In this article I will provide a full review of the WE Knives Banter, designed by Ben Petersen. Ben became well known in the knife community through his work for CRKT and BladeHQ. The Banter is his inaugural knife design.
The Background
Before I get to the review in earnest, I want to talk about how I came to test this knife. I, like most who search YouTube for knife videos, had watched several of Ben Petersen’s (lots of interesting posts on his site, btw) videos in the past. From them I learned that Ben and my knife preferences are… not exactly in line . That said, I appreciated his honesty and willingness to say what he didn’t like about a knife in what amounted to advertising videos. I also was aware of his knife information poster, which you can find on his website, and that it seemed to be a hit in the knife community.
So when I was browsing the Reddit r/knifeclub subforum early this year and saw the above preview of his upcoming knife design, I gave my thoughts on the knife. You can find the thread below:
As you can tell, my “visual review” wasn’t all praise. However, Ben offered to send the real thing for a full review. I think that’s a really commendable reaction to criticism. It shows a genuine desire for feedback and a confidence in his work that I appreciate.
Fast forward about 6 months and the start of a pandemic later, and a package showed up at my door that I knew had to have some good stuff inside!
Speaking of the package, Ben went all in on these early release “Ben Banter Gift Boxes” as he called them in an Instagram post. It contained a work mat based on his poster, a WIUP (“What IIIISSS Up Guys?!”) t shirt, the new version of his poster, some stickers, a nice handwritten note, and of course the knife (oh, and a bunch of lifesavers). It also had a nice specs sheet and write up on how excited Ben is to bring his design to the market with WE Knives.
The Review
So, let’s get to the review! I’m going to base my review off of my initial visual review, with reference to Ben’s knife preferences (based on my YouTube research).
Ben did a great job bringing all his knife preferences together into a real product. One thing he talks about in some videos is how much he likes to be able to reach his finger to the end of the blade for fine cutting, and with its 2.875″ blade the Banter definitely passes that test. He also often mentions liking pocket clips in general but especially deep carry clips, and the Banter’s clip actually allows the entire knife to set below the lip of the pocket with no handle showing. It would be easy to mistake for a pen or flashlight, unless you’re a knife enthusiast and see the “BANTER” etch. Going along with the ease of carry theme, he also mentions appreciating a light knife and g10 handles. The Banter comes in at 2.86oz / 81g, with the help of nested minimalist liners in the light but strong (black or blue) g10 handles. Lastly, and almost inversely with the preference to be able to reach the tip of the knife with an index finger, Ben has sometimes tested a knifes ability to slice an apple fully and cleanly. Despite its short length, the thin .1″ blade stock makes for good cutting performance and I had no trouble slicing apples into pieces. All that together makes for a knife clearly designed to be Ben’s ideal EDC.
So, how does it fare under my usage and preferences after about a week of carry and use?
Firstly, I like the looks much better than you might expect from my initial visual review. As I mentioned suspecting in the review, it does look different in some pictures than others and certainly in person. The handle and blade are not as squat as I had felt they looked initially, and in fact work well together aesthetically. The straight back isn’t an issue in person, and the blade doesn’t look to have an upward cant. I do like the look of the knife; it comes off minimalist and utilitarian in person in a positive way that I don’t think pictures convey. That said, a few people whom I’ve shown this knife have said it looked blocky. I still think the hard chamfering along the edges gives it an industrial look that differs from a lot of other knives, especially traditionals like those I often review. I appreciate the addition of the blue anodizing on the titanium thumb stud, and the “WE” logo on the pivot, that give it a little flair. I added a blue lanyard, which I think really emphasizes the blue of the thumb stud.
Second, as for its effectiveness as a utilitarian knife, I think it cuts the mustard. I did house projects, fished, cooked, cut cardboard, and general every day carry uses and never felt like the WE Banter was wanting in cutting ability. It is easy to open, even with gloves, with the thumb studs, well tuned detent, and caged ball bearing pivot. It is actually a lot of fun to open and close, as it’s extremely smooth and snappy. The thumb stud sits pretty close to the handle but I haven’t had any issues opening it with an upward movement of the thumb, or even on the other side with the middle finger. It drops closed, hitting the thumb nail, then can be closed the rest of the way by pushing on the tang of the blade with the index finger. It locks up solid with the liner lock, and I’ve felt no blade play (even side to side when unlocked). The blade does seem to be ground thinly for a modern style knife, so it slices well, but the saber grind makes for a sturdy tip. I used it to carve some wood for a house project and a little whittling, with no fear of breaking the tip. In use, I found the handle to be pretty comfortable. As I mentioned in the visual review, the cutoff at the end of the handle is a huge boon to the ergonomics because without it my pinky finger would sit directly on a hotspot. As designed, even in my wide hands it was easy to hold and grip in use, and the large guard at the front of the handle provided a solid anchoring point. While I do appreciate a good deep carry clip, the addition of a lanyard made it a bit easier to retrieve from the pocket without having to reach down amongst my phone and keys and such. I sharpened the knife a couple times (’cause I stupidly kept hitting the edge on hard stuff like aluminum and rocks) and, in my 0% scientific opinion, it does seem to be heat treated to a high hardness as advertised (59-61 s35vn). Speaking of the edge, in person the blade shape is more classic and fluid with less of a straight line from the belly to the tip than the picture seemed to show. I found it to be a very versatile blade shape, which shouldn’t be a surprise being that spear points are among the most common and oldest blade shapes. In fact, I think the WE Banter might be helping to open my eyes to the possibility that I don’t really need as much knife as I generally prefer.
The Conclusion
Overall, I think this is a great first design from Ben Petersen. As Ben isn’t a knife enthusiast in the same way some of his viewers and customers are, the WE Banter presents a fresh take on an EDC knife design. It is minimalist, but with some touches of flair. It is simple, but effective in its design. For those who prefer, or are prescribed by law, a blade less than 3″ the WE Banter will be a good value considering the solid construction, high quality materials, and unique background at the price of ~$109. For me, and those who prefer a larger knife, I would love to see an XL version. Keep the same blade and handle width/height of ~1″ and the same design, but stretch the handle and blade another ~1″ or so. That would make for a knife that could compete with perennial favorites like the Spyderco Endura 4, Benchmade Griptilian, and Ontario Rat 1. It would also make for a duo of small and large Banters, like the Spyderco Delica 4, Benchmade Mini Griptilian, and Ontario Rat 2 respectively. I hope the WE Banter is a huge success, and that it facilitates the WE Repartee (Get it? longer version of Banter!). You can get the Ben Petersen designed WE Banter at BladeHQ starting tomorrow 6/23/20, at this link.
