Hey everyone.
David C. Andersen here coming at you from the KnifeCenter, and today we’re looking
at the best EDC pocket knives that you can get from WE Knife Company right now in 2019.
Let’s check em out.
You’ve no doubt seen WE Knives explode onto the scene in the past few years, and after
many years of working as an OEM for other manufacturers, they’ve started producing
their own brand of knives, and you can tell by their high quality designs that they’re
hungry to make an impact.
In a very short amount of time, this Chinese brand has put themselves right up there with
some of the finest knife production companies on the planet.
So let’s take a look at some of their best stand-out designs.
We’ll start with a model that put WE Knives on the map for a lot of people, and that’s
the 815 Double Helix.
This is a knife that shows that they’re willing to push the envelope with established
archetypes and think outside the box.
It shows what their manufacturing operation is really capable of.
The knife features a crossbar-style lock, but instead of internal springs, we get externally
visible springs that anchor at the back of the titanium frame, and you can even see them
move as you actuate the lock, which is really cool.
Something unique to WE’s version of this lock is that it actually holds the S35VN blade
closed until you pull back on the lock bar itself.
You can tug on the blade all you want, but it’s not gonna come loose unintentionally,
and that’s a great thing for safety in the pocket.
The Double Helix is a really cool knife, but frame lock flippers are the name of the game
these days, and indeed: they’re WE Knife Company’s bread and butter, and this 608
model is a statement piece.
It features machined titanium handles as you would expect, and it’s got these subtle
grooves for texture, and several different anodized colors available.
It also has solid lockup, with a hardened lock bar insert that doubles as an internally-mounted
overtravel stop.
The big news with this model, however, is this S35VN blade, with recurve tanto or drop
point blade shapes available, and you can get them with black stonewash or standard
stonewashed finishes.
It’s big and bad, but it flies open quickly and very smoothly thanks to a ceramic ball
bearing pivot.
Not only does it provide clean action with almost zero resistance, it also makes the
blade drop shut very easily, and thanks to the long fuller on both sides of the blade,
you can even open it with just your thumb since there’s no friction at all from the
pivot to hinder the movement.
A more pocket-friendly take on the frame lock flipper, and one of my favorites of theirs
for EDC is the 901 Deacon.
I say frame lock, but it might be more accurate to call this a bolster lock knife, because
it features integral titanium bolsters, again with several different color options, and
carbon fiber overlays that live over top of the lock bar itself.
This knife comes with a more conventional drop point profile, with just over 3” of
M390 steel for capability in a small package, but what sets this knife apart are all the
curved surfaces.
Not only do we get a nicely-crowned spine, which makes it comfortable to put your thumb
on, but we also have radiused handles.
These are not simple flat slabs, and, because of that, it melts into your hand for a very
comfortable cutting experience.
But to really set their frame locks apart, WE has also mastered the art of the integral
frame, and that’s something that few other manufacturers even dare to attempt, and their
marquee model featuring this is the Drakon.
Instead of two slabs held together with either a backspacer or barrel spacers, this knife
is milled out of a single piece of titanium, so you have no seams along the back.
This is harder to do from a manufacturing standpoint, but what you get in return is
strength that those other types of knives just can’t attempt to match.
But in order to make sure this knife gets the respect it really deserves, it features
a heavily milled dragon scale pattern that covers each side of the knife.
And the precision is stunning; the pattern even melds seamlessly through onto the lock
bar insert itself.
The M390 blade also shows something that WE likes to do on some of their knives, and the
sharpened edge itself actually gets thicker near the tip, so you get a stronger point.
But rest assured: it is still razor sharp.
Just as impressive is the recently introduced integral framed Synergy 2.
Now this is actually an update and tribute to the first ever production integral frame
folder: The Speed Tech Synergy, which was designed by Jim Young.
Released in 1999, it was way ahead of its time and it’s got the awards to prove it,
and in some ways many companies are still playing catch-up to what they did twenty years
ago.
Those knives were limited in quantity, and they’re collectible now, so the WE version
is the best way to get your hands on the new one.
The build quality is absolutely unimpeachable, and instead of a button lock on the original,
you get a frame lock and a flipper.
The M390 blade on this model is available in a trailing point like the original, or
with an upswept tanto profile, and there’s several handle variants with or without inlays.
What I love most about this knife, however, is the contouring that you can see from above.
Not a lot of pocket knives will give you any kind of swell in this direction, and the result
is an insanely comfortable knife, but it still has the performance you need to get a ton
of work done with edge retention to spare.
In addition to pushing the envelope of modern knife design, WE has also turned their attention
to slipjoints, offering their cutting edge take on traditional pocket knives.
The 902 Gentry is a classically-profiled single blade trapper style, but while the shape may
be traditional, the materials are anything but.
We’ve got S35VN steel and a nice horizontal finish, and it’s also available with a black
brushed finish.
Like their flippers, they still use titanium for the handles, and we’ve got nicely contoured
carbon fiber inlays, and they’re rounded and comfortable just like the Deacon that
we saw earlier.
Most importantly, the walk and talk is top notch, with a nice half-stop and satisfying
action.
The 905 Scamp is a little smaller, but it has the same great build quality, and aims
for a more futuristic look, and these biomechanical-looking handles have an almost HR Giger flair to them.
The blade is S35VN steel again, and here we have an example of that black brushed finish.
Instead of the long fuller on the blade of the Gentry, the Scamp actually has a cutout
that enables easy two-handed opening from either side, and you don’t even have to
use your fingernails to do it, but the action still has that same great feel.
WE could have done just another slipjoint knife, but they decided to do something different
than anything else out there, and the results were well worth it.
If you want something with the style of a classic pocket knife but with a modern lock,
then the WE 618 has it covered.
It’s one of our favorite executive knives with a long but slender M390 blade.
Now, this is not a flipper design, but therefore the profile is nice and clean in the pocket
with no protrusions that might get caught up on something.
It still has a ball bearing pivot, though, so a quick flick of the thumb is enough to
send the blade out in an instant.
The knife has all the same great capabilities and build quality of its brethren, but with
an elegance all its own.
Now we get to really see them stretch their legs with a couple of very distinctive designs.
First is the 816 Incisor folding karambit, an evolution of their popular 708 karambit
and even better.
This knife has fast flipping action and a devastating hawkbill blade, but what sets
it apart is the addition of a protruding thumb stud that pulls double duty.
You can use your thumb to open it, but much like an Emerson Wave opener, the leading edge
of this can actually hook into your pocket hem as you’re drawing the knife, which deploys
the blade in one smooth motion.
The Incisor is built to the same standards as any of the rest of the knives you’ve
seen here, and that alone would make it a worthwhile addition to your karambit rotation,
but this extra bit of utility really puts the design over the top.
Finally, we come to the Arrakis, designed by hot-shot designer Elijah Isham, and while
this is a polarizing knife to some, it is certainly a statement of engineering prowess
if I’ve ever seen one, and that distinctive styling becomes even more impressive the longer
you look at it.
This innovative handle is actually a three-piece design with a skeletonized motif that carries
over from the blade to the handles.
This grey colored piece is a wraparound integral piece of metal, and it also provides the platform
for the frame lock itself.
That part of the frame is actually mated to these two gold pieces that nest in on either
side, leaving the index finger area exposed for comfort and the locking mechanism.
This creates sort of a split frame lock design and it’s very cool, and you only appreciate
it more and more as you handle it in person.
Although this is the one that pushes the envelope the most, this is one of a series of great
collaborations they’ve done with Elijah, and they’re all very impressive.
So if you thought these folders were great, you should check out their other items too.
They also make fixed blades and kitchen knives, and cool accessories like titanium pens and
whistles as well.
And make sure you don’t miss out on their CIVIVI line: a budget brand bringing their
great design chops to a more attainable price point.
So what do you think of this top ten list of great blades from WE Knife Company?
Be sure to let us know your favorite down in the comments, and let us know if you think
we left something out as well.
In the meantime, to get your hands on any of these, or any of the other great WE Knife
Company blades, click the link in the description below to head over to KnifeCenter.com.