Best knife reviewers

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Some I like, but not mentioned so far:

It's a Knifestyle

Kevin Cleary

Neeves Knives

Virtuovice

TheApostleP

I miss Supersteel Steve and Vincenzo Nero.
 
mitchnola said:
I like Erica, she just shoots it straight. I also kinda like how she just pulls out the camera and gets at it.

MC is ok but too much production and plugging himself

Shabazz is the best of the pros

Something just irks me about Neeves

Chuck_Nunface Chuck_Nunface kicks ass, loves Emerson and is BF member. What else can ya ask for?
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Thanks, man!
 
I just checked out Erica after seeing many of you like her content. And I see why you like it. I might watch her videos more often now.
 
Pete from Australia (Cedric&Ada) is probably the most comprehensive of them all. He reviews tough fixed blades and that’s really all I’m about. Aaron from Gideons is decent, but definitely plugs way too much merch and once in while be droll AF, but does decent testing and he’s a fixed blade guy. I don’t watch Advanced Knife Bro or Metal Complex or EricaEDC or Nick Shabazz as they mainly review folders which I can care less about. That’s an unwarranted opinion from a sharpened prybar enthusiast.

ETA: can’t stand JoeX and his method of testing, straight up clown shoes on that boy.
 
Pete is hilarious and provides genuinely useful edge retention testing. I like MC, Neeves, and LeftyEDC. For higher end and customs, I like Dirk Werning and Jim Skelton.

One I haven't seen mentioned is Stassa23. He's quite knowledgeable, does cut tests, and seems to be a good guy who has overcome serious personal tragedy. Doody's Daggers is also a good follow.
 
I like AKB, but it like he's reviewing knifes he can't afford. But his sardonic wit and Frenchman greaseness makes up for it. Always breaking down beer boxes so the neighbors won't think he's a alcoholic.

Nick Shabazz hands move as fast as he talks too. Also feel like if we went to dinner, he'd order the most expensive item every time.

Cedric down under I feel I learn the most. He needs to fight a kangaroo with a knife, we can call him The Rooslayer!

Gideon seems like he'd be a cool neighbor and he'll hook you up with Swag.
 
SteeleJ1976 said:
. Metal Complex is good but I always wonder if he even uses his knives.
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Probly not more than one day at the most. In all fairness tho, the dude has knives coming in every day. (And some belong to other people, so I can understand that)… Wish I could do that for a living!
 
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I like DBK, I totally understand how their antics might put off some viewers, I find their format to be entertaining while also being leagues more informative than any of the plethora of tabletop reviews that seem to dominate the YouTube knife space. They actually test the knives they review. Also while I don't agree with absolutely every take they have, I think they're a lot more knowledgeable about knives than most here will give them credit for.

There was also a time I was in their comments saying how I disagree with how they judged a knife and I thought they were being unfair towards the maker etc etc and they took the time to privately email me very politely explaining in depth how and why they came to each conclusion about the knife. This included further problems they had with the knife maker outside the scope of the video that they didn't include so as to not turn it into a big shit show. I gained a lot of respect for them from that interaction.
 
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kafolarbear said:
I like DBK, I totally understand how their antics might put off some viewers, I find their format to be entertaining while also being leagues more informative than any of the plethora of tabletop reviews that seem to dominate the YouTube knife space. They actually test the knives they review. Also while I don't agree with absolutely every take they have, I think they're a lot more knowledgeable about knives than most here will give them credit for.

There was also a time I was in their comments saying how I disagree with how they judged a knife etc etc and they took the time to privately email me very politely explaining in depth how and why they came to each conclusion about the knife and it's maker. This included further problems they had outside the scope of the video. I gained a lot of respect for them from that interaction.
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True, big respect for that.

But you will lose some of that respect if you join their discord. I never wrote anything in there because I saw them ridiculing new members right away. Youtubers weren't the ones doing the bullying, but ironically their mods were. So if those people are mods there, I suppose youtubers are OK with that (or they'd put new mods).
I recently peeked back in one more after like a year ago when I installed the discord back to see how to delete user account - chat is almost dead. Same people are still mods, but to nobody's surprise - there's no new members typing anything except mods and those same old members. Ironically I only installed discord to see their knives chat channell and get disappointed.

I think they are trying too much.
Discord, Patreon, DBK shop... then sponsors of video. Good part of video itself is literally an ad. Then pair it with antics and their cooking and close-ups of food and it's just waste of time.
Also to mention that guy's band. Then they play shitty music of that band and it makes you press mute or skip until it stops.
Those are the reasons why I pretty much stopped watching their videos, or why I skip almost everything if I do click on their video.
 
LostCause said:
True, big respect for that.

But you will lose some of that respect if you join their discord. I never wrote anything in there because I saw them ridiculing new members right away. Youtubers weren't the ones doing the bullying, but ironically their mods were. So if those people are mods there, I suppose youtubers are OK with that (or they'd put new mods).
I recently peeked back in one more after like a year ago when I installed the discord back to see how to delete user account - chat is almost dead. Same people are still mods, but to nobody's surprise - there's no new members typing anything except mods and those same old members. Ironically I only installed discord to see their knives chat channell and get disappointed.

I think they are trying too much.
Discord, Patreon, DBK shop... then sponsors of video. Good part of video itself is literally an ad. Then pair it with antics and their cooking and close-ups of food and it's just waste of time.
Also to mention that guy's band. Then they play shitty music of that band and it makes you press mute or skip until it stops.
Those are the reasons why I pretty much stopped watching their videos, or why I skip almost everything if I do click on their video.
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That's definitely disappointing to hear about their discord. I definitely don't hold it against them to try and make money with their channel, though I agree the sponsorships/ads can be tiresome. But again, they are usually only at the start and end of the video so aren't hard to skip. Even with all the fluff, the content tends to be quite informative, though again I understand why the fluff would put off many people.
 
kafolarbear said:
That's definitely disappointing to hear about their discord. I definitely don't hold it against them to try and make money with their channel, though I agree the sponsorships/ads can be tiresome. But again, they are usually only at the start and end of the video so aren't hard to skip. Even with all the fluff, the content tends to be quite informative, though again I understand why the fluff would put off many people.
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Another thing is how useful review is to someone.

Example - Pete will cut even materials like tube, garden hose, open bags, clear branches or whatever and use his knives for the stuff you'd usually use these knives for and even some that you maybe wouldn't (like cooking with either folder or camp knife that you might only do at camping). And he still often batons fixed blades and does other stuff they're used for too.
Also, his edge retention tests. While handle ergonomics prefferences and similar stuff can vary from person to person, edge retention is something that remains the same. And it's something that you will directly feel in use. How long that steel with that HT and geometry stays sharp.
So if you want to possibly buy that knife, you'll see how good is that knife for the tasks it's intended for and you'll probably use it for.

On other hand, DBK will only do bushcraft tasks. I'm not bushcrafter so that doesn't mean that much to me. They will show how sturdy is a knife which is good. But they don't show anything else that average consumer might use a knife for. I can't get a good idea about knife's performance from DBK video. I'm more interested how well it for example cuts garden hose than scrapes ferro rod.
Their edge retention test is also pretty crude (thick piece of rope). It gives you just some idea about how well particular steel holds an edge.

So for these reasons I find Pete's videos much more useful.
 
Cedric & Ada is good viewing because you feel like you're getting a genuine product review by someone who loves knives and has a sense of humour. It's one of the ones I keep coming back to the most.

Gideon's Tactical can be hit or miss, sometimes very insightful and sometimes misses key details (something that's going to happen if you review enough things). It's heavily sponsor based, but worth watching. As one of the reviewers with larger hands, his value is increased for me, because I get to see how a knife handles in hands similar to my own.

It's pretty clear that Dutch Bushcraft Knives are more focused on entertainment/destruction testing than reviewing, but you do get the idea that they know things, and they do occasionally share that knowledge. As long as you can accept that they're using knives how they were never intended to ever be used (which they are not alone in doing), they're all right.

Advanced Knife Bro is a great deal like DBK and the polar opposite at the same time. He's coming at it from humour but goes for the understated narrative than the way DBK are filming videos for people with the attention span of a squirrel. I do like Advanced Knife Bro more.

I have a lot of time for Nick Shebazz. He has a fluency in the topic of knives that few have, tells it like he sees it, and gives us valuable disassembly videos. He was the first knife reviewer I watched and my only knock against him is his preference for smaller knives that aren't my preference, but that's a subjective thing.

JoeX delivers on his premise of knife destruction. He's got his niche and doubles down on it. I sometimes wonder if he has a sign for free parking at the end of his driveway, to provide him with new material to work with...

I regularly watch KnifeCenter videos. I realize that they're trying to sell me something, but they do some good work and David C Andersen's hands are large enough for me to be able to see how a knife would fit in my own hands.

I've watched a lot of Knife Banter, although the emphasis on tiny folding knives wasn't what I was into. They had more enthusiasm than content a lot of the time and they were definitely there for the sales. I think the current Blade HQ host has a lot of knife knowledge and I wish he'd do some longer and more focused videos to get into that.

I like Zac in the Wild (former Knife Banter host), with it's emphasis being more of a "What is EDC?".

I like channels like Mark Young for longer term use reviews; Metal Complex for a lot of his reviews and his love of tank knives.

A few reviewers that I liked that fell by the wayside, but their video channels remain are: HighCarbonSteel Love and Greywolf Bushcraft.

Other than a few standards, most of my knife video watching is all about getting some opinions on a knife I'm interested and looking to see what others have to say (taking into account a lot of these opinions are bought and paid for).
 
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Advanced Knife Bro --definitely one of the most entertaining knife channel there is, bonus point for putting on a chainmail for the fun.


Cedric & Ada Gear and Outdoors --I used to like this channel, but eventually I just realized the whole methodology and comparison was wrong on many levels--one of the biggest mistakes is how he ranked all the knife steels' edge retention performance based solely on how many times an edge can cut thru ropes, while ignoring geometry and other factors.

For example, one could say Spyderco FFG Delica in VG10 is able to make 5 more cuts than a Mora Survival in Carbon steel, but it is just wrong to conclude that all VG10 can make 5 more cuts than all Carbon steel, since Spyderco and Mora are so different in geometry.

Don't get me wrong, I do have nothing but huge respect for Pete, all the great work for complying the data and doing the tests over the years, but the way the data is being interpreted contradicts with I've learnt from Larrin's article about geometry affecting the edge retention.


Knife Thoughts --Really do enjoy him sharing all the traditional knowledge, especially when it's GEC related.


scholagladiatoria --For 'longer' knife, or all things cold weapon, I really enjoy this channel's content.


Virtuovice --Many channels nowadays has a tendency to be just table top review or focus mostly on edge retention tests, but I do enjoy his views on day-to-day outdoor knives usage.
 
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