Patrick Rhone, a great writer and Internet personality, once wrote about the iPad, saying that when it became its most useful it moved from being a novelty to something that was boring. It was boring because it always worked, because it always did what you wanted, because it wasn’t taxing to own, use, or carry. It was, in a word, invisible. It was so adept at enabling you to work that you stopped focusing on and fiddling with the tool and just started doing what you wanted to do.

The WE Knives Banter is that kind of boring—good boring. After a few moments it just fades into your pocket and does exactly what you want when you summon it. It does so without complication or fuss. It just works. And works, and works. The fact that this is the first knife Ben Peterson designed is pretty incredible because it is a very good knife in nearly every way. If you want a knife that is just mindlessly good without obnoxious bling, this is it. But beware, this knife is not necessarily aimed at knife knuts. This is a knife that lots of people looking for their first real knife will enjoy. Its simplicity, ease of use, and friendly appearance (especially in the blue) makes this a good entry into the knife world.

Here is the product page. The street price is $108, making the Banter one of the cheaper knives in the WE Knives line up. There are, so far, two variants—a blue handled satin finished bladed version and a murdered out version, which is the subject of the review. The all black seems to be an odd choice for a knife specifically designed to be friendly. It also happens to be a dust and lint magnet (as the images in the review demonstrate). I’d opt for the blue version every time. Here is Nick’s video review. Here is my video overview. Here is another written review. Ben sent me my review sample because he and I have been friends for a long time. We don’t chat often but when we do they are pretty deep and intense conversations. Ben, suffice to say, is a good buddy. I say that so you know going into the review, but I am confident given how generally well received the knife has been that my friendship and admiration does not taint this review. Here is the review sample:

Twitter Review Summary: What is up guys? This is an auspicious debut.

Design: 2

The Banter’s design is fundamentally simple, unoffensive, and functional. Some might call it bland, but it seems odd that we call knives bland, but never use that term for hammers, screwdrivers, or tape measures. I guess this shows the degree to which was fetishize knives. Either way, the Banter’s design is impeccable.

There are a few things that bothered me, but not enough to take off a point. First, there are too many different sized radius on the knife. The rear spine and has one sized radius, the front spine has another, and the arc used for the grip on the handle is a third (and not a true arc). This is just a pet peeve and has zero impact on the knife.

The ratios are pretty good here. The b:w is 1.10. The b:h is .79. Both are quite good and here the ratios do convey a sense of how this knife feels and carries. It is small, slender, there is a good amount of knife in there.

Fit and Finish: 2

WE Knives does a great job of making knives and while they have a very distinctive feel to them, that feel is great. There are no stray machining marks, no errant details, no mistakes. I have mentioned this before, but WE Knives all feel the same and so when you get that high degree of polish for the retail price of $108, that is a good deal.

Grip: 2

This isn’t a Cold Steel, but as far as an EDC knives go, you need a modicum of grip. In fact, as the Hogue Mini Ritter proves, TOO MUCH grip is more of an issue than less in EDC folders.

Carry: 2

With a slim and compact profile, the Banter carries well. I found it a bit too big for the jeans coin pocket, but it is great when clipped in place. The clip keeps the knife locked in and the overall carry is quite good.

Steel: 2

S35VN is the new AUS-8 and, like AUS-8, at the time it reached its saturation point it was still quite good as a steel compared to the market. Its not worth a premium price, but, as I have begrudgingly conceded, $108 is probably the middle of the market these days.

Blade Shape: 2

A nice, not-at-all-scary spear point does well here. It offers lots of cutting power, but it also gives the knife a “cute” appearance, which is an excellent idea. It means you can used the knife more places without fear of upsetting people. In many ways the Banter is to knives what the VW Beetle is to cars—solid, appealing, and simple.

Grind: 2

WIth a tall blade and a thin blade stock, the Banter is quite the slicer. I wouldn’t say it is elite—its a step below the best TRM and Spyderco have to offer, but it is still quite good. In food prep it does well, parsing cured meat with ease and dealing with even the stickiest cheeses nicely. It slices instead of popping apples. In cardboard its fast, giving you that nice zipper sound. Overall, great grind for an EDC knife.

Deployment: 2

With a well tuned lock bar, a nice pivot, and excellent thumb studs, the Banter deploys thoughtlessly every time. The action is addictive and the pop authoritative. It does have that WE Knives feel, but again, that’s not a bad thing.

Retention: 2

In the past two years everyone’s clip game has improved and here you get a dead simple and damn effective design. It is even easy to install and uninstall. It is not as “out of the way” as something like the clip on the Progeny MR, but it is very good, nonetheless.

Lock/Blade Safety: 1

Let’s pretend that this isn’t a liner lock. Let’s call it a “captured” frame lock with integral overtravel protection. Does that make it sexy enough? Does that make it acceptable to the IKC? No? Okay then, let’s put it this way: a liner lock does everything you need a lock to do, it is simple to make, and always effective. Still not acceptable? Okay, then, just go back to your all copper fidget toys and jockeying for positions on custom makers’ books despite the fact that they have made four knives.

All that said, the knife’s one real flaw is its lack of access to the lock bar. A cutout would ruin the handle’s simplicity, but it would have been a great upgrade as the gearing here is just not enough. As you can see, the purchase you are granted here is very, very small. Its possible to access the locker, but it is a real act of finger yoga and a lot better when you have a fingernail.

Other Considerations

Fidget Factor: Very High

With a snug frame and a poppy pivot, this is as fidget friendly a knife as you will find.

Fett Effect: Very Low

Coated and tumbled S35VN and G10 are about as impervious to wear as man made objects get.

Value: High

Though S35VN is almost ubiquitous at this point, the fit and finish here is not and so at $108, the knife is a pretty good value.

Overall Score: 19 out of 20

This isn’t a perfect knife. The lockbar access is a real issue. It does look a little strange with all of the radi not matching. But its 100% effective 100% of the time. You won’t find a flaw here. That said, I am not sold on this being a perfect knife. I’d like a finger choil but that’s not possible. I’d like a slimmer, less credit card like silhouette. As a first design though, Ben crushed it. If you are looking for your first knife or a thoughtlessly good addition to a collection, the Banter is an easy recommendation. But make no mistake, if you are a hard core knife guy this is not going to be the most exciting knife in your collection. It is probably the most functional, but not the most engaging.

Competition

Well, there is a bit of competition. I like the design of the Spyderco Brouwer better. Identical materials, small footprint, but it has a finger choil and good access to the lock bar. The Banter is better because of the forehead slap of a pocket clip on the Brouwer, but you can replace that pretty easily. This is also rivaled by the Civivi Elementum, which I like a lot. But this has better steel for just a bit more money. The Gent is a real competitor and there, I don’t have a favorite. I like the clip better here, but the silhouette of the Gent more. The SOG Terminus XR in Carbon Fiber is another close competitor. Forced to choose between those knives at gun point, I’d probably end up with a hole in my head before I decided. I am similarly torn between a Gerber Fastball with good fit and finish and the Banter. The fact that you have to play Russian roulette with Gerber’s products in terms of fit and finish means that I’d take the Banter sight unseen. If I could handle a few of each, I might walk away with the Gerber. Its a sexy looking knife. I really like the Mini Archbishop too, but its steel is still something I am getting used to. One knife that I have yet to review, the CJRB Small Felspar, is something you will be seeing a lot in my recommendations because it is amazing and costs $60 less than the Banter. Given its price and how good its handle is, I can’t really say its ever a bad choice. There is a lot of competition at $100, but nothing decimates the Banter because it is, fundamentally, a good boring knife.

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