The James Brand Wayland, a review and thoughts

wickettedge

wickettedge

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It’s a slipjoint about the size of a GEC 86, and The James Brand Wayland has got plenty of punch for a slipjoint.

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It runs an S35VN blade. As we know from the Chris Reeve gospel, this is the perfect steel (unless it's S45VN, then that too is the ideal steel). I am joking, of course, but you know how the CRK guys can get if you mention another steel. Seriously, the steel on the Wayland is good to go, and the hardening appeared to be accurate for the steel. I had no way of testing other than usage and sharpening.

So, great size, modern steel, a barlow pattern... What's not to like?

It's made in China.

I am just going to skip the whole China debate, but I will say that it wasn’t until I tried a JE Made slipjoint that I realized how good a Chinese-made slipjoint could be. Snap, great spring, top steel, excellent fit and finish, they have everything you could want. Well, almost everything.

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I’ve set it side-by-side with some similar knives for comparison.

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The James Brand styles the knife as a sheepsfoot, but it just reminded me of my lambsfoot knives when I received it in hand.

I took the matter to the Guardians, and upon further investigation, it has been blessed as a lambsfoot. I should note that although it comes from The James Brand with a bit of belly, which isn’t a characteristic of lambs-footedness, it still receives the designation due to the recession of the spine away from the tang, as seen in this photo.

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It is snappy, has a strong pull, and is solid in the open position. And the wood covers are lovely.

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How doeth it cut?

The edge from the factory was nice and sharp. I did some kitchen prep, and it was a breeze. These strawberries stood no chance.

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The more I carried this knife, the more delightful I found it, but I started to notice one drawback. The blade has a little too much belly. It is just enough where you can’t help but notice it.

That’s fine. Some prefer the #dadbod look and to each their own on this. But I decided it could use a bit of a trim, and I took out the belly and put a mirror edge on it.


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I am happy with how the dad bod delete turned out. It could use some touch-up at the subsequent sharpening, but all in all, I am satisfied with it.

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My interest in the James Brand came from the most unlikely of places. A friend who lives in New York and is a watch collector asked me for my advice on knives. He knew I liked pocket knives and told me he had been thinking of getting one. He hadn’t personally carried once since he was a boy. He told me he was interested in the James Brand. I can’t remember which model, but I quickly dismissed the brand after looking at their website and seeing all their marketing messaging and prices. I sent him a knife, a Massdrop Gent to be exact, which he loved.

But, my curiosity was piqued. Here was a knife brand that crossed the metaphorical chasm. They had gotten a person who would never have found his way to these venerable forums to consider adding a knife to his pocket. But, their marketing was a bit too much, as one forum member noted, just as Cold Steel goes overboard and taking themselves too seriously, so too does the James Brand in their hipster-ness.

Still, I kept an eye on them for one reason. My name is James. Not metaphorically, but quite literally, my name is James, and how nifty would it be to have a knife with your name on it? I know lots of you have already experienced this, like Buck or my friend Kizer over there. How cool is that to have an entire knife brand in your name? I see you... naming your next kid Spyderco.

None of the models they offered were that appealing to me. None that is, until the Wayland.

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This seems like the place to wrap the review up.

I like the knife. It has a good size to it, and it doesn’t really have any build deficiencies in relation to spring, centering, and overall fit and finish. I mentioned above; it had almost everything you could want in a knife. Almost everything. The one thing it is lacking is something that is missing from many production knives: soul. The knife is just not a GEC knife.

GEC knives seem to have soul in spades. One would think knives that are off-center at times, sometimes with weak springs, or sporting a bit of blade play in the pivot would make GEC less desirable, but somehow it doesn’t. Cracking open that tube and finding your favorite pattern, with perfectly imperfect covers… There is just something to that.

Of course, it could just be the design of the Wayland is lacking soul. And when I compare it to another modern slipjoint like, LionSteel, I am glad that The James Brand didn’t have to buy out an entire Italian hardware store to build a knife (looking at you, Dom).

In the end, I enjoyed the knife, and I plan on carrying it regularly. Is it the perfect knife? No, but what knife is? After reprofiling the blade and carrying it, it certainly has become a more enjoyable knife. Due to its size, I have come to see that a GEC 86 Lambsfoot would be a perfect knife. One can dream, right?

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Maybe an 86Lamb will become a reality someday, but in the interim, the Wayland will do.

I hope this review helps as you consider the knife, and I hope the humor came across alright and that you found the review entertaining. Thanks for reading.
 
Thanks for your review. The size comparison photos are especially helpful. I've had a couple of James Brand knives and, for me, they just don't justify their price. I too liked the look of the Wayland but for $200 I'm out.
 
Nice write up. I do appreciate a modern take on traditionals with better steel options. Good looking pattern and size, but I would also prefer flush scales. Price is a bit up there, than I checked out a few of the other knives which made this one look semi reasonable.... But they're in a tough market where you have Lion Steel and Viper putting out similar knives at a much friendlier price range.
 
Pomsbz said:
How was the thickness behind the edge?
Click to expand...

It's a flat grind, so not extra thin, but it slices well. I don't have a way to measure that empirically for you, but TBTE seems average to me not too thin, not too thick. I guess all I can say is that it should perform well for a variety of tasks.
 
I like the look of it and the belly is fine with me. China makes some quality knives these days, just dont get confused between those and the junk that comes out of there.

A few months back i almost bought a $300 fixed blade knife because the brand is my last name (which isnt too common of a last name in the states). After i realized the maker wasnt a distant family, but instead the brand was named for the city he lives in, i decided $300 was too much. Though the knife still has my name on it, blade steel is 154cm, its a custom knife(made in canada), good size, and is great looking. I still think about checking up to see what is available from time to time.
 
wickettedge said:
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I wasn't buying the "Lambsfoot" vibe at first.
But after your edge re-profile, it definitely has the Lambsfoot vibe now.
 
Thanks for the review, James (nice to know your first name, as I didn't before)! I enjoyed the humor and well-balanced approach to your review.

Judging by the kick, I'm guessing it uses a stop pin inside the blade well to keep the knife from hitting the back-spring? Is that correct? Also, how is the action of the knife? I initially found the action of the first Lionsteels to be underwhelming, but the second iterations improved it greatly, and I thought the action on the Viper swayback was as good as it gets. I also had a Chinese made Zulu recently that had really high quality and great action, but, as you say, seemed to lack something in "soul" or character that modern traditionals seemed to have lost from the normal traditional knives.

Also, nice job on the blade modification. It looks much better.
 
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the knife.

wickettedge said:
...their marketing was a bit too much, as one forum member noted, just as Cold Steel goes overboard and taking themselves too seriously, so too does the James Brand in their hipster-ness.
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I'm glad you mentioned that. It's the overwhelming impression I get from the marque. There's a type of person that image appeals to, and it obviously works for the James Brand, but the whole hipster thing sends me in the opposite direction.

wickettedge said:
Still, I kept an eye on them for one reason. My name is James. Not metaphorically, but quite literally, my name is James, and how nifty would it be to have a knife with your name on it? I know lots of you have already experienced this, like Buck or my friend Kizer over there. How cool is that to have an entire knife brand in your name? I see you... naming your next kid Spyderco.
Click to expand...

I've been there.

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JohnDF said:
I wasn't buying the "Lambsfoot" vibe at first.
But after your edge re-profile, it definitely has the Lambsfoot vibe now.
Click to expand...

Definitely has the Lambfoot profile now that he's re-profiled the blade. I thought that in the first picture but the belly of the blade in that picture made it questionable but as I said, definitely the Lambfoot profile now.
 
kamagong said:
the whole hipster thing sends me in the opposite direction.
Click to expand...

Yeah me too, but to a person who doesn't own a knife, I am not sure that would be a turn-off. At least not at first. I see this company as a possible gateway knife for city dwellers and hipsters.

I got back into knives myself because a friend gave me a modern Chinese-made flipper knife a few years ago and it blew me away. I didn't know how far knives had come.

I had 10+ knives in my possession since my youth, a Swiss Champ being my prized possession along with some Bucks and Gerbers. But I just had no idea what quality knives looked like these days.

So, maybe The James Company will bring new members to our fold. At least a small percentage of the knife owners will search for information on how to clean, care for, and sharpen their Wayland. Some might even find their way here to this page and see that there is a broader world of knives available.
 
wickettedge wickettedge goes out on a limb again, and delivers an honest, no holds barred review of a perhaps dubious knife... :thumbsup::thumbsup: I read the review earlier and am just getting around to commenting. A most excellent write up, I think you should send an email to the powers that be at the James brand and get yourself a commission. Your honesty and enthusiasm do more to sell the brand to me than their regular sales pitch. Plus, your lambsfoot mod makes me all warm and fuzzy inside :D.
 
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and impressions on this knife. I like it! It has a very clean look to it, I like that they placed the nick way up front for maximizing leverage on opening. To my eyes this knife has great lines, modern super steel, and a useful blade shape. Pretty cool that you got a knife named after you to carry and use ! :thumbsup::cool:
 
Excellent and worthwhile review thank you.

The quality, build and steel are there no question, but myself I'm not so keen on the aesthetics of the knife, it's good to have a new contender though and I would not be surprised if this company came out with some very desirable knives in the future :cool:

Regards, Will
 
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