Thoughts on WE knives?

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King of the Cheese King of the Cheese - oh, wow! Any of them really. Of the ones I have owned and carried....

Hecate (current edc)
Bishop
Synergy
Chimera

I would have to say the price 818 Streak is the best “bang for your buck”. It’s a well built knife with m390 and ceramic bearings for less than $150. Also, don’t forget the Civivi line!
 
I just got my first We knife a few weeks ago. It's a 620G and can be bought for around $250 on BladeHQ.

The build quality, materials and blade steel (M390) are definitely higher end. Like most of We's designs , It's styling is edgy, so you will either like or dislike it.
And some would balk at the proprietary hardware , but that's what attracted me to the knife. It's part of the overall design, just like the pocket clip

We supplies the star take-down tool and it's stored in the included padded case.

Comparing this knife to other similarly priced titanium framelock knives , it is worth the price.
And I have no doubts that it will perform the same as any other titanium framelock in this price range.

As far as "hard use", the definition of "hard use" varies by user. Personally I wouldn't use any titanium framelock for "hard use". I leave that for a fixed blade or maybe a knife like the Cold Steel AD10. But this knife is built as well and as strong as any other in it's class.

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fatBatman said:
After much contemplating, I’ve decided to buy a We 704. I’ve always stayed away from knives made in China but I wanted to get some objective reasoning on what people think of We knives.
Are they durable? Are they capable?
How would any owners out there rate them against brands like Spyderco or Benchmade?
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In general, I find their designs to be too funky for my taste. That 704 does look nice though. Another issue I have with WE are the prices. For that much money I can get a similarly made US product, or in the case of spyderco, made in Taiwan. I feel that they are saving a bunch of money on being made in China but not passing that savings on to the customer. That being the case, I'd rather keep that money in country.
 
craytab said:
In general, I find their designs to be too funky for my taste. That 704 does look nice though. Another issue I have with WE are the prices. For that much money I can get a similarly made US product, or in the case of spyderco, made in Taiwan. I feel that they are saving a bunch of money on being made in China but not passing that savings on to the customer. That being the case, I'd rather keep that money in country.
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I've not yet seen a US-made knife that matches what WE does in terms of machining and materials for the money. Not loving the designs is something I can understand, and it's laudable to want to keep money in the hands of US citizens, but the WE 620 model I had was nothing short of astounding for how much went into it (M390 two-toned blade, anodized titanium fasteners, anodized titanium handle and full titanium backspacer, copious and detailed internal milling, machined micro textures on everything, ceramic bearings, a nice little case and disassembly tool, etc).

The closest thing I can think of is the Socom Elite family but they're not really on the same level, as much as I love those knives.
 
craytab said:
In general, I find their designs to be too funky for my taste. That 704 does look nice though. Another issue I have with WE are the prices. For that much money I can get a similarly made US product, or in the case of spyderco, made in Taiwan. I feel that they are saving a bunch of money on being made in China but not passing that savings on to the customer. That being the case, I'd rather keep that money in country.
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That's kind of how I feel. I can see a lower cost knife being made in China, but it seems foreign to me to pay a premium price for a knife produced in a place where the whole point is low cost production. I know material cost is a thing, but from the outside it really looks like a cash grab.
 
Some look beautiful and manufacturing seems good, but their model offer is so abundant and diverse they seems soulless to me.
Overpriced considering their origin – at least in Canada.
 
marrenmiller said:
I've not yet seen a US-made knife that matches what WE does in terms of machining and materials for the money. Not loving the designs is something I can understand, and it's laudable to want to keep money in the hands of US citizens, but the WE 620 model I had was nothing short of astounding for how much went into it (M390 two-toned blade, anodized titanium fasteners, anodized titanium handle and full titanium backspacer, copious and detailed internal milling, machined micro textures on everything, ceramic bearings, a nice little case and disassembly tool, etc).

The closest thing I can think of is the Socom Elite family but they're not really on the same level, as much as I love those knives.
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Even if the quality is better, I still feel that given where it is produced should equal a better price point. Maybe my ideas on how much cost goes into making their knives compared to their non-chinese competition is way off, but I don't think so. Seems to me the cost is mostly profit to the company, taking advantage of both their ability of cheap manufacture, and our desire for nice things shinny things with tight tolerances. Their isn't really anything wrong with that either (other than communist labor, LOL). Just my personal feeling on the circumstances of the company and how I see finding the best value for my money.

MarkN86 said:
That's kind of how I feel. I can see a lower cost knife being made in China, but it seems foreign to me to pay a premium price for a knife produced in a place where the whole point is low cost production. I know material cost is a thing, but from the outside it really looks like a cash grab.
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Cash grab is a nice simple way to describe it.
 
awesome company! top notch f&f! better value for money then most companys. spyderco is an amazing company.. but WE has far better fit and finish in the same price range, benchmade thinks fit and finish is a dish that you can order on a mediterranean menu card.
 
I've had WE knives and don't have anything negative to say about them. I recently sold my last one and don't intend on buying any more in the future, but if they deliver a knife that just screams "buy me!" then maybe I will. TBH, I don't really like flippers.

Two thoughts....

Are the WE steels heat treated to the same standards as Spyderco? A knife steel nerd would have to comment on that, as I don't know enough about it to tell a difference. They certainly don't provide the same amount of steel options that Spyderco does - REX 45, Maxamet, XHP, Cruwear, 52100, K390, SPY27, H1, LC2000, S45VN, etc.

Their Civivi knives are a great bargain.
 
craytab said:
Maybe my ideas on how much cost goes into making their knives compared to their non-chinese competition is way off, but I don't think so. Seems to me the cost is mostly profit to the company, taking advantage of both their ability of cheap manufacture, and our desire for nice things shinny things with tight tolerances.
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I think this is where I disagree. Of the knives I've seen from WE, the build quality generally matched or exceeded anything I've ever owned, be it from CRK, Hinderer, Microtech, Spyderco, Benchmade, ZT, etc, and at lower price points than those competitive US offerings. There's so much labor and machining time that's clearly being poured into these that the price, to me, seems right when considering they're made in China and imported into the US. They even have US warranty support, which helped me out when I needed parts, and I haven't had any QC issues with them like I have had with so many US makers.

I still prefer to buy American whenever I can, and I don't have but a handful of non-US folders in my collection anymore, but I can't pretend like the few Reate/WE pieces left in my collection aren't juggernauts when considering value for the money.
 
King of the Cheese King of the Cheese , WE makes a good knife.

I have 7 different WE branded knives, a few CIVIVI knives and a couple of knives made by WE under other labels. WE is near the top of the heap ofproduction knives from China, somewhat on par with Reate.

I find them to be consistently a little better than ZT, Benchmade and Spyderco. Some of their designs are a little out there and the early proprietary hardware was kind of a PITA. They’ve managed to get away from the Reate fixation with stupid thick blade stock and many models function well as a knife-like object.

Like others have said, the value element for WE has dropped off significantly. One has to justify over $200 for a knife without local warranty and support. Resale value tends to depreciate faster than other brands. To find good value on these imported brands, you have to take gambles and buy in before they’ve established a following. A recent example of an emerging brand is TuyaKnife, although their newest models look to be $20-40 higher in price.

In terms of hard use, that’s more a function of lock-up stability, lock type and materials, as well as your personal definition of “hard use”. WE Knives are made with great fit and finish for whatever that translates into hard use.

You should also be aware that WE Knives lack some safety features that you may be used to; there is no guidance arrow showing “which end toward enemy.“
 
marrenmiller said:
I think this is where I disagree. Of the knives I've seen from WE, the build quality generally matched or exceeded anything I've ever owned, be it from CRK, Hinderer, Microtech, Spyderco, Benchmade, ZT, etc, and at lower price points than those competitive US offerings. There's so much labor and machining time that's clearly being poured into these that the price, to me, seems right when considering they're made in China and imported into the US. They even have US warranty support, which helped me out when I needed parts, and I haven't had any QC issues with them like I have had with so many US makers.

I still prefer to buy American whenever I can, and I don't have but a handful of non-US folders in my collection anymore, but I can't pretend like the few Reate/WE pieces left in my collection aren't juggernauts when considering value for the money.
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I'm not questioning the quality or the time and effort put into the execution. I'm questioning how much that is worth given the communist dictatorship labor practices. You'd think all that theft of humanity would equal a lower price point. Not judging of course. I buy knives from China, but at a price that makes sense to me given where they are made.
 
Most of the posters here vouched for WE product quality. A couple commented they don’t care for WE designs. I fall into that camp, but WE also contracts with and produces knives to marquee designer names like Ray Laconico and Gareth Bull. The quality is there.
 
My opinion and my money, I will simply just never buy one. Most of there designs don’t do it for me, then their is the whole made in China thing..no thank you.
 
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