Cringe review by Project Farm of which knife brand is "best"

fowlintent said:
Careful who you call out. This guy has made millions doing these reviews on Youtube, having over 2 million followers. He doesn't claim to be a knife expert, but he does do objective testing in very creative ways. Love his videos.
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Are we supposed to be intimidated by someone with alot of social media followers? And alot of social media followers means we can't point out how the test is massively flawed?

I'm surprised at how many people I've seen on knife forums that think it was a good test.
 
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Come on guys, his review was not a recommendation of S&W. This guy isn't reviewing knives for collectors, he is reviewing knives for guys who use knives as tools and for those folks who may not know a lot about steels and blade design/functionality. He contrives some fairly unorthodox testing methods, but I think they are by and large valid. I know you like your expensive safe queens, and like collecting fine blades, just like I do. But the $13 S&W will adequately accomplish 95% of the tasks for which pocket knives are used for and at the end of the day is expendable. If you damage it, buy another one. So by my calculation you could buy 20 of the S&Ws for the price of one 940. Are they pretty? No. Are they collectible? No. Would you be proud to whip it out and show your buddies? No. But it will cut, and it will keeeel.
 
It seems like his testing was based towards what normal people care about lol. Normal non knife people (losers lol) just want a soft, non rusting, "cool" looking knife that they can get for cheap and then abuse and never maintain or sharpen. That's the sad truth. The S&W meets the criteria with its tacticool looks, serrations, and soft but very stainless steel. It's a gas station special sure, but that is what sells to normal folks.
 
I consult this forums a lot because I happen to like knives. My account is new, but I don't make it just for this video, I planned to post some pic and have a few unrelated take. It is a coincident and I know that some people would have hard opinions on this video.
For the moment, I pick up a Buck 110LT for 20 CAD clearance before Christmas. Same blade as the classic Buck 110 (which is more than 3 times more expensive) so the performance is the same. Therefore the LT is the better option money/work ratio (bang for buck), the host of that Project Farm channel will place it higher by that virtue. The man usually show what he recommend at the end on a table. It is a rare case that he didn't do that this time.

Anyway, I have to tell you, as trade man, specialized in flooring, non of the expensive super steel knives can last me a day of work without resharpening. 18/25mm snap off is my crucial day to day tool (even the Leatherman MP can stay home), but is a "joke" for knife collectors.
 
fowlintent said:
Come on guys, his review was not a recommendation of S&W. This guy isn't reviewing knives for collectors, he is reviewing knives for guys who use knives as tools and for those folks who may not know a lot about steels and blade design/functionality. He contrives some fairly unorthodox testing methods, but I think they are by and large valid. I know you like your expensive safe queens, and like collecting fine blades, just like I do. But the $13 S&W will adequately accomplish 95% of the tasks for which pocket knives are used for and at the end of the day is expendable. If you damage it, buy another one. So by my calculation you could buy 20 of the S&Ws for the price of one 940. Are they pretty? No. Are they collectible? No. Would you be proud to whip it out and show your buddies? No. But it will cut, and it will keeeel.
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You think it's valid to rank an entire brand of knives off that test?

To base an entire brands corrosion resistance and edge retention off of how one model in one steel performed? You do realize those brands make knives in many different blade steels. And those blade steels perform differently in those properties?

I collect knives but also use my knives as tools as well so to say all of us disagreeing with it collect safe queens only is beyond ridiculous. I conduct scientific research for a living and have a problem with that test because it is utterly flawed in what it is trying to do.
 
fowlintent said:
Come on guys, his review was not a recommendation of S&W. This guy isn't reviewing knives for collectors, he is reviewing knives for guys who use knives as tools and for those folks who may not know a lot about steels and blade design/functionality. He contrives some fairly unorthodox testing methods, but I think they are by and large valid. I know you like your expensive safe queens, and like collecting fine blades, just like I do. But the $13 S&W will adequately accomplish 95% of the tasks for which pocket knives are used for and at the end of the day is expendable. If you damage it, buy another one. So by my calculation you could buy 20 of the S&Ws for the price of one 940. Are they pretty? No. Are they collectible? No. Would you be proud to whip it out and show your buddies? No. But it will cut, and it will keeeel.
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I was thinking along these lines too, though it's hard at this point to go back to thinking like a non knife knut. 😄 I've been a PF fan for a while and like his videos. While this one gave me pause at several points as a knife knut, if I put that part of my brain aside and just think like a guy who needs a folder but isn't really into knives, then it wasn't too bad from that perspective. Btw, someone mentioned finding the sharpening aspect of the vid the most interesting. He has a video comparing various sharpening systems that is indeed pretty interesting, if you care to search it out. :thumbsup:
 
shane45-1911 said:
I will call out ANYONE who recommends a S&W knife. :rolleyes:
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They did some kind of website clearance last year and had a bunch of their knives down to $5-10 with free shipping. I said "what the heck" and figured it would be interesting to see if there had been any changes to quality since the last time I tried one of their branded knives from a mystery manufacturer in China.

It hadn't really. The steel was 8Cr13Mov, which isn't a bad deal in knives under $20. The blape looked usable. The fit, finish, and action were on point for the sale price... :rolleyes: I'd have to sharpen it down to fresh steel first but I know a kid who'd like it.
 
Maybe I missed something in the video. The internet guy devised a number of tests so that the various knives in differing price ranges could be compared apples to apples. He posted the results. The results varied from test to test, and from knife to knife. At the end, he said he liked the high dollar knives. And as I recall, he said for the money and its performance in his tests, the S&W wasn't a bad choice. It almost sounds like some of the cheaper knives outperformed your favorite in a test or two.
 
shane45-1911 said:
This was already posted, but I don't know where the original thread went to???

Anyway, as I commented in the original thread - this is 19 minutes of my life I won't be getting back, especially when one of the final conclusions is - "Why not just get a Smith and Wesson?" :rolleyes:
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Here is a suggestion- I watch these videos on my computer and always set the playback speed at 2, so it only took 9.5 minutes for me.

I like watching this guy's videos. He seems to come up with interesting DIY methods of testing things without buying expensive equipment, and he comes up with objective answers. I'm not sure why the Tenacious outperformed some of the blades with better steel. This might relate to his testing method. I would like to have seen him cut a few hundred pieces of cardboard. If nothing else his results might relate to how the average user uses their knives.
 
I find many of his test comparisons useful, and tbh, for a non-knife-guy, he didn't do too badly with this video.

There are a lot of guys doing decent knife reviews on Youtube. Shabaz, Metal Complex, and Neeves Knives are some of my favorites.
 
If you know anyone caught in the production mill that is youtube, you know that sometimes ya gotta make sausage with the meat you got. It's not pretty, but for many channels that hit on a regular schedule, missing a video can kill their view numbers (and sometimes their paycheque) for several months after. The algorithm is a cruel mistress, and that causes people to push out of their comfort zones. It's also why some guys seem to go off the rails over time because to a certain degree, the environment they are in rots their brains. If a cult leader can lose their grasp on reality with a dozen followers, what's the average guy to do when they have even just a few thousand? Once they play to the group that gives them approval, their mindset changes (and yeah, when you get into the weeds in the literature, it's spooky how much the cult builds the leader) All that is to say, watch what you want to watch, and sometimes its worth watching what the "outsider" has to say, because if it makes you defensive, maybe its time to evaluate your relationship to the stuff in your life. Royal you, royal we, when someone pisses me off, second instinct is to figure out why, trying to make it the first is my goal.
 
test-result.jpg


The graph PF did lacked critical data - A starting point !
So in red is the starting sharpness after he re sharpened the knives !
This gives you the before and after data for edge retention and gives you some idea of the edge loss .
 
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Oh dear ! Post moved hu !

His testing was relevant to PF , it's his methodology !
But the edge retention testing has merit , and should be filed away as a keeper .
I dont see his testing being flawed , it is actually very much a case of reality . ( And reality can often be a bit of a slap in the face to those used to fantasy )

Yeah , lock pressure ? .............. Is more better ? Apples and oranges ! ( I mean , i'm no fan of Soft Locks ... )
It's data ...... And data is good ! How you interpret that data or use the data ... But it's data !
 
Deino said:
I made a post about it earlier, but got removed probably because Im not a gold member. Anyway, before calling it cringe, this was the post I wrote:
The guy chooses knives based on his fan base suggestion, with the most requested of each brand.
He doesn't care or know about the steel type, nor the excelled advantage of some blade profile and grind.
The video is not meant for knives collectors nor blade enthusiasts. It is meant for normal users and trade man, who use whatever they can find or gifted to. The video is biased toward heavy usage, low maintenance, and price ratio.
This is a quite fair presentation of the non enthusiasm. Not all people want to waste time to debate about knives on forums.
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YO! I'm a "trade man" and wouldn't be caught dead with a S&W knife! Buuut....I'm also a big time knife nut so that plays a factor. 😁
I enjoy watching project farm and find his videos informative. And yes, personally I think his knife video is informative for "normal people"
In fact, he's probably getting decent knives in people's pockets faster than we (BF general) do for the simple fact that he's doing a standardized test,
straight and to the point, of products right off the shelf instead of obsessing over every little nuance about the knives.
That's our job here at Blade Forums! 😎
 
How often do we see people on this forum "un bending" the lockbar?
People know lock spring is directly related to lock security, but we don't care, defeating lock strength for the sake of convenience is one of the most sure signs someone is a hardcore knife enthusiast.

Overall I'd say the video has some redundant tests but he's reasonably objective and at least the testing methods are clearly described, people can make of the data what they will.
 
The fact we got a corrosion test on a random sampling of knives is perfectly example of why MagnaCut is going to be so popular with manufacturers.
 
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