WE Knife Tyro: New Superlock

With the Tyro, WE Knife has released the new design by Snecx Tan. The knife comes with a modified version of his Superlock.

The Vision FG was one of WE Knife's best-selling knives last year. Its great price-performance ratio and innovative Superlock mechanism won over many knife enthusiasts. Now, the Chinese manufacturer has launched the Tyro, the next model from renowned Malaysian designer Snecx Tan.

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The WE Knife Tyro includes a spare screw so that the hole left by removing the pocket clip can be closed again. Photo: WE

Prototype seen in 2023

This is a slightly more compact knife, also featuring the Superlock mechanism. By the end of 2023, a video was already visible on Snecx's Instagram channel, showcasing the closure of a prototype being tested. The Tyro was opened multiple times and struck against a hard wooden edge to demonstrate how stable the closure actually is. The result: both the knife and the Superlock remained undamaged.

Snecx had already announced back then that the Tyro, due to its different construction, was not comparable to previous Vision models. "For me, it's a new approach, developed from the ground up for a completely different purpose," he wrote on Instagram at the time. Earlier this year, he finally gave another update on the production progress of the Tyro and explained in more detail why the knife's release was delayed: "With this new model, I can reduce the entire lock to a very small part due to the different design requirements of the knife. The lock itself houses the spring and is only insignificantly larger than the spring itself."

There are only a few photos from the designer Snecx Tan himself. This one is from 2016 and shows him in Switzerland. Photo: WE

Knife passion began in Europe

The story of the man behind Snecx is at least as exciting as it is unique. According to him, the idea of designing his own knife came about during a trip to Europe in 2015. In Switzerland, he discovered numerous knife shops and was immediately enthusiastic: "I immediately knew that this would be my new hobby."

However, a short time later, his journey was overshadowed by an unfortunate incident, which ultimately proved to be the beginning of his knifemaking career. After a few days, the pivot screw on one of his knives came loose, rendering it unusable until his return. "That was the first bad impression that led to my obsession with the construction of folding knives," he explains.

Folding knives are way too complicated in construction

The beginning of Snecx: His IFS-20 completely dispenses with screws and can be fully disassembled in 60 seconds. Photo: WE

After that, he went looking for more knives to disassemble them. "At that point, it became frustrating. Taking a folding knife apart is not a good experience. Soon I developed a set of criteria for the things that make a perfect knife for me. But it seems my perfect knife just doesn't exist."

Snecx was particularly critical of the construction of modern folding knives, which should only be disassembled with tools and only "if absolutely necessary," and compared his knives to the construction of firearms. "No threadlocker, no glue. You don't have to bring a screwdriver for maintenance. And disassembling is fun! Why can't folding knives be the same?

He would answer this question himself just a few years later with his first prototype, the IFS-20. Snecx completely dispensed with the use of screws in the construction of the knife. According to him, the knife could be disassembled into its 60 individual parts within 18 seconds without prior experience or additional tools, which greatly facilitates cleaning and maintenance.

First knife remains a prototype

Left Custom Knife, right production version: The Tyro is originally a design by Snecx Tan and was mass-produced by WE Knife. Photo: WE

However, he simultaneously realized why no one had specialized in this type of folding knife construction before: "It's just ridiculously expensive and there's probably no market for something like that," he writes in an Instagram post. "Still, I had to finish it and close this chapter of a year-long journey. It's gotten pretty exhausting. The good news is, I finally have this dream knife in my hand!"

And indeed, the IFS-20 never made it beyond prototype status, though more because Snecx never intended to mass-produce the knife. It was meant to remain a private project, and so only five IFS-20 were built in total. According to his own statements, he kept three copies, one of which serves as a display piece, one for stress tests, and one as part of his personal EDC.

Other manufacturers copy his designs

The Tyro measures just under 10 centimeters when closed. Photo: WE

But the truth also includes that other manufacturers simply ignored Snecx's wish not to release the knife as a production model. Just a year after completing his project, clones from dubious brands appeared on various online shops, especially in Asia.

"At first, I couldn't understand why someone would go to so much trouble to copy the knife. Why not develop their own original idea?" Meanwhile, he has made peace with the fact that his designs are regularly copied. "Although I started this journey with the IFS-20, I'm really glad that chapter is closed. Why? Because I have even more radical ideas that I'm pursuing. I have very few reasons to look back. Today, I'm moving forward, knowing full well that I have a target on my back. I must be doing something right."

Debate over copy accusations between Superlock and Shark Lock

The core of his innovative Superlock, which was initially presented to the public as the Recoil Lock in some Tuya Knife models, is a movable metal tongue that can move longitudinally. The rear end is designed as a fork and "embraces" a bolt that serves as a guide. The front end is a kind of hook that, when the blade is open, slides into a recess between the blade tang and another bolt. This locks the blade and prevents it from closing.

Especially in comparison with other models like the WE Knife Swiftfin, it becomes apparent that the Tyro is rather small. Photo: WE

In recent years, there have been ongoing disputes within the knife community, as former Cold Steel designer Andrew Demko patented a similar locking mechanism under the name Shark Lock and used it in the knives of his own brand, Demko Knives.

Attentive users speculated in relevant forums that the design of Snecx's Superlock was copied here, albeit without crediting the origin. After all, it has always been customary in knife making to mention the inventor of the basic technique for a blade locking system when using it under a different brand name.

Both worked independently on their locking mechanisms.

But in reality, Demko didn't copy Snecx's idea at all. While Demko stated that he developed the Shark Lock shortly after the release of the Scorpion Lock, which was first used in Cold Steel 2015, Snecx only made the development of his Superlock public at the end of 2018. The first production knife with a Shark Lock, the AD20.5, was released in mid-2021, while the Superlock was first used under its "real" name almost a year later in the WE Knife Vision R, which served as the basis for the subsequent Vision models from the sister brand CIVIVI.

Andrew Demko was already working on his Shark Lock before anyone even knew who Snecx Tan really was. But Snecx also had no knowledge of Demko's work at the time he was developing the Superlock. They were simply working simultaneously on very similar locking mechanisms.

It's important to mention, however, that the locking systems are only very similar and not identical. The Superlock is a fully open mechanism, where the entire metal tongue can be pulled out without disassembly. Meanwhile, the Shark Lock is screwed in with two pins and must be completely disassembled for cleaning, for example.

Superlock adapted for the new Tyro

Due to the size of the new Tyro model, Snecx had to heavily modify the Superlock to adapt it to the smaller form factor: "I had to adjust it to lock as strongly as possible without binding and being difficult to unlock."

As is typical for WE Knife, the top variant features Damascus steel instead of CPM-20CV. Photo: WE

As with most things, the angle of the locking wedge is crucial to judging how well the lock works," explains Snecx. "If you push the ease of operation a bit too far, the knife can unlock with just a bump. So, as a rule, I prefer to set the geometry of the lock to favor strength and impact resistance."

Aside from the innovative lock, the knife comes with a blade just over seven centimeters long, made of CPM-20CV. The flat-ground steel shines with its outstanding edge retention and hardness, making it ideal for everyday cutting tasks. The drop-point blade also features a thumb hole for one-handed opening.

Titan grip scales with skeleton construction

The skeletonized handle scales are made of titanium and visually resemble Gerber's legendary Paraframe. While the Paraframe's handle is made of stainless steel, the holes serve the same purpose: to reduce weight. And it works, as the Tyro weighs 109 grams, including the reversible pocket clip. This makes it slightly heavier than a comparable Benchmade Bugout, but lighter than a similarly sized titanium knife without a skeletonized design, such as the Zero Tolerance 0562TI (155 grams).

However, if you want to shave a few more grams off the weight, you can, of course, unscrew the pocket clip entirely. It was important to Snecx that WE Knife include a small replacement screw in the package to close the hole created by removing the pocket clip. "It's much easier not to include one – fewer questions and unnecessary speculation – so I hope the small effort proves positive," he writes on Instagram.

Significant premium for Damascus steel

The WE Knife Tyro was released in five different versions at launch. In addition to the "standard" black and silver versions, there are also bronze and blue variants, as well as a top model featuring a blade made of Swedish Hakkapella Damasteel.

The Tyro is priced at just over 250 Euros, but for the Damascus steel, you pay a hefty premium and end up above the 600 Euro mark. However, there's no need to rush, as the knife is not limited.