I agree with
@Houlahound that there is no reason to review a product you don't like. What benefit can come from smearing a product you don't like unless you are a paid reviewer for the product? No matter what you like or don't like, there will be plenty of retaliation from people that completely disagree on every aspect of your review. You didn't use a fair testing method, you didn't use the knife right, you must have got a lemon, and on and on and on.
Until I came here, I didn't know how anal retentive so many people were, and didn't understand how knives are judged. I couldn't care less about super quick deployment or make a good toy to flick open all night to mitigate the boredom of watching TV. Then get upset if the "deployment" is off, or it loosens up after several thousands of hard openings and closings. More than a lifetime of opening and closing for most.
I had never seen people that used their knife a bit, then had to send it in for a "spa" treatment. Couldn't believe folks got upset with a few stains or scratches on their knives. Didn't know there were people that were upset that their knives were off center by less than 1/16" of an inch, or didn't come shaving sharp from the manufacturer.
I learned a lot over the years. My personal aspect is couched in my daily use on the construction site as well as knife duties for hunting/hiking. It has to be sturdy, lock up well and have good steel. I love my ZT 0909, but it has been roundly criticized for looking like a "work knife". The hex nut on the side to clean it out when it gets gunked up was a stroke of genius to me, but a real turn off to others. It is a real work knife, so I have two.
The point is that any review of something is subjective unless universal protocols are in place. We all use our knives as we please and that is certainly why we buy them. I have need for fast deployment (NO knife fighting skills here) and don't need the parrot colored titanium rainbows that are on some of the knives. ZT lost me at the peek-a-boo pivot, as well as any other knife that requires a special tool for disassembly/adjustment or maintenance.
I don't know what most office workers use their knives for these days, but that really isn't the point. Everyone enjoys their knives they way they want, and that's what it is all about. I used to laugh at the guys here that had to look for a reason to use their fast deploying, S110V flippers by "breaking down cardboard" and going to the park to take some pictures of it out in nature.
Now, I see it differently, and the reviewers, too. None of them out there now have what I am interested in, so I rarely look at reviews. If it was up to me to set the standards, I would have 1) initial impressions including measurements and feel in the hand. Then 2) how does the knife perform after 6 months of nearly daily use of cutting open adhesive tubes, opening heavy bags of materials, cutting dirty fiberglass strapping, and a little light prying and scraping. And then of course, how did the steel perform in a "real world" test.
Using my standards, no one would ever get anywhere. People would then ask for a 1 year review, and then add their own standards, and then announce they didn't have the same experience and challenge me to defend my findings and my opinion. I applaud the guys that do what they do, but their reviews are of little use to me. I vote with my eyes and simply don't participate. And the good news is that if the reviewer seems to be full of baloney, I can move on in an instant. I think this thread started out well, but went off course. No one has to watch any review of anything, and it is not the responsibility of the reviewer to please everyone. If they get no clicks, they will be gone soon enough.
Robert
