So, you're considering a William Henry...

timberweasel

timberweasel

Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Messages
6,194
Got my first William Henry knife a couple of days ago... a B12 Atlas model. Actually, this knife represents a first for me in a couple different areas: first William Henry, first button lock, first knife in ZDP-189 steel. Seemed like a good deal for the $450 I shelled out for the experience... :eek::rolleyes::p

atlas01_zpsykuwwi7n.jpg


I like small, light, thin and slicy type knives; knives that are comfortable to carry and bonus points if it looks classy, too. It would seem that the William Henry brand should have been front and centre on my radar, but it wasn't for the longest time. Why? Well, a couple reasons...

First of all, I think that a lot of WH knives are pretty busy looking. Damascus with crazy patterns and colours, lavish embelishments like jewels, precious metals, etchings, scrollwork, etc.--so much going on at once that the basic designs are lost in the visual cacophony. YMMV.

Secondly, William Henry knives are pretty spendy. My first foray into paying a couple hundred bucks for a dang pocket knife was a CRK Large Sebenza 21 Insingo. I had to be pish drunk to finally pull the trigger on it, but luckily the vendor had it to my door before I could regret the decision. I was blown away. CRK made me see how it can be possible for 'the juice being worth the squeeze.' Suddenly, paying a couple hundred bucks did not seem as ridiculous and/or embarrassing as it once did. The possibility of owning more expensive knives, like William Henry, became a very real prospect.

I chose the B12 Atlas because it has many of the things I look for in a modern 'gentleman' pocket knife: 3" blade (sweet spot for me), 2oz weight, premium materials, tip up pocket clip, subtle design with luxury flair without being overwhelming. One thing that may not be immediately obvious on the Atlas is the cool blue/purple anodized inner scales that match the pocket clip.

atlas03_zps5lnaaqkb.jpg


Although the fit & finish is very good, I don't believe it is on par with anything out of Chris Reeve's shop. More like a Mcusta or perhaps a Moki, (either of which can be had for half the price and are extremely nice with better grind precision and symmetry, imo.) The fancy packaging on a WH definitely drives up the price but it certainly leaves an impression. The gem stones on the thumb-stud and button lock won't make the knife cut any better, either. Speaking of the button lock, the action on mine is a little crunchy when opening the knife, but it seems to be smoothing out nicely.

Worth it? Yep, you bet! But if your interest is in the knife itself and not so much on the experience, I think you can get more for your knife-dollars with another brand. My Atlas is a good knife and I feel it was worth the price... but, honestly, if if we're talking about straight out-of-the-box wow factor, I was more 'blown away' by my humble Ontario RAT-1 which, for the cost, was truly astonishing.

Thanks for reading!

-Brett
 
Last edited:
That's dissapointing and makes sense when reflect how few of them are seen/talked about compared to other knives in the price range. I've been eyeing the same model and was certain I'd pull the trigger one random day but now doubt it will be any time soon.
 
I totally agree with you. Most of there new releases are way too much like jewelry, but I think that is there niche. I saw this and it was the first knife that I considered buying from them in a long time.
 
Just seems to me that William Henry is far more preoccupied with creating gentlemen's bling than producing high-end cutlery: pens, cuff-links, money clips, keychains... . Not saying their knives aren't good, far from it, but it might be important to note that making high-performance cutlery isn't their primary focus, imo. ;)

-Brett
 
timberweasel said:
Although the fit & finish is very good, I don't believe it is on par with anything out of Chris Reeve's shop.

-Brett
Click to expand...
I've got 3 William Henry knives . . . an E10, a B7-FT and a Gentac, and I find their fit and finish to be exemplary . . . definitely on par with my Sebenzas. It's what drew me to them in the first place.
 
I can honestly say this is the most critical review of a WH knife I can recall reading. I mean that as a compliment since by and large WH owners rave about them. I never bought one because like most , I find them a little too "blinged out" for my taste, and I think that may be why so few on the forums own one.
 
bld522 said:
I've got 3 William Henry knives . . . an E10, a B7-FT and a Gentac, and I find their fit and finish to be exemplary . . . definitely on par with my Sebenzas. It's what drew me to them in the first place.
Click to expand...

I've only got the Atlas as a reference to the William Henry brand, but I do agree the quality is very very good. Just not as good as my CRKs, in my opinion of course. Here's a pic of some of my favourite gent's knives with my new B12. Personally, I think that the best value on the table is the Case/Tony Bose Coffin Jack... :thumbup::cool:

gent01_zps5tjgiidr.jpg


-Brett
 
Nice selection of gentleman's knives you've got there, Brett. :thumbup: By the way, let me know if you decide you don't want to keep your Atlas. Maybe we can work something out. :)
 
onojoe said:
I totally agree with you. Most of there new releases are way too much like jewelry, but I think that is there niche. I saw this and it was the first knife that I considered buying from them in a long time.
Click to expand...

When I was a watchmaker, the jeweler I worked for carried them. They are geared toward the "jewelry" aspect, and not really the normal collector market. He had them in the store so guys had something to look at & buy besides watches when their wives were shopping the sparklies.

They are pretty nice, though.
 
bld522 said:
Nice selection of gentleman's knives you've got there, Brett. :thumbup: By the way, let me know if you decide you don't want to keep your Atlas. Maybe we can work something out. :)
Click to expand...

Thankya kindly, sir! I'm pretty smitten with this one though and think it's a keeper. :)

-Brett
 
bitfiend said:
When I was a watchmaker, the jeweler I worked for carried them. They are geared toward the "jewelry" aspect, and not really the normal collector market. He had them in the store so guys had something to look at & buy besides watches when their wives were shopping the sparklies.

They are pretty nice, though.
Click to expand...
They sure are, bitfiend. The fact that they can be found just as easily in jewelery stores as in knife stores speaks to their quality, of course. Jewelers tend to be a pretty discerning lot.

timberweasel said:
Thankya kindly, sir! I'm pretty smitten with this one though and think it's a keeper. :)
Click to expand...
Enjoy it, Brett. And do drop me a line if you decide to change your mind. :)
 
I like william henry knives, but it all depends on why you have them. Either to collect or use.
Ive carried all of mine with daily use.

The 3 that ive had/have, all have a tremendous amount of blade play. And to me is a bit scary if you actually need to use it.

Saying that ill never buy another one to use daily.
 
The 'jewelry store' knife is a great analogy. It's not really derogatory and I get it.

A CRK is the knife shop jewel; the Henry really IS a brand for the jewelry store.

Very good. Henrys are excellent knives.
 
Padron26 said:
I like william henry knives, but it all depends on why you have them. Either to collect or use.
Ive carried all of mine with daily use.

The 3 that ive had/have, all have a tremendous amount of blade play. And to me is a bit scary if you actually need to use it.

Saying that ill never buy another one to use daily.
Click to expand...
I'd venture to say that of all the lock types available on folding knives, the button lock is probably near the bottom in terms of strength. Given that William Henry uses button locks on the vast majority of their models (if not all of their current models), it doesn't surprise me that a daily user would develop blade play over time. None of my William Henry knives has ever developed blade play, but then I rotate them frequently with my other EDCs and I don't use them for anything that would begin to approach the category of what most would consider "hard use". They are, after all, "gentlemen's" knives to be used for gentlemanly kinds of tasks such as opening letters, cutting up fruit, slicing cheese and the like. Perhaps that's why a "heavy" William Henry knife such as the OP's B12 weighs around 2 ounces. Having said that, have you ever returned any of your William Henrys to the factory for repair? They do carry a limited lifetime warranty, you know. Here's a link to their repair form if you want to send yours in:

http://www.williamhenry.com/media/downloads/RTL-REPAIR_012315.pdf

:)
 
Last edited:
I actually handled this model the other day and was pleasantly surprised, first time handling a WH. The action was a bit gritty(could have needed cleaning as it was a user), but there were no gaps or flaws I could find and I really liked the blade grind. ZDP-189 is a great steel for these too as the use most of these probably get will not require that steel to be sharpened for many years. Definitely a jewelry knife, but still a well made knife. I know a lot of non-knife people tend to like them quite a bit and understand why they cost so much but look at a $350 small seb crosseyed, but I'll take the Seb personally.

PS, very nice set of knives you have there!
 
bld522 said:
Nice selection of gentleman's knives you've got there, Brett. :thumbup: By the way, let me know if you decide you don't want to keep your Atlas. Maybe we can work something out. :)
Click to expand...

No business outside of the Exchange please....take it private. Thanks. :)
 
EricV said:
I know a lot of non-knife people tend to like them quite a bit and understand why they cost so much but look at a $350 small seb crosseyed, but I'll take the Seb personally.
Click to expand...
I'll take both. But then, I already have 3 William Henrys and 2 Small Sebenzas. Guess I need to pick up another Sebenza to maintain balance. ;) :D

William Henry and Chris Reeve are my absolute favorite production knife companies. From the standpoint of fit, finish, materials and attention to detail, it's hard to imagine doing much better than them. Matt's design philosophy is quite different than Chris's, of course, so I don't tend to compare their knives to each other. I'm just grateful to be in a position to be able to own both.
 
Last edited:
Speaking of 'luxury flair', check out the packaging... :eek:

wh01_zpsft7tf833.jpg


Holy smokes! Comes in a textured cardboard box with a metallic embossed logo, lined with some kind of light fabric. Inside that is a very nice hinged wooden box, locking of course, that has an embossed logo set in leather inside the lid and another inlayed into the outside top. The knife sits on a little leather 'couch' that is removable. Warranty card is on printed paper and folded neatly beneath the couch. Very classy presentation. No idea what I'm gonna do with it... :D

-Brett
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top