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New Designer Kellen Bogardus Steps into Spotlight

April 17, 2019

The latest in a rapid string of releases from WE Knife Co. is introducing the world to a new talent. The 037 comes from young knife designer Kellen Bogardus and features a thoughtful blend of cutting power and ergonomic considerations.

Although the work of an outside collaborator, the 037 hits the old WE sweet spot of a large, all-purpose folder. Bogardus conceived of a 4 inch-long drop point blade, and the first thing he made sure to do was fine-tune it for difficult tasks. “I designed it mainly the excel at cutting dense materials like cardboard, wood, and thick plastic,” he says. “Making the knife good at that makes all other EDC tasks seem like no problem as a result.”

Although the M390 steel stock starts at a relatively robust .14″ thick, Bogardus instructed WE to grind it down to as thin as they were willing to go behind the edge. “I hate knives with edges that are too thick and I think people underestimate how strong a properly heat treated blade really is,” he asserts.

Comfort was Bogardus’s biggest concern in creating the 037’s handle. Like many knife users, he found the most common hot spot was the clip, so he came up with an interesting solution to that potential problem. “The clip is recessed 2mm down from where most pocket clips are,” he explains. This extended cutout keeps the clip as much in line with the contours of the handle as possible.

This is 21-year-old Bogardus’s first production knife to hit the market. He has other knife designs he wants to shop around, but tells us his resources are too tied up in school to make knives himself at this point. “I have no time, money, or space to build anything myself.” But Bogardus does want to cross the line from designer to maker someday. “If I’m able to I would absolutely start a small shop to make a custom version of the knife along with some of my other designs, but that’s probably many years down the road.”

Knife in Featured image: WE Knife Co. 037

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