- Joined
- Dec 23, 2012
- Messages
- 1,919
So I own many knives and over the history of my expierence with blades I have created some personal guidelines/considerations in which I judge a knife. The following addresses my specific concerns and to the best of my ability I belive it to be unbiased toward any specific style of knife and I believe that I have fairly addressed individual differences such as hand size in the guidelines.
If anyone has anything to add I would be more than happy to listen and adjust accordingly if I believe it would improve the integrity of my review process.
Also I live in a very large forested area of the Oregon Cascade Mountians with a state forest in my backyard of over 500,000 acres, Camo is both practical and a fashion statement here among the local hunter's, fisherman, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Personally I have hunted, fished, and camped this area for more than 18 years. With as many outdoorsmen and women in this area with whom I am connected with I would be happy to do reviews for ANY maker or manufacter given that I would be allowed to pass around the blade to a select group of Outdoor People including myself obviously, with a timely review reported back to YOU before going public, and with a final stipulation of being able to do a giveaway on THIS forum of EACH blade unless other arrangments are made before the time of the review going public. The only cost to YOU would be the blade itself but a positive review could easily and quickly recapture that expense, and there would be certianty of YOUR blade being tested in the field, by those who live there and visit often.
With all that said, let's here your feedback.
1.) Fit and Finnish, this is key to the aesthetic value of a blade especially for the collector, also this shows the buyer the amount of attention to detail a knife maker/manufacturer has put into their craftsmanship.
2.) Intended Use, this is important to the user as certain blade styles are more suited to specific tasks and others are more utilitarian. If the knife isn't used as intended then the review would quickly become unbalanced.
3.) Comfort, if the blade(s) cannot be used comfortably then it will likely be left behind in favor of a more comfortable knife, bear in mind your specific hand size and note it in your review as your large or small hands may be the actual cause of discomfort.
4.) Sheath, we all know that a knife is only as good as it's method of carry, while some people prefer a custom sheath no matter what, the average Joe will want the blade to be safe, accessible, and usable from the get go. Some makers/manufacturers are more in tune to this than others.
5.) Additional Features, this can include both the sheath and/or knife. Examples are jimping, choil, bow drill divot, sheath pocket, tie down holes, ambidextrous carry option, both scout and vertical carry option, ect. This shows how much value the maker/manufacturer wanted to include with your purchase, options for carry is greatly important to me.
6.) Balance, this can greatly affect how the blade performs in a given task such as chopping, throwing, or handling.
7.) Weight, this is super important for minimalist people, hikers, hunters, and other various knife buyers.
8.) Thickness, this category will affect the knives overall cutting performance, penetration, weight, durability, edge angle, and so on.
9.) Maintenance, this involves steel type like high carbon vs stainless, blade coating, sharpenability, and so on.
10.) Performance, in it's given scope of use how does the knife perform, this can vary by many things such as grind type, steel type, thickness, weight, blade length, handle type, ect. Some knives are fantastic slicers, cutters, choppers, carvers, and can be limited to excelling in only one chore, while others can excel in many areas.
11.) Value, this pertains to everything above and pricing of course, so where does this blade rate when compared to others in the same price range with the same characteristics?
Thanks for looking, and can't wait to get some feedback...
If anyone has anything to add I would be more than happy to listen and adjust accordingly if I believe it would improve the integrity of my review process.
Also I live in a very large forested area of the Oregon Cascade Mountians with a state forest in my backyard of over 500,000 acres, Camo is both practical and a fashion statement here among the local hunter's, fisherman, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Personally I have hunted, fished, and camped this area for more than 18 years. With as many outdoorsmen and women in this area with whom I am connected with I would be happy to do reviews for ANY maker or manufacter given that I would be allowed to pass around the blade to a select group of Outdoor People including myself obviously, with a timely review reported back to YOU before going public, and with a final stipulation of being able to do a giveaway on THIS forum of EACH blade unless other arrangments are made before the time of the review going public. The only cost to YOU would be the blade itself but a positive review could easily and quickly recapture that expense, and there would be certianty of YOUR blade being tested in the field, by those who live there and visit often.
With all that said, let's here your feedback.
Knife Review Guidelines 1.) Fit and Finnish, this is key to the aesthetic value of a blade especially for the collector, also this shows the buyer the amount of attention to detail a knife maker/manufacturer has put into their craftsmanship.
2.) Intended Use, this is important to the user as certain blade styles are more suited to specific tasks and others are more utilitarian. If the knife isn't used as intended then the review would quickly become unbalanced.
3.) Comfort, if the blade(s) cannot be used comfortably then it will likely be left behind in favor of a more comfortable knife, bear in mind your specific hand size and note it in your review as your large or small hands may be the actual cause of discomfort.
4.) Sheath, we all know that a knife is only as good as it's method of carry, while some people prefer a custom sheath no matter what, the average Joe will want the blade to be safe, accessible, and usable from the get go. Some makers/manufacturers are more in tune to this than others.
5.) Additional Features, this can include both the sheath and/or knife. Examples are jimping, choil, bow drill divot, sheath pocket, tie down holes, ambidextrous carry option, both scout and vertical carry option, ect. This shows how much value the maker/manufacturer wanted to include with your purchase, options for carry is greatly important to me.
6.) Balance, this can greatly affect how the blade performs in a given task such as chopping, throwing, or handling.
7.) Weight, this is super important for minimalist people, hikers, hunters, and other various knife buyers.
8.) Thickness, this category will affect the knives overall cutting performance, penetration, weight, durability, edge angle, and so on.
9.) Maintenance, this involves steel type like high carbon vs stainless, blade coating, sharpenability, and so on.
10.) Performance, in it's given scope of use how does the knife perform, this can vary by many things such as grind type, steel type, thickness, weight, blade length, handle type, ect. Some knives are fantastic slicers, cutters, choppers, carvers, and can be limited to excelling in only one chore, while others can excel in many areas.
11.) Value, this pertains to everything above and pricing of course, so where does this blade rate when compared to others in the same price range with the same characteristics?
Thanks for looking, and can't wait to get some feedback...