Any time I’ve been looking at any knife on Amazon.com, Eafengrow knives are always popping up as recommended items. So tried to look into them and couldn’t find anything via a Google Search. Other than links back to Amazon.
Reviews are pretty much non-existent. So, maybe they are new, or just no one cares about them. But they are all cheap… and I was curious. This knife here caught my eye, the EF227. So I took the plunge. A rather shallow plunge at that.
The design is the new popular modern Sheep’s Foot design, or Reversed Tanto, or whatever you want to call it. It looked cool and it’s different than anything else I’ve ever owned. And being under $30 bucks, I thought I’d try it out. I’m glad I did… because this thing is a BEAST, and it seems… Seems… to be well made. Solid. Beefy. And reasonably smooth. It’s certainly no Benchmade or ZT. But if this knife had any other name on it, it would be priced at about triple of this thing’s asking price.
One complaint I could have with this knife… is that it’s a Tip Down carry, with no option to easily change it to tip up. More of an annoyance than a problem, really. I only like Tip Down with something like a Spyderco or something with a Spyderco Hole. But that’s just what I’m used to. What I find most interesting is the Blade Steel is said to be “D2”. Normally we call it “D2 Tool Steel”, but this is just “D2”. D2 is pretty much a Generic Term for a certain formula of steel that has a lot of variation. The hardness can go from anywhere from 55 to 64 depending on the Heat Treatment. Looking closely at the blade, it looks very much the same to another knife I have that is D2 with a Rockwell Hardness of 62. If its heat treated the same as that one, I’ll be pretty happy. One thing about D2 though, is that it can tarnish and corrode a bit easier than some other blade steels, so right off the bat, I hit the blade with some oil to protect it. It came rather dry. Clean, with no sign of a problem… but still, I prefer some protection. Now, I like some patina on a blade, but I’d rather that form naturally over some many years of use. Not over a couple weeks because the bare steel was left unprotected.
There is an interesting scalloping of the handle, where you would find recess to access a Thumb Stud or Disk or something of that sort to help open the blade. In this case, you only get the Flipper. A stud would be appreciated, I think. But the clean lines of it without, look nice. This does give the handle a nice feel in the hand when you grip it though. When opening with the flipper, it won’t just snap up with just finger action… it takes a little bit of some wrist action in the flick for the blade to pivot into locked position. The knife came out of the box reasonably sharp, but sharpness is inconsistent. This is something that could easily be fixed with some stonework, so it’s not an issue. I have most knives resharpened out of the box anyway. As it is, it passes the Paper Test and the industry standard Arm Hair Shave Test.
The Liner Lock engages the blade fully… providing as secure a lock as a Liner can get, and there’s no blade play from a poorly fitted lock. That’s a good sign. The scales are said to be G-10. But they feel too smooth to be actual G-10. Maybe they are G-10, but made with a different resin or something. I don’t know… But consider this knife was as cheap as it was. There’s room for forgiveness. If I had paid 80 bucks or more for this, I’d be concerned. But honestly, it’s not that bad.
The blade is pretty much perfectly centered. I’ve had more expensive knives come out of the box with a blade that angles to one side or the other. Yeah, for an under $40 knife, I think this is a lot of Blade for the Buck. How it stands up to use over time… well… That’s yet to be seen. I’ll update this post as time goes on to see if my impressions change.
This knife actually makes me interested in some of the other Eafengrow knives. I’d like to know more about the technical details. Also, who the designer is. Because some of the knives look like they are Knock Off’s. Specifically, there’s one that’s an almost line for line clone of a ZT. Others look more original. If anyone has a link to more information on these, hit it up in the comments.
Cheap Chinese crap.
Cheap, Chinese… Yes.
Cheap Chinese Crap… No… Not so much. This is a very solid knife. Only time will tell if it’s Crap though.
So…
We shall see…
I’m partial to spyderco mostly. But I wanted a flipper with D2 steel. Was unsure about quality (china?) Got the ef228 and tried to break it Dutch Bushcraft knives style. Cannot believe the quality. The guy at the knife store thought it felt and deployed like a ZT it is a 0770 look alike. Have also tried to source these Knives, no luck. They might be produced by an OEM factory that makes other knives ie Kershaw etc.
That’s actually a suspicion that I have as well.
Any updates on this? thanks
The knife remains in a carry rotation, especially when I know I’m going to be doing some serious cutting with it.
The knife itself remains solid and I’ve no complaints. The pivot remains just as it was when new, and there is no play or wiggle of the blade in the handle. And with some spine-wacks, I’ve not had a lock failure. No up and down play, no side to side play. The knife is a little tank.
The blade… well… It’s not D2, but it is better than AUS-8. And it re-sharpens up nicely on the bottom of a Coffee Cup. It’s very usable. It was a solid buy. I like it well enough that I’m going to keep using it for harder jobs. Would I buy it again? Probably. But I wouldn’t buy any of the others. Which have been disappointing failures.
I have a C Anku ? It seems to be made by the same company as Eafengrow . I’ve had it for a few months now and am very happy with it . Smooth opening , good looking and the D2 blade really holds an edge . I got it to replace a broken Protech and really happy with it so far .
Looks like a great knife for those who are into the batoning of small hunks of wood.
I myself don’t like cutting with a straight-edged blade such as a sheepsfoot, because one is essentially using the point of the blade and about 1/2″ of the blade behind the point to do all the cutting.
Oh, I’m with you there… I prefer a knife blade to have a good belly on it. A nice curve. The best, to me, is a classic Bowie shape.
Same boat, interesting design, what the heck I decided to try one. You might be interested in info
https://trademarks.justia.com/872/55/eafengrow-87255105.htm
Only time will tell.
Sorry, just tried link, not working. Try
https://www.trademarkia.com/eafengrow-87255105.html
Copy and paste for trademark info.
I have both disposable blade and snap blade knives from Olfa and Tajima, and I find myself grabbing the snap blade knife more often as so long as there is more then one section left, I essentially have a brand new blade on hand (and the particular knife I use most stores 2 extras in the butt of the knife. Only thing I really use the disposable blade knife for is scoring sheetrock, and when convenient the fixed blade is better for sharpening pencils.
I also had been looking at these and was slightly interested. The Kiddo has been asking for a new knife, and I don’t want to give him one of my assisted openers.
I bought three different blade shapes, and have been impressed with how solid they feel and lock up. Two of the three came out of the box not dull, but not up to my standard for EDC, so one went in the pocket. I am not going to give up my other brand for EDC, but they are a decent low cost knife for loaners or kids. I will tune up the blades, and carry them for a while before I make a final decision.
Having used this knife a rather lot lately, I am very impressed with the build quality. The knife has held it’s edge perfectly and it’s magic against Zip Ties.
The D2 Steel is legit.
I’m now curious as to the other knives – but not the ones that I recognize as clones. I didn’t recognize this one.
I bought the EF 227, EF 0456, and the Dark Folding knife.
I did not pay attention to whether or not they are clones, I just bought blade shapes that I liked. I generally don’t buy flippers, or any non assisted opening knifes, and don’t pay much or any attention to them.
I bought a RAT 1A at the same time, and I like it better than any of the Eafengrow knives I have, but it was about the same price as the other three together.
I have daily carried the EF 227 for about two months now, and am super happy with the value of this knife. The steel loses its edge under moderate use, but is very quick to re-sharpen. The overall thickness is a bit much and I prefer a flat grind for daily use. These Eafengrow flippers just work. And for less than $30 they get a thumbs up from me.
I’ve found the same thing with the Edge on my example. This D2 feels more like AUS8 to me. I’ve other D2 knives, and they don’t lose an edge like this.
But “D2” is a very broad term when it comes to steel. It’s almost akin to the phrase “Stainless”. But yet, for $30 it’s a hell of a knife.
I think I might get another Eafengrow to play around with.
Personally, I’m a bit apprehensive about cheap knife blades marked D2. From everything I’ve read about this steel, D2 has to be hardened in a vacuum chamber, making the crafting process expensive. The cheapest D2 blade that I could find from a known manufacturer was a SOG Tsunami at $70 on a sale (bought it right away too). At $30, my guess is that it’s some sort of a #Cr##MoV steel, similar to what Kershaw uses. I would love to see a hardness test for this and future reviews – I’ve been too cheap to invest in a set of scratch test files…
Well, I’m not going to be doing such tests myself… but I’d like to see that done as well. I’ve found D2 in the RAT 2 folding knife for… what was it? Less than Fifty Bucks? So it’s out there. But from Eafengrow? It’s probably a stretch of the definition of the term.
Now, while this knife is not bad at all. I did get another Eafengrow that was said to be D2, and it sucked. Badley. So while I like this knife here in the article… the other knife I gave away. I wont be buying any more of this brand. Curiosity has been resolved.
D2 is pretty standard. It’s the steel type used in most vehicle leaf-springs during the 20th century. As others have stated, it’s cutting blade suitability depends on matching the correct temper/hardness with intended use.
Anyways, I own several ” Certified’ US made D2 blades. They all stain a bit when cold chemical blue or naval jelly is applied. All have a claimed hardness of 58+. 440, 420, AUS, Crucible, Hitachi and most all other “supersteels” will not stain when these chems are applied. As far as shapenability and edge retention go, the closest comparison I can draw is to s30v. Hard D2 sharpens a wee bit easier, and holds an EDC edge not quite as well.
Got 5 Eafen blades on the way to test. Hope they’re Eafen decent. Will advise.
Received knives. Overall, unimpressed. The blades appear to be D2. They stain quickly with both cold blue and naval jelly. When rebevelling on 220 grit diamond, the hardness seems to vary a lot from knife to knife. Everyday use and sharpening will be the true test of the steals, but I won’t be the one using them.
They are all WAY too friggin heavy for a pocket clip EDC. Most are too thick as well. I carry a bunch of other stuff in my pockets. I don’t want to feel the knife hanging in there. I’m probably only gonna use it two or three times in a day. Also, the actions are not smooth. Not even the roller bearing models.
They’ll make good gifts for people who are just getting into knifes. In the price range, the Byrd Cara Cara 2 or Meadowlark 2 are more my cup of Chinese tea.
Out of all the Eafengrows I’ve tried, the EF227 was the best one. All the rest have been declining consistency. I think I got lucky on the first one.
The EF227 is the best of the ones I purchased. I took both bevels to 10° finished at 600 grit and honed the apex to a combined and burr-free 25° at 2000 grit. It holds the edge fine on cardboard and bamboo without folding and touches up quick with a light 2000 grit stripping. Overall, the knife reminds me of the Kershaw Junkyard Dog that I gave to my son. It too was a decent blade, but way too heavy for my EDC on most days. Now that I’ve done some cutting and sharpening, I don’t think the steel is properly air tempered D2. It’s just not as tough as my several KOA D2 blades, which will only show chipping on a fine edge if you chop at a deer femur for some reason.
All of the Eafen blades I got were worth what I paid. Knife Newbies will enjoy them, as they appear superior to 80% of the CCC in the current price range.
Doom Blade sells the same and others (Doom Store on Aliexpress). No branding on the blade.