If you love sleek backed pocket knife that is discreet, in contrast with the aggressive tactical folders in the market, then Cybernetic by WE Knives is a great choice. It is slim, attractive, with a sleek design and clean lines with a tactical and minimalist look that makes the user feel right at home.
WE Knife Cybernetic Review
The WE Knife Cybernetic is a svelte folding knife with classy and clean lines. Its blade is a mix of standard and tanto lines with a subtle secondary edge. It features a black 4” stonewash finish CPM 20CV blade with a plain edge and flat grind. The handle is 5” black stonewash finish titanium with extended tang and black pocket clip configured for right hand tip-up carry. It is a manual folding knife with front flipper tabs and frame lock for opening and closing.
We Knife Co Ltd Cybernetic Prices |
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Check Price at Blade HQ | ||
Check Price at Chicago Knife Works |
Key Specifications of WE Knife Cybernetic
First Impressions of WE Knife Cybernetic
The WE Knife Cybernetic came in a double packaged branded cardboard box.
It came with a warranty card. The package also included a random sticker, a manual with detailed specifications and usage, a carbon fiber cloth for cleanliness and maintenance, some loose screws and a silicone for protecting the knife.
The knife itself came in a black nylon pouch lined with felt for protection. You can slide the knife inside to fit it in there so it would not slide from side to side.
The knife itself came in an immaculate condition with perfect black stonewash finish and smooth contoured edges.
The blade had the razor-sharp factory edge right out of the box, and it too had the perfect black stonewash finish etched inside the cutting edges and the belly of the blade.
The profile of the knife is just right – it fits comfortably in the hand, with enough blade space to carry out any EDC task. The flat grind with a modified tanto blade style is thin enough to slice through paper, cardboard, fruits and vegetables, etc. with ease.
The ceramic detent ball and caged ceramic bearings pivot make the deployment and lockup very smooth. The deployment gets easier once you flick the blade open in once swift motion with your wrist. You do not even need to slide the blade all the way in. It will slide in easily. However, the lockup and flipping action would not work unless the blade is locked in place. It is a normal folding knife mechanism.
The pocket clip is discreet and carries well in the pocket. The all-black sleek look with a deep pocket carry and lightweight makes it easy to carry. It does not take up too much space, but is configured for right hand carry.
The Blade of WE Knife Cybernetic
The blade of WE Knife Cybernetic is a 4” black stonewash finish tanto style with a flat grind and plain edge. The blade width is 1.17” with a thickness of 0.16” and features CPM 20CV blade with a Rockwell hardness of 58-60 RC.
The tip of the blade is upswept with a slight curve, which gives it a robust slicing belly and a fine tip for delicate work that only a modified tanto can do. The CPM 20CV is a superior quality blade material that offers high hardness, maximum sharpness, and an immaculate edge retention right out of the box. There are additional grinds on both sides of the blade to enhance cutting element and angular aesthetics.
The clean lines of the blade transition smoothly into the handle’s design, and the all-black look complements the bronze-colored hardware. It has a slight finger choil but straight to no jimping along the spine. However, it is a breeze to hold and use, especially for making precise cuts.
The Handle of WE Knife Cybernetic
The handle of WE Knife Cybernetic is made of black stonewash finish titanium that is 5” long, 1.17” wide and 0.51” thick. It weighs 4.32 ounces and is configured for tip-up right hand carry. The sleek backed black handle makes it discreet and the stonewash finish protects it from getting tarnished easily.
The shape of the handle is such that it is easy to carry, and the 5” provides enough space to handle the knife comfortably in the hand. It features two body screws, one pocket clip screw, and one pivot screw with caged ceramic ball bearings in the pivot that makes deployment a smooth action.
Both the sides of the titanium handle has no additional embellishments, except for the geometric design lines that also accent the milled titanium clip and the frame lock. There is a top front flipper tab on the handle for easy and fast deployment that you can operate with an index finger or thumb.
The pocket clip is easily carried obscured in the pocket. It is deep pocket carry and feels lightweight. It does not take up too much space in the pocket. The knife also comes with a black nylon pouch for carrying the knife safely.
Deployment & Lockup of WE Knife Cybernetic
The Cybernetic features front flipper for deployment and a frame lock for its lockup mechanism. The flipper sits atop the caged ceramic ball bearings pivot, so you really have to make an effort to reach it. It may make single-handed deployment difficult. However, it works very smoothly and swiftly opens up the blade. The close up action works well with a frame lock. It sits inside the liners with a frame liner inside the scales. It works by pressing the frame that disengages the blade, and you can slide it in.
However, the front flipper exerts some pressure on the wrist. It is not as smooth as a side flipper tab, but works fine. It is designed mainly for right hand due to the fixed frame lock and the pocket clip.
Field Test of WE Knife Cybernetic
We started our field test of the Cybernetic with the sharpness test by slicing paper. The action was just as smooth as we anticipated.
Next, we sliced through newspaper, and here too, it cut through the paper like butter. The CPM 20CV showed superior cutting performance with high edge retention, and hard enough to cut through cardboard boxes as well. The stonewash finish stayed intact throughout the usage with barely any scratches or tarnishing.
The handle was very comfy and ergonomic with a smooth grip and contoured edges. It was big enough for large sized hands to hold it comfortably. The black stonewash finish also proved to be beneficial by protecting the knife from dirt, sweat, oil and water.
It is relatively easy to maintain with fewer screws and a simple disassembling process. It is also relatively easy to sharpen, although it can get difficult to sharpen a blade with high hardness. The 58-60 RC is ideal for an EDC.
The knife is lightweight and easy to carry. The nylon pouch is also helpful in carrying the knife safely and securely. It is also quite easy to deploy when using it in the field where you have to open and close it frequently. Although, the front flipper proved to be a bit difficult, putting strain on the wrist, the action was smooth every time. The frame lock works better each time and locks the blade perfectly well in place.
Pro’s & Con’s of We Knife Cybernetic
PRO’s
Con’s
Comparisons
WE Knife Cybernetic vs RekkeR
WE Knife RekkeR is very similar to the Cybernetic in terms of blade and handle material. Both have CPM 20CV blade and a titanium handle with stonewash finish and tanto blade style. It is also a flipper knife with frame lock mechanism and caged ceramic ball bearings pivot that makes the opening and closing action smooth.
However, it is slightly smaller than Cybernetic with textured scales that makes it more grippy and ergonomic. The flipper tabs on the RekkeR are placed on the sides rather than the front of the pivot, and works well. The first impressions of the two knives are relatively similar, since they both came in similar packaging and contained similar contents.
We Knife Co Ltd RekkeR Prices |
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Check Price at Blade HQ | ||
Check Price at Chicago Knife Works |
WE Knife Cybernetic vs Equivik
WE Knife Equivik and Cybernetic both feature black stonewash finish CPM 20CV blade with titanium scales and flat blade grind. It is half an inch smaller than Cybernetic, and also weighs slightly less. But it is a very attractive knife with textured and colored scales and is a flipper knife with a frame lock mechanism. However, it costs more than Cybernetic.
Its first impressions were just as good as those of Cybernetic. WE Knives always sends its knives with extra content like sticker, cleaning cloth, manual, warranty card and detailed specs of their products.
We Knife Co Ltd Equivik Prices |
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Check Price at Blade HQ | ||
Check Price at Chicago Knife Works |
Conclusion
We found WE Knife Cybernetic to be quite a competitive knife against other flipper knives with a frame lock. But its front flipper was a bit inconvenient to operate. The frame lock however, is a breeze.
The black stonewash finish on the CPM 20CV blade and the titanium handle protects the knife from getting tarnished or getting scratches. The black stonewashed pocket clip is discreet and lightweight and does not take up too much space in the pocket. It is configured for tip-up right hand carry, and the handle is big enough to carry in large sized hands. It is ergonomic and easy to carry in gloved, sweaty, or oily hands.
The first impressions and unboxing of the knife left pretty good impressions, and so did the field performance. When compared with other WE Knives, it stands competitive.