WE Knife Thoughts

I have seen knives from a complete other league like the models of M-Tech, Wartech, Gerber and Schrade. Rescue kind of knives, skeletonized, but also more traditinal stuff. Not sure if they produced for these companies but likewise knives.
 
henkh said:
I have seen knives from a complete other league like the models of M-Tech, Wartech, Gerber and Schrade. Rescue kind of knives, skeletonized, but also more traditinal stuff. Not sure if they produced for these companies but likewise knives.
Click to expand...

So wait. I'm having a hard time understanding. First you say you have seen hundreds of knives WE made for other companies and when asked which knives they made you are now saying that you don't actually know if these knives were made by WE? If you don't know if WE made the knives then it really has no relevance.
 
marcinek said:
But you have one currently, correct? You have designed knives for them, right?
Click to expand...

Yes. This is correct.

I was stating that I did not have a relationship with We prior to them changing their name and beginning production of their current lineup - but I'm impressed with them in the relationship we have.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
OmarShablotnik said:
Yes. This is correct.

I was stating that I did not have a relationship with We prior to them changing their name and beginning production of their current lineup - but I'm impressed with them in the relationship we have.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

You've done the 615 and 616, right Simon? Are there more that are forthcoming or that I've missed?
 
OmarShablotnik said:
Yes. This is correct.

I was stating that I did not have a relationship with We prior to them changing their name and beginning production of their current lineup - but I'm impressed with them in the relationship we have.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Knowing that you do have a financial relationship with WE (not that you were trying to hide it), will surely help people "to actually make informed decisions" based on what you have been saying here.
 
marcinek said:
Thanks. Knowing that you do have a financial relationship with WE (not that you were trying to hide it), will surely help people "to actually make informed decisions" based on what you have been saying here.
Click to expand...

I don't think it would be accurate to characterize it as a "financial relationship." But I do have designs that they are producing and I am happy with our relationship. Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hackenslash said:
You've done the 615 and 616, right Simon? Are there more that are forthcoming or that I've missed?
Click to expand...

Yes on 615 and 616 and yes on future, but I don't want to put anything forward of their production and scheduled releases. Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
OmarShablotnik said:
I don't think it would be accurate to characterize it as a "financial relationship." But I do have designs that they are producing and I am happy with our relationship. Thanks.
Click to expand...

So, their continued success may afford you opportunities to continue this "relationship, which is not a financial one" by designing more knives for them.

So you do have a "vested" interest in their success.

That's fine, I'm not accusing you of doing anything sneaky or under the table, but one might view your defense of them differently knowing that.

Like you said, we are trying to make informed decisions here. :thumbup:
 
marcinek said:
So, their continued success may afford you opportunities to continue this "relationship, which is not a financial one" by designing more knives for them.

So you do have a "vested" interest in their success.

That's fine, I'm not accusing you of doing anything sneaky or under the table, but one might view your defense of them differently knowing that.

Like you said, we are trying to make informed decisions here. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

If you want to hint that my opinion of We is somehow invalid because I have a relationship with them, I can't stop you from doing that (I did say in my first post in this thread back on page one that I might be considered a "homer" lol.) You might consider, though, that I might have more information - due to that relationship - to form my opinion with.

Thanks.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
What I don't want to get lost in this is what I think are the more salient points to the OP's original question, which would be the opinions of their knives and owner experiences posted above (and any to follow.) I like mine a lot, and you can choose to use my opinion as you wish (it's just my opinion.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
OmarShablotnik said:
If you want to hint that my opinion of We is somehow invalid because I have a relationship with them, I can't stop you from doing that (I did say in my first post in this thread back on page one that I might be considered a "homer" lol.) You might consider, though, that I might have more information - due to that relationship - to form my opinion with.
Click to expand...

I never said that or hinted at it. Now if I had known that "homer" meant "has a vested interest in the company's success" we wouldn't had to have had this discussion.

All I said was that putting the players in context helps us all make informed decisions.
 
marcinek said:
I never said that or hinted at it. Now if I had known that "homer" meant "has a vested interest in the company's success" we wouldn't had to have had this discussion.

All I said was that putting the players in context helps us all make informed decisions.
Click to expand...

I've bought so many WE knives I guess you could say THEY have a vested interest in my personal success ;).
 
marcinek said:
I never said that or hinted at it. Now if I had known that "homer" meant "has a vested interest in the company's success" we wouldn't had to have had this discussion.

All I said was that putting the players in context helps us all make informed decisions.
Click to expand...

Ok. I think the main summation points of my posts in this thread, aside from conveying that I like We and their products, is that 1) I do have a working relationship with We and they are producing a pair of my designs currently, and 2) I take exception to what I consider to be all-too-often "anti-China" sentiments (and I'm making a generalization there) that I see (and not just here on BF.) I apologize if my my frustration with the latter was a bit strong because I don't voice it often. I'll leave that alone moving forward.

So. That's me. [emoji846]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
PURPLEDC said:
So wait. I'm having a hard time understanding. First you say you have seen hundreds of knives WE made for other companies and when asked which knives they made you are now saying that you don't actually know if these knives were made by WE? If you don't know if WE made the knives then it really has no relevance.
Click to expand...

I have seen these on an old website from WE appr. 2 years ago and i can remember they looked as the knives a described. If they wee made for these brands i don't know. I just described the looks. So WE made these.
 
Hackenslash said:
I'm not sure where you're going with this. Do you think American or European knife makers manufacture their own bearings? Ball bearing manufacture is something entirely different from knife manufacture and I'd hope and expect to see them outsourced by all manufacturers. I've worked in the bearing industry and it's definitely a specialty product that would typically be beyond the capability of a knife maker. The expense and effort for a knife maker to manufacture their own bearing would be ridiculous when they can purchase bearings to spec from people who make them for a living.

If clone knives use bearings with the same ID, OC, run and span as the name brand knives...doesn't that just confirm that they're indeed clones? Why would a cloner copy a knife and change the bearing specs? This makes no sense. This commonality of bearing type is a result of cloning, not a nefarious connection between a named company and an un-named cloner.

I'm not saying that current "named" manufacturers haven't derived in some way from the cloning industry, just that your ball bearing argument doesn't prove it.
Click to expand...


The bearings found in the clones are not the same systems found in the knives they are cloning. If you open a kevin john clone of a shrirogorov its bearings will look nothing like what shirogorov does. And while they dont make the actual ball bearings there is absolutely zero reason they cant and wouldnt make the little plastic carriers that hold the bearings as those are very specific to the knife industry and more specifically chinese produced knives. Most of these companies are not using a brass carrier for the bearings. Its just a piece of plastic. If a two man operation here in the states can and does make their own bearing cages then so can a large factory in china.

And to answer your question of why a clone company would change the bearing system and not use what is in the original they are cloning? Because many times its a proprietary item they dont have access to. Have you ever seen a multi row bearing system by shirogorov? Its pretty involved and as of right now I only know of one knife that has replicated it and its expensive even for a clone. And sisncenits a part no one is going to see unless its taken apart they dont really care. They are lower cost alternatives and many times are intentionally not identical to the original. So ask yourself this, if the clones were the first and up till very recently the only knives to have these bearing systems they specifically had to developed for use in their knives in china and no where else and all of a sudden a certain knife brand clones out of nowhere and is utilizing that same system that previously was only seen in the clones that to me seems odd. And then to have that same system show up in a supposed usa made knife that many suspect of lying about where they make their stuff when they claimto make everything themselves is also odd. Now is it concrete evidence? No. but i know this to be the case with other brands besides WE. And i wouldnt expect a company to come right out and admit they make clones knowing the stigma that it carries here and especially when from their position here is nothing wrong with it.

Some never seem to ask themselves how a company can just materialize out of nowhere making incredibly well made knives and produce as many as they do and have the incredible quality they have with what seems like no learning curve. From my contacts the simplified answer is clones pay the bills and provide the means to make original designs. Just who is all involved in it? We? I have no idea. But some do double dip. And i could care less. But i realize some do care and they should be able to see all the information and make a choice for themselves.
 
henkh said:
I have seen these on an old website from WE appr. 2 years ago and i can remember they looked as the knives a described. If they wee made for these brands i don't know. I just described the looks. So WE made these.
Click to expand...

So you really dont know and they just looked like knives from those brands which means they could be oem or clones. Awesome. Thanks for clarifying.
 
PURPLEDC said:
The bearings found in the clones are not the same systems found in the knives they are cloning. If you open a kevin john clone of a shrirogorov its bearings will look nothing like what shirogorov does. And while they dont make the actual ball bearings there is absolutely zero reason they cant and wouldnt make the little plastic carriers that hold the bearings as those are very specific to the knife industry and more specifically chinese produced knives. Most of these companies are not using a brass carrier for the bearings. Its just a piece of plastic. If a two man operation here in the states can and does make their own bearing cages then so can a large factory in china.

And to answer your question of why a clone company would change the bearing system and not use what is in the original they are cloning? Because many times its a proprietary item they dont have access to. Have you ever seen a multi row bearing system by shirogorov? Its pretty involved and as of right now I only know of one knife that has replicated it and its expensive even for a clone. And sisncenits a part no one is going to see unless its taken apart they dont really care. They are lower cost alternatives and many times are intentionally not identical to the original. So ask yourself this, if the clones were the first and up till very recently the only knives to have these bearing systems they specifically had to developed for use in their knives in china and no where else and all of a sudden a certain knife brand clones out of nowhere and is utilizing that same system that previously was only seen in the clones that to me seems odd. And then to have that same system show up in a supposed usa made knife that many suspect of lying about where they make their stuff when they claimto make everything themselves is also odd. Now is it concrete evidence? No. but i know this to be the case with other brands besides WE. And i wouldnt expect a company to come right out and admit they make clones knowing the stigma that it carries here and especially when from their position here is nothing wrong with it.

Some never seem to ask themselves how a company can just materialize out of nowhere making incredibly well made knives and produce as many as they do and have the incredible quality they have with what seems like no learning curve. From my contacts the simplified answer is clones pay the bills and provide the means to make original designs. Just who is all involved in it? We? I have no idea. But some do double dip. And i could care less. But i realize some do care and they should be able to see all the information and make a choice for themselves.
Click to expand...

WeKnives state that they were an OEM manufacturer for other brands prior to making their own line of knives. According to this, their "learning curve" would have been conducted doing OEM work (not clones.)

The single row ceramic bearings that We use are in a brass cage (as a point of information)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
PURPLEDC said:
The bearings found in the clones are not the same systems found in the knives they are cloning. If you open a kevin john clone of a shrirogorov its bearings will look nothing like what shirogorov does. And while they dont make the actual ball bearings there is absolutely zero reason they cant and wouldnt make the little plastic carriers that hold the bearings as those are very specific to the knife industry and more specifically chinese produced knives. Most of these companies are not using a brass carrier for the bearings. Its just a piece of plastic. If a two man operation here in the states can and does make their own bearing cages then so can a large factory in china.

And to answer your question of why a clone company would change the bearing system and not use what is in the original they are cloning? Because many times its a proprietary item they dont have access to. Have you ever seen a multi row bearing system by shirogorov? Its pretty involved and as of right now I only know of one knife that has replicated it and its expensive even for a clone. And sisncenits a part no one is going to see unless its taken apart they dont really care. They are lower cost alternatives and many times are intentionally not identical to the original. So ask yourself this, if the clones were the first and up till very recently the only knives to have these bearing systems they specifically had to developed for use in their knives in china and no where else and all of a sudden a certain knife brand clones out of nowhere and is utilizing that same system that previously was only seen in the clones that to me seems odd. And then to have that same system show up in a supposed usa made knife that many suspect of lying about where they make their stuff when they claimto make everything themselves is also odd. Now is it concrete evidence? No. but i know this to be the case with other brands besides WE. And i wouldnt expect a company to come right out and admit they make clones knowing the stigma that it carries here and especially when from their position here is nothing wrong with it.

Some never seem to ask themselves how a company can just materialize out of nowhere making incredibly well made knives and produce as many as they do and have the incredible quality they have with what seems like no learning curve. From my contacts the simplified answer is clones pay the bills and provide the means to make original designs. Just who is all involved in it? We? I have no idea. But some do double dip. And i could care less. But i realize some do care and they should be able to see all the information and make a choice for themselves.
Click to expand...

So are you saying that you know the names of current "legit" Chinese knife manufacturers who pay the bills with clones?

Are you saying that you suspect WE is one of them but lack definitive proof in their case?

I'm trying to figure out if you know something you don't want to say or are simply raising a salient question for the sake of discussion.
 
some history here. http://knifenews.com/we-knives/

before they did these CNC knives (they have a website still i just dont remember the URL) they made some pretty cost effective low end knives. if someone has the URL still, please link it. i cannot comment on the quality of these knives. i assume they are mass produced, so, leave it like that.

they also make knives for others that are not named, like qmaster, which they print "made in texas" or "made in usa" on. qmaster have\has outsourced to different manufactures not just we knives at different quality levels.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top