for me. You never know at the $20 price range but ganzo seem to be consistent.
Noooooooo I wanted it to do so much better in the edge retention test. What this says is that most of my knives really suck 😢 I do think Ganzo is one of the few Chinese companies actually doing their own heat treatment on knives but that is just a hunch.
I'll take the 440 at 59 had a pretty Bad experience when Mag was first released at 60/61 HRC But with that said All my newer Magnacut at 63 and up has been great!!! Even got a couple at 62 that's been great!! Must have gotten better with the HT 😂👊🏻 #NoBS
for the money i always recommend the mini recon from cold steel over anything. The fit and finish on the ganzo are so poor. I give them away to non knife people
@@tomgarcia9200 Triad lock on Tecon is a great choice for the non knife people and knife abusers alike. This particular Ganzo rivals any knife in fit and finish. And no, I’m not trying to sell it, no knife links in my videos.
Between well treated 440c and poorly treated magnacut I’d rather just save a few bucks. If you’re doing a poor heat treatment job I’m more likely to be suspicious about the rest of the knife
The knife in this video was highly requested by my viewers for a while. This is an antithesis to knife snobbery and, as such, I recognize that not everyone has a need to know what’s it capable of, but honestly, I think they should.
I’m not surprised by your conclusions here. I have a handful of Ganzos and an embarrassingly large knife collection. My 23yo son asked if he could have a couple of pocket knives, and I told him he could choose whatever he wanted. One of the ones he chose was a Ganzo FH-41 (D2 at an advertised 60 RC with a liner lock and a traditional back flipper). It’s a $25 +/- knife. He said he liked the traditional flipper and liked how that knife was so snappy. I pointed him to other, nicer knives, including a handful of SharpByDesign knives (including an Apex traditional flipper and some Mini Evo flippers) and offered him any of those (since he really seemed to gravitate towards the traditional flippers). He said he could tell by handling them that they were of higher quality and a lot more expensive, but for something he just wanted to carry and use every day, he’d feel guilty using them and really liked the Ganzo anyway. Ganzo makes really good and practical knives for the money.
Just finished watching your two Drop Bear videos and this one. Great job as always!
It sounds like your son has good taste and he’s learned that it’s better to carry a practical and affordable knife than chasing a “grail de jour” the influencers are blabbering about on instagram. I sincerely appreciate your generosity and looking forward to many more interactions!
Another contribution to new equipment.
Thank you so much! You are very generous!
Thanks!
Thank you so much! Your contribution is greatly appreciated!
I like Ganzo. Not surprised by the results. Not bad for an affordable knife.
For sure!
I have found that Ganzo offers quality knives at affordable prices. I prefer their D2 tool steel over the 440C. The D2 models I have have good edge retention and are reasonably easy to sharpen. My knives are the Firebird editions in case you are interested. I enjoy watching your testing methods which are different from others I've seen. Great job!
Thanks for subscribing! Glad you enjoy my videos!
thank you for this review and test. I do appreciate the serious way in which you run tests. I’m an engineer too, and I’m with you.
I have a ton of Ganzo knives, I also have lots of premium brand knives at 5 to 10 times the price. Frankly, I’m comfortable carrying a Ganzo much of the time. Or another budget brand like for example, some Spyderco Byrds are totally fine. I am not troubled by the fact that many Ganzo models seem to be inspired by namebrand models. Given that so many US brands are actually manufactured in China anyway I would suspect some of them are made in the Ganzo factories.
I suspect there are two or max three large factories that produce major components for all the brands.
Impressive review for an impressive knife. I have the D2 version of this Ganzo and it has performed very well over the last 3 years and it was under $30.
I bet they were not more than 17.99 in 2021. Glad it’s holding up. Thanks for subscribing!
Very nice ! Ganzo makes knives with great quality/price ratio. Not as fancy and sexy as some other brands, but as good for sure. And 440 C is very good steel, of course it will loose it's edge faster than super steels, but I started buying knives when 440 C was THE steel. And for me, as long as the brand is known for doing decent heat treatment, it remains a fine steel to make great affordable knives. Thank you for this new video.
Love the old school perspective. Thanks for subscribing!
I’ve actually carried this exact knife for over 2 years. I bought it after buying a kizer button lock which was shit and even cut my hand with a lock failure. I learned to sharpen with the ganzo, 440c was easy to figure out started getting good edges with it. Everything that I asked this knife to do I would with no issue. Never had a lock fail or an issue that I couldn’t sharpen out. Knife has no side to side play but as of recent slight up and down play. This knife did me so well 3 of my friend eventually bought ones as well. Around 9 months ago I decided to get the real thing and got a benchmade bugout I was thoroughly disappointed. Benchmade has more blade play. And a worse action even with the blade play. I choose to get a new knife because I am a firefighter and I felt as I need something I can depend on for myself and others. I bought a Spyderco para 3 with I currently carry.
If I may, the Bugout is a total niche product that somehow went mainstream. For your profession, take a look at Mini or full size Presidio, the mini is the size of the full bugout and the full size is close to Spydie Military 2. These are actually the last reasonably priced Benchmades
@ agreed I think I’d like the mini presidio, mini freek, 940 as well. All over the bugout. I still carry the bugout I like it, just wasn’t worth the price over the ganzo.
Good choice, you can rely on Spyderco
great work!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Can you do a video of a great fixed blade knife that you recommend for EDC? I’m a huge fan of your work!
I’m working on a whole series of 4-6 videos about that.
@ awesome I can’t wait! Thank you!
I just did a cut test and uploaded it on Ganzo 440c and it's impressive for the money.
Glad I’m not the only one testing knives out there.
I see you tested Rough Rider in 440A but your Ganzo video doesn’t pop up
I have done a cut test of Ganzo up against a Kizer Baby. The Ganzo 45 cuts and the Kizer 30. The video has been uploaded to my RUclips page.
@ I’ll look for it
Is it possible to put ur recomended knifes that passed that u carry ad heat treat/Rockwell and all that down below, see ur video of them but forget them again thk u learn alot n love ur videos. Alot of hard work
That’s coming
Love your videos 👍. Did you make a new base to hold your knives?
Thanks! Are you asking about the clamps?
@@CuttingBoardRxthe clamp block . I'm used to seeing you drop the hype smasher from a taller height. Now it's what looks like 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the top. Which made me believe that maybe the holding block had changed. Keep up the great videos!
@@DonJohnson-b8t these were all smaller knives 3” or less, so they sit deeper in the clamp. I lower the ram by the same amount so that the drop distance is always 6” +/-eyeball
A great question on knife steel. Frankly I am a little under impressed with the my magnacut Belair. It is better than anything I have ever had in 440 BUT $140-$150 better?
Belair is only so popular because folks are trying to stick it to Benchmade. IMHO Iridium is a better knife.
I’m a D-2 fanboy @, and I think the copper scales look good. However I hate buying things made in China if I can afford American.
I've looked at this brand many times and now I may have to pick one up.
Regarding your sharpness testing, is wouldn't surprise me if your system is more consistent and accurate than the BESS system.
The gage I’m using has the same type of hardware and firmware as the BESS. So I wouldn’t be surprised either.
I carried, used, and abused this knife for atleast 6-7 years, and still have it somewhere, it's really underrated and cheap enough to use without worry for everything from opening fertiliser bags to cutting thick rope to even harvesting mushrooms and herbs etc. I seriously think that for a pocketknife 440C at 58-60 HRC is perfectly fine and better than 12C27 and 14C28N at the same HRC, now if you go to 60-62 HRC then 14C28N would be preferable.
Totally agree, it's not about the fancy steel, it's how you use it.
I bought 2, the spyderco copy and ad10/lionsteel copy...horrible. sent both back, axis lock very bad, simple rap on the spine and both failed. When I typed in "fix my axis lock", ganzo came up 1st...
I’ve had a Rat 1 in AUS8 for any year’s. Back around 2015-16 I spent around a hundred bucks and purchased 6 Ganzo knives. There copy of the Rat 1 with the bar lock has become a favorite. The Ganzo is a bit smaller overall with more usable blade length. The 440C edge is ground thinner than the AUS8 blade and more of a joy to use. While I think I have an anomaly with my AUS8 Rat blade (it out preformed even a D2 Rat 1 and the 440c in edge retention) Ganzo’s 440c out proformed other AUS8, 8cr13mov knives I had back then. I would put it more equivalent to a few 9cr18mov blade’s I tested. One man’s perspective...FWTW
All my old folding knife tests I did were done a 17 degrees per side with varying grit edge’s and the old rope on wooden board metric...lol
Thanks for sharing!
As long as you used the same board, the results should be valid for comparisons
Ive got one Ganzo that was a collaboration with another company and a specific designer and I love it. I ended up buying another one when i thought i lost it, then I found it, and gave the extra one away to a coworker.
If you remember, let us know which one is it.
@CuttingBoardRx i can find it. Hold please.
GANZO Firebird Adimanti Samson
If this knife came in 14c28n I would buy one for every "knife guy" I know as presents including myself.
Shucks, they would win the world if it was 14C28N @61-62 HRC! I would even pay $14 more! But then… it would be Raccoon killer🤣
@@birddog61999 unless you are in a proven rust belt-seashore-D2 is a really good steel. Maybe a little hard to sharpen, but all the good ones are , are they not?
Yes, the axis lock is better in terms of operation, especially for beginners, but as a knife lover, I first of all look at the appearance when choosing a knife, and from an aesthetic point of view, the linear lock is better, since it is not visible.
A well designed liner loch will feel a lot more snappier than any xbar lock
I have no issues with well heat treated 440c on a edc folding knife ( own 2 Ganzos myself ).......... imho it doesn't belong on a hard use knife the toughness just isn't there.
Ganzo 0753 - washers , 440c , G10 , weird setup on the washers ( 2 in total not 4 ) one phosphorous bronze one nylon. Crossbar lock.
Ganzo Firebird F755 - bearings , 440c , g10 , crossbar lock , cleaver shaped blade.
@@anthonyrollins9825 Having visited Spain, Croatia, Costa Rica and Portugal recentlyu, let me assure you: 440C is considered premium steel by many. Many a hunting knife sold there is in that steel. They even have a sub-market of cheap knockoffs that are made of even cheaper 300 series stainless but marked 440C 🤣🤷♂️ it’s all marketing and prospective…
@@CuttingBoardRx tbh if its thick enough any steel can be hard use , but Buck moved away from 440c in 1979 because of its low toughness and ppl snapping their blades went to H1 for 1 year it flopped then started using 420Hc in 1981ish.
thats to say 440c given the same dimensions will fair less favorable than most steel in the toughness department .
@@anthonyrollins9825 they used 440C for decades and moved away because it was difficult to sharpen at that time by the average person when heat treated to over 60HRC, NOTHING to do with toughness, please do not share wrong info. They went from 440C to 425M to 420HC.
@@adrianjagmag I disagree , I lived that switch over in my youth I remember the outrage.
I own 5 or 6 Ganzos. I like them very much. They do a very good job as EDC knives and if you lose one of them, you only lose few dollars
@@luisnouel4268 They are definitely not any worse than most of the other knives made in the PRC
Also just to let you know the smaller one is on bearings as you said but the larger 727 that's the size of the rat 1 and it's on washers.
Thanks, it’s good to know!
My favorite Ganzos are the autos that aren't obvious copies of other knives. Ganzos are what first got me into the hobby, so I have a soft spot for them.
Benchmade got me into the hobby, and I think you’ve got a better deal! 🤣😆😂
Thank you for innovating in knife testing
Ganzo and Sanrenmu. Those were the brands that got me into the hobby many years ago. What you could get for around $20 was amazing.
I have a couple Ganzos. They're just okay. I don't like the crossbar lock on the PM2-like ganzo. It's very uncomfortable to use. And it was a pain in the butt to take apart, clean, and reassemble. And it's weird how it uses a brass washer on one side and a nylon washer on the other side.
That is weird! May help with corrosion though.
Good 440C any day, bad magnacut is just a waste of money and steel. Compared to the AUS-8 on the RAT2, 440C is better IMHO. Happy it turned out as good for you as it did for me. You never know at the $20 price range but ganzo seem to be consistent.
Sure, it has 25% more carbon and 30% more chromium (1% vs .8% and 17% vs 13%)
good comment! Thanks for subscribing!
I’ve found Ganzo delivers outstanding bang for buck
22 bangs, actually 🤣
Is that an adamas sticker?
It’s my channel logo. But my first good knife was the Adamas.
@CuttingBoardRx Mini adamas was pretty cool. Was my seventh.
Noooooooo I wanted it to do so much better in the edge retention test. What this says is that most of my knives really suck 😢 I do think Ganzo is one of the few Chinese companies actually doing their own heat treatment on knives but that is just a hunch.
I think removing the factory edge and adjusting the bevel angle won’t take that blade to the next level in edge retention department
Not bad for the money!
I'll take the 440 at 59 had a pretty Bad experience when Mag was first released at 60/61 HRC But with that said All my newer Magnacut at 63 and up has been great!!! Even got a couple at 62 that's been great!! Must have gotten better with the HT 😂👊🏻 #NoBS
Not at Benchmade. They’re still cranking out sub-60 HRC MagnaCut
The lock of the ganzo win over kizer 😂
Probably made at the same factory 🤷♂️
More like the "Kizer Killer" after watching your last demo vid. ;)
@@harryanderson7282 Which reminds me: I have to post the follow up to that!
for the money i always recommend the mini recon from cold steel over anything. The fit and finish on the ganzo are so poor. I give them away to non knife people
@@tomgarcia9200 Triad lock on Tecon is a great choice for the non knife people and knife abusers alike.
This particular Ganzo rivals any knife in fit and finish. And no, I’m not trying to sell it, no knife links in my videos.
Between well treated 440c and poorly treated magnacut I’d rather just save a few bucks. If you’re doing a poor heat treatment job I’m more likely to be suspicious about the rest of the knife
There are brands that don’t have in-house heat treat capabilities. So they’re entirely dependent on third party
Number1
@@samturner6455 Great 👍 thanks!