WESN’s Kickstarter darling, the Samla, was already nearly perfect. The small, friction-folding EDC offered an edge as unyielding as the northern Scandinavian wilderness that inspired it, with style to spare. But the Motor City bladesmiths weren’t satisfied, even though they had yet to ship a single Samla to backers. So they connected with Japanese denim designers Momotaro – purveyors of jeans with names like Going to Battle – to form a collab.
The resulting design dovetailed WESN’s rugged minimalism with Momotaro’s handwoven denim and signature dual-stripe detail to create a knife that only got better with age and use. Even better, each knife’s bleeds, markings, and patterns were unique, making every piece a one-of-one (of sorts).
So the announcement that WESN is sunsetting the Momotaro Samla is bittersweet. Bitter, of course, as this will be the final run of these pure heritage pieces – and because WESN is only making 100 of the knives available. The sweet side? For the first – and now, only time – WESN is making these unique knives available to the public.
The blade is still Swedish, and the denim is still sourced from Okayama. The handles are crafted in Ukraine, and the whole thing is assembled in Stockholm. Buyers can even choose their steel ($225 Standard 12C27, $300 M390, or $400 of untamed Damasteel) but they’ll need to act fast to avoid getting cut out.
For more from WESN, check out the WESN x Gildr Microblade.