I just read the review and I was quite impressed.
A lot of Kim Breed's reviews are different, in a similar way, to the way he wrote this one.
His enthusiasm for this knife really came through, and the fact that he sought Ben out probably played a role in the flavour of his writing.
Very often, I imagine, a published knife reviewer might be sent knives that he may not have an interest in, and still have to go through the paces.
In this case, he caught wind of Ben via the forums, liked what he saw and despite some of the criticisms he voiced in the article, got in touch with Ben anyway.
That's gold.
If your stuff is cool enough to attract the attention of someone who has to deal with a lot of stuff, most of which he finds out he doesn't like but can't be too harsh about it in his reviews, and he's stoked on it then you're doing pretty good. Presenting yourself and your work on the forums is very important. Some guys don't care to get published, but if you do, you have got to show some class in the forums. The forums is where it's at.
And thank goodness for guys like Spark. He and his kind are the rare few that provide this kind of opportunity for all of us.
Take Kim Breed's input to heart and focus on your strengths while acknowledging your weaknesses, and this will be a great door opener. Many makers don't get a chance to walk through it. Now, with that being said, it's still just one magazine article, in the grand scheme it doesn't mean much. It's all the new customers it will generate that matter- taking care of that is #1 imo.
