ABC-DIRECT'S Knife Ratings

G

Geo

Joined
Oct 4, 1998
Messages
8
Does anyoned else find ABC-DIRECT's knife ratings to be a bit ludicrous? They have the Spyderco Bill Moran fixed blade rated B, the same rating that they have given to Buck's Nighthawk. Does anyone think these knives deserve the same rating?




 
The ratings are based on the quality of materials used, fit and finish, sharpness from factory and our own personal opinion.

Here is the rating system guide we go by.

ABCD-A
The item is the in the top of it's class. This means that based on it's price point, quality of manufacturing, country of origin and it's practicality the item is above the rest in it's class.

ABCD-B
This item exhibits exceptional quality and is a great buy for the money in it's class.

ABCD-C
This item is of average quality in it's class. It is a good buy and should perform well. Buy it if you like the appearance or you are not willing to pay for higher quality. You should look at others in it's Class before you buy however.

ABCD-D
This item is not a particularly good buy. Buy it if you want it but it might not perform as well as most others in it's class.

ABCD-F
We do not recommend this item at all. You will not find many of these items on our site. They are sold only for display reasons.

We hope you find our rating system helpful. The rating is our own opinion of the item and may vary greatly from what your opinion may be. It is intended to help new buyers understand what they are looking at. All of the ratings are the personal opinion of the author of the page and not ABC-Direct as a whole. Do not rely solely on the rating system for making a purchase. The ratings are not based on any outside tests or scientific methods of analysis.



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America's Best Cutlery - Direct!
1-800-956-4652
Mon-Fri 9-6 Est
www.abc-direct.com
 
Geo --

I'd rate the nighthawk a C and Moran an A based on ABC-D's explanation above.

However, as ABC-D said, the ratings are aimed at first-time buyers. Experts such as ourselves
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can (and obviously should) ignore those ratings. More seriously, anyone who has a good idea of what they want and a basic idea of materials and blade geometry might want to ignore them.

Still, it's a shame that some newbie who might've gotten an incredible knife like the Moran might pick up something else based on the B rating... oh well. If it makes some newbies first buying experience more pleasant, who am I to question it?

Joe
jat@cup.hp.com
 
One thing we could do is have our readers or forum members rate the knives or maybe even Joe.

Also Joe how much would you charge to let us use some of your FAQs on our site. We find them very usefull and it would be a great help to new customers. We are working on our glossary for our new site Spark is working on right now and any help would be greatly appreciated. Please email me directly.

mikeg@abc-direct.com

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America's Best Cutlery - Direct!
1-800-956-4652
Mon-Fri 9-6 Est
www.abc-direct.com
 
Mike G.--

The rating system is definitely flawed. However, having customers or forum members rate the knives could be an improvement, but you could probably do away with the ratings entirely.


ps- Sorry about the critical words above because otherwise your site is fine.

[This message has been edited by Geo (edited 26 January 1999).]
 
At this moment we have no plans for using the rating system on the new site. We are entertaining the idea however if we could come up with a better way to do it.

We will go forward with the glossary of terms as this is more important than the rating system.

------------------
America's Best Cutlery - Direct!
1-800-956-4652
Mon-Fri 9-6 Est
www.abc-direct.com
 
I can see giving the Nighthawk a B under the rating system as described.
It has a lot of merit in terms of price, design and the steel, but mostly price.
If it cost $200 I would give it a much lower rating, just as I would rate many of the $300 knives much lower than their makers and many forum members do, given what you get for your money.

I don't trust customer or forum popularity systems.
I think they follow the latest hype and fad.

I like the idea of a rating system administered by one person or an established committee because with a little experience I can make allowance for the natural human bias, especially if it has some consistency.
Also, one person has accountability, and that encourages responsibility, and that determines credibility.

How many times can a rating system administrator misrepresent a knife for his own gain before he loses his good reputation?
I don't know.
 
Mike --

I know you said email, but I thought I'd post publicly as well. As long as someone asks permission, does not charge for access to the FAQs, and preserves the attribution (that is, I am still clearly listed as author), my policy at the moment is to give anyone who asks permission to post the FAQs on their site. The FAQs are not a money-making venture for me, they're a labor of love!

Feel free to archive them on your site, preserving me as author. Please archive the ones that have me as sole author -- the Steel FAQ, Blade Geometry FAQ, Sharpening FAQ, Plain vs. Serrated FAQ. The Liner Lock Test FAQ has a dual author, A.T. Barr and myself, but A.T. has previously given me permission to let others archive that FAQ, subject to the conditions above, so you can archive that one also.

Joe
jat@cup.hp.com
 
Joe,

Your offer is greatly appreciated. I am however of the old school that when one offers a gesture such as this that something in return should be given in good will. I am not sure what I can do but if you are ever in need of a knife (
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) let me know.

------------------
America's Best Cutlery - Direct!
1-800-956-4652
Mon-Fri 9-6 Est
www.abc-direct.com
 
Well, labor of love or not, there's no sense turning down such a kind offer
smile.gif
Talk to you soon

Joe
jat@cup.hp.com
 
ABCD-A
The item is the in the top of it's class. This means that based on it's price point, quality of manufacturing, country of origin and it's practicality the item is above the rest in it's class.

Also we take into consideration user adjustability, Materials used to aid in grip, Strength of lock up, clip placement, type steel used and other options. We directly compare knives in the same price catagory to force an "A" rating out of one if warranted.


------------------
America's Best Cutlery - Direct!
1-800-956-4652
Mon-Fri 9-6 Est
www.abc-direct.com
 
My aplogies for being unclear. Are there any knives that have achieved this "A" rating to date, and what were they. Just want to know what we're competing against, by your standards.
sal
 
Sal,

<a href="http://www.abc-direct.com/spyderco-knives.htm">Click Here.</a>

This link will take you to the Spyderco part of our site. You will see that many Spyderco knives have an "A" Rating in our opinion. We try to be as fair and as impartial as we can. We also pay very close attention to the other knives which are in the same catagory.

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America's Best Cutlery - Direct!
1-800-956-4652
Mon-Fri 9-6 Est
www.abc-direct.com
 
Your welcome Sal,

I would like to thank you, Nancy Foley and Sypderco for the help you all gave when we made the site. It does not go un-noticed and a internet friendly manufacturer is always a welcome breath of fresh air!

------------------
America's Best Cutlery - Direct!
1-800-956-4652
Mon-Fri 9-6 Est
www.abc-direct.com
 
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