Have you ever bought a knife because of youtube

Wotan said:
No. I have never bought anything after seen a youtube "review".
Buying a knife based on seeing an unknown person unpacking his latest buy is IMHO worthless.
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Agreed! I only use them to get a better idea of how a particular blade opens/closes and fits in a persons hand.
 


Let's spend 40 minutes talking about stuff before I take the knife out of the box...

:barf:
 
A few reviewers have been very influential at times, but like a lot of people on here, I do my own research; Youtube is a big part of that, but it's never been the only source, as far as I can remember.

The Apostle P's review of the Benchmade 761, however, stopped me dead in my tracks, seconds before handing my money to the metaphorical cashier. I was very impressed by the 761's sleek appearance, and even the tip-down clip didn't bother me. I couldn't think of anything that might dissuade me from buying it, but that was just a failure of imagination on my part. AP's review pointed out some serious faults, like a detent so weak the blade would fall open with the slightest prompting, and a lockbar that was dangerously thin and lacking in tension -- which was also related to the weak detent. I was going to order it later that day, and was comparing shipping rates when the video was uploaded.

I've since seen another review on the 761, this time by Will Moon, and this time very positive, specifically addressing the potential problems brought up by AP. I know Will Moon has had problems well-documented on Bladeforums, but regardless what you think of his questionable business dealings, he's an excellent knife-maker, and he knows his stuff. Whether or not AP just happened to get the one bad knife in a thousand, or the one bad knife in ten, unfortunately, those criticisms decided the issue, for me. It takes more than one positive Youtube review to sell a knife, but one negative Youtube review can definitely make me reconsider. With the 761, however, my decision not to buy was also related to my own suspicions about problems with Benchmade's quality control.
 
Sikael said:
A few reviewers have been very influential at times, but like a lot of people on here, I do my own research; Youtube is a big part of that, but it's never been the only source, as far as I can remember.

The Apostle P's review of the Benchmade 761, however, stopped me dead in my tracks, seconds before handing my money to the metaphorical cashier. I was very impressed by the 761's sleek appearance, and even the tip-down clip didn't bother me. I couldn't think of anything that might dissuade me from buying it, but that was just a failure of imagination on my part. AP's review pointed out some serious faults, like a detent so weak the blade would fall open with the slightest prompting, and a lockbar that was dangerously thin and lacking in tension -- which was also related to the weak detent. I was going to order it later that day, and was comparing shipping rates when the video was uploaded.

I've since seen another review on the 761, this time by Will Moon, and this time very positive, specifically addressing the potential problems brought up by AP. I know Will Moon has had problems well-documented on Bladeforums, but regardless what you think of his questionable business dealings, he's an excellent knife-maker, and he knows his stuff. Whether or not AP just happened to get the one bad knife in a thousand, or the one bad knife in ten, unfortunately, those criticisms decided the issue, for me. It takes more than one positive Youtube review to sell a knife, but one negative Youtube review can definitely make me reconsider. With the 761, however, my decision not to buy was also related to my own suspicions about problems with Benchmade's quality control.
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That's one thing I like about Rob(apostle p), is he gives his honest opinion. Not going to name names but some very popular You tuber's don't ever do a negative review on a knife and I call those "promoters".

This thread is very informative, being that I am a "reviewer" myself. Lot's of good constructive criticism to apply when making my own videos. I try to keep mine shorter as I rarely sit through a 30 minute video about a knife myself. I think 10 minutes is the sweet spot but sometimes it's hard to get everything across in that amount of time. Honestly most of mine are "overview's" as I tend to get the newer knives before a lot of people and those doing research can get an idea of what the knife is like in person and my initial opinion. Funny enough a lot of the reviews I've done with actually testing don't have nearly the views as my 10 minute overviews just giving my thoughts and opinion on the knife.
 
Video reviews help add perspective, but I rarely rely on a single viewpoint to form an opinion about anything - knives, guns, current events, etc. On the other hand, there are several times I have specifically avoided knives after watching of You Tube reviews.
 
xICEMANx said:
That's one thing I like about Rob(apostle p), is he gives his honest opinion. Not going to name names but some very popular You tuber's don't ever do a negative review on a knife and I call those "promoters".

This thread is very informative, being that I am a "reviewer" myself. Lot's of good constructive criticism to apply when making my own videos. I try to keep mine shorter as I rarely sit through a 30 minute video about a knife myself. I think 10 minutes is the sweet spot but sometimes it's hard to get everything across in that amount of time. Honestly most of mine are "overview's" as I tend to get the newer knives before a lot of people and those doing research can get an idea of what the knife is like in person and my initial opinion. Funny enough a lot of the reviews I've done with actually testing don't have nearly the views as my 10 minute overviews just giving my thoughts and opinion on the knife.
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I subscribed to your channel a while back (as EisNeiN), and have followed your knife reviews with interest. Excellent, balanced overviews -- your recent video on the Warrior One was a good example.

I agree that 10 minutes is a good length of time, but if someone makes the effort to do a 30 minute review, and manages to hold my interest, well done. People watch guys like Skelton and think they can do one just as well, but... no. Skelton's a professional pitchman, he knows how to talk about 'product' and hold viewer interest. I've seen some pretty abysmal reviews, where guys try to wing it, armed with vague enthusiasm and some technical specs. A 3-minute video is too long, if you don't have anything interesting to say, or just lack the ability to articulate those thoughts. There are exceptions; terafanatic isn't the slickest speaker, but his love for knives and honesty comes through. Also... others have said it before, but it bears repeating -- unboxing videos kind of suck. It's cool to show the packaging, especially if it's something well-designed, but watching someone struggle one-handed with a f***ing box while they mutter apologies doesn't make for compelling video. IMO. :D

EDIT: Censoring myself, in case it's inappropriate for GKD.
 
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Agree a lot with the above post. Something that'll get me to turn off the video within the first minute is if the guy is a good speaker who is clear. Nothing is more frustrating than listening to 5 minutes of uhms and uhhs and broken sentences while the guy thinks of what he's going to say or how he's going to word his sentences.

I'm much more inclined to watch a 30 minute video by a reviewer who's a good speaker with clear thoughts than a 5 minute review where the guy stammers for the first 3 minutes about "uhh just got this knife...uhm gonna unbox it..." then 2 minutes of unfocused cell phone video super up close where you can't make out anything about the knife. Then a solid minute of hyperintensive wrist flicking. Ends with "perfect knife".
 
Sikael said:
I subscribed to your channel a while back (as EisNeiN), and have followed your knife reviews with interest. Excellent, balanced overviews -- your recent video on the Warrior One was a good example.

I agree that 10 minutes is a good length of time, but if someone makes the effort to do a 30 minute review, and manages to hold my interest, well done. People watch guys like Skelton and think they can do one just as well, but... no. Skelton's a professional pitchman, he knows how to talk about 'product' and hold viewer interest. I've seen some pretty abysmal reviews, where guys try to wing it, armed with vague enthusiasm and some technical specs. A 3-minute video is too long, if you don't have anything interesting to say, or just lack the ability to articulate those thoughts. There are exceptions; terafanatic isn't the slickest speaker, but his love for knives and honesty comes through. Also... others have said it before, but it bears repeating -- unboxing videos kind of suck. It's cool to show the packaging, especially if it's something well-designed, but watching someone struggle one-handed with a fucking box while they mutter apologies doesn't make for compelling video. IMO. :D
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I appreciate the feedback!
 
Charlie Mike said:


Let's spend 40 minutes talking about stuff before I take the knife out of the box...

:barf:
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I find it ironic that anyone would post that on a knife forum, where I guarantee that the average person here likely spends many more hours a day on knife-related tomfoolery...
 
I bought two knives from William Collins off of YouTube because I liked his style of knife making not because of any reviews. which are awesome knives by the way.
 
oliveview said:
I find it ironic that anyone would post that on a knife forum, where I guarantee that the average person here likely spends many more hours a day on knife-related tomfoolery...
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The difference is that we don't like to hear two hours of a droning, whiny-voiced person do all of that "tomfoolery" halfway in the third person; while at the same time getting sidetracked and adding in his own personal thoughts that have nothing to do with whether or not it is a good knife. Seriously, just show us the dang knife already!!
 
Great thread, I watch some reviews I find over time you learn that your preferences are similar to certain reviewers and if they like a blade you may like it was well. Same is true in the opposite I always find if Late Boy Scout says it's too big then I buy it if he says the size is good then I skip it. I have a channel myself and try not to be too long. I usually land around 20 minutes which I kind of think is too long but I'd rather say all that I think needs to be said. I really like Rob (the apostle) epicsnugglebuny, bladereviews.com, darkchild57. I do find reviews helpful when trying to determine if I'm going to like a knife enough to buy it. As mentioned above Jim Skeleton is great for knifeporn but he is usually way out of my price range.
 
Stefan Schmalhaus and Virtuovice. I got introduced to Bark River knives after watching Virtuovice's Youtube. Have bought several already. I love both their videos. Somehow there are similarities between the two gentlemen but I'm not sure what. Maybe both their videos are classy and honest...and totally enjoyable.
 
I watch youtube vids and if I'm considering a knife I'll watch some reviews on that knife and form an opinion whether it's a good fit or not.
 
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