Eafengrow is owned by Shenzhen Yifeng International Trading Company. Eafengrow is also shown as Eafen Grow.
Eafengrow has a good reputation based on build quality (strong qualifier there), but, they order their knives from OEMs and do not build them. They have a history of knives with the wrong steel. I looked at some test results and
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... rm=enabled
Six knives tested after 2019 had the stated steel five D2 and one14C28N. Five knives tested in 2019 all stated D2 steel but they instead had steel such as 5CR15MOV, 8CR13MOV, 8CR14MOV, or 440. Eafengrow claimed the problem was the suppliers and they said that they would fix the problem. Off hand, it looks like they did.
If I like a specific knife and then buy another, if they changed suppliers, everything about the quality and steel may be different. At least with a company like Buck, there is a possibility that they will test the knife. Then again, the Chinese made Buck knives use 420J2. But, back to the Eafengrow knives that I own.
I have purchased five or six Eafengrow knives over the years and it boils down to three specific knives all with D2 steel. I measured the sharpening angle as provided by the factory using my goniometer.
For sharpening, I used the Work Sharp WSSAKO81112 Blade Grinder Attachment for Ken Onion Edition Knife and Tool Sharpener. For these blades this is perfect and I can use 1" wide belts. The other two use narrower belts that I might prefer for smaller knives or knives that are concave. The D2 blades were much tougher to wear down than some of my more standard steel blades. I have not had to profile any of my newer steel knives such as S35VN, S45VN, or CPM-S110V because they came sharp and have not required more than maintenance sharpening. I have done a bunch on 420HC and easier steels.
I then finished with the Spyderco Tri-Angle Premium Sharpmaker using their standard Medium and Fine ceramic rods. Although I do own the ultra-fine rods, I did not use them for these knives.
Eafengrow EF11
The EF11 which sells for roughly $12 has a 2.8" D2 blade. The handle is Red Wood, which might just mean that it is stained “redish” in color. The weight is 3.42 oz.
The first EF11 I bought a few years ago came very sharp so I never sharpened it before I gave it away. The second (recently purchased) was not as sharp and I measured the factory edge to be about 25° per side. I used the Worksharp to take the primary angle under 15°. I then polished the edge past a 5K belt finishing with a power strop. The knife was very sharp, but, I did this freehand and I finished on the Spyderco where it is easy to do a final touch-up at 15° for my secondary bevel.
When finished, the edge was very polished and nice looking. I cut thin newsprint very nicely as I cut wavy patterns into the paper.
While belt sharpening at finer grits, I drew a thin paper-like burr along the entire edge that kept it from cutting paper well until after I removed the burr. I removed the burr by either running the cutting edge gently in a piece of wood or by “stropping” the blade on one of my ceramic stones. I expect that simply using the Spyderco would have also removed the burr.
A very impressive edge on finishing.
Eafengrow EF76
The Eafengrow EF76 has G10 handles that come in black (the one I have), Jade (light green), and Orange. All three have a D2 Stone-washed Blade and a deep carry pocket clip. The cost is roughly $25, but it was $20 after a 20% instant coupon on Amazon.
The knife Opens easily and has a frame lock. There is no spring assist with the knife but I can open it without too much trouble if I flick my wrist. Most of my other knives open a bit more easily than this (Case and Buck with a similar opening mechanism).
This knife does not have a liner, but at the bottom rear there is a chunk of metal that adds some heft to the knife. The knife is sanded smooth (very little texture), and it feels good in the hand, but, without texture I expect it to be slippery (ish) when wet.
The D2 blade is 3.5" long and weighs 4.34 oz, so almost the same weight as the EF11.
Bevel angle was similar to the EF11 so I did the same for sharpening with exactly the same results.
Eafengrow EF223
The Eafengrow EF223 has G10 handles that come in orange, brown, and black. All three have a D2 Blade and a deep carry pocket clip. Notice that the black knife has a darker blade than the orange and the brown handled knives. These sell for $20 on Amazon.
The knife Opens easily and has a frame lock. There is no spring assist with the knife but I can open it without too much trouble if I flick my wrist. Most of my other knives open a bit more easily than this (Case and Buck with a similar opening mechanism).
This knife has a steel liner, but it is still the lightest of the three knives by about half an ounce. The handle is textured and feels good in the hand.
The D2 blade is 3.5" long and weighs 3.84 oz, the lightest of the knives.
I have had a couple of these and I usually give them away to someone who needs a knife because they are one of the cheaper knives that I might carry. Every one of these knives came pretty sharp. I measured the factory edge at roughly 13.5° per side. I was happy with the edge until I sharpened my other two knives. I was not able to get it cutting as well as the other two, but, I only did a quick sharpen on my spyderco. I think that for fancy cutting I would want to polish the existing edge because the primary factory grind is rather rough compared to the polished surface that I created on the other two before I did the final sharpening. I just have not take the time to do it yet because the results are still pretty amazing for a minute or two of work. I currently have an orange knife and a brown one will be delivered shortly. I will probably polish those and then do a final sharpening. At the moment, however, I am very happy with the edge even though I expect do better with 10 minutes setup / take down and four or five minutes work per knife.
