The WE 605 is a cute, chubby little EDC folding knife. Although the machining is great, the detent is great, and the design is absolutely unique, it’s a bit overly thick, a bit toy-like, up there in price, and really awful screws.
So, it’s a nice knife, and I’m keeping an eye on WE in the future, but this one misses the mark for gem.
Price: $12.99
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![Seriously the Best Pocket Knife in the World: The Crater C33TX by Leatherman [Review]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/imU92hDOWa8/0.jpg "Seriously the Best Pocket Knife in the World: The Crater C33TX by Leatherman [Review]")
one of birdshots fans reporting in.
Wow. A legitimate review with constructive criticism. A lot of truth. Every other review sounded more like a promotion commercial (my guess given the knife or paid to promote ).
People can decide whether the cons is an issue for themselves.
-The 605 is going for $242 on BHQ now
-Awesome news on the regular screws
When I see a purple knife, I Grimace.
They seem to be trying a bit too hard with this one.
Robble Robble!
thats your real voice? it sounds like a cartoon character!
I recently picked up a WE 617 and i absolutely love it! It came drop shut smooth right out of the box. And build quality seems very good. Haven’t felt a need to disassemble it yet since the action is so smooth, but i love the fact that they give you the tool to do it with.
I agree that WE (at least to me) is one of those companies that is _almost_ there, but I’ve never bit. Personally, I like some of the color combinations. I agree here that the clip doesn’t look “real”. The star hardware has always been – well a WTF? I’m a designer that adheres to the _form follows function_ rule, not the other way around. I mean, couldn’t you do a star that was designed like a torx instead? That just looks like a “strip me!” design waiting to be shredded. There’s so many ways to make it look proprietary without it being proprietary. One other thing is the blade design they use on knives such as the 601 are drop-dead gorgeous – but _how on earth do you sharpen that sucker?!?_ Nope, they’ve got a little ways to go to get to Rike or Reate standards.
Nick- Good review. Fair as always. I understand your criticism of the hardware and tool. However, I’ve had many torx screws strip out too. Unless you get Wiha tools that are hardened, most torx tools strip out also. So this is not unique to WE. All hardware and tools should be hardened. WE also has warranty reps. in the US and Europe so you don’t have to send knives or ask for help from China. Due to the fact that companies use CNC and the same materials, labor costs aren’t the factor they once were. You can pick up these knives much cheaper than the $285 you stated. They are $238 at Power Cutlery and $242 at BladeHQ. My WE’s fall shut with fantastic actions. WE also has budget knives with G-10 and D2 for $100 with all the pluses of the higher end models. WE also offers each model with a variety of colors and DLC or no DLC on the blade. They came out with an 701integral this year. With the amount of machining and details, WE is a real up and comer. I do agree they need to work on the hardware. Another thing I know you wouldn’t like is that most WE models are large knives.
I never see the need to pay $200 or more for a folder. It’s a small knife! Production costs can’t be that high.
You sound like the cat from Stewart Little
I haven’t put any oil on the pivot of my WE knives yet, and the action is super smooth open and close. I don’t honestly know if ceramic bearings even need oil, but I can see @2:33 there is a lot of oil on the pivot of this knife. Oil is going to attract all kinds of lint and dirt making the action suffer. From what I’ve seen I would say the action on this one is most likely suffering from too much oil and gunk in the pivot.
proprietary screws.. no thanks, their colors are awful
In which Nick knocks on a knife with his knuckle to show that it’s titanium. I can’t even tell if a watermelon is ripe, I’m not gonna learn that level of audio detail.
I’ve been busting WE’s chops for weeks now on their inability to use blade stock of a reasonable thickness. None of the steels they’re using (D2, S35VN, M390) need to be .15 or .16 thick to have adequate durability. .10 is plenty of steel for a great blade.
I want that Delica!
when i look at that logo all i see is 33… cant shake it dont like the logo love everything else about it. except the purple
I hit subscribe because the accent is awesome. Oh yeah, and the awesome reviews!
So Nick, what the heck is BLURPLE, like on PM2. The color is ok, but it ain’t blue and it ain’t purple???
Well done Nick, good to have your take on this one.
reminds me of the color of Ivan Ooze from the original Power Rangers movie
VIDEO UPDATE: A few months ago, @we_knives, in a comment response, mentioned they were looking into using better, non-proprietary screws. Unfortunately, many new models have been released with the same terrible screws since, including some of their “prototype” releases for upcoming stuff. So, my optimism in the video was completely un-founded. This is extra hilarious as they make lots of midtechs for other people with reasonable screws, but insist on making their own knives poorly. It’s a crying shame, too. That company is one screw change away from being one of my go-to brands, but as is, they’re still kneecapping every knife.
I appreciate your reviews! I really love the way these we knives look. They are some of the coolest looking knives made. Colors and materials are all well. I do think having proprietary screws isn’t much of a bad thing especially if hey provide you the tool to use them. Sure it’s not convenient but does it affect the quality and usefulness of the knife? No. I mayyyy have to pick one of these up. Maybe not this model.. but this brand is really growing on me
Vlad from Blades 101 is the person to go to in the U.S for anything revolving around WE Knives…. So no warranty issues as far as location.
FOUR, 4, not three, not five..Its Birdshot Four…………………………………………………………..Frankie said so!!!!
I definitely agree that the screws are the weak point of We knives. I have the 602, the 614, and the 617, and while I haven’t had stripping issues yet, it’s a real pain in the ass disassembling. And it’s a damn shame too, because their newer knifes have been aesthetic masterpieces in my opinion and if they made them more functional they’d be perfect.
Do you happen to know if VDK knives use crappy screws too? I know they’re associated with WE, but they use Torx screws. I’ve had bad experiences with butter soft torx screws though, so I thought I’d ask.
Absolutely hate the logo! It’s exactly the same as WE fashion, a well known clothing store in the Netherlands…
Rike I believe is pronounced rickey like Nike is pronounced nikeeee
Hi Nick! Gonna enjoy this review 😀
For me the screw are doubly ugly. Not only are the fasteners stupid, the are screwed into blind holes, meaning that they most likely screw directly into the titanium scales.
Take it apart like an integral
My bet is that the hole in the blade is purely for aesthetics . They make some interesting designs , even if most of them are coloured like a bag of Skittles . The hardware sucks .
I swear, every time he says WE i imagine hes reviewing a wii.
“Play the screw lottery”? The bad jokes are just abundantly popping up, with saturday night out etc. But Nick’s a family channel 😀
$285.00?? are they high?
I’m out, I think I’m the only person that doesn’t like flippers..I have one, a ZT 0562 which is a great knife but I never even carried it once. The WE is kind of gaudy looking too..
Friggin, cheap, crappy screws are my biggest problem with knives. I have a BM 940 and Spyderco Military both on the way back via UPS due to crappy screws. There is just no excuse for it. I don’t understand why most companies use crappy screws that strip..I get that soft screws bite better etc.. But, this screw stuff isn’t rocket science.. Pisses me off to no end….
I have to agree with you on the way the colors make the knife look cheap.. the screws also do it. Showed my fiancé a WE knife I was interested in and she said the stars made it look like a kids toy.. decided not to buy one after that. The 617 series is tempting though..
Nick, was just wondering your opion on WE knives in general is?
ah yes, a gorgeous little knife. Well, this has caught my eye.. looks like this will be a hard use for me as long as I can find a driver for that screw!
The price to high you must be joking right?