WE Knives? Another high end Chinese company?

Mo2 said:
One thing I wish they would do is make it mandatory for designers to make more than one prototype. Most makers make poor design choices and it ruins the knives for me cause they could have been way better.
The one maker Boos Blades did this and worked with Nick Shabazz to make a really great end product. So it's not always WE's fault on that aspect... But sometimes you wonder why they would do some things so half assed from a design given to them on a napkin.
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They do make prototypes for everything.

I had the luck of handeling some of thier prototypes for the upcoming knives, very impressed with one of them especially.

I don't know when those are set to go on sale but i'm sure it will get some hype.

Sadly i can't talk about what it is, but it's not a typical flipper framelock ill say that.
 
Any company inevitably has fit and finish issues, it's the nature of the beast with the tolerances we have come to expect. That said, I own and have owned more WE made knives than any other brand (with the exception of Spyderco, but those have been a lot of the same models), and haven't had any fit and finish issues with a single one. Where as with other companies, ZT, Benchmade, Spyderco, Cold Steel, and especially the lower end knives like Buck, Kershaw, etc, I have had some form of issues with their knives and other brands. I had 2 WE made knives where the threadlocker used was non-existent or not enough, and the pivot loosened up, but that's such a simple fix that it isn't even an issue. With possibly the exception of Reate, you cannot name a single consumer brand (not custom, not mid-tech) that is as consistent. If you get a WE with an issue, I can almost bet money it's one you picked up second hand.

Here's my growing collection of WE knives and WE made knives, mixed in with some other brands, all perfect or close to perfect examples:



 
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`br4dz- said:
Any company inevitably has fit and finish issues, it's the nature of the beast with the tolerances we have come to expect. That said, I own and have owned more WE made knives than any other brand (with the exception of Spyderco, but those have been a lot of the same models), and haven't had any fit and finish issues with a single one. Where as with other companies, ZT, Benchmade, Spyderco, Cold Steel, and especially the lower end knives like Buck, Kershaw, etc, I have had some form of issues with their knives and other brands. I had 2 WE made knives where the threadlocker used was non-existent or not enough, and the pivot loosened up, but that's such a simple fix that it isn't even an issue. With possibly the exception of Reate, you cannot name a single consumer brand (not custom, not mid-tech) that is as consistent. If you get a WE with an issue, I can almost bet money it's one you picked up second hand.

Here's my growing collection of WE knives and WE made knives, mixed in with some other brands, all perfect or close to perfect examples:



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Awesome collection. I plan on picking up a couple WE knives next week.
 
Wolverine666 said:
Awesome collection. I plan on picking up a couple WE knives next week.
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A couple? :eek: Awfully expensive to be picking up in pairs. I've sold off a couple of mine, but kept the huge majority. Most of my knives slated for the rest of this year are WE made knives, such as the Ferrum Forge Archbishop that they stated will be out in a couple months, and the WE Arrakis, and a prototype WE had at bladeshow, and the collabs WE is doing with Todd knife and tool, and the upcoming Boos blades knife made by WE...boy I'm in trouble.
 
`br4dz- said:
A couple? :eek: Awfully expensive to be picking up in pairs. I've sold off a couple of mine, but kept the huge majority. Most of my knives slated for the rest of this year are WE made knives, such as the Ferrum Forge Archbishop that they stated will be out in a couple months, and the WE Arrakis, and a prototype WE had at bladeshow, and the collabs WE is doing with Todd knife and tool, and the upcoming Boos blades knife made by WE...boy I'm in trouble.
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Haha yes you definitely are in trouble. Or rather , your wallet is. WE seems to be on fire with lots of interesting knives in the works. Good stuff.

And yes , I’ll be getting two WE knives soon. I’m split between the 609 and 710. So I’ve decided to get both. I’m a non-flipper guy. But that Zeta does look pretty sick. I don’t mind small flipper tabs so much.
 
I own 3 knives made by WE including the Gent, Terzuola and a cool Bestech Hornet. All are flawless. However I bought a WE Rectifier that was really sticky to open no matter what I tried so I returned it to one of our sponsoring vendors. The replacement was equally bad. A shame as most of the reviews are very positive. Maybe they were part of a bad batch?
 
MSchott said:
I own 3 knives made by WE including the Gent, Terzuola and a cool Bestech Hornet. All are flawless. However I bought a WE Rectifier that was really sticky to open no matter what I tried so I returned it to one of our sponsoring vendors. The replacement was equally bad. A shame as most of the reviews are very positive. Maybe they were part of a bad batch?
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WE makes Bestech Knives?
 
Mo2 said:
I'd rather have my zt's over my WE's But they have there share of lock geometry and detent issues. Different styles. Zt's are a bit cheaper too. 240 vs 340 give or take.
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Interesting. One of my pet peeves is a weak detent. How is the detent on the WE knives that you own?
 
Wolverine666 said:
Interesting. One of my pet peeves is a weak detent. How is the detent on the WE knives that you own?
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Variable. Been lots of detent reports from we knives.some fall out. Some weak. I think it's the luck of the draw. My zt's detents are all perfect except for my zt 0850 haven't sent it in yet. I hate having to send knives in.
 
Mo2 said:
Variable. Been lots of detent reports from we knives.some fall out. Some weak. I think it's the luck of the draw. My zt's detents are all perfect except for my zt 0850 haven't sent it in yet. I hate having to send knives in.
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That’s too bad that a strong detent is not a consistent thing. I’ll have to request that they check the detent upon ordering a WE.

All my Spdercos and CRK’s have a nice solid detent.
 
Mo2 said:
I'd rather have my zt's over my WE's But they have there share of lock geometry and detent issues. Different styles. Zt's are a bit cheaper too. 240 vs 340 give or take.
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Most WE knives are in the 240 range. I don't think they make a 340 range knife.
 
Ryan Thompson said:
It’s not the look of the star, I think it looks fine. I just wonder if the points of the star would be kind of sharp for a thumb stub. I will more than likely get one sooner or later and find out for myself, but that is what stops me for now. It would be awesome if they were more widely available to try out!
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Right, the studs are sort of sharp, which I meant to say is a good feature that works with the design of the knife. They aren't going to lacerate you, but it is a very specific kind of gentleman's-type knife, and the single stud is awfully close to the handle. With the sharper-than-normal stud milling, it is easier to use, and the cutouts give your thumbnail something to engage with if you prefer not to use the pad of your thumb.
 
Tried out the double helix today at BladeHQ storefront. Pretty well engineered and assembled but the design just didn't make the grade for me.

The hollow grind on that blade stock thickness was the wrong choice. At least when Camillus hollow ground the DDR EDC blades for cost savings, they used a14 inch wheel so it was pretty close to flat. This looks more like a 6 or 8 inch wheel and it's just too abruptly thick.

And the bulk of the handle is quite a bit to ask. Lots of unnecessary weight and thickness there. I'll have to wait and see if they can refine the concepts for a later knife design.
 
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