By Phil Spano
So here I am, sitting at my kitchen table after eating breakfast, eggs if you’re wondering, and I started searching through knives at Smoky Mountain Knife Works, as any typical edc guy does.
I don’t remember what I was looking for exactly, but I knew I wanted a plain Jane, titanium-scaled knife, with a good steel option. I prefer to go with a frame lock vs a liner lock, and some fidget factor obviously.
So I started looking at WE Knives. I knew they had a lot of different options that may fit what I’m looking for since they seem to pump out different knives every other day and I wanted to try something that was different than what I’m used to. So I came across the Esprit.
The WE Knives Esprit, designed by Ray Laconico. I’m sure you’ve heard of him, he’s one-half of Monterey Bay knives based out of California. So I figured why not give it a try, I’ve seen some of his work and it looked pretty cool.
Strapped with titanium scales, a pocket clip, hardware, and with a 20cv blade. What’s not to love about the sound of that.
Fast forward a few days and it arrives at my door, I cut open the box my knife is in with a different knife, and if you’ve ever had a WE before, you know it comes in a soft pouch with a cloth and some stickers.
I flick it open and it drops shut, the ergos are nice it feels great in the hand. The 3.25” blade would make you think it’s a big knife but in reality, it’s not much different in size than a bugout. 20cv drop point blade with a flat grind is perfect for any cutting task. The overall length of 7.4” and 4.19” closed which hides deep in your pocket with the typical WE Style pocket clip.
The scales are titanium with an orange peel finish to them and like most titanium scales don’t offer much for grip but the orange peel makes it a little grippier. Frame lock with perfect lock up, no blade play or lock stick. Caged bearings so the action is quick to deploy and drops shut every time.
If you have seen any of Laconico’s designs you’ll know that this is a simple knife. It’s so simple that it’s almost boring though. Sure it’s a knife and it’ll do the job you want it to do like cut open those Dino nugget bags or your Amazon packages. It could hold its own outside in the garden or in food preparation.
If you’re looking for a solid knife to get a job done, the WE Esprit, designed by Ray Laconico is a great option, but it may not win any awards for breaking the mold when it comes to looks. To me, the titanium version is a very boring knife. There are a couple different variations, one with marbled carbon fiber, a black blade, and a blacked-out lock scale which has a little more flare to it.
All in all, as far as a knife goes, the WE Esprit is a great option if you’re just looking for a tool that will take care of your cutting tasks. It’s got a great fidget factor to it with those caged bearings so it’s very drop-shutty. The 20cv steel blade will hold an edge for quite some time but as you may know, will tend to be tough to sharpen especially if you’re not sure what you’re doing.
Designed in the US, and manufactured in China, the WE Knives Esprit, would not be a highly recommended option, especially for the price tag of $190-$220 from various dealers, but if you need a knife and you like titanium, this may just be what you’re looking for.
Check one out for yourself!
Black Flag Survival 