We Knife Co. Breaks into Slipjoints

WE Knife Co. continues to be a manufacturing juggernaut and is currently prepping its first slipjoint release. Additionally, two new folders have recently dropped as the company continues to shapes identity in the eyes of the community.

Slipjoint Proto
Until now, WE mainly adhered to the locking flipper knife format. But recently a shot of the first non-locking knife to come out under their own brand made the rounds on social media. The prototype [see featured image above] is a super slim slicer, with a sizable 3.5-inch clip point blade. In lieu of a nail mark, WE opted for an elongated French pull. Gone are the carbon steel and wood or bone of an old school slipjoint. S35VN and a titanium frame with carbon fiber insert put WE’s first slipjoint decidedly in the ‘modern traditional’ category.

WE tells us that the lack of a lock on the slipjoint does not make for an easier production process. If anything, it meant that the capable manufacturer had to bring its A game to tolerances and tweaking. “Making this slipjoint required high precision in each of the parts to ensure a high quality knife,” WE’s Angel Yan explains.

The as-yet-unnamed slipjoint is currently slated for a winter release at the earliest, and WE tells us that the final model will have a carbon fiber insert instead of the knurled titanium as seen in the prototype. Fans can also expect to see a second slipjoint release sometime in 2019 or beyond. “Yes, WE have another slipjoint we’ll bring out after the first,” Yan says.

Practic and Yucha
Two other models have just rolled out of the WE factory, the Practic and the Yucha. “The Practic is our answer to the demanding knife buyer who wants an affordable no nonsense user,” says WE’s European Representative, Henk Hakvoort. With an expected street price of around $150, WE chose to use to a G-10 show side scale while maintaining a titanium frame lock and M390 blade steel. A utilitarian 3.3-inch drop point keeps the cutting geometry dead simple, and the Practic’s overall weight is just over 3 oz.

Practic

The Yucha is a dressed-up version of the WE 617, the company’s first budget design. It maintains the large, 3.8-inch harpoon blade, but this time with a compound grind and M390 blade steel. Additionally WE upgraded the handles with contoured carbon fiber letterboxed by anodized titanium scales.

Yucha

According to Hakvoort, these knives embody WE’s drive to respond to customers’ wishes and develop its identity as a premier knife maker. “WE still has to fight the prejudices among knife buyers. Still a lot of people think something made in China is a copy (or at least not a unique design). Well, WE thinks of this as a challenge.” He says the company will continue to push both its collaborations and in-house design work to the next level. “WE will prove to world it belongs in the top 5 manufacturers.”

Knife featured in image: We Knife Co. Slipjoint Prototype Photo Credit: DutchKnifeGuy