WE Shuddan Damasteel - Any input on this model?

[Chronovore]

I'm a fan of WE in general. Their budget knives range from good to amazing. Their regular 9Cr18Mov gets a fantastic heat treatment and is pretty versatile for EDC. They deliver excellent fit, finish, and action for the price. The Damascus used on the Civivi knives is made with 9Cr18Mov and 10Cr15CoMov (a Chinese analog of VG-10). It holds a decent edge for something that people mostly buy for the looks.

The WE stuff can be pretty nice with great action and good machining. They get cool designs. Knives like the Beacon can be good modding platforms too. Unfortunately, they don't do the same stellar job in heat treating the super steels. That isn't to say they are terrible or anything. The edge retention just doesn't stand out from the pack relative to Chinese production knives. A Spyderco in the same steel will usually hold a better edge. To put it another way, their 9Cr18Mov with an exceptional heat treatment isn't too far off from the performance of their 20CV with a mediocre heat treatment. So I view the price jump to the WE knives as mostly a jump to titanium or particular designs.

That said, I don't expect incredible edge retention from their premium Damasteel. It might be better than their 9Cr/10Cr Damascus but by how much? Going with Damascus on the Civivi knives doesn't always double the price, often stays under $100, and looks cool with practical performance that isn't unreasonable for the price. Here though, it is double the price, costs $600, and competes with a bunch of knives from companies that have good reputations for super steel. You can get a Cheburkov in Elmax or an entry-level Olamic for less. Heck, you can get a Small Sebenza in MagnaCut and a Civivi in 9Cr/10Cr Damascus for the same price.

I could be wrong though... Maybe I Ironwil can prove me wrong.

 

[King of the Cheese]

I'm a fan of WE in general. Their budget knives range from good to amazing. Their regular 9Cr18Mov gets a fantastic heat treatment and is pretty versatile for EDC. They deliver excellent fit, finish, and action for the price. The Damascus used on the Civivi knives is made with 9Cr18Mov and 10Cr15CoMov (a Chinese analog of VG-10). It holds a decent edge for something that people mostly buy for the looks.

The WE stuff can be pretty nice with great action and good machining. They get cool designs. Knives like the Beacon can be good modding platforms too. Unfortunately, they don't do the same stellar job in heat treating the super steels. That isn't to say they are terrible or anything. The edge retention just doesn't stand out from the pack relative to Chinese production knives. A Spyderco in the same steel will usually hold a better edge. To put it another way, their 9Cr18Mov with an exceptional heat treatment isn't too far off from the performance of their 20CV with a mediocre heat treatment. So I view the price jump to the WE knives as mostly a jump to titanium or particular designs.

That said, I don't expect incredible edge retention from their premium Damasteel. It might be better than their 9Cr/10Cr Damascus but by how much? Going with Damascus on the Civivi knives doesn't always double the price, often stays under $100, and looks cool with practical performance that isn't unreasonable for the price. Here though, it is double the price, costs $600, and competes with a bunch of knives from companies that have good reputations for super steel. You can get a Cheburkov in Elmax or an entry-level Olamic for less. Heck, you can get a Small Sebenza in MagnaCut and a Civivi in 9Cr/10Cr Damascus for the same price.

I could be wrong though... Maybe I Ironwil can prove me wrong.

Well WE uses “Damasteel”, Civivi uses “Damascus”. So that is driving some of the extra cost… however, the re-sell value on a Damasteel WE (especially a used one) has to be terrible. I don’t see anyone spending close to $600 for this on the secondary. I would guess more like $400-$450.. a significant drop.

Now, if someone LOVES WE.. LOVES a particular WE knife.. LOVES Damasteel and plans to keep this knife for the rest of their life? Hey, do what makes you happy. But with so many alternatives at this price range, it just makes no financial sense for me.. and I’m a big fan of WE and Civivi. This price is pushing upper-tier mid-tech and even “custom” knife pricing.. and that’s criminal at $600+ for a manufactured knife.

 

[KVT]

^^ I have a Damasteel Beacon inbound, LOL. I love it the Beacon - my favorite WE. I’m going to keep it, and most knife decisions I’ve made have made little financial sense.

I own lots and lots of Hinderers - I guess you could say resale is good, if not great on those. I generally don’t sell many knives though.

 

[Monofletch]

I have owned many WE and Reate knive in my time. The ONLY difference between the two is mokuti. Reate tends to over use the extra fancy materials. WE is rock solid and stands behind their knives.

My favorite WE is the SNECX Mini Buster


Damasteel is expensive no matter what brand you buy!

 

[Monofletch]

^^ I have a Damasteel Beacon inbound, LOL. I love it the Beacon - my favorite WE. I’m going to keep it, and most knife decisions I’ve made have made little financial sense.

I own lots and lots of Hinderers - I guess you could say resale is good, if not great on those. I generally don’t sell many knives though.

Great knife!

 

[Ironwil]

If I was going to pony up on a WE Damasteel knife, I can think of some others before I'd do the Shuddan. I'm real close to pulling the trigger on a Damasteel Snick or Damasteel Beacon.

Beacon is my favorite WE knife yet, and I've got almost all of the WEs. Things I'm not thrilled about with the Shuddan are the lockbar access kinda sucks compared to other WEs and it's a chunk - thick n heavy. One of those is completely subjective (the latter.)

My wife now has the WE Beacon. It’s a really good knife. My Shuddan is a bit beefier than the Beacon, but they’re both very slender. Just Monday we ordered new knives. My wife got the Culex and I got the Mini Malice. Phenomenal knives. I prefer the feeling of deployment with a detent ball over button locks, but button locks are much better to close and are ambidextrous friendly. Though there’s no way to move the pocket clip on my Mini Malice without doing aftermarket work, I’m cool carrying it on the right. So far I absolutely love all our WE knives. The Shuddan and Beacon lose a tiny bit of glory due to challenging lock bar access, they’re both boss blades. The lock bar issue is minor and a consequence of having such a slim build. Still easy one-handed closing after getting used to it.

 

[Chronovore]

I prefer the feeling of deployment with a detent ball over button locks, but button locks are much better to close and are ambidextrous friendly.

I agree with this. I've been having fun with the recent wave of button locks but I do prefer the crisp detent on a good frame or liner lock. A major benefit with the button locks is having simpler space and better ergonomics under the pointer/trigger finger during cutting tasks. Speaking of...

The Shuddan and Beacon lose a tiny bit of glory due to challenging lock bar access, they’re both boss blades. The lock bar issue is minor and a consequence of having such a slim build. Still easy one-handed closing after getting used to it.

I used to feel this way. A challenge was finding lock bars that were accessible to my thumb but did not have excessive jimping, didn't protrude past the scales, or didn't stand alone enough to create a hot thin line against that finger during use. I got around the former by changing how I press lock bars. Now instead of using my thumb, I just use my pointer finger.

From a normal grip for use, fully extend the trigger finger. Then curl it down to the lock bar by bending the final two knuckles. The thinner tip of that finger at that angle can hit the lock bar with more precision, even when the lock bar and opposite scale are practically parallel.

Speaking of aftermarket work, I actually lowered the lock-bar side a little on my Beacon.

 

[KVT]

My wife now has the WE Beacon. It’s a really good knife. My Shuddan is a bit beefier than the Beacon, but they’re both very slender. Just Monday we ordered new knives. My wife got the Culex and I got the Mini Malice. Phenomenal knives. I prefer the feeling of deployment with a detent ball over button locks, but button locks are much better to close and are ambidextrous friendly. Though there’s no way to move the pocket clip on my Mini Malice without doing aftermarket work, I’m cool carrying it on the right. So far I absolutely love all our WE knives. The Shuddan and Beacon lose a tiny bit of glory due to challenging lock bar access, they’re both boss blades. The lock bar issue is minor and a consequence of having such a slim build. Still easy one-handed closing after getting used to it.

I've got 6 Beacons. It's my favorite WE model. I have NEVER found lockbar access to be an issue on the Beacon - in fact, the opposite. Simply perfection.

The Shuddan? Yes, absolutely - lockbar access straight sucks on it. It's my biggest gripe about the knife.