How Do You Tell Someone Their Knife Is Crappy?

My response is something like "that's pretty cool. My favorites of the ones I've tried are . . . " and then I show them what I have. Come to think of it, this is how I respond even if someone shows me a quality knife or tool.

Frankly, this doesn't come up much in my circles; people I know either don't carry or give any thought to knives, or they have something decent. I tried to get my father in law to upgrade a bit. He has some sort of gruesome Chinese pen knife (a promotional giveaway of some kind), so I gave him an alox SAK as a gift. He doesn't use it.:confused:
 
Knives are at their heart tools, so if you can keep it positive and talk about upgrading or getting more performance out of a particular tool, than that is the route to take.
 
You could tell him the knives are fine, then say something like: "You know, theres a knife very similar to this from another company..."
 
I give them the most famous line in knife history

The immortal words of Crocodile Dundee

"That aint a knife, this is a knife"

Humor can usually lighten up an uncomfortable situation

Even though we are all sick of that line;)
 
I don't think I'd go there. There is no reason to insult a person's choice. Try to put the best edge on that knife that's possible and try to introduce (a knife you know to be of better quality) through conversation, possibilities of other knives. I only suggest this as I was on the receiving end from a vendor at a knife show after sharing a couple of knives I was rather proud of. He told me I had crap. Sort of soured the remainder of an otherwise good show!:thumbup:Dale H.
 
orca8589 said:
I'm surprised no one's said this yet: point him to the forums here & encourage him to join. Just lurking around General Knife Discussion for a day or two will really open his eyes to what's out there. He can Google image search anything he doesn't know about.

There's my $0.02.

thx - cpr
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He may never retire ;)
 
Unless you're ready to give that person a good knife just to prove your point about knife superiority don't even bother. If someone is happy with a $5-8 gas station crap let it be. There's a market for every product.
 
RxEnergy said:
Unless you're ready to give that person a good knife just to prove your point about knife superiority don't even bother. If someone is happy with a $5-8 gas station crap let it be. There's a market for every product.
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Very well said!
 
The last thing I want to do is insult someone who's actually carrying a knife - there's fewer and fewer of us every year!

So I always at least say something about how glad I am to see a young person (they're always younger than me!) carrying a knife, some sort of compliment about the knife ("Aren't those one-handed openers slick?!"), and if it seems appropriate, take the conversation further.

IOW, be as friendly as possible, as complimentary as possible, and lead him gently to finer things. Never be insulting or snobbish, unless you can make a joke of it where you are the butt of the joke! We want more people carrying knives, not fewer!
 
joe blow "what cha think of my knife?"
me "does it cut?"
joe blow "ya man real good"
me "then I guess it makes a decent knife"
 
"how do you tell someone their wife is crappy?"

"how do you tell someone their car is crappy?"

"how do you tell someone their lawn is crappy?"


you don't. their lives, their money, their decisions. not your business.

unless, of course, what he owns is unsafe or a liability to him, then it is your ethical obligation to intervene-- "hey man i noticed your linerlock is worn/bent/corroded, i'm afraid you'll cut yourself if the lock fails" etc etc etc.

nobody appreciates a snob, especially over something as trivial as a simple knife.




also, kershaw? rat 1? pshaw! I only carry something made by mick strider, chris reeve, and rick hinderer!
 
i always take the approach of High-end audio equipment, if an Audiophile would ask me what kind of stereo i listen to, he would cringe at the thought.
I realise that people spend 100000$ on audio speakers, but i just don't care because for me all it needs to do is "play music" :)
Most people would think we are lunatics because some of us would spend +1000$ on a piece of steel and wood. They need a knife to cut things like string, paper, cardboard and clamshell, and frankly a 15$ Opinel cuts as good or even better as a custom Busse under "normal" conditions.
Will the Opinel cut as good after 5000 cuts, will it sustain high lateral force or resist batoning ? Nope, but frankly they don't care.

Should we introduce Joe Average to quality knives? Yes, but we can't expect them to have the same expectations toward used materials and exclusivity as we do.
 
RxEnergy said:
Unless you're ready to give that person a good knife just to prove your point about knife superiority don't even bother. If someone is happy with a $5-8 gas station crap let it be. There's a market for every product.
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I think this is the best advice here.

I wouldn't say anything to one of my friends unless they asked me. Friends of mine know the things that I collect and know a lot about (stereo equipment, bikes, watches, knives) and if they want advice, they ask for it.. I wouldn't tell them otherwise.
 
not2sharp said:
There is a fine line between passing on information and arrogance. Knives need not be expensive to provide utility. If you think this guy would enjoy the experience then let him know about the next knife show, or about these forums. The point is to keep the conversation positive. Not everyone is interested in our hobby; nor is there any reason that they should be. Where I draw the line is on safety; if the knife has a failing lock or a weak pivot then by all means let them know that the thing is unsafe.

n2s
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I think that this is the best point made.

Honestly, if he's not a knife nut, doesn't collect or anything, then let it be. If it's unsafe, let him know. If he asks for a recommendation, give him one. Other then that, it's probably going to do more harm then good.

On the other hand, if you really want to "educate" him, scounge a couple bucks and get him a Delica or (insert name of lower priced Benchmade here). Even some of the lower end Kershaws are great compared to CRKT knock-offs.
 
I always try to introduce knives by their brand. Example: "That knife is cool, but check out this Spyderco. Spyderco's are really nice and great knives!" Then I tell them how much it cost me, and say, "You should try one like it. It's worth the money."
 
Tblock1 said:
I always try to introduce knives by their brand. Example: "That knife is cool, but check out this Spyderco. Spyderco's are really nice and great knives!" Then I tell them how much it cost me, and say, "You should try one like it. It's worth the money."
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But that (in my expirience) only plays out two ways:

1) They resent you, give you a funny look, and say "Well this was only $10, and it works fine for me." It's like trying convince someone that there is actually a difference between Oakleys and those dime store sunglasses made from dirty sand.

2) It works, they take your advice, and everything is peachy. ;)


I have since stopped trying to tell people they should buy Oakleys. :cool:
 
Wait till he comes back to you a second or third time for you to sharpen his knife.
Then you can talk about knives some.
You can then show him a good carry that you have.
If he is interested then you can go from there.
 
A lot of good advice here. I don't readily agree on the "it's their crap, don't bother about it" approach. Perphaps the person is interested in knives and doesn't know where to start. I'd start by simply asking "Are you interested in knives?". If so, tell them you are too and point them to this forum and others. Maybe take them your Blade magazine or similar periodical (if you have one). Tell them you are no expert (no reason to by cocky) but if they show interest, proceed to show your knives and discuss what you have learned. Maybe they bite and want more info, maybe they don't. By taking a little time to gauge their interest and spoon them some knowledge, you can get into more specifics about their knives later. Maybe you found a future knifenut or collector, or maybe you didn't. A few questions and conversations should give you a good idea.
 
Depends on the person, more than anything.

Either way, I am not going to lie to someone and say, "Yours is pretty good/cool, but..." Junk is junk. If it works for them, great. Tell them that. "All that matters is that it works for you.

If they are receptive to your opinion on a quality blade, even better.

However, if they are going to expect me to waste time (and a minimal amount of stone) sharpening a gas station hooptie, or a frost, or anything from BudK more than once....then they are mistaken, and I will tell them to get something that will hold an edge, or get a knife sharpener.

Even if I am going to sit on my butt and watch TV, that is more constructive to me than running $.03 worth of Chinese steel down my sharpener for 5 minutes.
 
I just thought of this too....

While someone is being a knife snob and mocking someone's gas station box cutter that suits his/her cutting needs just fine, that person may be calling the snob a complete dumbass for spending $400, $200, $100, or even $20 on a knife.

Think about it.... I know that alot of the non knife general public thinks we are complete morons.
 
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